Kindred Creatures Inc.

12/02/2024

Richard Scary’s Busy Town’s got nothing on these guys, nor Tarzan for that matter. Nor Clifford. And not the Uber drivers either!
Special, oh so special and what a wonderful world it is for these puppies (who were amoebas—didn’t even have their eyes open three weeks ago!!)

11/24/2024

When ‘training’ is ‘opportunity’ with support…

11/14/2024

Shutting down behaviours through aversive methods such as loud noises (shakers, rattles, clapping, shouting), air sprays or water sprays, shock collars or physical punishment may certainly suppress behaviour in the short term, which can be very reinforcing for caregivers.🐾🐈🐕

However, what we MUST consider is what effects this may have in the long term.🌟🐾

Animals will learn that they can no longer use certain behaviours to communicate, relieve stress or show their emotional state.🐶😿

This in turn may lead to learned helplessness, reduced welfare and quality of life, or in some instances to physical disease such as Feline Idiopathic Cystitis.💔

So, before choosing the easier option of shutting down behaviour, please consider what this may do to your pet in the long run…🌟🐕🐈

, , , , , , , , , , ,

11/14/2024

Nothing is more important to your dog’s future than puppy socialization—intentional and supported (puppy is protected from fear) exposures during the first 1 - 4 months of life, to lots of different sights, sounds, body handling, environments, moving objects, surfaces, textures,
people of all shapes and sizes and colours alone and in groups quiet and loud, wheeled things, rain and wind.

MYTH: "Don’t take your puppy anywhere until they're fully vaccinated."

FACT: "The primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life. For this reason, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior believes that it should be the *standard of care* for puppies to receive such socialization before they are fully vaccinated. Behavioral issues, not infectious diseases, are the number one cause of death for dogs under three years of age." (AVSAB Position Statement on Puppy Socialization)

FACT: If you wait until your puppy is full vaccinated, you've missed their critical socialization period.

Vets, rescues and breeders who are clinging to the outdated belief that dogs should be prevented from socialization until fully vaccinated are not keeping up with the current research, literature and recommendations from behavior professionals.

11/14/2024

The 3-3-3 rule is a guide for adopters and also just good general information about what it takes to support a dog through changes; keeping this information front and centre will help us have the patience and empathy required to enable our dogs to feel safe and trusting in new homes, with any change in their home environment, and in novel situations.

11/08/2024

“Everyone who is thinking of getting a dog should read this, because you need to understand this reality: “

Scope of the relationship between behaviour, boredom, and oppressed natural outlets beautifully illustrated.

Copied and sharing.
Credit to the author, Elsa Louise Weiss

Please reach out via DM if you want ideas for enrichment for your dog, or help choosing a new dog.
___________________

From French trainer Elsa Louise Weiss...

***I'm a dog of the 21st century. ***
- I'm a Malinois.
Overqualified among dogs, I excel in all disciplines and I'm always ready to work: I NEED to work.
But these days I get asked to chill on the couch all day.
- I am the Akita Inu.
My ancestors were chosen to fight a bear.
Today I was asked to be tolerant and getting scolded for my reactivity when addressed by others.
- I am a beagle.
When I'm chasing my prey, I raise my voice so the hunters can follow.
Today they gave me an electric collar to keep me quiet, and you are forcing me to come back to you - no running - snap of your fingers.
- I am a Yorkshire Terrier.
I was a scary rat hunter in the English mines.
Today she thinks I can't use my legs and she is still holding me in her arms.
- I'm a Labrador Retriever.
My vision of happiness is to dive in the pond to bring the duck that was shot, to my master.
You'll forget today I'm a walking, running, swimming dog; that makes me fat, made to stay home and watch kids.
- I am a Jack Russell Terrier.
I can stand up to a fox, a bad badger and a rat bigger than I am, I in their lair.
Today I was scolded for my temper and great energy and forced to turn into a calm dog in the living room.
- I'm a Siberian Husky.
I experienced the great, wide open spaces of northern Europe, where I could pull a sled over long distances at impressive speed.
Today I have as a horizon only walls of a house or a small garden and holes that I dig in the ground just to release energy and frustration. Trying to stay sane.
- I am a border collie
I was forced to work daily in cooperation with my master and I am an unmistakable artist in working with the herd.
He is angry at me today because due to lack of sheep I try to check bikes, cars, kids in the house and everything in motion.
I am ...
I'm a dog 21. of the century.
I'm pretty, I'm alert, I'm obedient, I stay in my bag ... but I am also an individual who needs to express my instincts from centuries of training, and I am *not* suitable for the sedentary life you would want me to lead.
Spending eight hours a day alone in the house or in the garden - no work and no one to play or run, in the evening when you get home, and just walking to the small toilet makes me very upset.
I'll express it by barking all day, turn your yard into a minefield, do my needs inside, be unmanageable when I find myself outside, and sometimes spend my days sunk, sad, lonely and depressed on a pillow.
You may think I should be happy to be able to enjoy all the comfort while you go to work, but in reality I will be exhausted and frustrated because this is absolutely NOT what I should be doing or have to do.
If you love me, if you've always dreamed of me, if my beautiful blue eyes or my athletic looks force you to, but you can't give me a real dog life, a life worth living by my breed, and if you can't offer me a job that my genes ask for, DON'T buy don’t even adopt me!
If you like my look but aren't willing to accept my temperament, gifts and traits of a long genetic selection and think you can only change them with your good will, DON'T BUY OR ADOPT ME.
I'm a dog from 21. a century, yes, but deep inside me, the one who fought, the one who hunted, the one who pulled the sleigh, the one who led and protected the herd, still lives inside.
So think **very** carefully before choosing your dog. And to think I'll get two, rather than one, so I'll be waiting for you all day so lonely. Eight or ten hours is just a working day for you, but for me, it is eternity to be alone.

10/20/2024

Even if our dogs have ‘never’ done it before—reached that high or helped themselves to that kind of thing—they could! Please learn about the hazards of pet suffocation (occuring in places and by materials you would never consider dangerous). It’s horrific what happens to a rigid plastic or foil lined bag when warm doggy breath softens it and the saliva turns it to glue. Gruesome. Heart- wrenching. Please talk about it! Chip bags, cookie bags, bread bags, yogurt containers—the more empty they all are, the more dangerous they are.

This pet owner was heartbroken to lose her beloved rescue pup, Sadie, on Saturday when she suffocated in a pet food bag. Tracie Lea writes, "Just last night. A bag of dog treats. I think the cats may have knocked them off the counter. Sadie was so good she never counter surfed. I came home from work and found her. I’m absolutely destroyed. She had a hard life before I adopted her, this was supposed to be a safe place for her to live out her life with lots of love."

So many people still do not know about the dangers of pet suffocation. Please share in honor of Sadie to help spread awareness. It's our best defense against pet suffocation.
www.preventpetsuffocation.com

10/20/2024

Should we be seeking to fulfil our dogs' desires??
Unequivocally, yes.
Equally, we should consider their point of view too. Truly and always.
Sound indulgent?
Maybe so. But needs, desire, and point of view are driving emotion and behaviour in our dogs regardless of whether we collaborate to honour them or not. Needs, desire, point of view make the world go around. For all of us they are defining at every point in time. Biology is these things. And biology is in the drivers' seat.
The degree to which a creature's natural needs, desires and point of view are fulfilled and acknowledged determines where on the continuum of 'rich to impoverished' a life lives.
Doing our level best to meet our dogs where they are at in these is the good and moral thing to do. But it takes know-how. It requires paying careful attention. And it is far from being always convenient. But when we succeed at being cognizant and responsive to these realities it pays dividends because not only does the dog benefit, we do too. Everything is easier for the dog and with the dog when the dog is happy and heard from its own point of view. Beyond being the right thing to do it is imperative that we tune in at this level in light of the fact that a pet is captive to us. We choose our dogs' environments and control their access to most everything. If we tune in to what they show us about their needs and desires--their real needs and desires falling from species and breed--and respond supportively, skillfully and respectfully to that canine point of view, our dogs will simply, truly be less stressed and more content. That means our bond will likely be stronger and more fulfilling, and our quality of life together, better. This, from the dog's point of view too.

10/05/2024

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fetologi.dk%2Fthe-so-called-predatory-aggression%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3LYKQIYjUj-L_OPiuGay3oOTdk9ubZt31-hcEId33j6rqQMhdhN2Tlwm8_aem_Ro3vpsn1O1nj_urMR_tSUA&h=AT1mEf4bs8jjPjcezu-NS1mqTjrMSReNKmgMOWgfLjiNk511keXcQN5lgazI8F-___WzOAosdLxkVBvULw09IZ4ZoN7J3g03ZT8RMLnJuZghwQwuSr-UmibjMuWqyig7U-Ut&__tn__=H-y-R&c[0]=AT10Q-nAdYopuplRHMaEDx0_oT2OnCv37wHAWcQXxQeYmZ3hBUv7azHzsTwNeBfnBdVHIaIXbBQ0WIHv2GvhOa6WjasX65pjwROPrZ2wFWt1fnCYJDaMkKTz0vyq2klP5QnHPL6Jaq6hJDDT1MB84vOC5t-fVhu4ALXZtm2Mf0TJQQRFi5Sv3A9V1K08VfUrUPpJpaEmSIy1Bs2FyqOeeStYb27moELtO3doeIYxO1eCc6J_Y9oYMqZ7Rk7E0vEMCR97XKxRY95IiXMBVLMWIYJwTe_f

Human-Animal Science