Category: Dogs

The world is made of two people – the dog lovers and the non-dog lovers. It is always the latter who pose a problem whenever they visit a dog lover’s home. Some squeal and shout when your pet leaps up to greet them. Others rudely ask you to lock them away. So, what can you do to stop your excited dog from enthusiastically greeting your house guests?

The famous dog whisperer, Cesar Millan, feels that dogs jump on people to state that they are the pack leader and are in charge of you. Here is what you need to do to curb this hyper dog behaviour problem:

• Firmly establish the fact that you are the pack leader – When a dog is uncertain of their pack leader they will instinctively try to fill the role which unfortunately leads to undesirable results. Nervous and agitated handling never works. So, a good pack leader will control their pet calmly and assertively.
• Do not overly show affection to your pet as soon as you come home – Excitedly greeting members of your family when you come home works well only for humans and not for dogs. The nicest thing you can do for your dog is to treat them like a dog and communicate in a way they understand that you are excited to be back with them. A gentle pat and a few treats will definitely be well received.
• Correct the jumping behaviour problem in your dog – A dog’s natural mother is the ultimate pack leader and will not tolerate bad behaviour in her pup. If she does not like what they are doing she will stop it by moving the pup out of the way calmly and assertively. Hence, the puppy will learn from its mistake and the mother’s strong leadership skills balances the pup’s submissive role in the group.
• When you have house guests, ask your pet to sit patiently – Once your pet respects you as their pack leader they will automatically follow your commands. So, remember to always be confident, calm and assertive while handling your pet. When you have guests dropping by at your place ask them to sit quietly and reward them when they do so.
• Leadership is a long-term commitment – You cannot be strict one moment and lenient at the next. Leadership is lifelong. Any inconsistencies will always lead to anxiety in your pet and will encourage a hyper dog behaviour. Keep in mind that animal pack leaders never give up their role so you must do the same!

You can always contact a behaviourist or a trainer for further professional guidance.

Dog lovers living amongst people who are allergic to dogs is often very difficult. You may think that bringing home a hypoallergenic dog is the answer to your problem. But according to a report by American researchers, they may be no such thing as a low allergy or allergy free dog. It was found that there was not much of a difference in the quantity of dog allergens found in the homes of hypoallergenic dogs and in those that are considered non-hypoallergenic.

It is not clear how certain breeds classify as hypoallergenic breeds. Various breeds, especially those that shed less hair have made it to the list of hypoallergenic candidates by the American Kennel Club, that includes Poodles, soft coated Terriers and Schnauzers.

Christine Cole Johnson, the author of the study published online in the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy states that the concept of the hypoallergenic dog has been around for a very long time and people usually associate them with hair shedding. Johnson thinks the idea of a hypoallergenic dog is just a legend.

There are breeds that shed less hair and dander as compared with others. But according to the study, it does not make much of a difference to people allergic to dogs.

This particular study aimed to find whether the breeds classified under hypoallergenic are actually shedding less of the major dog allergen, known as the Canis familiaris 1 or Can F1. The scientists collected dust samples from 173 single dog houses and discovered that 163 of them produced quite a significant level of Can F1.

To sum it all, there is no conclusive evidence that suggests that certain breeds produce less allergen than others. Allergists suggests that it is the individual dog who have a few variations in their genetics and behaviour that produce more allergens than others. A breed classification cannot accurately predict the susceptibility to allergy.

Charlie Brown is so right when he said, ‘My dog is my everything’. Yes, they are your playmate, friend, confidante and partner in crime. Literally everything! Most people will probably get offended if you call their dog as a dog. They will heatedly state – don’t call him a dog, he has a name and he is my baby!

While we proudly say that our dog is our child do they reciprocally see us as their parents or caregivers? To solve this dilemma a team of Austrian researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna conducted a study to learn more about dog behaviour especially of adult dogs and observe the way they respond to their owners.

They used a theory called the ‘secure base effect’ which is basically a theory that children function better around their environment when they are secure in the presence of their parents. This security that they feel under their parents influence help them in cognitive functioning and help them to perform better in their daily activities.

To discover if dogs also show similar behaviour with their caregivers, the researchers queued up a set of situations for the dogs. They analysed the dog’s reactions in the basis of three conditions; absent owner, encouraging owner and silent owner.

By tackling interactive toys, the dogs would earn food reward. It was observed that the dogs seemed less inclined to work for their food when their caregivers were absent than when they were present. Another interesting fact to note was that irrespective of their owners encouraging them during their work or whether they remained passive had least influence on their level of motivation. They were secure with the knowledge that their owners were around when they were busy trying to solve the puzzle to get to the food treat.

To further determine if it was the owner’s presence or just the presence of any other human increased the dog’s motivation, the researchers did a follow-up study but this time around with strangers. They observed that the dogs were not interested in interacting with the strangers and were motivated to work for their food reward only when their owners were present rather than strangers.

The findings of the research points to the fact that dogs need the presence of their owners for them to behave confidently around their environment. So, there is not much of difference between dogs and children isn’t it? Both derive comfort and security in the knowledge that their parents presence is enough for them to explore their environment in a confident manner!

Are you fed up of finding stale food hidden under your sofa? Has your pet been standing on guard over toys they have buried under the carpet? Well, your dog is definitely a hoarder! Hoarding is basically a behaviour that comes instinctively to dogs despite them being domesticated and living with humans. It becomes a problem when this instinctual behaviour collides with the modern lifestyle enjoyed by humans.

It is a different matter in the wild. Animals need to fend for themselves and there is no guarantee of the easy availability of food every day. On days that are very good for hunting, there is always surplus food and it makes sense to store some of it for those days where hunting is impossible. So, digging a hole and burying the leftovers comes naturally to dogs.

This behaviour can cause problems in modern homes. Most pet parents feed their dog well and at regular intervals. But you need to understand that dogs live for the moment and have no concept of future. So, they will not understand that they will receive a bowl of food each and every day. This is why they just grab the remaining bite of food and hide it.

Unfortunately, this creates another problem as it makes your home dirty and foul smelling. It will also invite all kinds of creepy crawlies to have a feast with all the stale leftovers. So, it is better to nip this problem at the bud before it gets worse.

Hoarding of toys can promote aggression in dogs especially when they stand guard over them. To stop this, you need to find the hidden toys and keep them out of their reach. Give them just one or two toys to play with. Once they know that they have no extra toys to play with they will automatically stop hiding them as then they will not have anything to play with.

For dogs that hoard food you need to take swift action and create a routine around their mealtime. Exercise them by playing with them or take them for a long walk which will tire them and make them work for their meal.

When you both come home hungry and tired, start preparing their meal. Make your pet sit in front of you and then place the food bowl. Do not place the bowl down until they sit obediently and calmly. As soon as they stop eating and walk away from their bowl, it means their mealtime is over. Take their bowl away and do not feed your pet again without repeating the same routine.

Once you clear their bowl they cannot come back for more food for them to put away for a rainy day! So, they will have enough food to meet their daily needs without them resorting to the need to store more for the next mealtime.

We have come across several dog parents who, for one reason or the other, strongly believe that their dogs really love to have their food. They mean human food for dogs. Some even go to the extent of overfeeding their dogs with the foods you and me eat, at their own peril. But do dogs really want your food?

Dogs recognise and respond to human social signals to conclude that your food is more desirable than theirs, Scientific American cites a recent study. “Researchers let pet dogs choose between two plates, one with a single piece of food and the other with six pieces. Unsurprisingly, the animals generally went for the larger portion. But when a human being showed a clear liking for the smaller plate, the canines likewise went for the skimpier choice. The dogs apparently recognised and responded to the humans’ social cues.”

This doesn’t mean that dogs will follow everything we do, when it comes to food, at least. “And not all cues were equally effective. When the human approached but did not touch the smaller portion, dogs ignored the attention-drawing gesture,” concluded the study.

Here is the explanation: many of the foods, such as fruits and vegetables, that we humans eat and easily digest just fine can actually have adverse effects on a dog’s body, leading to severe health problems. Some of the foods that humans consume, however, can be introduced to a dog’s diet just fine, and even provide health benefits such as joint strength, better breath, and allergy immunity, reckons American Kennel Club (AKC).

Here are the human foods that your dog can or can’t have:

Ok, fine *

• Bread
• Cashew
• Cheese
• Coconut
• Corn
• Egg
• Fish
• Ham
• Honey
• Milk
• Peanut Butter
• Peanuts (Unlike Almonds!)
• Popcorn (!!)
• Pork
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Salmon
• Shrimp
• Tuna
• Turkey
• Wheat / Grains
• Yoghurt (Different from curd)

Now comes the most important part: which human food that your dog should be kept away from.

Strict No-no

• Almonds
• Chocolate
• Cinnamon
• Garlic
• Ice-Cream
• Macadamia Nuts (Highly poisonous to dogs)

* (All in small amounts, unless explicitly specified otherwise. Do consult your vet for further advice on what suits your dog best)