Pet Supplies and Product Reviews

Should we teach our dogs YES and NO or should we study their language? When I encountered the idea of choice in dog training  for the first time, I was fascinated. I still am, but there is much more to it than meets the eye. And while it does sound great, limiting choice is an important tool in positive reinforcement training. By managing the environment and therefore limiting choices we set our dogs up for success. Positive reinforcement training has become the choice of a lot of qualified and accredited dog trainers and the laws of learning still apply but we have started questioning if the dog really has to do as told, always ... WHY SHOULD WE BOTHER WITH CHOICES? A fundamental condition for wellbeing is the control the outcome of our actions. Choice is empowering ! There is not much research for dogs but it makes sense to assume that it is similar for them as it is for us. Anecdotal evidence suggests that dogs prefer having choices ... One reason why I am interested in this topic i

Barking is a common, frustrating problem for many dog owners. It can cause anything from mild annoyance to neighbourly disputes to formal disciplinary council action. In addition to being hugely stressful to owners, nuisance barking is potentially very dangerous for the dog. Barking can sadly lead to harsh unnecessary punishment, erosion of the human-animal bond and a higher risk of surrender and premature euthanasia. In some extreme cases, barking can lead to dogs being maliciously poisoned.  For all these reasons, barking is an issue warranting solid understanding and appropriate intervention. Barking has previously received little exploration among the scientific community, despite being one of the most conspicuous features of dog behaviour. WHAT DOES BARKING MEAN? Barking is a vocal form of communication, used for both dog-to-dog and dog-to-people communication. However barking comes in many forms, has more nuances and carries far more information than we think.  Emerging research

Do you ever wonder how smart your dog really is? The Dognition Assessment  promises to “find the genius in your dog" so with  a never-ending succession of rainy days, we thought it was time to put this dog test through its paces to alleviate (our) cabin fever and discover if our Malinois Aramis was a contender for Doggy Mensa!  WHAT IS DOGNITION ? Dognition  has been featured on TV shows like  60 Minutes ,  Dateline  and  The Today Show  both here and in the US where it was founded. The test was developed by  some of the world’s leading experts on dog cognition , often quoted as source experts on dog behaviour and intelligence. The Dognition Assessment  is a series of 20 interactive games that will test five dimensions of your dog’s cognition: your dog’s  communication ,  memory , and  reasoning skills , plus  how cunning or empathetic  he/she is. The results are analysed in your personal  Dognition Profile Report . Even better, the website explains that all the results will be ag

How smart are our dogs really? This is a question that we humans have been asking since dogs were domesticated.  Canines are intelligent, relying on association, scent, instinct and memory. Dogs have always displayed characteristics of guarding, loyalty and playfulness and they're also gifted with an amazing sense of smell which we harness for complex tasks such as tracking or to detect explosives or diseases like cancer. In the last two decades, scientists have been studying the cognitive abilities of our best friends and they keep making some remarkable discoveries... WHY ARE DOGS SMART?  It could be because they were hunters who had to use their brains to catch prey. It also could be because they’re very social - they need brainpower to communicate and cooperate. It is known that puppies untouched by human hands for the first weeks of life never become wholly domesticated, which is why  puppy socialisation  is essential. This is a huge element to keep in mind and it is just one