Category Archives: Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

August 13, 2016 AniEd Ireland

In many contexts humping is normal dog behaviour, albeit a little embarrassing for their people; here are 5 reasons your dog loves to hump!

It’s that time of year again…4 ways to prep your dog for Back to School!

There are very few truly tested car harness or crates for dogs and keeping your dog safe in the car is difficult as there are no standards, as there are for human safety features:

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Some excellent advice for preparing your dog for vet visits – start practicing now, rather than waiting for an emergency of illness!
White coats and doctors and needles, oh my!

Recent research showed that parents are quite likely to leave dogs and children unsupervised together, and despite supervision being heavily promoted, it’s probably not enough: Supervising dogs and children to prevent bites

Being aware of the dangers that dogs can pose and understanding canine body language may help to prevent and diffuse tense situations: Good dogs don’t bite, do they?

But “supervision” isn’t enough – parents, pet owners, and children must be taught appropriate behaviours to help keep interactions safe and happy.
Here’s a fab little clip for kids and adults on appropriate greeting tips:

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Losing a pet hits you hard: When my dog Lucky died, I disappeared too
But we can make the end easier for them by planning it with the veterinary team (still really hard for us, though): Even the perfect euthanasia still hurts

Here’s some cheering up: If animals could talk…

Growling is important, meaningful communication from your dog, and information for you; don’t switch it off!

Yes, the summer is just about over but no reason you still can’t enjoy 10 of the best dog-friendly spots in Ireland!
Just remember, not all dogs want to be right in the thick of it, so give your dog some space from the goings on, hang out just you and him and bring plenty of rewards to keep him interested in you 🙂

Some dogs just can’t say no (P.S we can help you and your dog with this…):

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Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

August 9, 2016 AniEd Ireland 2 Comments

Ireland is unfortunately known as the ‘Puppy Farm Capital of Europe’ 😦 more here on this booming but damaging industry, and the difficulties in its curbing: Sad realities of our domestic puppy-farming industry

Lovely tips here on photographing adoptable dogs: Hit ’em with your best shot

Leave-it is part of some vital training all dogs need for real-world reliability:

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“Leave-it” means move away from that thing, and re-orient to your human.

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Some life hacks for cat owners, may be helpful for all pet owners too!

Jumping up hacks:

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Top Ten Tips to Become a Successful Animal Trainer, from Dr D!

Acknowledging your dog’s alert barking can certainly be more effective than just yelling at them: The nifty trick that stopped my dog’s alert barking

Some awesome training here:

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Communication is a 2-way street: Dogs and our facial expressions

The equine version of our favourite grooming hack:

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Just how we define our relationships with dogs? Are we failing dogs?

It doesn’t really matter what word you use for your recall cue, but you do need to take care of and associate it with your dog’s absolute favourite rewards; the Bacon Recall:

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Oh jeepers…

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Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

August 7, 2016 AniEd Ireland

Well, it is Sunday… #justrestingmyeyes

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Puppies are a joy – with early training (and preparation) it’s a lot of fun; getting that early training in will help make adolescence a little easier to survive…
Puppyhood goes quickly so enjoy it!
Some tips to help with puppy problems: How to survive puppy teething & nipping and Housetraining basics

The Kids are Alright…but parents, pet owners and YouTubers need to do a better job protecting kids and dogs.

Really nice door manners demo:

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“My dog did that just to annoy me!” – yeah, that’s not true…

Luring is a straightforward way to get behaviours, especially for novice trainers but as your skill improves you might rely on luring less for teaching new behaviours; it’s use a management tool will likely continue: Legit Luring

Dogs for rehoming are often promoted as being a perfect sports dog prospect; but it’s more complex than that…
Identifying sport dog candidates in shelters and rescues, Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3

….ok, back to work:

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Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

August 3, 2016 AniEd Ireland

Fitness programs are not just for dogs recovering from illness or injury; putting them in place when healthy can prevent injury – Sustained trotting for healthy dogs
Get trotting!

Be more (this) dog:

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Help for dogs who may show discomfort when left alone – it’s also a great idea to implement this with puppies too to prevent more serious separation-related behaviour developing: Training Fido that calm makes you return from Dr Yin.

Providing your dog with a lovely home, comfy bed and good food is only a small part of your role – it’s most important that our pets’ behavioural and emotional needs are met…Is your pet lonely and bored? and Are pets as happy as their owners think they are?

A whole playlist on dog body language from Doggone Safe:

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Pass it on!

Getting loose leash walking right is TOUGH! Here are 5 things you might be doing that is hampering your progress.

Your trainer doesn’t want to push your dog, causing him to rehearse unwanted behaviour – especially when that behaviour may cause distress or physical harm: That’s My Job! Really?

Not much cuter than a puppy-pinwheel:

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While it’s good that ‘socialisation’ has become a well-known requirement in rearing healthy puppies and dogs, getting it wrong can be as disastrous as not doing enough of it: Don’t Socialise the Dog!

You don’t need to be a pack leader – Re-arranging metaphors for dogs!

Knowing what’s normal allows you ascertain the urgency of deviations: What is normal dog temperature, heart rate and respiration?

Dogs with credit…:

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Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

May 9, 2016 AniEd Ireland 2 Comments

Often times a pet owner will presume that a bite or growl has come out of ‘nowhere’ or that their dog is absolutely ‘fine’ in a situation; but this is often not the case, as is illustrated in this piece: A Second Look

A good place to start developing a better understanding of such situations is with canine body language and signaling; this is an excellent resource to get started with: Introduction to Dog Body Language from Silent Conversations.

Sneezing and Reverse Sneezing in dogs – something to be concerned about?

fMRI is giving us some exciting insights into how dogs’ brains work plus all the dogs in Berns’ studies have been trained to willing participants in the MRI work – check some of their training and work in this clip:

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Here’s a handy chart to figure out your dog’s age from WebMD.

We don’t have all the answers but these might be the reasons behind these 5 odd dog behaviours!

Now, it’s no excuse but we may have found a contributory reason for such a high proportion of these dogs to have a tendency to put on weight so easily: Why is my dog fat? (with link to full article)

A great clip clearly explaining the use of counterconditioning to help your pet to cope better with new, exciting or scary situations:

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Have a conversation with your dog: Conversations with River

Good dishwashing advice from a vet and don’t forget to get your dog’s dinner out of those bowls (Kongs can go in the dishwasher too!).

For those pet lovers with green fingers here’s some gardening advice for pet friendly gardens.

Are you looking forward to the release of this film as much as we are?

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Hey! Just have fun:

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Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

April 28, 2016 AniEd Ireland

Another busy week with lots of goodies from around the web…

Always worth a share, far and wide: Doggone Safe educational images

And start prepping for dogs and babies before baby comes home, with these great tips!

Eric Brad looks at how to Stay Interesting to your Dog and More Ways to Stay Interesting to your Dog

Lovely clear resource on rabbit behaviour (yes, rabbits – we’re not just dogs, dogs, dogs) from the RSPCA.

Teach your dog better self-control by gradually increasing the challenge to build his patience as shown in this lovely clip.

Science + dogs matters, here’s why!

Life is short, go play with your dog! Here’s 4 tips for engaging your new rescue dog in play, and not just for new dogs or rescue dogs!

The canine face of patience and tolerance:

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This is a pretty good list: 6 books every dog owner should read

More awesome dogs, these ones protecting elephants!

Shed a tear for Dayko, a search and rescue dog, who has died after rescuing people after an earthquake in Equador – rest easy Dayko

Two minutes of lovlieness: The Dog & The Butcher

Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

April 23, 2016 AniEd Ireland

Baby on the way? Or even potentially on the way? Get preparing and to start you off here is an excellent piece from Family Paws: Carry a doll? Should we practice?

Such a simple but great way of providing enrichment for cats, and I am certain that some dogs would enjoy this too, maybe with bigger and even stiffer bristles:

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All dogs growl, it’s normal dog behaviour! Here are 5 steps to deal with dog growling

Dogs may growl in situations where they experience anxiety, distress or fright: Is your dog stressed? Watch for these signs.

Recent work suggests that dogs may be able to see a broader spectrum of light than previous thought: Can dogs see in UV?

Time for a treat? Biscotti for your puppy!

Playing with your dog is incredibly important in terms of developing and maintaining your relationship and there has been a little bit of work looking at dog-human play; here’s a covering of recent work in this area highlighting some of the best ways to play!

There are lots of challenges when it comes to training dogs, staying interesting to your dog goes a long way to helping.

Food puzzles are not just for dogs but some dogs will benefit from some of the ideas here too: Food Puzzles for Cats

BATDOG Vs SUPERDOG:

Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

April 16, 2016 AniEd Ireland

More woofs!

We are all about making walks more interesting and have written about it here and looked at in a couple of training videos too here and:

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Check out this great clip with some lovely ideas from Muttamorphosis:

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Specific ingredients are often present in dog attacks to humans, the impact of many being preventable. This excellent piece looks at the building of a dangerous dog, in a pretty direct manner.

What would it look like if we treated other people we don’t know, like we do strange dogs? Would our expectations of dog behaviour change…?

(language advisory for this one)

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We couldn’t blame these people for objecting to this harassment, yet may subject dogs to this and expect them not only to tolerate it, but to enjoy it. Not fair!

Reframing is key to many of life’s challenges, including some dog training challenges too: Training mindfully

Dogs have such an entwined relationship with humans that they have apparently evolved a heightened awareness for our emotional states:

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Nail clipping is often dreaded by both people and pets, but just how important is cutting your dog’s nails, really?
Teach your dog to be more comfortable with nail clipping, rather than just managing their behaviour with help from this lovely clip:

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Please share this clip with dog owners and parents: My dog growled at my baby…help!

Willy the Pug chooses to work for his food, rather than take that same food for free from a bowl – dogs are contrafreeloaders!

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Even Willy thinks food bowls are a bad idea!

40 Awesome Guinea Pig tricks from cutie Ceico – awesome training, great relationship and so much fun!
And here’s his pal Ace doing some scentwork – not just for dogs!

Dogs + trampolines = lots of fun!

Pretty sure we’ve all had days where we felt like this persistent dog…

What do you get when you add Whippet puppies to a box…? watch and find out *melt*

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Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

April 15, 2016 AniEd Ireland

So many awesome woofs from around the web, let’s get started!

Lots of interesting pointers here to help tell if our dog has a muscle injury.

Just like humans, visual acuity in dogs declines with age but dogs are more likely to become nearsighted, according to a recently published report. This may account for changes in responsiveness and other behavioural responses. Summary of this work here.

Some excellent tips: Creating a canine travel emergency kit

We all want our dogs to be happy so here are 10 things to avoid as many dog don’t like them, and here are 16 things you should stop doing in order to be happy with your dog because your happiness is important too; enjoy your dog and be happy together!

Talk about keeping ’em happy…here are 19 easy dog treat recipes!

You know your pet best and if you suspect that they are a little off, it’s a good idea to have a chat with the vet. Here are 5 surprising signs your pet might need to see a vet.

And to keep that vet visit and treatment as stress-reduced as possible this post offers a wealth of resources on doing just that: Less stress at the vets for dogs and cats

A nice straight forward piece here, Are Muzzles Cruel?…let me give you a hint…NO!

Some pets are just super helpful…

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They will always be your best friend… (tissues needed)

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And here’s what it would look like if donkeys had Skype…

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Congratulations to Lucca, an explosives detection dog, receives the Dickin Award, after serving with the US Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan and losing a leg – go Lucca!

Weekly Woofs from the Web

Weekly Woof from the Web

April 4, 2016 AniEd Ireland

More woofing to make up for the lack of Woofs last week!

The fantastic Jessie is still looking for her forever home!

Detail of an amazing piece of work, run by Morris Animal Foundation since last year, involving 3000 Golden Retrievers and their owners hoping to shed more and more light on genetic disease, particularly related to cancers in these dogs, all dogs and people too: San Jose dogs, owners join DNA studies to help find cures

Bloat or GDV, is a scary and often fatal condition particularly affecting large dogs (especially Great Danes) and one long surrounded in mystery. Works commissioned in the last few years is progressing to provide more information on the possible genetic basis of this and related conditions; a summary of this fascinating and not yet published work here.
Never heard of bloat or not sure what it looks like? Check out this piece on identifying the signs of bloat.

Hopefully we haven’t scared you too much about bloat, but here are 8 ways your pet can help relive your stress
And certainly the pet-person relationship can be beneficial for all-round health; read this heartwarming story about a 90 year old woman (who) declines chemotherapy, chooses to spend her final days travelling with her dog. Both Ringo & Norma are lucky to have one another, for however long.

Teaching your dog to settle on a mat is a vital skill; here’s a great starter clip:

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Here a couple of ideas for YUMMY homemade treats: Easy-peasy 4 ingredient dog treats and Homemade frozen peanut butter banana dog treats

Dogs who are trained for the highly stressful and difficult job of being an assistance dog are very carefully selected, produced, reared and trained – this is not a job that any or every dog can do; read the ups and downs of such a journey here.

Losing a beloved pet is never easy (in fact, it downright sucks!) and grieving is an important part of the process: After pets pass and What you need to know about grief & losing a pet
And if you have to make that awful, hard decision here are 5 tips for preparation.

When we keep dogs as pets they are living in a foreign land; take some time to learn a little about their communication behaviour (I am sure that you have noticed that they can read humans pretty well!):