Canis in Color

26/05/2024

18/05/2024

Proximity does NOT equal consent for contact.

“I WANT TO BE CLOSE, BUT DON’T TOUCH ME”

Dogs who display what we call “conflict aggression” will display aggression in situations where they are having an interaction with a person - usually someone they know - even if part of the interaction seems “friendly.”

With these dogs it’s important to know and respect their history as being “one of these dogs.” Maui, is one of them. And like many of them, he wants to be close to me and share space with me, but that does not mean he wants to be petted by me. And that’s fine! By acknowledging that aspect as part of who he is, we can coexist together peacefully, and that in turn builds trust.

It’s very challenging for people to wrap their heads around the fact that a dog may want to be close to you, but not want you to touch them further. Yet, we as people do that all the time. You may squeeze in tight next to someone at a bar and sit arm to arm with them. But that is not an invitation for them to touch you elsewhere on your body. You may also lean in close to someone to talk to them, but that is also not an invitation for them to touch you all over the rest of your body. You may sit close to someone new you’re on a date with, but again, it’s not an invitation for them to put their hand just anywhere.

It’s not far fetched for dogs to also want to be close, but not be touched. And once we can identify that as a certain individual’s trigger, we can easily alter our interactions to remain predictable and structured, to alleviate any concern on the dog’s part.

15/05/2024

FRUSTRATION IN DOGS, WHATS THE BIG DEAL?
Frustration in dogs is often misunderstood, we’ve all heard people talk about ‘frustrated greeters’ and it implies that a dog may be vocal and bark but once they get there and can say hi, they are totally fine!

In my experience, frustrated greeters are actually rare. Many dogs who are reactive at a distance aren’t fine when they actually get chance to say hi! Frustration issues around other dogs aren’t always due to a lack of social contact. Frustration is complex and we need to think about what frustration actually is:

Frustration is defined as an aversive emotional reaction that results from unexpected absence of reinforcement (Domjan, 2003) or as any interference in the performance of goal-seeking activity (Dollard, 1939). That’s quite a mouthful but what it really means is that frustration feels bad, it’s a negative emotion that happened when things don’t turn out the way dogs (or people!) expect. Frustration also occurs if dogs are prevented from doing something they are driven to do, particularly if they miss out on a reward because of it.

Many dogs are frustrated around other dogs but it’s not as simple as just letting them say hi to fix it. Why isn’t it that simple?!

🛑 Frustration may be due to prevention of other goals, the dog might not actually want to say hi! They may just want to be near dogs but without interaction or they may want to get closer to investigate or they may even want to drive the other dog away! We need to think about what their goal actually is.

🐕 Frustration can occur if the expected reward is not obtained- if the other dog does not play or does not play in the desired way. We may then see a burst of frustration that can tip over into aggression.

💊 Some dogs may have pain or health issues which mean they are then sensitive about interactions when they get to the other dog and things may then go wrong

😑 Some dogs are conflicted and want to go and say hi but then suddenly become anxious when they get there (and may then lunge etc to try and increase distance). This is really common

🐩 Some dogs have more generalised frustration issues- it’s not just about dogs, they are struggling with frustration in multiple aspects of their lives and we need to work on the underlying cause of this.

🐶 Some dogs have very poor communication skills and so don’t do well when they actually get the chance to interact with other dogs. They may be too much for most dogs and may then get negative feedback and that can then also tip over into aggression.

Frustration based issues need a qualified and experienced professional to help as they can be complex.. So many dogs with frustration issues have underlying health issues and pain or have anxiety issues too that are contributing to stress. We need to look at the dog as a whole to see how we can help them. I’m lucky and have a team of dogs who help me and they are far better skilled than I will ever be at reading other dogs and can tell if a dog is frustrated and what help that dog needs too.

Follow for more info about how we can help dogs who are struggling with frustration

Laura McAuliffe, 2024 Dog Communication

15/05/2024

*PLEASE also remember that if your dog is brachycelphalic (has a short snout— Frenchies, Pugs, etc.), is dark colored/black, or otherwise struggles to breathe or regulate their body temp, that they can enter heat stroke FAR faster than other breeds!!! Plan your walks (shorter duration, and earlier/later in the day), bring water for drinking or soaking coats, and know where your local 24/7 ER vet is! It’s cool to be safe rather than sorry 🧊😎

27/04/2024

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s observing increased prey drive, restlessness at dusk, and more concentrated sniffing in my dog as the trees, grass, and wildlife around us become anew. After a sleepy winter, it’s a little jarring to suddenly feel so much more activity… I’m sure all animals feel similarly!

Let science offer some insight and empathy.

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

21/04/2024

No time like the present for an introduction, right?

I’m Caroline. I wear my treat pouch more than my purse, I’m always fishing dog treat or graham cracker crumbs out of my laundry, and I’m in the middle of a big transition in my life.

I can’t remember a time I *wasn’t* enraptured by dogs. I preferred animal figurines to Barbies, checked out every dog book my elementary school library had to offer, and prattled off the names of dog breeds the way other kids... Well, I can’t think of anything comparable. My neurdivergence was diagnosed at a young age, but even before *I* knew it, my neurospicey brain had latched onto canines.

In part due to the pressures of society, and in part due to my own diverging interests, my love of dogs and other animals took a backseat in my life, and a love of the human mind, medicine, and working with people fell to the forefront. I decided to pursue a career in speech and language pathology, better known as speech therapy, which led to my bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in the field. I currently hold two state licenses and national membership with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Life has a funny way of unfolding, though, as I’ve learned. I officially entered the SLP field in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic changed what it meant to be a healthcare worker forever. I got into this field because I truly *love* helping people, but found myself help*less* as I said goodbye to lives which ended needlessly, over and over again. I held on as the landscape of medicine cracked and crumbled under the weight of death, leaving skeleton crews of providers (myself included) trying to meet the ever-growing needs of patients. I’ve tried, and tried, and overcommitted myself, and cared so deeply, and ignored wave after wave of burnout until I finally admitted to myself that this wasn’t working anymore. That I couldn’t do this full-time forever. There is nothing, *NOTHING* wrong with staying in the same job or the same profession for the rest of your life… But 2 years in, I knew I couldn’t.

I stumbled upon force-free, R+ dog training the night I just wanted an audibook to fall asleep to. I wanted to adopt a greyhound, and I wanted to be the *perfect* pet parent by reading every dog book I could find (just like the old days), but that night I just wanted to fall asleep. The technical stuff could wait til morning; I wanted something soulful to dream to. Suzanne Clothier’s “Bones would Rain from the Sky” popped up as a suggestion on Apple Books, and, well, I found it hard to sleep that night. I was up instead, listening. The rest is, in short, history.

There’s more to this, but I’ll explain over time. For now, I’ll sum it up to say that I’m still working as an SLP, I *still* love working with people, but I intend to become a dog trainer and behavior consultant *as well.* The force-free philosophy blends the art and science of helping my two favorite species (dogs and people) communicate in concert with each other. My values as a neurodivergent person and ND-affirming speech therapist give me empathy for both sides of the leash. My personal dog, my greyhound named Dani, has been my greatest teacher, though I also owe my growing wealth of knowledge to the international and local dog training and behavior professionals who’ve inspired me along the way as well.

I hope to share every facet of my experiences in this little corner of the internet here as well as on Instagram . If you’re interested, I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Let’s See YOU as the human, See THEM as the dogs we share our lives with, and See US as a team with so much to accomplish.

-Caroline

21/04/2024

I’m no stranger to pulling dogs, nor to horses who’ve pulled me along for a trip into a ditch. However, I firmly believe we can strike a balance between protecting our bodies *and* our dog’s from wear and tear. Please consider freeing your dog’s shoulders and neck from restrictive “no pull” harnesses with a “Y-shaped” harness, and focus on reducing pulling through training. Though loose leash walking is a difficult skill, it’s worth it for your dog’s physical *and* emotional health and safety, as well as your own.

*In certain cases, I understand that a “T-shaped” harness, with or without a front clip and/or martingale attachment, may be needed for guardians who have reduced mobility or more at risk of falls. In her 2021 guest appearance on the podcast “The Bitey End of the Dog,” veterinarian Dr. Debbie Torraca recommended the use of these and other “no pull” tools are best suited during training only, and then faded out over time.