Cause and Effect

While consulting on a case this week the perfect blog post appeared in my lap.

When you are suddenly dealing with behavior issues with your pet it is very important to consult a vet first. They are an important partner is the lifetime care of an animal. You have a whole cast of people that should be involved. You need a great vet, groomer (don't just stop in at the local pet store), pet sitter (check out Pet Sitters International), and of course your trainer (and yes I do mean your trainer, human. As training a lot of times is more about training the owner rather than the dog. But alas that is a post for another day.)

The case this week was with an older dog that was a rescue and had been adopted out 5 months ago. Prior to being adopted out he had spent 6 months in foster care due to being heartworm positive and going through treatment. After recovery he spent three months searching for the right family. He was playful, friendly, loved playing ball and playing with kids. I spent Christmas with him and six other dogs and he was the most mellow of them all. Zero food , people, or animal aggression. He was adopted in January to a family with a little boy. In fact the first week they had him the little boy was super sick and he laid at the end of his bed the entire time. Fast forward tho last week when the the family called and reported that 3 weeks ago the dog started nipping and becoming distant. I immediately knew it was one of two things-he was being mistreated or he was sick.

I asked if they had been taken to the vet---answer not yet. I said make an appointment immediately. My gut told me this was not behavioral. Answer: It wasn't that he was sick. He is being cared for now and hopefully on the way to recovery. AGAIN VETS ARE YOUR PARTNER!

When looking at animal behavior realize that behavior of an animal is almost always a "reaction to stimulus". Something is creating behavior. In this case it was medical. In another case it might be fear of something that we do not recognize because we are so focused on the negative behavior we forget to look at "causes". I have had a dog that was presenting with OCD type issues and it turned out he was afraid of the ceiling fans in the house. The minute they were off he became a normal dog again.

Cesar Photo by Elisa Mattonen

Pictured above is not the dog in question but my sister's dog Cesar. He is a rescue from Northern California

Lucy's Day Out With Girl Scouts

What a dog day for us!
Lucy spent the day with Girl Scouts at Spirit of Nebraska. She worked with about 50 Daisies on animal care & safety. Lucy loves children so she was tapped to go early on. She is quite easy going, behaves, and most importantly she sees to understand children. Lucy has an ability to understand human language and behavior. She also loves to get her picture taken and posed for like 20 pictures today.

It is so important to teach children from a young age the responsibilities of owning a pet and also how to behave around them. I see a lot of inappropriate interaction between children and animals because neither have been taught how to coexist. If we do this early on and continue as both human and animal grow there are few chances for children to get bitten or a family being forced to surrender a pet.

Unfortunately not every person is a responsible pet owner. Additionally, not every animal likes people. Those being the realities is it up to us to teach children on how to be around animals; both their family pet and unknown pets.

I do an education program through my rescue(Camp BoBe). If you do not have a program in your area and want to work with your kids on these things Best Friends have some GREAT resources on their Best Friends Network NextGen page

Lucy and Ethel

Yesterday you met Titi and Tori today I will introduce their "cousins", Lucy and Ethel. They are Golden Retrievers and true litter mates. The are a riot. Lucy is very reserved and loves children. She is super smart and her problem solving ability is amazing.

Ethel is...well...Ethel. She is very in vocal and demanding of attention. She is also a very lovely girl. She loves her mama and wants nothing more than to cuddle in her lap.

Here is there video enjoy!

Introductions

First entry here so let me introduce myself and tell you a little bit about my purpose.

My name is Heather Anne. I am a certified Animal Behaviorist. I love watching animal behavior and letting them tell me about their world. My goal is within the next 2-3 years to open an animal sanctuary. I have been training with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I am heading back in July for continued training.

First off this blog is all about animals. Yup those furry creatures that make our lives better. (As I write this I observe that one of my border collies is sleeping with her head on her huge dog bed and her body on the floor under my dresser...must be a storm coming.)

I currently have two dogs Matilda and Victoria, or as they prefer, Titi and Tori. The are a mother daughter duo that I rescued from Kansas City, MO. A farmer's land was being forclosed on and in his words, "they weren't worth much because they couldn't heard worth a damn", so he could not sell them. By search luck they were not put to sleep.

Tori is the mama dog and is on a word very laid back. She does not have the typically intensity of a border collie. I believe this is because she was basically broken. When she came into my care she did not like people, hated men, had a severe burn from a bark/shock collar, had a torn ear, and had at least two litters of puppies. Her growth in the 18 months I have had her is AMAZING. She is still quiet and a bit bashful. She is not a dog that is overly active. She hates being outside, but loves being around her people. She loves my dad who I call grampy and she does the happy dance when I announce that we are doing to see him and she talks in the car the whole ride over. The first night I got them my dad had laid on the floor with her just stroking her head over and over again and talking to her in a sweet soft voice while tears fell down his face. Tori's heart was won over. You will notice on this blog that there will be limited photos of her as she HATES having her picture take. My sister swears she has the soul of an old Indian woman that feels cameras steals ones soul.

Tori

Titi, although Tori daughter is the complete opposite. Everything you heard about Border Collies resides in her. She has a large personality. She talks in growns and sighs, throws tantrums, and can learn new commands in a matter of minutes. She currently is working on turning on and off lights since she has already mastered closing drawers. She is very particular about things. Everything must be just so in her world. She loves staring out our patio door for hours just watching. Although she is outgoing she is not as receptive to new people coming into her group or changes in her environment. She loves hanging out with my parents and their two Golden Retrievers Lucy and Ethel, but new people need to obtain Titi security clearance. She will put you through the paces too observing you and deciding if you are worthy of her attention. It took 5 days for her to give my poor sister clearance. She is not agressive or fearful she is just aloof. You know like a snobby french girl that thinks she is too good for you. One walks she greets people but still has a snobbish air about her. My mother claims that it is because she is MY dog and she just learned it from me...She might be right.

Titi