Comments for Behind the Behavior

Comment on Training Dogs Who Are Blind AND Deaf by Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:14:24 +0000

Thank you for sharing your resources Lee!

Comment on Rehabilitation Therapy for Dogs by Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:11:18 +0000

Thank you for sharing your experience with Kelly with all of us. It’s so important to share our experiences with one another so that we can all learn.

Comment on Rehabilitation Therapy for Dogs by Tanner

Tanner — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:21:37 +0000

My dog Kelly is going for his 5th water treadmill session today. Kelly is 15 and has pretty bad disc degeneration according to his x-rays. Although this therapy seems to be helping him now, I must warn anyone considering this for their older dog, to make sure they don’t make them go too long on their first session. They had him go 10 minutes on his first visit and he couldn’t even stand for about 3 days! I’m told 3 minutes on the treadmill, then rest for several minutes in the tank (preferably while being massaged), then another 3 minutes tops. Once we reduced his time, he seems to be making progress.

Comment on Training Dogs Who Are Blind AND Deaf by Lee Hughes

Lee Hughes — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:30 +0000

I have worked with and been owned by deaf/blind dogs since 2006
Please have a look at my websites

Lethal Whiles UK – http://lethalwhitesuk.webs.com/
House of Misfits – http://houseofmisfits.weebly.com/

Comment on Are Pit Bulls Inherently Dangerous? by BARB d

BARB d — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:25:37 +0000

Well stated Margot! Training, training, training and common sense. I was taught as a child not to run from a dog, not to approach or try to pet a strange or injured animal (my hand was torn to shreds as a child from a cat!), and never jump in between a dog fight. When my daughter was about 7, she was bitten on the stomach by a cocker spaniel. My neighbor was walking one of those little fluffy dogs on one of those extendable cord leashes with no control (I hate those things!) The little dog ran up to a man walking a Labrador, got the stupid cord wrapped around the man’s leg, he fell and the Lab attacked the little dog, killing it. I could go on and on with real life examples of “when non-aggressive breeds attack.” These incidents don’t make the news.
I didn’t realize that when my Dad would train our dogs to sit, balancing a treat on their noses until my Dad said the dog could have it, was more than just a trick. I still believe if the dogs that Theresa encountered had received proper and consistent training, the owner would have had control.. Its not the breed. And, we could start another whole thread about untrained /undisciplined children these days. I digress.

Comment on Are Pit Bulls Inherently Dangerous? by Margot Alice

Margot Alice — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:06:00 +0000

@Theresa : any dog can exhibit the behavior you describe. I’ve handled many, many pit-type dogs who were stressed and nervous when I worked in a shelter and in veterinary clinics; part of my job was to restrain the dogs for examination, blood draws and vaccinations, etc. I handled hundreds of dogs, in a situation in which the likelihood of bites occurring was high. As it happened, I never had a single incident with any of the pits I handled. On the other hand, I have a dog who was adopted at eight weeks but when she reached social maturity, she became very aggressive toward other dogs, some other animals, and sometimes toward people when fearful. She was well socialized, was and is a joy to train, and to my knowledge never had a traumatic experience. She is a border collie. I read recently that BC’s are responsible for a majority of dog bites. I have to manage my dog with the utmost vigilance, to keep people, other dogs and my dog safe. Sadly, I can never allow her to be near my grandson; when he becomes a toddler he will make gestures and movements and sounds that could trigger an aggressive response from my dog. It happens — with dogs of all shapes and sizes and breeds. It’s not pits, Theresa — it’s dogs. The combination of genetic predisposition / temperament and experience produces myriad variations between individuals and within a breed; I’ve known golden retrievers with aggression problems, as well as other dogs of various pure and mixed breeds, and the facts line up with my experience. Breed-specific legislation (BSL), is sadly misguided and harmful, and the media hasn’t helped. I realize it’s very difficult to convince people who have had a bad experience with a dog or dogs of a certain breed not to malign the particular breed that scared or hurt them, but I hope you will try to look past your experience while you continue to gather more information from credible sources.

Comment on Are Pit Bulls Inherently Dangerous? by Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:23:17 +0000

We agree with our conclusion Theresa but not necessarily your logic. If you spend any time on our blog reading articles about behavioral genetics, you know that the science tells us that 30% of an animal’s or human’s behavior is heavily weighted by genetics. Now, that’s a fairly heavy weight if you factor in learning. Our goal at Companion Animal Solutions is to make sure that everyone is safe, humans first, then dogs BUT we also take into account genetics, early learning, socialization, training, treatment and management of a dog. There are a few breeds who are being bred exclusively for human directed aggression but they are less than 1%. Any dog can be aggresive with an 18 month old child. No matter how many times we offer our “Diapers and Doggie’s” workshops to help expectant parents prepare themselves and their dogs for baby’s arrival, we get ZERO attendance. The phone starts ringing when the baby becomes a toddler. The toddler exhibits inappropriate and unsupervised behavior with the dog and the dog is not prepared. Dogs rely on us to take care of them. They can not take care of themselves. That’s why we view human/animal relationships with the complexity they deserve.

Comment on Are Pit Bulls Inherently Dangerous? by Theresa

Theresa — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:11:28 +0000

I read each and every comment here… First and foremost, it is the breed NOT the owners. I have friends who have a pit and have never ever ever ever been anything but loving to their indoor loved pit. It lately has out of the blue started to show signs of aggression and also attacked and wound a neighbors dog while out for a walk.. The dog just went crazy when it saw the other dog. They now keep it away from everyone and no longer take it for walks. Here is my experience .. I lived in a high rise in Dallas and coming out of my apt to go to the elevator a woman and her pit came off, as soon as the dog saw my two year old daughter it tried to attack her and as I scooped her up and ran screaming for our lives the owner lost control because of its strength… We were unharmed as she grabbed it as it dragged her down the hall.. One of the most frightening experiences in my life. Then only a week later it happened again but this time was a different owner and dog.. Needless to say, my daughter and I moved out of the building shortly later. NO ONE EVER SHOULD HAVE TO LIVE IN FEAR AND NO HUMAN LIFE SHOULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN A DOG. Why take the chance? I was getting my tire changed and overheard a man behind the counter talking about his sons pit attacked his 18 month old granddaughter . The pit was a beloved pet and never shown aggression before…. I was very offended by an above post stating that children attacks are the childs fault or the parents… NO…. Children should never be left alone with any aggressive breed ever. Human life, our children and our sweet pets should be able to live peacefully and not be in fear of being eaten by a pit bull … PERIOD

Comment on Work It Kitty! by Katherine Ayres

Katherine Ayres — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:39:38 +0000

Hello Wendy,
Thank you for the comment! Please let us know what work to eat toys are most preferred by your kitties since you have a few to test

-Dr. Ayres

Comment on Work It Kitty! by wendy

wendy — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:17:20 +0000

These are GREAT ideas to relieve boredom and prevent overeating in a shelter setting.
The best way to keep cats healthy in a shelter environment is to keep them mentally stimulated.
What a lot of great ideas!!!! I can’t wait to make or purchase some of these for our shelter cats!