Search Results for: blog food aggression

Aggression in Multiple Dog Households

Here at the pets blog we’ve published many articles on dog aggression. It seems like one can never have too much advice on how to handle it; anyone who’s seen dogs fighting, and not in the playful way, knows how upsetting it can be. Today I’m going to focus on how to handle aggression between dogs in a multiple canine living situation. If you’ve already one dog and you want more, you need to be ready for the possibility of the rare or occasional spat between them. If at all possible, introduce the dogs before adopting your second, to make … Continue reading →

Aggression at Home: Guarding

When a dog threatens a family member at home, it may mean that the dog does not want to be handled in a particular way or that he is guarding something. Some dogs can feel possessive over certain objects — a toy, a food bowl, or just about anything. My friend’s dog Merlin will grab an abandoned sock and carry it around, but will not let anyone take it from her. Try to grab her sock, and you’ll be rewarded with a growl. You can help reduce possession aggression over time. If you can start young, you may be able … Continue reading →

Reducing and Preventing Aggression

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You can reduce and prevent aggression in dogs of all breeds and all ages. If you have a puppy, or a dog under one year old: Socialize your dog to a wide variety of people: different ages, sexes, and body sizes. Socialize your dog to a wide variety of friendly dogs. Teach your dog to bite softly. Attend puppy kindergarten that uses reward methods for training and allows puppy play time. Handle your dog all over to get her used to being touched. Start as early as possible; the best age for socialization is between three and twelve weeks old. … Continue reading →

Recognizing Signs of Aggression

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You may not want to believe that your dog can be aggressive. It can be a hard thing to recognize — we often try to assign human motivations to animal behaviors. We try to reason with our pets: “It’s only the mailman; you don’t have to bark at him.” But our dogs don’t think like people. They think like dogs. Aggression is not a breed problem. It can exist in any dog, any breed, at any time. Signs of aggression can include: Growling Snarling Baring teeth/curling lips Mounting people or other animals Lunging Snapping Blocking your path Aggressive barking Biting … Continue reading →

Types of Dog Aggression

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All aggression is not alike! There are different kinds of aggression, and different situations where you may encounter an aggressive dog — or see your own dog exhibit strange behaviors. Dog-Dog Aggression — can be set off by a variety of things. If a dog feels that he needs to protect food, resources, or his two-legged family. An undersocialized dog may not know how to behave around other dogs, leading to possible aggression on both sides. Some dogs find it fun to bully other dogs, or try to herd them. Some dogs don’t know how to temper their bites — … Continue reading →

Dog Aggression

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In light of the recent incident at the dog park, I thought it would be a good time to talk about dog aggression. Aggression isn’t just a random behavior; it is a defense mechanism, a competitive instinct, and a hunting behavior. Domestication and breeding have toned down many aggressive responses in dogs, but they still exist. Aggressive behaviors can include: Barking at other animals or humans Herding Food guarding Fence fighting — when a dog cannot get to an animal on the other side of the fence or window, he may turn on other pets Growling and snarling Snapping and … Continue reading →

Changing Your Pet’s Food

Back in November, my cousin who owns a pet store gave all the dogs in the family a can of premium dog food. Appropriately enough, the flavor was “Thanksgiving Dinner” and included things like turkey, rice, dried fruit, and other holiday treats. A family member who shall remain nameless split one large can between her three dogs. The next day, she was dismayed to report that all three dogs had suffered what we like to call “pudding butt” — otherwise known as diarrhea. She tried to warn me against giving the Thanksgiving Dinner to my own dogs, because she thought … Continue reading →

Living with Dogs Might Improve Baby Health

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a real reason to keep our dogs around our babies? Some people are terrified of the idea, thinking that it’s dangerous to let dogs around small children. At first it’s best never to leave dogs alone with babies, to make sure the animals know to be gentle around them. However, we pet owners know that some dogs are great with babies. There have already been some studies about how being around dogs in the first year of infancy can help reduce the chances of a child later developing allergies to dogs, but what about … Continue reading →

Yappy Hours

On-leash food and fundraising events are more common, but the trend is changing Dogs and – alcohol? There’s a new trend going around in parties, often fundraising ones, which combines these two unlikely partners. Meet the Yappy Hour. Yappy Hours are times bars hold that allow patrons to bring their dogs along for some socializing fun. Bars realize they’ll get more dog owners (39% of the U.S. population, if the Humane Society’s statistics are to be believed) to come out to their normal happy hours if they allow them to bring their dogs, and the patrons are happy for the … Continue reading →

What to Consider When Getting a Potbelly Pig

Over a year ago I looked at the teacup pig as a rare pet. But what if you want to adopt a potbellied pig as a pet? What do you need to know before bringing one into your home? First: check your zoning laws. For some reason potbelly pigs are sometimes not allowed in certain areas, so be absolutely sure that your local zoning laws allow you to keep a potbellied pig as a pet. Potbellies live for 10-15 years, so be sure you can make that commitment. Be careful from whom you buy or adopt your pig. You want … Continue reading →