Happy weekend! It’s been a long week for me and I am looking for some west and wewaxation. I hope you have a great weekend too!
Gene for OCD isolated in Dogs
While studying Doberman Pinschers with obsessive compulsive disorder, scientists isolated a gene associated with the disorder. This research may be applicable to humans and other researchers are now studying it too! It turns out that the relatively small populations offered by some purebreeds are useful in this type of research.
What’s the difference between a bite and an attack?
If you spend any time working in the pet industry, especially with dogs, you see the annual numbers and periodic research on dog bites and attacks. But what is the difference? Severity? Intensity? Brent Toellner has some thoughts on dog bites and attacks this week.
By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: December 27, 2009
Happy Holidays again! I hope you are having as great a holiday as I am. As you can see from this book review, I’m having such a great time I haven’t had time to shave.
By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: December 12, 2009
This week New Scientist compared dogs to cats in 11 categories in order to determine which is the superior pet. Dogs won “by a whisker.” Despite the obvious light tone of the “competition,” the research was pretty interesting. Check out the video accompanying the article.
Personally, if I didn’t think Gage would constantly terrorize any cat we brought home, I’d probably have one.
On the shelter and rescue front, there was news this week on a glut of chihuahuas in shelters in California, mostly likely due to their visibility in the arms and purses of various pop icons. (Seems like Paris Hilton is capable of doing more than just embarrassing herself!) More evidence that puppies are not good gifts or fashion accessories.
By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: November 29, 2009
Mmmmmmmmmm. Turkey.
This is post #100 on the Dog Spelled Forward blog. I probably find this fact more interesting than you do. I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read my iScribblings, and also remind you of the ways you can subscribe to them over there on the right.
It is, of course, Thanksgiving Weekend. A time to reflect on the wonderful bounty and prosperity we (those of us with the time and money to write or read blogs) have here in the United States. I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am for my family of people, dogs and birds. So I’ll stop there.
For a few people it’s also time for American Football (bleh) and/or shopping (double bleh.) Hope you had fun if that’s your thing. I did do some shopping online from the comfort of my laptop to make my contribution to the economy.
Here’s a nice interview and demo with fellow IAABC member (and CPDT) Bob Hammesfahr:
I also want to point one change to the site. I have added Disqus as the new commenting system for DSF. Disqus is used on several popular blogs and allows you to set up your own avatar for your comments, as well as publish your comments on Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo, and many other social networking sites. I’m hoping this helps expand the conversations here to other sites far and wide. Take a look and leave a comment!
By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: November 21, 2009
Happy Almost Thanksgiving! I hope you have some great plans for the long weekend and enjoy seeing your family (dogs included) and have a huge coma-inducing meal.
I think we all agree that dogs deserve great holiday treats too, and here is a budding young entrepreneur with a solution. Christian Liendo has developed a new dog-friendly ice cream and I hope he gets some funding to bring it to market soon.
Here is a wonderful story about a woman who has done amazing things to overcome being blind, including helping others bond with guide dogs:
Rats are being clicker-trained to safely detect landmines. This is a great story about animal training using humane and safe techniques!
By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: November 20, 2009
In The Puppy Diaries: Scout takes a Splash we learn of Scout’s trip to Water4Dogs in downtown Manhattan. This is a place I would love to visit with Caffeine; she loves the water! I guess whenever I get that 8 day week or 36 hour day I ordered, I’ll arrange the trip.
Ms. Abramson also discusses a hotel for dogs, a camp, and doggie daycare. Arrangements for dogs during the day or for vacations is a question I get a lot. It can be a sensitive subject and it does require some careful consideration.
I am a huge fan of daycare for high energy dogs, especially with working couples or “single pet parents.” Being alone all day is tough enough when you are not bouncing off the walls. A well run and safe day care can make a huge difference, even for just two days a week. I wouldn’t recommend more than three days a week anyway; breaking up the 5 day work week with a trip to daycare on Tuesday and Thursday can do a lot to burn off energy and keep the teeth off the furniture.
How can you find a well run and safe day care? Right off the bat, if you can get a referral from a trusted friend, vet, or trainer, start there. Then go without your dog and take a look.
If you can’t observe the dogs playing, it’s a non-starter.
There should be a screening process for dogs before they can enter a playgroup. Yes, even your little angel should be screened.
Some sort of segregation, either by size or temperament should be in place. Personally I prefer temperament, but there’s an argument for both. If the day care has considered either one, they are putting in the effort and thought I like to see.
What kind of safety procedures are in place?
What’s the criteria for a dog getting kicked out of the group or put in a time out?
How many people per dog are watching the group? (I don’t have a hard and fast number myself, but they should have given the issue some thought.)
How experienced are the monitors? Are they trained?
What’s going to happen to your dog if you are somehow late to pick him up?
Similar questions apply to doggie hotels or kennels. Do your homework, ask a lot of questions, and always get referrals.
By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: October 24, 2009
This week we had a graduation! Our first class at the Franklin Lakes VFW finished a fun six week basic course. Here are the graduation photos!
This week Daryn Kagan posted this wonderful video on her site about Baxter, a 19 year old therapy dog that is still helping people. It brought a tear to my eye.
By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: October 19, 2009
As I approach 100 posts on Dog Spelled Forward, I’m taking a step back and evaluating what direction I want to go in. (If I even want to commit to a specific direction.)
This blog is here for you. Yeah, you. If you are reading this and you are not me, you must be a member of the audience. So tell me: What’s next? Stirring upcontroversy seems to draw a crowd, but that’s not why I am here.
What would you like me to write about? Do you find the tutorials useful? Is there a particular behavior or technique you would like me to revisit or cover? Are you more interested in training theory?
Weekend Update for January 8, 2010
Gene for OCD isolated in Dogs
While studying Doberman Pinschers with obsessive compulsive disorder, scientists isolated a gene associated with the disorder. This research may be applicable to humans and other researchers are now studying it too! It turns out that the relatively small populations offered by some purebreeds are useful in this type of research.
Dog lost for over a year reunited with human
A dog lost in California in 2008 was recently located in South Carolina because of his microchip. Is there a more compelling reason to chip your dog that than?
Dog saves boy from cougar
This is probably story of the week! Last weekend Angel, a young golden retriever threw herself between an 11-year-old boy and a cougar as it charged at him. Wow!
What’s the difference between a bite and an attack?
If you spend any time working in the pet industry, especially with dogs, you see the annual numbers and periodic research on dog bites and attacks. But what is the difference? Severity? Intensity? Brent Toellner has some thoughts on dog bites and attacks this week.
Doggie Zen
Last, here’s a training video from Mary Hunter’s series on Clicker Training Doggie Zen. The exercise looks a lot like how I train “leave it”, but adds a bit of an impulse control twist.