#Dog Behaviour

[korya-elana]

Sorry, as a long-time dog professional this was a super interesting question so if you aren't looking for in-depth discussion, feel free to ignore!

Generally, no. While it would be impossible to prove regardless, the level of consciousness and self-awareness that is necessary for such complex dissociation doesn't really apply to how a dog's mind interacts. Dogs have more primal instincts so when a dog is traumatized you see it in behaviours: unpredictable aggression or aggression over specific situation like kenneling or being on a leash, shutdown, destructive anxiety, etc.

It would be completely impossible to rehab a dog that would be so unpredictable. We wouldn't be able to rehabilitate each part like in therapy, because the dog wouldn't be able to realistically hold on to that information when switching. And that's even assuming we could accurately see and document each dissociated part.

Plural culture is sometimes wondering if animals can get DID and if they could how the fuck would we even be able to know

[megpricephotography]

2 pictures of Flynn, taken 9 years (+ 1 day!) apart. October 2015 & 2024. Flynn's changed quite a lot in appearance over the years... & even more so in behaviour. It's taken most of a lifetime but he's come a long, long way. At the time I took the first pic, Flynn was 2 years old & I'd had him about 8 months. He was effectively untouchable. Minor interactions were fraught with fear & stress - on both sides. I could just about put a harness on him for walks but that had to be done very carefully & no matter how careful I was, I was always risking a bite... Showing him physical affection was out of the question, Flynn could not tolerate it at all. He did like to play with me & was bonded to me, in that he'd follow me about & had no inclination to run off but he was so, so defensive & nervous that I'd do something painful or scary to him. He once came & sat beside me while I was sitting reading a book... I turned the page & Flynn caught sight of my hand moving, thought I was sneakily trying to reach for him & he immediately bit me several times, before running off to hide. Today, 11yr old Flynn is a greyer in the face & little slower & more achy than he used to be. But he is so much happier. He comes wiggling up to me for a brief, gentle "cuddle" each morning when we get up for breakfast, he sits for a comb most afternoons, wags his tail as he gets ready for a jacket to be put on whenever it's wet or cold, he actively seeks out physical contact when he's worried about dogs or vet visits, he leans into my touch when I scritch his neck... & when I bend down to tie my shoes before a walk, I have to watch out because I'm liable to get a tiny little sneaky lick on my nose! When Flynn's nearby & I move my hand, he simply assumes I'm offering a treat & he perks his ears, makes eye contact & then nudges my fingers with his nose.

[certifiedchickenposts]

scritches

[bmure]

A little live illustration practice to a recent Cog Dog Radio episode (as a guardian to two differently nervous dogs I’m always always intereated in these things)

[lifenconcepts]

FUN POLL FOR ALL MY FELLOW CANINEKIN AND THOSE WHO RESONATE WITH ANIMALS IN GENERAL !!

[blueboyluca]

I really enjoyed this podcast episode with Dr Clive Wynne. I’ve said before that I find him very compelling to listen to. I loved the way he distinguished between unproblematic and problematic anthropomorphism and for him it’s between emotions and cognition. I also really liked their discussion about dog training and how in the absence of good scientific research on training methods, the right thing is to be observant of our animals’ behaviour and be kind in our training. I would have liked them to discuss ideas like those put forward in Dr Friedman’s paper ‘What’s Wrong With This Picture? Effectiveness is Not Enough’ but I know that’s an essay not a research paper.

[a-dog-like-that]

I'm considering getting some of those programmable buttons for Xivu

Not to teach her to "talk", I'm more then sceptical of that whole concept and how wildly people purport interpret what's happening, while also seemingly ignoring a lot of their dogs natural communication (yes, not all of them and all that, but that's not actually what the post is about).

But she's being wearing her coat a lot recently and I always have to guess if she's too cold or too hot. I have a decent feeling for it by now, but that's likely gonna change as she (hopefully) grows a thicker winter coat.

Wanting the coat taken off or put on is also not the type of thing that lends itself to just observing the dogs natural behaviour. If I wait until she's curled up tight or panting for a while (she'll often pant for a few seconds after waking up from sleep), she might have been uncomfortable for a while already.

I remember reading about the study that taught horses to communicate whether they wanted to have their blankets put on, taken off or no change. So it's possible to teach this concept, the buttons are only to make sure I notice her communication, if we ever get to her doing it without promoting.

I think @konmari-dogs, you were experimenting with something like that years ago? Did that ever go anywhere?

[unreadpoppy]

So i´m not the greatest at dog behaviour and I think this question is too specific so I´ll just pray someone here knows better. The TLDR is: when my brother walks with Malta (one of our dogs), she will bark and try to jump at other dogs on the stree. I walked with her today, we passed by 7/8 dogs, and she only barked a little at one (and it was because the other dog barked at her first). Is there any explanation?

Context: I have 3 dogs, but we only walk 2 of them, cause the other one is a senior dog and he gets tired real fast so we rather not risk it (and he also never really liked walking to begin with anyways). The dogs we walk, Malta and Billy, are 8 and 3 respectively, and while their not bitters, they do tend to bark. A lot. They are also like medium sized dogs (no specific breed cause one we rescued them from the streets). My brother is the one who always walks with them, because he is strong enough to do so (Billy is a very strong dog and very hyper, so it´s hard for me to control him on the leesh without getting tired fast, while Malta is very chill). A few times I have gone with him and I walked with Malta, and I´ve seen first hand her getting very nervous with other dogs on the street (even though all of them were with their owners). My brother and I made a deal that I´d go out with the dogs, but I made two rules: I´d go only with Malta and it would be at the time I wanted.

The thing is, my brother walks the dogs at like 7/8 pm, and we live in a dangerous city, so I do not feel safe walking alone with the dogs at night (especially with one of them who i have a harder time controlling). The reason he goes so late it´s because at this time there a fewer people on the street. Today I walked only with Malta, doing the same course my brother does, but it was at 5 pm, while the sun was still out. And as soon as we stepped outside, she spotted another person with a dog.

At first, I didn´t even realise there was a dog there, I jsut noticed after I saw her ears picking up. I just held onto her leash a bit more firmly and wrapped more of it around my wrist, didn´t say anything and just kept walking. Malta did nothing. She just looked at the dog for a bit but she soon looked forward again, completely not bothered. And then we passed by like 6 other dogs, and again, I did the same stuff, and she did not react.

There was one dog tho, that because of his size, I think it was a puppy, that when we passed close to him began barking at Malta. Since I was already holding on firmly to her leash, when she began barking, I used a more strengh to urge her forward. She barked like 2 times and let go and we kept walking. We even passed by the same puppy again, and this time his owner noticed us before and put the puppy in between his legs and started to talk to him, so when we passed by them, neither one of our dogs barked. We even walked behind a dog for a good portion of the course and she wasn´t bothered by it.

Does anyone know why she seems to react this way with my brother but be completely chill with me?

Also, we never formely trained our dogs to not react. Like when they interact with other dogs, we are always paying close attention, and we will intervene if something happens, but they never got into trouble with any dog besides just barking and playful fighting (again, if I felt it became too rough, I would pull my dog aside).

I know we could have socialized them better, but they are mostly stay at home dogs (none of them are of breeds that need constant going outside besides like walking once per day so they exercise a bit and they do mostly like staying at home anyways and since we have 3, they play with each other at home).

[freyavlocke]

Calming Down an Excited Puppy: Effective Techniques for Peaceful Playtime

Over excited pup? It's a common struggle and you can overcome it. #dogs #puppies

Every puppy owner knows the joy and occasional chaos an excited puppy can bring into a home. Puppies are full of boundless energy, often leaving their owners wondering how to manage their exuberance. To calm an excited puppy, providing consistent training, providing enrichment, engaging them in play to channel their energy, and ensuring they get enough rest are key steps. These will not only help…

[tooboredtothinkofaname]

[lemonade-luvr]

@soweli-musi

funniest shit is going down on discord rn

[lifenconcepts]

Don’t blame a dog for its natural instructs and mental understanding that it’s trying to protect the one it loves. So what if we’re annoyed with its insistent barking towards others? it’s doing it’s job and it hopes to defend you. how can you explain that we live in a world were solitude is a privilege and we’re a pack which is made to live close with one another, forming a society that forces us to be in close proximity with one another, not needing any guarding.

The behaviours so commonly frowned upon being but mere instincts and hold animalistic logic! They aren’t idiotic, as they hold at least some reasoning, even if to us they seem problematic.

Dog barking at mailman? They are threatening your territory. Watching you go to the bathroom? They want to make sure you’re safe when in such a vulnerable situation. Whine when you are at work? They simply can’t understand where you go and for so long, it’s practically days to them, anything could happen, and they wouldn’t be there, what if you’re in danger and need their help. Bring de/d animals? They just want to show you that they appreciate your effort and kindness to which you feed them, and want to give you the same love too by feeding you! Peeing on everything in the garden? They want to make sure the other animals know that this territory is protected and so they don’t bother you. Bite guests? They’re strangers, ofcourse they need to protect you.

[tea-maker]

This is a very interesting point but also. I think a lot of people are pushed into these abusive behaviours, even though it very much does not feel good.

When I adopted my first personal dog (as opposed to the family dog), he was 1.5 years old, more than half my body weight, and terrified of a lot of things. And I was pretty clueless at the time, enough that I semi-believed in the methods of people like Cesar Millan - I did a lot of research, but it was the wrong kind, from absolutely terrible sources. So I tried being harsh and assertive, and very quickly discovered that I couldn't.

That dog was big and strong, but also adorable and trusting. He let me touch his paws and wash him on our first day together even though he was scared, and made me feel safe while he gently held my forearm in his mouth. I think the fact that his biggest limitation was fear taught me so much. There was no other option but to love him. Jerking on the leash felt like the worst kind of betrayal. I hated the thought of muzzling him, of using a short leash, because it was already so damn difficult to keep him happy and carefree in an environment that wasn't suited to his needs (a city).

I think a lot of people instinctively respect creatures that depend on them (dogs, children), but society pushes unrealistic expectation on them and gives them the worst tools possible to meet them.

“When I first heard it, from a dog trainer who knew her behavioral science, it was a stunning moment. I remember where I was standing, what block of Brooklyn’s streets. It was like holding a piece of polished obsidian in the hand, feeling its weight and irreducibility. And its fathomless blackness. Punishment is reinforcing to the punisher. Of course. It fit the science, and it also fit the hidden memories stored in a deeply buried, rusty lockbox inside me. The people who walked down the street arbitrarily compressing their dogs’ tracheas, to which the poor beasts could only submit in uncomprehending misery; the parents who slapped their crying toddlers for the crime of being tired or hungry: These were not aberrantly malevolent villains. They were not doing what they did because they thought it was right, or even because it worked very well. They were simply caught in the same feedback loop in which all behavior is made. Their spasms of delivering small torments relieved their frustration and gave the impression of momentum toward a solution. Most potently, it immediately stopped the behavior. No matter that the effect probably won’t last: the reinforcer—the silence or the cessation of the annoyance—was exquisitely timed. Now. Boy does that feel good.”

— Melissa Holbrook Pierson, The Secret History of Kindness (2015)

[a-dog-like-that]

Xivu was a little bit more restless/bark-y the last few days.

I thought it was due to boredom cause I haven't been feeling well and therefore we didn't do much training.

But it has been getting colder and today I put a sweater on her and ever since she's just been deeply asleep.

Poor baby was just cold.

I am still hoping she'll grow more of a winter coat, but for now it seems like somewhere around 24°C room temperature is when she gets cold. (Especially on cloudy days).

I feel bad for not catching it, but it's a huge adjustment coming from Magali who thought everything over 15°C was too hot.

But it seems like barking more is really the first indicator that she's not feeling well physically, in hindsight that's been the case every single time.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Dog Meshi.

[freyavlocke]

How Ceri the Cocker Spaniel Stopped Barking at Strangers and Overcame Her Fears.

How we helped a gorgeous #cockerspaniel stop barking at strangers in enclosed spaces

A confidence-building success story about an anxious little dog whose barking at strangers and new people was affecting her life. Meet Ceri* the anxious Cocker Spaniel. Kam* came to me in August 2024, seeking help for her beautiful Cocker Spaniel, Ceri. Ceri had problems feeling safe around new people. This was especially true in enclosed or smaller spaces. She was also very protective of Kam…