Posts Tagged ‘dogs’

Misi Beaucoupe here, and I found this article today and wanted to share with all my four legged friends.  Tell your Mommy and Daddy that you want them to take you for a walk.  Don’t forget to tell them to start out with short walks.  We don’t want them to be too sore to continue walking us.  Also them that if they take us for a walk we will sleep through the night, and we will be happy content doggies.

PS:  My mommy Barbie, and her staff can stop by during the day to take your dogs for a walk if you get to busy.

How Much Exercise Does Your Dog Need?

My friend, Tracy, likes to take her dogs on long walks and hikes with her. While they love the exercise, she said they were worn out after a few days in the mountains. In fact, after all the hiking, they were so exhausted that she was giving them a break and taking them only on short walks. It got me thinking, how much exercise does your dog need?

As it turns out, not all dogs require the same amount of exercise. Exercise needs have very little to do with size. Instead breed tends to count the most. For example Jack Russell Terriers and Shelties often begin to misbehave when given too few walks or hikes. On the other hand, a mastiff, and many other large dogs may be happy with a couple of daily walks in the park or a short game of Frisbee.

Surprisingly, little dogs require more exercise than larger dogs. And most of their exercise needs can be easily satisfied in an apartment or back yard. If your small dog has enough toys, or a dog or cat companion, he or she can generally meet all of his exercise needs. However, try to walk your dog on a daily basis too; dogs love to go outside and a walk is healthy for both the dog and its owner.

Mid-size breeds can also vary in their need for exercise. Dogs that are natural hunters or herders require more exercise. Beagles, hounds, border collies, Alaskan sled dogs, and Australian shepherds tend to be restless if cooped up. They need time to run around, catch and chase things, and to walk or jog.

Since many dogs are mixed breeds, it can be hard to know how much exercise this type of dog requires. If you get a mixed breed dog, you can watch his or her behavior. If your dog enjoys relaxing in the sun most of the day, he or she probably does not need as much exercise. On the other hand, if your dog seems restless and wanders around the house, he or she needs more exercise. And, of course, older dogs tend to need less daily exercise than do younger dogs.
Most dogs also require mental exercise. Dogs, like people, can get bored. Certain dogs get bored enough to become distracted and destroy your plants or eat your shoes! Toys that require some work or effort to reap the rewards are a great way to challenge your dog mentally. Further, daily interaction with your dog will help satisfy some of his or her mental exercise needs.
I always say that dogs, like people, can only benefit from daily exercise. But, some dogs (like some people) can be happy and healthy with a lesser amount of exercise. Look to your dog for signs as to whether he is satisfied with the exercise that you are giving him or her. But do remember that the more your dogs exercise during the day, the better they (and you) will sleep through the night.

Protective, Territorial, and Possessive Aggression

Protective, territorial, and possessive aggressions are all very similar and involve the defense of valuable resources.

Territorial aggression is usually associated with defense of property, and that “territory” may extend well past the boundaries of your yard.

• For example, if you regularly walk your dog round the neighborhood and allow him to urine mark, he may think his territory includes the entire block.

Protective aggression usually refers to aggression directed toward people or animal whom a dog perceives as threats to his family, or pack.

• Dogs become possessively aggressive when defending their food, toys, or other valued objects, including items as peculiar as tissues stolen from the trash.

Redirected Aggression

• This is a relatively common type of aggression but one that is often misunderstood by pet owners.
• If a dog is somehow provoked by a person or animal he is unable to attack, he may redirect this aggression onto someone else.
• For example, two family dogs may become excited and bark and growl in response to another dog passing through the front yard, or two dogs confined behind a fence may turn and attack each other because they can’t attack an intruder.
• Predation is usually considered to be a unique kind of aggressive behavior because it’s motivated by the intent to obtain food and not primarily by the intent to harm or intimidate.

Individual Variation

• The likelihood of a dog to show aggressive behavior in any particular situation varies markedly from dog to dog. Some dogs tend to respond aggressively with very little stimulation.
• Others may be subjected to all kinds of threatening stimuli and events and yet never attempt to bite.
• The difference in the threshold prompting aggressive behavior is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors.

o    If this threshold is low, a dog will be more likely to bite.

o   Raising the threshold makes a dog less likely to respond aggressively. This threshold can be raised using behavior modification techniques, but the potential for change is influenced by a dog’s gender, age, breed, general temperament, and the way in which the behavior modification techniques are chosen and implemented.

o   Because working with aggressive dogs can be potentially dangerous, behavior modification techniques should only be attempted by, or under the guidance of, an experienced animal-behavior professional who understands animal learning theory and behavior.

What You Can Do

• First, check with your veterinarian to rule out medical causes for the aggressive behavior.
• Seek professional advice. An aggression problem will not go away by itself. Working with aggression problems requires in-home help from an animal-behavior specialist.
• Take precautions. Your first priority is to keep people and other animals safe. Supervise, confine, or restrict your dog’s activities until you can obtain professional guidance.
• You are liable for your dog’s behavior. If you must take your dog out in public, consider a cage-type muzzle as a temporary precaution, and remember that some dogs are clever enough to get a muzzle off.
• Avoid exposing your dog to situations where he is more likely to show aggression. You may need to keep him confined to a safe room and limit his contact with people.
• If your dog is possessive of toys or treats or territorial in certain locations, prevent access and you’ll prevent the problem.
• In an emergency, bribe him with something better than what he has. For example, if he steals your shoe, trade him the shoe for a piece of chicken.
• Spay or neuter your dog. Intact dogs are more likely to display dominance, territorial, and protective aggressive behavior.

What NOT to Do

• Punishment won’t help and, in fact, will often make the problem worse. If the aggression is motivated by fear, punishment will make your dog more fearful, and therefore more aggressive. Attempting to punish or dominate a dominant-aggressive dog may actually lead him to escalate his behavior to retain his dominant position. This is likely to result in a bite or a severe attack.
• Punishing territorial, possessive, or protective aggression is likely to elicit additional defensive aggression.
• Don’t encourage aggressive behavior. Playing tug-of-war or wrestling games encourages your dog to attempt to “best” you or “win” over you, which can lead to a dominance aggression problem. When dogs are encouraged to “go get ‘em” or to bark and dash about in response to outside noises or the approach of a person, territorial and protective aggressive behavior may result.

Adapted from material originally developed by applied animal

behaviorists at the Dumb Friends League, Denver, Colorado.

©2000 Dumb Friends League and ©2003 The HSUS.

All rights reserved.

Related topics at http://www.petsforlife.org/

_ Dealing with a Dominant Dog

Promoting the Protection of All Animals