Heroes and why do we feed our dogs to death

Paul and Tinker

Hey Julie,

I’m glad you’re a fan of Paul McGreevy’s too! 

I admire so much of the work he’s done (and facilitated or helped others to do). He’s not afraid to raise sensitive topics and tricky questions through his science and I appreciate that enormously.

Your last post got me thinking about who my canine science (or general doggy-people) heroes are – I’m still pondering on this, but there are plenty of them!

(source)

I think I’ll get back to you with my conclusions and explanations another day, after I’ve had some more time to ruminate on it a bit more.

Meanwhile, I wanted to get back to you to talk fat dogs.

Sampson, June 2011 (source)

One of my local animal shelters was attracting global attention recently when 8 year old Sampson was surrendered to the shelter for rehoming and weighed in at a whopping 84kg (that’s 185lbs). 

Sampson’s not alone. Up to 40% of Australia’s pet dog population are overweight and this is comparable to other developed nations. 

The weird thing is – why? 

Vanessa Rohlf

As pet owners, we humans are in control of their food, we understand that amount of food + amount of exercise = pet weight. We even have pet food companies who have developed weight control formulas so we can feed more but give less - so why can’t some people control the balance to keep our pets healthy?

(source)

Vanessa Rohlf is a fellow PhD candidate of mine in the Anthrozoology Research Group and she has done some excellent work looking into this area of pet owner/caregiver psychology.

Click to enlarge figure (source)

Her research has shown that our behaviours (actions) as pet caregivers can be based on a complex range of beliefs and intentions. We may give more importance to the opinions of a close friend in regards to our pets care than what our veterinarian tells us. You can read the outline of a talk she presented that offers a good summary about why some owners dont comply with pet ownership practices here. 

For more detailed information about Vanessas research, check out the journal articles below. 
It’s really, really interesting stuff!

Sampson, June 2012 (source)

Oh – and Sampson? He’s doing really well – 12 months on, he’s half the dog he once was, has inspired a whole fundraising campaign and is a bit of a local celebrity.

Further reading:

Rohlf, V.I., Toukhsati, S., Coleman, G.J. & Bennett, P.C. (2010). Dog Obesity: Can Dog Caregivers (Owners) Feeding and Exercise Intentions and Behaviors Be Predicted From Attitudes?, Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 13 (3) 236. DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2010.483871 

Rohlf, V.I., Bennett, P.C., Toukhsati, S. & Coleman, G. (2010). Why Do Even Committed Dog Owners Fail to Comply with Some Responsible Ownership Practices?, Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 23 (2) 155. DOI: 10.2752/175303710X12682332909972

© Mia Cobb 2012

Read more

Dog Training How To House Train A Dog

Dog Training

Having a dog as your companion can be a true joy. However, you don’t want your beloved buddy chewing your new shoes or going to the bathroom in the house. Therefore, you need to know how to house train a dog. Therefore you have to create a dog training plan to help your new puppy or dog understand the rules of the house.

What things should you focus on in dog training when you want your dog to understand the expected behaviors and even some fun tricks? Should you take dog training classes or complete dog training all on your own? The answer to these questions is that it depends. Take a look at the following dog training options to determine what type of dog training you want to provide for your canine best friend.

Possible dog training options include: a beginning obedience class that you can take through your local human society, dog supply stores such as PETCO, community recreation departments, and local colleges. These dog training classes can vary in price, time commitment, and personal attention. They are usually affordable and meet once a week at a community park. It is a great way to not only have your dog experience basic dog training, but socialize with other dogs as well.

If you have the financial resources and time you can hire a personal dog trainer. This type of trainer may be necessary if your pooch is having a hard time in basic classes and your dog training efforts aren’t making a difference. Before you invest in a private dog trainer it is important to make an accurate assessment of your dog training methods. Often times a dog that is not following directions is the result of the poor dog training by the dog’s owner. The best shot is to get into a good program on how to train a dog

http://www.mdarma.com/dogs

A private dog trainer might be necessary if you are going to show your dog at dog shows. You can hire a dog trainer/handler or you can become one yourself. If you do, you must know the proper dog training techniques. You don’t want to have Fido jump up on the judges during the competition so he must be trained thoroughly and correctly. You can also search through dog training books, guides, and various resources. There are products that will help you complete dog training such as special collars and muzzles. You can effectively go through a dog training regime with your canine if you follow these eight tips on how to train a dog.

2006 (c) mdarma.com - All Rights Reserved Worldwide * Dog Training

Read more

Working like a dog

Hello Julie,

Having consulted two of my fabulous friends who happen to be ‘real world editors’ I can happily report that the technically correct format would be “Hi there, Mia”. This is to clarify that my name is not ‘there Mia’, although one friend said “no one does it on the internet”, so maybe you can’t win – or can’t lose?! 
I’m just happy you said “Hi”.

Its so true that there are welfare issues all around us – even when perhaps we’re not expecting to see them. Or when we are so used to seeing them that we need to put on ‘fresh eyes’ to see them in a different light. I find it really interesting that some of the features we find attractive in dogs can be the very same that equate to poor welfare for the animal. I hope you can tell me some more about the why and how we humans identify certain features as attractive. It’s a really fascinating topic.

In a not-really-related-but-kind-of-interesting side note – I noticed some interested physical traits we were encountering when I worked with guide dogs. Our breeding colony was selected for good physical health and on a basis of behavioural traits deemed ‘suitable for guide dog work’, but not to a strict physical standard (as a ‘pedigree’ Labrador might be). We had some Golden retrievers and F1 and F2 crosses/crossbacks between the two breeds – always selecting for dogs that could work well as guide dogs for people with vision impairment.

(source)

We started seeing some brindle coming through in some black dogs. 
So we had some Labradors that looked like this >>>  

There were people telling us they COULDN’T BE LABRADORS! 

They MUST be Rottweiler crosses. But they werent - and we had records showing 50 years+ of breeding history to show it.

(source)

Turns out that it’s not an unheard of ’mismark’ (such a dirty word for such attractive markings) to Labrador breeders. 









But here’s the neatest part – it’s even been seen in other Guide Dog schools, in other countries (how cool is that!?!).

This brindle lab is from a GD school in the USA (source)

Reminds me of those silver foxes, but man, are they a topic for another whole post.

(source)

So how have you been? 
I’ve been quite busy this past week – working hard ahead of a national workshop that’s coming up in a couple of weeks’ time. 




Speaking of that, I find it so interesting that ‘working like a dog’ means to work extremely hard (at least in Australian culture – is it the same in the US o’ A?). Their industrious capacity is built into our everyday language.

Working dogs are really quite iconic here in Australia.
We have statues celebrating them, movies about them...

...we even commemorated them on a set of stamps a few years ago (I personally knew that chap on the right very well)!

One of my favourite picture books as a child was about ‘Suey the sheep-dog’. The Australian working dog industry is truly diverse. In the work I’ve been doing over the past few years, we have chosen to define working dogs as domestic dogs kept for non-companion purposes that work in a private industry, government, assistance or sporting context.

I will tell you more about that work and Australia’s working dogs next time!

I hope your weekend is full of sunshine and laughter,

Mia

References:

Trut, L. (1999). Early Canid Domestication: The Farm-Fox Experiment, American Scientist, 87 (2) DOI: 10.1511/1999.2.160

Schmutz, S.M. & Berryere, T.G. (2007). Genes affecting coat colour and pattern in domestic dogs: a review, Animal Genetics, 38 (6) 549. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2007.01664.x

© Mia Cobb 2012

Read more