Water Retrieves with Boudicca

  Putting Chuck It ball next to "Spot" caused some distraction. Additionally, excitement level. However, her enthusiasm is excellent. I would not want to punish this, normally, her response to "Spot" is good. It was my mistake. Should have realized chuck it balls sink, so not good choice for retention pond when full of water. …

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Why can’t cats resist thinking inside the box?

The cats-in-boxes issue was put to the test by Dutch researchers who gave shelter cats boxes as retreats. According to the study, cats with boxes adapted to their new environment more quickly compared to a control group without boxes: The conclusion was that the cats with boxes were less stressed because they had a cardboard hidey-hole to hunker down in. Let this be a lesson to all cat people – cats need boxes or other vessels for environmental enrichment purposes. Hidey-holes in elevated locations are even better: Being high up provides security and a birds’s-eye view of the world, so to speak.

An Open Letter to Pet Industry Representatives Regarding the Use of Shock in Animal Training

Shocking pet dogs remains a common, if controversial, training practice worldwide. In this open letter, Pet Professional Guild (PPG) combines decades of research, the opinions of certified animal behaviorists, and the question of ethics to explain why using electric shock in the name of training and care is both ineffective and harmful. PPG concludes that shocking constitutes a form of abuse towards pets, and, given that there are highly effective, positive training alternatives, should no longer be a part of the current pet industry culture of accepted practices, tools or philosophies.

Diversity and Breed Distinction of Canis familiaris

The domestic dog, Canis familiaris is said to be the most morphologically variable of the mammalian species. According to scientist, artificial selection contributed heavily to the rapid development and variation in color, shape and behavior we see in dogs today. The difference among dog species rivals that of any other species in the family Canidae.

Dog Aggression – Is it predictable? How do humans’ contribute to dog aggression? Are we responsible? Part Two

These forms of learned aggression may become more threatening, providing little warning in the “context of social code violations” e.g. disturbing a sleeping dog or taking a prized object away. The intensity of the dog’s response to these social code violations will directly depend on the negative stimulus. The dog described here has some control over their aggressive response and those responses are in direct correlation to the invoking stimulus.

Dog Aggression – Is it predictable? How do humans’ contribute to dog aggression? Are we responsible? Part One

  Joyce Kesling CDBC Published 2009 Dog Aggression – Is it predictable?  How do humans’ contribute to dog aggression?  Are we responsible? Part One  Fighting between dogs is common and often normal dog behavior; however, we should be concerned how successfully we socialize our dogs, as well as consider the contextual environment and quality of …

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