I don’t know why I haven’t read this before. This book is great, it goes into a lot of how you can improve your handling to improve your dog. It’s in nice simple english and if you haven’t read it I really encourage you too because it covers the less-talked about part of dog training - training the human!
This book is about managing a multi-dog household. It’s easily understood and doesn’t get too technical. It describes situations then gives you ideas on both how to prevent it from happening, and when it does happen, what to do. This is something I appreciate, while prevention is all well and good, sometimes you want to know what to do when it happens anyway!
We are a pretty cruisey double dog household these days but it is still a good read. I just wish I had read it before I doubled my dogs lmao.
The biggest con of this book is how significantly overpriced it is and how difficult it is to acquire. Seriously overpriced. The content itself is fascinating. Where else can I read the legal complaints about a neighbours barking dogs from the 12th century? Where else can I read complaints about the sullying of purity and the demise of the purebred in the 16th century? It’s the same old dog complaints, across all of life, and I love it.
This is book, I promise. 800 pages of research done by a man between 1920-1940 on the genetic inheritance of assorted dog features. The documentation is stunning. If you like reading about the basenji-spaniel study, or the bobtailed boxer breeding program, or the LUA dalmations. You’re probably going to like this. There’s lots of photos. It covers inheritance of behaviour, of phenotype, of thyroid function. It also dabbles into glands and desexing at assorted ages. Honestly, it’s quite a bit ahead of its time. You like dog breeding and inheritance? Read it.
Top 5 studies
The majority of dog studies I looked at this year can probably summarised into four main topics: cancer, desexing, scent detection and electric collars. I think I read less research than last year, probably because it’s been a stressful year for me. I’m hoping I can get back into it in 2019.
Obviously a topic of thought since the boy got neutered this year. One measure of concern for me was if it would affect aggression levels, specifically in spaniel breeds. The current consensus tho, in a dog being desexed at >18 months which was I own, it is not likely to increase aggression. (Bonus study on aggression factors in ESSs)
I have a translated copy if anyone would like to read. Original is german. It is, as it reads, a literature review across the latest research on the pros and cons of desexing. There are more pros in general for a female over a male. I can’t summarise it, there’s too many factors. I found the pros more compelling than the cons. Incidentally, it found no research yet been done into fur changes although anecdotal run at about 20% of dogs might have a coat change.
But then, I’m prob one of the few people looking forward to the thickening of the mohawk if we get that particular “con”. His cousin has neuter coat. It’s glorious.
Whether you agree or disagree with the use, this is an absolutely information and research filled piece of work that covers across a wide range of topics that I highly recommend reading. The first thing that comes to my mind, after reading this, was that I had no idea dog skin is thinner and more sensitive than human skin. There were lots of other takeaways and latest research as well but that one stood out to me. I also think, out of all the studies I’ve read this year, this one will probably have the largest impact on advancing research.
This is an analysis on why shelter and rescues decide to (or decide not to) bring in dogs from outside their area for adoption. There are many reasons why shelters switch dogs between pounds and worth reading if you want to understand how shelters work.
Why do people choose the methods they do? Obviously a variable topic, but this delves into why people are so eager to jump to correction based training when there are similarly effective options available that are less stressful on the dogs. It basically came down to knowledge, availability of education, unregulated dog trainers cough ceasar cough. I’m optimistic that we can slowly improve people’s dog handling.
Top 5 facebook groups
Ah facebook, so useful yet so hard to find consistently useful groups. My view on these groups may change later but at current I’m really enjoying:
The average person doesn’t know shit about genetics and phenotypes, so this is a good group for all those questions and learning about them in a way that personally matters to them! Embark scientists lurk and will sometimes give answers. Also, a great way to see a wide variety of mixed breeds and purebreds.
It’s a dog fitness group without the racism and prong obsessions. Many of these dogs are also recovering from injuries, so you can get a lot of ideas on strengthening specific areas of a dog safely. There’s also loads of dog-only room setsups that I am so very envious of. Perhaps my garage?
This one is probably my favourite. I’ve only been in the group a month or so, but it has lots of interesting discussions around training, behaviour, health. There is a requirement to say what POV you are writing from which I really appreciate? There is an absolute wealth of creative thinking and people are willing to try and help you think out of the box if you want to try something different.
I used to post in this one a lot from the australian archives, but didn’t have the time this year. It is, as it says, photos of dogs across history. Oh how they have changed!
This is a newer group, and it is not very active yet. It reminds me of the collared scholar group except the challenge videos are shorter and much less aggravating to “get to the point”. I remain hopeful, and in the meantime the existing challenge videos are still pretty damn neat. Challenge videos are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced so you can start learning or reinforcing each skill at your relevant level. I like them.
Special shoutout to the Aussie springer group and the Dogs with Cancer Support group. Even though the latter is absolutely chock a block with bullshit pseudoscience which resulted in the death of one dog while I was there (and the person advocating that treatment and selling the “remedy” banned), it is very useful emotionally.
An oldie but a goodie. Thyme went through a few months of leash excitement and refreshing myself on this has been very useful to regaining his attention and self-control over novel items. I am very pleased with how he progressed. This stuff is good for excited teenagers as it is for the fearful, anxious and aggressive.
A concerted effort to track statistics across shelters has begun. It takes time to analyse data so there’s a couple of years lag but it is still interesting information to read.
Technically this is a list of names, but the method of choosing the pick of the litter has provided me endless joke opportunities. The short of it is the best dog has large soft ears, a long neck for the collar and the mother dog picks it first from the ring of fire.
A post about moderation, and how it’s not necessarily best to let a dog do their favourite thing over and over. This covers both exercise, enrichment activities, impact on mental and physical health and relaxation.
The puppy culture video series demonstrates videos on this, but the takeaway is that an adult dog who is good with puppies shapes them - not nips the back of their neck. I saw this a lot with Thistle, she may be selective with adult dogs but her tolerance of puppies is borderline endless. Her preferred shaping method is to just get up and leave. Or stand up and look away. It is incredibly effective.
Pets are expensive and if you can’t afford one, of course, doesn’t get one, but the conversation shouldn’t end there. We need to help low-income people be able to keep their pets somehow. Landlords being more open to them is a start, but also financial aid for pet food, vet care, etc.
Yes, I do think we should have financial aid programs for low-income people with pets. I’m tired of this rhetoric where we just scream at poor people for wanting a dog instead of finding ANY ways to help them keep one.
I get what you’re saying, but why do we just END it there?
I am currently living in a place where we are allowed to have our dog so although I’m not in a rush to move, I’m finding it very difficult to find ANY apartments in my entire town, and the surrounding three areas that accept animals. In my opinion, this is a problem. This does not help animals get adopted, it’s assisting in the issue of animals being surrendered to shelters in the first place, which is what I am getting at in my post. It would be helpful to renters and animals if more landlords were accepting of dogs.
Big ones are so often denied a home. This is an ongoing problem and it being so widespread is only contributing to animals being surrendered to shelters. Choosing to stay where I am despite wanting to move is a choice I have to make, thankfully it’s a choice that I am ALLOWED to make. Not everyone gets so lucky, and there are plenty of situations where animals wind up having to be surrendered, it’s not a choice people make eagerly. This hurts low-income people the most, who have to choose between their family pet, or having a roof over their heads. Now before you jump on my post accusing me of telling poor people to get pets, you’re wrong, that’s not what I’m saying at all so slow down and re-read it.
Bottom line: We need more pet-friendly housing and a program for low-income people to help with food, vet-care, medication, and other things they might need. We should point people towards these programs instead of shouting them down if they so much as THINK about owning a dog while being low-income. Some people have pets but need a little help from one month to the next with food or medication, and accidents/emergencies happen. We would have more houses, and better, happier homes for people and animals if we implemented these policies.
This is actually something I was thinking about the other day.
Perhaps, it’d probably be good if, when registering your dog, perhaps that would also automatically sign you up to have necessary vaccines and such done, like rabies, parvo, heartworms, at least one checkup, etc, for free (or rather, paid by the town/state, i suppose?). It’d be taken out of the registration fee, basically. So vets would get paid, and you could use the Registration itself to go get those done.
Because while those are obviously basic needs, they’re also things that help not Only that animal’s owners, but the surrounding ones as well. By all means, it would only help people if those were included with registering your dog.
How many hours a day do you spend exercising Happy? What do you usually do for exercise? Every time I hear Malinois someone pops in and says you can’t have one unless you exercise them 25 hours a day
So this is a tricky question. The average Malinois probably doesn’t need to run 20 miles a day and play uphill fetch for three hours on top of that to have their basic exercise requirements met. People who make claims like that in Facebook groups are using their dogs as a status symbol. But equally lame are people who acquire a breed prized for its appetite for work, and then ask, “hmmm, what’s the bare minimum I can get away with here.” Dogs are amazingly adaptable, yeah, but like. If someone’s primary reaction isn’t “hell yes drive and energy for daaaaaays I’ll be able to do SO MUCH with this dog” but rather “oh crap how am I ever going to wear out this dog enough on a daily basis so that they won’t permanently reduce the property value of my house”…….. there are so many breeds out there that better fit what they’re looking for!
A better metric than “how much” is “what.” Hearing someone does French Ring with their dog is much more informative than them breaking down their daily workout routine to the individual ball throw, y’know? My overarching goal of competing in Schutzhund with Happy requires 1. that she is fit and 2. that we train frequently. I have the schedule flexibility right now that what we do on a daily basis varies, but daily steps towards my goal means that she will get a lot of exercise, and that she will get a lot of training sessions. And “what” doesn’t have to be dog sports. A lot of the active companion people I’ve met do more than plenty of sport people. I met this flight nurse in Alaska who mountain biked with her Aussie several times a week. Her dog gets to trot miles through the Alaskan wilderness, running ahead of the bike to sniff and then sprinting to catch back up. Happy WISHES that was her day-to-day life. So do I, tbh.
Many people enjoy bolstering their own egos by going on and on about how challenging Malinois are, how only the very best and most elite trainers are capable of owning them. Stop it! Successfully owning Malinois does not make you super-human, and in fact, if you are having as many struggles as many of the authors suggest, you are probably not doing a very good job. Malinois are like high-powered sports cars—they are probably not the best daily driver for most owners, and getting the most out of them takes lots of skill, but with a modicum of thoughtfulness and willingness to adapt, most people can learn to handle them. And for people who are interested in learning and improving and doing lots with their dogs, there are few breeds more able to take them on an incredible journey through a diverse range of activities.
It takes a lot of work, but it’s mostly just commitment.
A better metric than “how much” is “what.” Hearing someone does French Ring with their dog is much more informative than them breaking down their daily workout routine to the individual ball throw.
This is an amazing and balanced compilation of studies on linebreeding and high COI with a focus on dogs. It’s a great and pretty easy read but just in case you don’t want to read it (and I’d highly recommend that you do!!!) I’ve highlighted some key quotes and graphics below.
Linebreeding effects puppy mortality and litter size
“For these breeds, those slopes are about 0.1, which means that an increase in inbreeding of 10% reduces litter size by about 1. If normal litter size is about 6, a COI of 30% - which is not uncommon in many breeds - would reduce the litter size by HALF.”
“(The litters) are likely to be smaller, less vigorous, have more birth defects and higher mortality, grow more slowing, have shorter lifespan, and of course increased incidence of genetic disorders caused by recessive mutations.”
“As inbreeding increases above 25%, the mortality increases, to about 30% for dogs with COI between 25-50%, and higher still as COI increases.”
Linebreeding also effects adult dogs’ longevity
Although this graphic is for Bernese mountain dogs specifically, “in Standard Poodles, dogs with inbreeding less than 6% live 4 years longer than those with higher COI, and the risk of bloat is roughly proportional to the increase in COI - a 10% increase in COI elevates the risk of bloat by about the same amount.”
“In Bernese Mountain Dogs, each 10% increase in COI reduces lifespan by 200 days. For a dog with COI of 30%, that’s a reduction in lifespan of almost two years.”
Summary
“As fertility goes down and litters get smaller, there are fewer animals born each generation, and those that are have an increased risk of genetic disorders, shorter lifespans, and general lack of vigor.”
“This becomes a negative feedback loop that is called “the extinction vortex”, and once a population heads down this path it can be very difficult to stop. Note again, that threshold for this vortex phenomenon is about COI = 10%.”
“Evidence of inbreeding depression and the other consequences of inbreeding are very evident - singleton litters, high rates of cancer in young dogs, allergies, and many other issues that seem to be “normal” in the breeding of dogs these days.
Advantages of Linebreeding
increased uniformity
“fixing” of desired traits and breed type
increased prepotency (ability to pass on traits to offspring)
Disadvantages of Linebreeding
lower fertility
lower “vigor”
birth defects
smaller size
fewer offspring
slower growth
higher offspring mortality
shorter lifespan
increase in genetic diseases
reduced “genetic potential” (ability to improve a trait)
I especially found the extinction vortex concept interesting!! Linebreeding doesn’t happen in the wild since there isn’t enough of an advantage to homogenization of that degree. A general rule of evolutionary bio is that if an animal has a deleterious trait that prevents them from reproducing, such as neural tube defects, they won’t have the chance to pass on their genetics and that deleterious trait will be removed from the gene pool, while deleterious traits that present at the end of life, such as cancer, stay in the gene pool. The combination of negative effects at birth prevent this from occurring naturally and the negative effects at maturity should prevent humans from choosing to linebreed, especially when studies like these are available.
I know this is so long and I’m sorry but I hope this makes sense and someone else finds it interesting!
…with a few simple installments of husbandry training!
What The Frack am I talking about? Husbandry training means getting animals to cooperate in their own care. Think horse who lifts its own foot to get its hoof picked. The good news? Everyone can do it to one degree or another. I’m not saying everyone is going to have their dogs doing voluntary vaccinations and blood work by tomorrow but even the small things add up in big ways.
The easiest thing to do? Teach your dog that petting isn’t just for their favorite spots. Teach them that humans like to play with their ears, rub their belly, scratch their chest, squeeze their tail, massage their paws, and stroke their whiskers. I do this anytime I’m watching Tv or a movie. When my dog settles next to me I start feeling her all over, starting with the areas she’s most comfortable with and moving to the peripheral areas. This accomplishes a whole list of things. i.e. I’m a lazy trainer and I love to find exercises that accomplish great things with vey little effort on my part.
*Social grooming is a great way to develop a bond with your dog. Its also a great way for humans and dogs to relax and enjoy each others company.
I taught this to my puppy class a few weeks ago and not one but TWO of my students came back the next week and told me what a difference it made for their puppies. One of them even said he puppy starts to fall asleep now when he works on handling with him!
*By familiarizing myself with every inch of my dog and “checking her” regularly, I notice new lumps, hair loss, and weight changes way before the regular pet owner would.
This is how I caught my dog’s Stage 0 cancer. I noticed a new lump and since it had just appeared I was able to watch it for a few days. A week later that lump lost all its hair and doubled in size. When I took her in I was able to tell the vet exactly when it appeared and how fast it had grown. By the time it was removed, it was still no bigger than a marble. This meant a much smaller surgery for her, quicker recovery, no cancer treatment required after surgery, and a smaller cost on my end.
*I build trust so I can administer first aid or assess the seriousness of an issue when necessary.
I can’t even tell you how many people I have spoken to in the few months of working at a vet clinic who can’t even remove a tick or a thorn from their own dog, much less check their dog’s paw pads or trim toenails. Meanwhile, my dog just let me put my fingers in her mouth and look all around for what was bothering her. I thought she might have broken a tooth, turns out she just got a bit of her chew toy stuck between her teeth and couldn’t pry it loose.
*Reduces the stress of being handled by another person. Dogs and humans that are less stressed at vet appointments tend to be more regular in coming in for yearly check ups and preventative care. They also tend to come in sooner, long before a problem has reached “dire emergency status”. Again…lower cost, less stress, and better healthcare for your pet.
A dog came into the vet clinic the other week with rotting teeth, ear infections, and a extremely severe maggot infestation because basic handling was so stressful that preventative care had lapsed to the point that the pet now needed sedation and hours of vet care. This is something that likely never would have happened with regular ear cleanings and tooth brushings at home.
*Dogs who are more comfortable with being touched and handled tend to get better care when they are at the vet since the vet can easily do a full exam, get all the blood they need, and can assess their behavior, without the use of sedation (or at least without as much sedation as the might typically need).
Every vet and vet tech that has handled my dogs remarks on how easy they are to handle. Even River (who being a Heeler X is pretty shifty about being handled) got compliments from the vet. We were also able to give vaccinations and get blood with no muzzle minimal restraint (the tech held her foot still while I distracted her). Less stress, less cost, more cookies. PS. I haven’t done all that much with her on husbandry. I’ve practiced a lot of petting and have done maybe 3 sessions of a duration use target. She really is a cobbler’s child.
*Reduces the stress of being touched anywhere but their back. Strangers and children in the park may occasionally (read: frequently) touch your dog on not their favorite spot. Practicing frequent handling also means that a lot of the feet touching that comes along with toenail trims becomes meaningless, because a human touching their feet doesn’t automatically mean toenail trim, it just means toe massages.
My dog and I have entertained countless children during summer concerts by letting them handle her feet. Have you ever talked to a child about the comparative anatomy of dewclaws “look kid, my dog has thumbs too!” or shown them a dog’s canine teeth. Imagine the amount of awe and empathy you can build in a small child just because your dog doesn’t mind their feet being stroked and tickled by strangers.
That isn’t even a comprehensive list. Nor is it the result of a monumental effort on my part. I pet my dog when I watch TV. I pet every inch of her, and I reap the benefits constantly.
As a volunteer keeper at my zoo, I am given so many opportunities to work with a variety of beautiful animals. The experience alone is extremely fulfilling, especially in instances where I encounter emerald green emu eggs.
are you sure that’s an emu egg my dude because i’m pretty sure that’s a dragon’s egg
