Dog Ma's

04/06/2024

My little winner of the non pedigree class in dog show at

27/04/2024

SPRINGTIME & DOGS: AN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

Spring is often a long awaited event for many of us after a wet and cold winter. A mere glimpse of daffodil bulbs, and the promise of longer and warmer days can see us cleaning our homes and doing chores we had been putting off for months. For dogs however, a change in seasons can signal multifaceted physiological and behaviour patterns that have been determined from evolutionary biology.

Animal neuro-endocrine systems undergo seasonal shifts. In winter, melatonin activity for example (which is directly related to duration of sunlight exposure) decreases firing of the retinal nerves which trigger hormones for breeding in some species Seasonal breeding is commonly seen due to this, with some groups being assigned as 'short-day breeders’ (eg: sheep , deer and fox ) and long-day breeders ( eg: wolves, horses)
This is also referred to as a 'photoperiod' (an organism’s daily exposure to light) The ancestral control pathway of photoperiodism is thought to have originated before the divergence of mammalian and avian vertebrate lineages in the evolutionary timeline.

However, dogs and other species such as cattle and pigs, are polyestrous, which means they can cycle all year round. Fascinatingly, some exceptions are seen in Basenji and sled dogs who breed photoperiodically.
Dogs are shown to not require a photoperiod to regulate the reproductive cycle ,but their shedding cycles and immune systems are affected by photoperiodic mechanisms.

Most certainly breeding and feeding patterns of other species of both plants and animals affect our dogs’ behaviour seasonally.

Spring brings new and exciting smells from plant and animal activity. Dogs senses typically heighten during this time, and this can mean they get easily immersed or distracted, often manifesting in hunting, amplified olfactory or foraging behaviours depending on the breed and location of the dog. In multi-dog homes this can become challenging if one dog is more prey or scent driven than others, or if all are.

While these fall within perimeters of normal behaviour, dog professionals might get increased enquiries during this time about dogs not recalling , hunting excessively, grass and plant ingesting , not coming inside from the garden, or suddenly becoming fixated by some prey animals. Puppies exposed to the wider world for the first time after their vaccinations can experience sensory overload as well as adolescent dogs who's pre-frontal cortexes are still under development.

Another seasonal affect potentially in pet dogs, who mostly follow human like diurnal sleep patterns, might see an increase in crepuscular activity, like waking at 5.30am or becoming restless around dusk.

Diurnal sleep patterns in pet dogs are hypothesized to be an adaptation to living alongside humans, because variations of nocturnal and crepuscular patterns are observed in most other canids whereas diurnal activity is rarely seen. There are some data to suggest that dogs can benefit from a dark room to achieve sleep efficiency. This might be relevant in the modern environment where open plan light filled rooms are commonly seen.

Spring can therefore quickly become a frustrating time for both dogs and their humans, but recognising the effects of evolutionary biology and making some adjustments can help.

Depending on what is reinforcing for the dog, some ideas for springtime could include providing targeted exploratory enrichment, long line walks to avoid predation or avoiding prey species photoperiodic activity , safe opportunities to dig, scent work or simply some good naps on the sofa together.

Boo Blackhurst CDBC

References:

L. Senger, Phillip 2005, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

Robert Bodiz et al 2019, Sleep in the dog: comparative, behavioral and translational relevance

Brian J. Prendergast 2005, Internalization of seasonal time

Lofts B 1978, Animal Photoperiodism

12/09/2023

24/05/2023

The pack💪🐾

28/02/2023

Puppy socialisation is NOT just about playing with other dogs.

In fact, too much uncontrolled exposure to other dogs can cause so many unintended consequences.

If you have a puppy, make sure you try to work on ALL aspects of socialisation, as listed in the bottom graphic.

21/09/2022

Patron of The Kennel Club 1952-2022

22/07/2022

Last weeks walks with the gang🐾

06/07/2022

Your dog owes you nothing. Not a thing.

The decision for him to be in your life wasn’t his, it was yours. He doesn’t owe you anything. If you look at your dog as owing you something in return for your attention, food, medical care etc, then that’s the first problem we have to tackle before we can even begin true training together.

Your dog doesn’t owe you “obedience” he doesn’t owe you “respect” he doesn’t owe you “good behavior” simply because he gets to share the same space and life with you. If you want that kind of relationship and behavior; that’s on you to create, not him.

YOU owe your dog. You owe it to him to understand his history, his development and his ancestors. You owe it to him to learn about his needs, his characteristics and his individual personality. You owe it to him to become educated on how he communicates with you, his body language and train him in a way he understands and enjoys and doesn’t cut corners just because it’s easier on YOU. You owe it to him to protect him and keep him safe. You owe it to him to modify YOUR environment to help him be successful.

Dogs are a privilege. WE created THEM. We’ve done them so many injustices and yet they still go to war with us, herd our livestock, protect us, find people for us, assist us devotedly, meet us at the door wagging their tails and comfort us when we are down. The tasks they do for us go above and beyond any other partnership between species imaginable, so you have to be willing to do your part too.

Your dog owes you nothing. You owe your dog. Remind yourself of that every time you get mad at him for simply doing dog things. Now, let’s get to work to make a great team.

Written by Helen St. Pierre. No Monkey Business Dog Training. Please share with CREDIT to the author.

05/07/2022

A few photos from recent walks🐶

07/06/2022

🚫 Having some problems with messenger, apologies in advance for any inconvenience caused, contact direct via email / phone 🐾

11/05/2022

22/02/2022

‘Touching a dog is a privilege not a right’
Dr Ian Dunbar

21/02/2022

Recall can be one of the more frustrating and difficult behaviours to train a dog to perform reliably. Dogs are not robots and we can't just program them to respond to us 100% of the time; even the best trained recall can fail given the right circumstances.
However, some breeds types are also less inclined to work with or alongside humans as this wasn't part of the role they were bred to fulfil. This can make returning to you a much less desirable prospect than it would be for a dog bred for working with humans (herding dogs are a good example of dogs bred to work with humans).
Sighthounds (Greyhounds, Whippets, Galgos, Salukis etc.),
Guardians (Anatolian Shepherd, Dogue de Bordeaux, English Mastiff, Maremma Sheepdog, Newfoundland, etc.),
Scenthounds (Trailhounds, Foxhounds, Bassets, Beagles etc.) and
Natural or Primitive types (Akita, Basenji, Spitz types, Husky, Jindo, Shar-pei, Chow Chow and several of the sighthounds) are all examples of dogs whose primary function called for independence of thought and/or action or didn't specifically require cooperation with humans.
This doesn't mean that a recall can't be achieved with any of these dogs, simply that you're likely to have to work an awful lot harder to be worth returning to! You may also have to accept that you will never be able to compete with your dog's natural instincts in every environment and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. That's what long lines are for 👍

Surprising to some, recall isn't always worth the amount of time and energy that may be needed in order to achieve enough reliability to be allowed off lead. Many dogs live amazing lives on long lines or on lead; it gives them the opportunity to be dogs and follow their noses whilst allowing the guardian to relax too. The decision to keep a dog on a long line is often made when the time and energy needed outweighs the benefit to the dog.

Here are a few tips on recall which will prove useful regardless of the breed type of your dog:

👉 If in doubt, use a lead. If you're in a rabbit strewn field, anywhere your dog may access a road or anywhere your dog may cause an issue to other people if he ignores your recall then the best bet is just to keep him on a lead or long line. This means that he doesn't get the opportunity to fail and you can still practise recall on lead!

👉 If you already have a recall cue which your dog ignores, train a new one. Start from scratch with a new cue that only ever results in a positive consequence for your dog. Don't use just this cue for calling him when you're going to put him back on lead/go home/end his fun. This will result in him losing value for returning and ultimately ignoring you. Recall, reward and let him go and do his thing again; coming back should never be predictive of something unpleasant or unwanted.

👉Never chastise or punish your dog when he returns, even if he's just committed the ultimate sin. Nobody chooses to go and be punished and your dog is no different.

👉 Don't try to recall when you know they will probably ignore you! Are they mid sniff, have their eyes locked on to something or following a scent? Calling them now, if your recall is unreliable, will more than likely result in them sticking the proverbial two fingers up at you. Congratulations, you just taught your dog he can ignore you when you call him!

👉Watch your dog. Learn his body language and the signals he gives when about to chase, follow a scent or shoot off to another dog. Learn to time your recall before he reaches the point of no return; that point may be easier with some dogs than others (it takes quick reflexes with a sighthound, I can tell you that from personal experience!)

👉 Invest in the relationship with your dog. This is the foundation for everything and without a trusting, secure relationship you will have a longer, harder journey whether it's with recall or other issues.

20/02/2022

YOUR DOG MAY NEED FRIENDS, BUT NOT RANDOM INTERACTIONS

You probably know that dogs are social animals. For dogs, social engagement is an extremely powerful motivator and will often be prioritised over food and sleep. The benefit of social behaviour for dogs is well supported by research, intraspecies play has been indicated to support with motor development, social development, and seems to make them feel happy (Sommerville et al., 2017). We also know that dogs that have been isolated from the mother and siblings at an earlier age are more likely to display social deficits, and similarly, pups taken from their mum too early are at greater risk of behavioural problems in the future (Dietz et al., 2018).

So given these benefits, you might assume we should be aiming for as many social interactions as possible. Sadly, things are not quite so simple. It has also been identified that dogs that visiting the dog park resulted in an increase of the stress hormone cortisol for most dogs (Carrier et al., 2014). Similarly, dogs showing hunched or low posture while at the dog park were more likely to show increased cortisol levels (Carrier et al., 2014). Even more concerningly, 98% of the dogs examined showed at least one stress related behaviour while at the park.

This is not such good news as it indicates that many dogs are not having the best time while at the park, which really defeats the purpose of going. It also means, interacting with lots of unknown dogs every day is actually quite a stressful experience. While being able to manage in a trickier social situation is an important skill, we cannot count this as pleasure time or enrichment. Increased cortisol levels are also associated with an increase in amygdala activity (the fear centre in the brain), which means dogs may also be more reactive whilst cortisol levels return to baseline (van Stegeren et al., 2007).

What is normal social interaction for the dog?

If we turn to studies of free ranging dogs, we can see that dogs are often observed to live within social groups which will share resources and territory (Font, 1987), sometimes forage socially (Majumder et al., 2013), and often choose to sleep in close proximity to each other (Bódizs et al., 2020). Dogs outside of social groups tend to avoid each other, and when they do interact, these interactions are commonly agonistic (Pal, 1998).

This means while dogs enjoy social interaction, this is primarily amongst their own social group. It can involve play, but also calmer activities such as foraging and sleeping. There is little evidence for any benefit of social interaction with unknown dogs, and it may be stressful for them because they have evolved to expect interactions with unknown dogs to be agonistic.

This raises questions about the sort of social interaction we provide for our dogs. If we want to meet our dogs’ social needs from an evolutionary perspective, we need to think about how to set up regular friendships for dogs to enable them to form social groups. This may be in the form of multiple dogs in the same household, or a dog from another household that your dog sees regularly.

The content of time spent together is also important. Social time should not just be based on play, but also encourage social sleep, foraging, grooming, and exploring. All of these are hard to achieve with unknown dogs met on walks. However, having a regular friend means dogs can spend time sharing a territory and exploring new locations together.

We also know social time with regular companions can have a great effect on improving dogs’ confidence. Cimarelli et al. (2021) found that dogs with stronger affiliations were more confident when faced with stressors, this is known as social buffering. This was an effect found in dogs that had been in stable social groups, which again indicates the quality of relationships is key to the social buffering effect.

Finally, remember this does not apply to all dogs. Some dogs are not social. This might be due to bad experiences in the past, a lack of socialisation opportunities, or just preference. It is fine for dogs to choose not to be social. There are lots of other great ways you can enrich your dog’s life.

But if you do have a social dog, make sure they have a regular companion. Local Facebook groups can be a great place to start. Interactions need to be set up appropriately and body language needs to be monitored to ensure the dogs are safe and enjoying themselves (a dog trainer can help with this). And once you have found your dog a friend, make sure you keep it up as the long-term benefits are incredible.

Full references available on our website. https://animalbehaviourkent.co.uk/our-blog/f/your-dog-may-need-friends-but-not-random-interactions

15/02/2022

So many owners I see expecting their dogs to come understanding English words & the meanings that go with them. We all have to be taught! And if you don’t have time to teach, you don’t have time for a dog! 🐾

Your dog is not a robot, and they don't come pre-programmed to do all the things us humans want them to be able to do.

Just like you had to learn about the world around you and how to exist within it, so do dogs!

Set your dog up for success by teaching them the skills they need to be able to meet your expectations.

08/02/2022

Thought we’d take a moment to appreciate 😛📸 and upload a few of my favourite photos from our crazy pack walks with All Paws Dog Walking & Pet Sitting Service
Bunch of nutters but wouldn’t change a thing🐾❤️

03/02/2022

Short clip from a walk with Tego, after their previous trainer told them she wasn’t able to socialise, we’ve been opening up the world to her and making some friends, her fantastic owners are very committed to her living her best life🐾🐶🥰

03/02/2022

Recall lesson with Wally today, good job buddy see you again soon👏❤️🐾

01/12/2021

09/11/2021

Felt the need to share these photos with you all today as they were just so lovely🤩🥰 smiley faces🐾

05/10/2021

So important to pick breeds that are right for you and not to try and squash their natural instincts🤟

28/09/2021

Be the kind of person your dog believes you are💘

26/08/2021

What a beautiful day for a walk with the gang, we’ve missed our Paddington so much!🥰🤩 accompanied by the wonderful All Paws Dog Walking & Pet Sitting Service