The Pawfect Guide to Thinking Like a Dog Read online

  The Pawfect Guide to

  Thinking Like a Dog

  The Pawfect Guide to

  Thinking Like a Dog

  Emma Milne and Karen Wild

  Thunder Bay Press

  An imprint of Printers Row Publishing Group

  10350 Barnes Canyon Road, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121

  www.thunderbaybooks.com

  Copyright © 2018 Amber Books Ltd

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Printers Row Publishing Group is a division of Readerlink Distribution Services, LLC.

  Thunder Bay Press is a registered trademark of Readerlink Distribution Services, LLC.

  All notations of errors or omissions should be addressed to Thunder Bay Press, Editorial Department, at the above address. All other correspondence (author inquiries, permissions) concerning the content of this book should be addressed to Amber Books Ltd

  United House, North Road, London, N7 9DP, United Kingdom

  www.amberbooks.co.uk

  Project Editor: Sarah Uttridge

  Design: Andrew Easton

  Thunder Bay Press

  Publisher: Peter Norton

  Associate Publisher: Ana Parker

  Publishing/Editorial Team: April Farr, Kelly Larsen, Kathryn C. Dalby

  Editorial Team: JoAnn Padgett, Melinda Allman, Traci Douglas

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-68412-503-6

  eBook Edition: March 2018

  CONTENTS

  Introduction

  BEFORE GETTING A DOG

  The Five Welfare Needs

  Where Dogs Came From

  How Dogs Learn

  Body Language

  Breed Traits

  Picking a Breed

  Picking a Breeder

  PUPPIES!

  Behavioral Health

  Picking a Puppy

  Mutilations

  Puppy Development

  Socialization and Habituation

  Vaccination

  Worms and Other Parasites

  Getting Used To The Vet

  Nutrition

  Body Condition Score and Obesity

  Raw Foods

  Insurance

  Neutering

  ADOLESCENCE

  Growing Up

  ADULTHOOD

  The Power of Food!

  Staying Safe

  Worms

  Ticks, Fleas, Lice, and Mites

  Common Poisons

  When To Go To The Vet

  SUPER SENIORS

  Common Health Problems for Older Dogs

  Aging Gracefully

  Nutrition and Exercise for Older Dogs

  Saying Goodbye

  A DOG’S SENSES

  Sight

  Taste and Touch

  Sound

  Smell

  BEHAVIOR AND TRAINING

  How Training Works

  Chasing and Predation

  Resource Guarding

  Fears and Phobias

  Digging and Scavenging

  Jumping Up

  Stealing Food and Household Items

  Barking and Vocalizations

  Fear of Cars and Travel

  Living With Other Dogs

  Living With People

  Household Rules

  Harmony With Your Dog

  Index

  INTRODUCTION

  Dogs are such incredible companions, well suited, even created, for living alongside humans. The very least we can do for them is to ensure their happiness. Our dogs need a lot of our care, time, attention, and sometimes money for their continued well-being. These 501 tips are intended to give you and your dog the “pawfect” way to live together as two different species merged for friendship and mutual benefit.

  This handy guide takes you through every stage of dog ownership, from deciding whether to get a dog to raising your puppy or rescue dog and through your dog’s adulthood into old age. The needs of dogs, and their behavioral and physical health, are the primary focus.

  To use this guide, select a section, and study it to learn how best to treat your companion, both for physical and behavioral health. Dogs everywhere benefit from this updated knowledge, and now yours can as well, once you’ve read these 501 essential pieces of advice.

  Dog ownership has pitfalls. Poor advice, superstitions, and outdated and painful training methods are rife in the dog world. Many breeding practices have not followed health and welfare recommendations. Extremes of body and head shape have been upheld as desirable traits in dogs, but these features can also cause exceptional suffering in the animals. This book describes the best ways to avoid such problems, which all dog owners stumble across. It also gives you confidence that your dog will have the healthiest life possible.

  Should your dog experience problems during his or her lifespan, this book is here to support you, but you should also check with a vet if you have any concerns. The small, bite-size chunks of information are easy to digest and put into practice, too. Behavioral problems can be complicated, but this guide gives you the basics to help you get on a path to raising a much happier dog, and to being a happier you, too.

  Let’s get started! Sit down comfortably and begin learning about the exciting life you and your dog can enjoy together, thanks to these 501 fantastic tips!

  BEFORE GETTING A DOG

  THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS

  1.RESEARCH

  Knowing the five welfare needs of animals (food, environment, health, sociability, and behavior) is an excellent and simple way to think about the care of any animal, including dogs. Before getting any animals, you should research their needs and decide honestly if you can meet them.

  2.NEEDS

  Three of the five needs are physical things, such as a suitable place to live, and these are usually easiest to get right. The other two can be thought of as the happiness needs, and this is where many people go wrong, by not understanding an animal’s full requirements. The five welfare needs follow:

  3.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #1: FOOD

  The need for the right food and water: Dogs are omnivores and eat both meat and plants, as most humans do. However, many human foods are poisonous to dogs, so always feed dog food to dogs. Fresh water should always be available as well.

  4.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #2: ENVIRONMENT

  The need for the right environment: This will be an owner’s home and yard or nearby areas, such as parks. You’ll also need somewhere comfortable for your dog to sleep. Think carefully if you don’t have access to an outdoor area where your dog can relieve itself; you’ll have to take the dog for a walk when it needs to go.

  5.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #3: HEALTH

  The need to be protected from pain, injury, and disease: Vaccinations, deworming, flea treatment, neutering, illnesses, and injuries cost a lot of money. Be realistic about the cost when you’re thinking about pets. Dogs can cost up to $40,000 (£30,000) in a lifetime; the average is $18,615! (£14,000)

  6.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #4: SOCIABILITY

  A dog is a social animal and can find being alone very frightening and frustrating. A dog is happy with canine or human company, but don’t leave your dog alone for long periods of time.

  7.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #5: BEHAVIOR

  The need to behave normally: A dog needs stimulation and exercise. There are millions of dogs that never g
et walked and even more that never get off their leads. This isn’t fair. Walking, training, and playing with your dog are stimulating for you, too, so get out there and have some fun together!

  8.HONESTY

  If you already have a dog, think about these five needs, and ask yourself if there’s any way you could do better. It’s always good to keep challenging yourself. If you’re thinking about getting a dog, research all these needs really well, and be HONEST with yourself!

  9.PRACTICE

  It’s not okay to deprive a dog of one of its needs because it’s inconvenient. A great tip before getting a dog is to go for a half-hour walk twice a day EVERY day for a month. It’s harder than you think, especially in winter! If you pick an energetic breed, you’ll need to go outside even more often than that.

  10.LOVE

  Accept that dogs drool, bark, whine, shed hair, get covered in mud, roll in gross things, eat gross things, and take time and energy. If you do accept these things, you’ll find that dogs are the most wonderful companions humans could ever wish for.

  WHERE DOGS CAME FROM

  11.ANCESTRY

  Dogs are often compared with wolves, but their ancestry is misinterpreted. Both dogs and modern-day wolves are thought to have originated from a long-extinct prehistoric wolf-like ancestor, but the two groups split around 9,000 to 16,000 years ago. There are differences in how these species live and behave.

  12.BREED HISTORY

  Not all dog breeds originated from the same location. Studies suggest that Asiatic breeds, such as the chow chow and Akita, evolved separately from European dog breeds. Today’s husky has been indicated to have a direct DNA link to an ancestor 35,000 years before.

  13.DOMESTICATION

  This is the way a species is trained or bred to live alongside and work with humans. Dogs are thought to have adapted to our specific living environments long ago, but mixed evidence means that the date at which their domestication began is uncertain. It is estimated to have happened from 11,000 to 32,000 years ago.

  14.HOW DOGS LIVED WITH HUMANS

  Once bred for food and fur, the dog’s unique qualities of protectiveness, scent sensitivity, and hunting ability kept the species close to human homesteads. The dog’s companionable nature appears to be a key quality that led to its living compatibly with human families.

  15.DOGS IN HISTORY

  Even in ancient times, dogs were granted access to our homes, sharing shelter and resources. Ancient dogs were bred for tasks such as pulling carts and working sheep, based on their geographical location. Some dogs were trained to perform and provide fun, as well as to behave as pets.

  HOW DOGS LEARN

  16.EARLY LEARNING

  Dogs learn from everything around them, even when very young. If puppies are not handled during the neonatal stage, or even if their mothers are not petted during pregnancy, the lack of contact may impact the puppies’ reactions later in life. The gentle handling offered while puppies are alert helps them learn not to fear human interaction.

  17.INSTINCTIVE RESPONSES

  These “knee-jerk” reactions are not learned; they are instant responses to stimuli. For example, a sudden movement toward your face might make you blink. Such a response is “unconditioned,” meaning it is not taught. Instinctive responses such as this are used in dog training.

  18.LINKING STIMULUS TO RESPONSE

  In the late 1800s, Pavlov realized that dogs salivated at food’s aroma. He developed a salivation response in dogs upon hearing a metronome by linking the occasion of food to the sound. Skinner then studied operant conditioning, linking cues or commands to learned behaviors.

  19.CONDITIONED OR LEARNED RESPONSES

  The science of behavior and conditioning extends to many everyday examples of how a dog learns. A dog that is scared by the loud bangs and whistles of fireworks may associate darkness with that same fear, subsequently becoming afraid of nighttime.

  20.LEARNING WITH A PURPOSE

  Dogs learn based on what is important to them, what benefits them, or what causes them to be unhappy. This affects every aspect of the dogs’ lives.

  21.SURROUNDINGS

  Dogs are continually learning from their environment. The context of events affects their behavior, and the consequences of that behavior influence what they choose next.

  22.CONSEQUENCES. GOOD OR BAD?

  The outcomes of choices can be reinforcing, meaning rewarding, or punishing. Dogs may run, chase, or hunt and find or lose food, shelter, safety, or sexual partners. While dogs seek to fulfill their needs with their behaviors, they will have differing preferences.

  23.TRAINING

  Manipulating learning through training teaches dogs to work alongside humans. Normally, dogs will avoid punishment and seek reward. But punishment creates enormous stress in dogs and is not a suitable training method. Reward-based methods are effective, kind, and preferable.

  24.WHAT DO DOGS FIND REWARDING?

  This varies from dog to dog, and by what the dog is looking to achieve. Usually, strongly scented food attracts a dog’s sense of smell, but other reinforcement, such as toys, can be used. The dog attempts to earn rewards by behaving in ways directed by the trainer.

  25.WHAT DO DOGS FIND PUNISHING?

  By definition, punishment causes a dog to do less of something or to entirely stop some behavior. Punishment can range from withholding something the dog wants until a behavior ceases to holding the lead tightly, shouting at the dog, or yanking the leash. These actions cause fear and trauma in a dog and are not suitable methods for training.

  26.LINKING LEARNING CHAINS

  As with all learning, a dog links events together and can use the links to predict outcomes. There is usually more than one behavior, known as a chain of behaviors, leading to a predicted outcome. Behavior chains can be very complex based on a dog’s previous learning.

  27.BEHAVIORIST

  A behaviorist analyzes these learned behaviors in order to modify problem behaviors. Always employ a properly registered animal behaviorist.

  BODY LANGUAGE

  28.EXPRESSION

  Dogs may not use words to express their feelings, but their bodies show the state of their emotions. They may also vocalize. Their body signals communicate intent and help humans to understand them.

  29.TAIL WAG

  A dog’s tail communicates the level of excitement reached. Research has shown that a dog’s tail wags more to the right when seeing a familiar person. It wags more to the left when the dog is with unfamiliar or worrying people. A dog isn’t simply happy if it’s wagging its tail.

  30.EYE MOVEMENTS

  A dog will look away when feeling a little overwhelmed. The dog’s eyes may stare hard when agitated or about to lunge or chase. The eyes can appear soft when the dog is in a happy, relaxed state.

  31.EAR MOVEMENTS

  Dogs use their ears to orient toward sound. Their ears move back against their heads when they feel under pressure or fearful. Dogs will also move their ears back when greeting a favored human. Examine this and other body signals to check if all is well.

  32.MOUTH SIGNALS

  A dog that is experiencing increasing stress will yawn and lick its lips. It begins to hold its mouth more tightly as tension increases. An unhappy dog will seem to grin, pulling the corners of the closed mouth back. A relaxed dog holds the mouth open, often with the tongue lolling.

  33.HEAD MOVEMENTS

  Dogs with short fur may display wrinkling of their foreheads as they become alert. Their heads will orient toward targets that are of interest to them.

  34.LEAVE ME ALONE!

  Dogs under stress will turn their heads or whole bodies away, avoiding contact. This is a sign that the dogs wish to be left in peace.

  35.BODY SIGNALS

  These signals should not be read in isolation. A dog experiences conflicting emotions when unsure. The signals can be hard to interpret. Look for the level of your dog’s arousal. If you see tension, call your dog to you and hav
e the dog sit in order to calm down.

  36.THE LANGUAGE OF PLAY

  When dogs play, their body language includes signals that invite others to join in. Their paws slap to the ground, and they lower the front of their bodies, doing a “play bow” with their rears in the air. They prance back and forth.

  37.CHASE ME!

  A playful dog will perform a short run away from another dog to encourage a chase, with soft eyes and an open, panting mouth.

  38.THE LANGUAGE OF FEAR

  When a dog is fearful, its body is tense and stiff. The dog will stare or attempt to turn away. If a dog’s body language is very stiff and still, immediately try to distract or call the dog away, so that a conflict does not escalate.

  BREED TRAITS

  39.BREED AND PEDIGREE

  All dogs are Canis familiaris, the same species. Yet, various dogs are placed in human-made categories called breeds, based on groups of similar-looking dogs found living worldwide. The breeds differ in their appearances. Their ancestry is tracked by what is known as a pedigree.

  40.BREED FUNCTION

  Humans established each breed’s functions through artificial selection that aimed to maintain certain characteristics in the dogs. Put simply, a dog that was good for hunting would be matched with another, in the hope that the resulting puppies would inherit such ability. Behaviors such as hunting ability would be established in a breed when deemed useful for humans.

  41.BREED FORM

  A dog’s intended job affected its ultimate form and shape. A sleek sighthound would be bred for its speed as a hunter. A short-legged dog would be designed to dig out vermin. Each breed’s physical characteristics were intended for practical purposes, but now such intentions tend to be replaced by preferences for how a dog looks, or fashionable choices.