Dog be Praised

16/02/2025

Recall...

31/01/2025

And if it's indoors there's p*e flavoured sprinkles too!

29/01/2025

And the prize for the waggiest tail goes to......

27/01/2025

Another reason why prophylactic use of flea and tick treatment is not good practice.

Exclusive: Chemical in treatment for pet fleas and ticks is found in nests of blue and great t**s, killing chicks

24/01/2025

Something to be aware of, especially in multi pet households.

Social Pressure in Dogs

We are all familiar with the idea of personal space, and hopefully most of us recognise that our dogs have a sense of personal space as well. But another related concept that is not so commonly discussed is social pressure. Social pressure refers to the sense of discomfort created when another animal gets too close, causing us to seek distance from that individual to increase our sense of safety. This may not always escalate to a full flight-or-fight reaction, but experiencing this invasion of space can still often be an unpleasant experience. Usually, these situations involve conspecifics or animals that have adapted to live alongside each other (such as dogs and humans) rather than animals whose presence would immediately elicit a full-blown threat response.

On a broader scale, free-living dogs provide a lens through which to examine the concept of social pressure. These dogs often demonstrate an acute sensitivity to human proximity and behaviour. For instance, Bhattacharjee & Bhadra (2020) observed declines in free-ranging dog abundance and activity levels in response to increased human foot traffic, highlighting how dogs adjust their behaviour based on changes in perceived social pressure. Free-living dogs in urban environments are often reported to be remarkably adept at navigating human-dominated spaces and adapting to human behaviours.

There is a neurobiological basis for dogs' sensitivity to social pressure. The amygdala, a region of the brain involved in threat detection, is highly sensitive to the spatial proximity of perceived threats (Faul et al., 2020). This heightened sensitivity underscores the importance of respecting a dog’s individual thresholds for tolerating social pressure.

In our interactions with pet dogs, social pressure is almost too easy to use to our advantage. It is common to see people herding their dogs into a crate, car, or specific direction by using their own body language and proximity. While effective, this practice raises some important ethical questions. Do you want the reason your dog likes their crate to be because it offers relief from social pressure? And of course there are risks involved, as if a dog is feeling trapped and unable to escape that social pressure, they feel forced to resort to a fight response.

This is not to say social pressure is necessarily a bad thing, social pressure can contribute to healthy communication between dogs and humans. However, when possible, understanding and respecting a dog’s individual tolerance for social pressure plays a role in the formation of a healthy human-dog relationship.

04/01/2025

At last Elf on a Shelf month
is over and we can now dedicate the next 11 months to
🤩

24/12/2024

Merry Christmas everyone!

18/12/2024

Fun with the Wednesday Play Train and Sniff Gang

12/12/2024

Another incident involving a dog and a child.

This video shows both sides of a perceived relationship.

We need to protect our dogs and our children.

Dog bite prevention video for families everywhere. 77% of dog bites come from a friend's dog or the family's very own dog. We want to change that number. Pl...

04/12/2024

DAY 4 of the Christmas Advent Calendar by Dr Robert Falconer-Taylor!

Today we are busting myths about pain meds in the treatment of chronic pain. This underscores the importance of having a well informed pain management team for dogs living with chronic pain to ensure appropriate long term management plans are in place.

04/12/2024

DAY 3 of the Christmas Advent Calendar!

Central sensitisation - a hugely important concept in relation to chronic pain. Think back to the awesome bonus talk from Hannah Capon at the ABK Conference - this helps us understand why pain can go from a symptom of disease to a disease in itself.

29/11/2024

On 27th November, our Chair, Carolyn Menteith attended a drop-in session in Parliament sponsored by Sarah Champion MP. The UK Dog Behaviour and Training Charter was invited to be one of the hosts, alongside the Kennel Club, RSPCA, Battersea, BVA, Blue Cross, Dogs Trust and ABTC.

The event was well attended with cross party support, and alongside others, Carolyn was able to talk to many of the MPs and their staff who attended the session about the welfare, training and behaviour implications of shock collar use, and the need to push forward with a ban.

This was a great opportunity to work co-operatively with other organisations on an issue so crucial for dog welfare, as well as raise the profile of the UK Dog Charter, both to MPs and also to the other key welfare organisations who organised and supported this event.

27/11/2024

This week's Play ,Train and Sniff.
A bit wet.
A bit chilly.
But lots of fun 🐾♥️