RSS feed for dog psychology

10 Dog Barking Moments and What Your Dog Is Trying To Say

1 Continuous rapid barking, midrange pitch: "Call the pack! There is a potential problem! Someone is coming into our territory!" Continuous barking but a bit slower and pitched lower: "The intruder [or danger] is very close Get ready to defend yourself!" 2 Barking in rapid strings of three or four with pauses in between, midrange pitch: "I suspect that there may be a problem or an intruder .....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

Dogs and Open Car Windows

Experts estimate that dogs can catch a whiff of something thatand#39;s one million times less concentrated than what humans can detect With so much sniff power, itand#39;s hardly surprising that they stick their heads out car windows They could care less about the scenery What theyand#39;re after are smells If youand#39;re driving through town at 30 miles an hour and your dog has his nose out the window, he knows whe.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

Canine Intelligence

There are many theories about the intelligence of the dog The majority of dog owners know that their dogs are very bright: these owners can tell any number of stories that demonstrate the animaland#39;s high intelligence In addition to the clever ways in which dogs outwit their owners, canine intelligence shines when dogs are asked to perform the tasks for which they were bred For instance, the Borde.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

Understanding A Dogand#39;s Pack Behavior: Look To The Wolf

Many of the things dogs carry over from wolf society are useful to their new role; many are not The most clearly useful, though only up to a point, is the wolfand#39;s innate sense of social rank, and the system of communication that supports this rank structure Social rank is a consequence of adaptations that many group-dwelling animals have made to the inherent contradictions of living in a group.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

The Importance Of Understanding Dog Behavior

In order to understand dog behavior, you must first consider the effects of the human contact that occurs from the day the domestic puppy is born until the end of his life These interactions are strong catalysts that add to the inherent differences between the wolf and dog Whereas the dog easily weaves into the family and social structure of humans, the wolf has failed to do so The integrat.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

How Dogs Use Their Tails As Signals and Gestures: Part 2

Tail position is an important indicator of social standing and mental state of a dog There will be some variations, of course, depending upon the natural tail position of the dog: a West Highland white terrier will carry its carrot-shaped tail higher than a golden retriever its flowing, feathery tail, and a greyhoundand#39;s relaxed tail position is lower yet Almost horizontal, pointing away from t.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

Body Language: Your Dogand#39;s Movements and What They Mean

Dogs use their bodies and paws to express a variety of different things Below are some examples and what they mean Dog crouches with front legs extended, rear up, and head near the ground: This is the classic play-bow and means simply "I want to play!" Stiff-legged, upright posture or slow, stiff-legged movement forward: "I am in charge around here!" and "I challenge you" A dominant dog .....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

Preventing Fear and Mistrust In Your Dog

Dogs become fearful when the ownerand#39;s correction is too abusive For a correction to be effective and convey accurate information to the dog, it must fit the transgression A puppy that is teething and nips does not need, and will not understand, a correction fit for the dog who has just bitten someone because the personand#39;s hand touched his food dish Unnecessarily abusive corrections will inhibit t.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

Social Rankings Of The Wolf Pack: Further Understanding Of Our Dogand#39;s Ancestors

It is often suggested that members of the pack selflessly subordinate their own interests to the greater interests of the group, but this is really not an honest description of the evolutionary forces or motives at work In wolf packs the males and females of the group each establish their own social rankings The top male and top female furiously disrupt any attempts by their inferiors to breed .....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

Why Dogs Cock Their Heads To The Side

It wasnand#39;t by accident that advertising for the company RCA once featured a dog cocking his head in front of a speaker horn Thereand#39;s something about this position that most people find utterly adorable Dogs know it, too, which is why they do it, even when they arenand#39;t trying to hear anything in particular We give them a positive response, and they remember that Also, dogs tilt their heads for v.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

Amazing Power Of A Dogand#39;s Sense Of Smell

The canine nose has something like twenty times as many primary receptor cells as the human nose How all of this works to detect odors is one of the great scientific wonders of the world Studies in a number of species have found that different regions of the mucous lining within the nose have different chemical properties, more readily absorbing chemicals of one particular molecular shape or ano.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption

How Wolf-Behavior Has Slowly Disappeared Within Dogs

Studies of free-ranging dogs have documented the ways in which wolf behavior has been attenuated or extinguished over the course of evolution In cities and villages, dogs that wander freely generally do not form packs, and while each dog has an identifiable home range that he sticks to, these ranges overlap almost completely with those of other dogs Free-ranging dogs do engage in wolf-like u.....More on Dog Psychology Adoption