Sniff and Wag

01/02/2024

THE BEHAVIOUR PUZZLE

Changing behaviour is like building a puzzle.

All the different pieces need to be looked at and put together for the result to be successful.

Trying to stop a behaviour with a quick fix, is unlikely to have lasting results last and often results in an unwanted behaviour surfacing in a different way.

Behaviour needs to be looked at holistically.
Understanding what the function of the behaviour is, what a dog is trying to communicate, using management to prevent the behaviour from being rehearsed or practiced, ensuring that a dog’s needs are being met and showing dogs what to do instead of what not to do are some of the important parts of solving the behaviour puzzle.

Changing behaviour takes time, it’s not a quick fix, it requires understanding, consistency, patience and commitment, but the results of solving the puzzle properly are worth it.

01/07/2023

Parking this here for referral later

22/06/2023

🧄 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗖, 𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬....

⚠️ Study is 20 years old

⚠️ Study contained a mere 8 dogs

⚠️ Only 4 of those dogs were given a garlic extract

⚠️ The Garlic extract that was fed via a tube into the stomach was equiv. to 20 cloves of garlic i.e. not a normal amount a pet parent would give and was repeated for 7 days which would be equiv. to 140 cloves of garlic.

It's hard to understand the point of this study because this isn't an amount any pet parent would feed their dog or an amount you could probably get a dog to eat even if you tried!

🧐 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬, 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐝 👉𝐧𝐨𝐭👈 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐬:

"Results: Compared with initial values, erythrocyte count, Hct, and hemoglobin concentration decreased to a minimum value on days 9 to 11 in dogs given garlic extract. Heinz body formation, an increase in erythrocyte-reduced glutathione concentration, and eccentrocytes were also detected in these dogs 👉𝗻𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮👈".

We also do not know what-sized dogs they used in the study. If they were small dogs vs large dogs then this is a variable that would be important to consider if there were any results that could negatively impact our dogs - A Great Dane vs Chihuahua or even a standard laboratory dog being a Beagle are likely to have different outcomes. You would think as study to learn about the safe upper limits of garlic would have been more productive.

😬 Anyways... that's the study that everyone thinks their dog is going to die or get very sick if they eat garlic....

Let us fast forward to 2018 where another garlic study was conducted, this time on aged garlic...

Again, there were 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 in the clinical signs, complete blood count, and serum biochemical parameters, Heinz bodies and eccentrocytes.

👉 The conclusion of this study was that: The long-term oral administration of AGE at a dose of 90 mg/kg/day for 12 weeks 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 (𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲) 𝗮𝘁:
https://www.balanced-canine.com/post/garlic-the-confusion-about-safety

22/06/2023

DOES YOUR DOG JUMP UP?

Jumping up is a natural behaviour for excited dogs, often a form of enthusiastic greeting. However, it can be dangerous, especially for young children or frailer people who can be knocked over and potentially injured. Even for adults, there's a risk of accidental scratches or falls. Despite its root in affection and excitement, jumping at people is not a good behaviour to encourage and most guardians would like to avoid their dog jumping up. Here's how we can teach that with kindness and good communication for the dog.

𝐉𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐩 & 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Differential reinforcement in dog training is basically a method of promoting one behaviour in place of one you would rather discourage. It works quickly and doesn't expose the dog to punishers or force.

1. DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other behaviour): You reward the dog whenever he does anything other than jumping up while greeting. He might decide to wag his tail, bark excitedly, or simply sit and wait patiently. In all of these cases, he gets a treat because he's not doing the thing you don't want him to do (jumping up).

2. DRI (Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behaviour): This is when you reward behaviour that is physically incompatible with the unwanted behaviour. So, if your dog is busy sitting or lying down when he greets you, he physically can't be jumping up at the same time. So, you reward him for staying seated or lying down.

3. DRA (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative behaviour): This is where you train your dog to perform a specific alternative behaviour in response to a certain trigger. If your dog tends to jump up when he's excited to see you, you might train him to sit and give you his paw instead. Every time he does this, he gets a treat.

In all these cases, the idea is to positively reward the good behaviour, thereby increasing the likelihood that the dog will repeat this behaviour in the future. This way, you're effectively guiding your dog away from the habit of jumping up and towards the preferred habit of keeping all four feet on the ground.

Shared from Canine Principles

19/06/2023

𝐆𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

Improving motility depends on what the actual goal might be. In cases of impaired motility (eg: dogs vomitting more than 5 hours after a meal), speeding up digestion would be considered an improvement wheras dogs with chronic diarrhea would probably be happier if things would slow down. That said, occassional vomiting or diarrhea is considered normal, so don't panic.

🎯Suggestions regarding what to do about both follows the description below.

▶The stomach’s first role is to accept and store food. Glands present in the lining of the stomach start to respond by producing stomach or gastric acid. The wall of the stomach contains muscle which helps to move acid and food around until they are blended. Now that they are thoroughly mixed, the acid helps to break food down even further into fragments that are more easily digested. Food leaving the stomach is a cream-like liquid called chyme. The lower part of the stomach has muscles that push this partly digested food toward the small intestine.

➡️As food passes through the small intestine, it’s mixed with chemicals produced by the liver/gallbladder and pancreas. At this point it’s small enough to be used by the body which is perhaps why I think of the small intestine as being a hero. Not only does it do what I’ve described above, but the walls of this long tube are home to tiny finger-like projections called villi. Capillaries (small blood vessels) in the villi are able to 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐛 tiny food molecules which are carried to the rest of the body through the blood. Whatever cannot be used by the body is sent to the large intestine where water is removed and waste is sent to the colon.

❗ See your vet before deciding your dog has a specific problem. Many things can look like a motility problem and many things can cause one.

💊Digestive enzymes can help some dogs. Used properly (mix them into food with a little moisture, stir well to coat every bit of food in them if possible, and wait 10 minutes before serving the meal) Most protease (the enzyme that helps break down protein) is derived from pork. If your dog is allergic to pork you could be better off using plant based enzymes even though they're not as powerful.

🦠Probiotics - they don't directly help motility, but may improve the gut microbiome. Probiotics are used indiscriminately which I'm not a fan of. That will be another post 🙂

☑️Psyllium powder: Fantastic food for the good guy bacteria in the bowel, so it's something to consider if the problem is soft stool.

⏳TIME is underrated. The body is nothing short of a miracle network and will often repair itself when not interferred with. Sometimes, adding too many things to the dog's bowl backfires. Letting the body rest and repair may be challenging for us, but can benefit the dog. This isn't to say we should ignore a problem so much as define what a problem really is. For instance, the longer you walk the dog the more often s/he will p**p. The more often s/he p**ps, the softer stool becomes. That's not a motility problem, but can exacerbate one.

25/05/2023

It is easy to judge the other dog when it was our dog that initiated the altercation by being overly friendly

23/05/2023

16/05/2023

RAISING DOG FRIENDLY CHILDREN
Teach children to be dog friendly before teaching dogs to be child friendly

I’m often asked - “How can I make my dog more child friendly?”

The question really should be - “How can I make my child more dog friendly?”

Children don’t come with an inborn ability to know how to treat dogs. It’s up to us to teach them.

I’m amazed that there aren’t more dog bites considering how often I see children treating dogs like stuffed toys.

If you think about it, dogs are actually amazingly tolerant and patient with people even when their attempts to communicate through their body language, that they’re really uncomfortable, are completely ignored or not understood.

As parents, it’s an important responsibility to teach our children about how to respect and behave around dogs.

Always supervise children and dogs, even if a dog seems relaxed and friendly.

Here are some links to free, on-line resources if you’re looking for more information on how to keep children and dogs safe together -

https://kidsarounddogs.co.uk/pages/free-resources
https://www.familypaws.com/resources/
https://www.cooperandkids.com
https://www.gooddoginabox.com/top-20-ways-keep-kids-and-dogs-safe/
https://poochparenting.net/blog/