Dog Behavior |

Category Archives: dog behavior

Anatomy of a Bark

Written on June 22, 2010 by Cyn in barking, dog behavior

I am the author today on Scout’s blog to give my perspective on when our girl started barking.

:: on guard ::

Scout did not bark for the first nine months of her life. We were amazed by her silence. Even as a puppy, she was a very quiet dog. She did a little whimpering her first night with us in her crate, but once she figured out the “rules,” we didn’t hear another sound until her excited noises came loud and clear before release.

At the onset of her barking, many events collided in our lives as a family. We moved from a condo to a house in my second trimester of my first pregnancy. We opted for an electronic fence to keep Scout safe in our yard, as the street can be used as a cross-through. So, new house, new yard, new perimeter that could not be broken and a little bambino on the way to protect.

:: ready to woof to the woo ::

The first time I remember her barking was after I brought our newborn home. There was lots of traffic: people, cars, packages, the poor UPS man… I remember thinking, “Who is this dog?” I was so tired, you might have convinced me that she was an impostor. We eventually figured out the collision of events above might be the cause.

Or she was simply just old enough to find her bark.

Scout still doesn’t bark often. She is mostly a silent communicator – her body language speaks loud and clear. She sets herself up right in front of you and stares you down with those golden eyes. And she only does this when her need is great… food, water, doing some business.

But when she barks, she is one scary hairball. I appreciate her protection when I’m home alone or just with the boys. Scout’s deep, throaty bark is something to behold from such a sweet girl.

And I know he probably doesn’t read this blog, but I’m sending out a big apology to our UPS man. Somewhere, somehow he knows that she’s just doing her job.

6 Comments - Leave a comment!

Dog Smooches

Written on June 15, 2010 by Scout the Dog in dog behavior, Flickr, Love

In the dog world, is there anything that gets a better reaction?

I brought up the subject of Dog Smooches on Facebook the other day. Humans have very strong feelings about being smooched by those of us with furry britches.

Why do we smooch? We have different reasons in different situations. If we get excited or you’re excited and part of your body is within reach, we’ll throw you a lick or two.

If your face is anywhere near our face, we must lick. When your face is near ours, it’s a special occasion… like bringing out the good dishes for company. Your human faces are so often far away from ours, we just can’t help ourselves.

I’ve heard some say that we lick as a sign of submissive behavior, acknowledging dominance to the human or dog we’re licking. I’m not so sure about that one. If I’m being submissive, getting my face near the dominant being is not something I’ll be willing to do.

Let’s just assume the smooches are love, as evidenced below.
Some assumptions are good, right?

Photo Credits:
1. Dog Kiss, 2. A dog kiss, 3. Dog Kiss, 4. Dog kiss., 5. dog kiss b, 6. Dog Kisses Baby, 7. My Dog Gives Good Kisses, 8. dog kiss, 9. Dog Kiss

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

Pillows and Garbage

Written on April 29, 2010 by Scout the Dog in dog behavior, separation anxiety

I have a confession…

Who me?

I suffer from separation anxiety. I’m not proud of it, but my little mental problem does manifest itself in a couple very specific ways.

When my humans leave, they usually close the master bedroom door. I can’t open doors yet (although I do hit them with my nose when I want them opened.) But if I have access to the master bedroom when I’ve been left alone, my go-to destinations are pillows and garbage.

Not just any garbage, but the little can in the bathroom. No scrap is left untouched… it’s quite the scene when the humans come home.

The other manifestation of my anxiety is a little more disturbing and I hesitate to admit it. Plus, all the wackos on this here internet don’t make it easy to be honest about some behaviors. (My Foot-licker! post is a little too popular in some searches, if you get my meaning.)

Okay, here it goes: I jump on the big bed and hump the pillows. There I said it (or wrote it) and that’s all I’m going to say about it. Admitting it is the first step, right?

Anyway, some dogs have separation anxiety and some dogs just misbehave. You can tell if it’s true separation anxiety, if your dog exhibits her destructive behavior within the first 20 minutes of your departure. I think I check that master bedroom door as soon as I hear the car drive away without me in it.

In my case, simply closing the door will prevent me from compromising pillows and inhaling bath tissues. Two good suggestions for keeping your dog happy when she’s home alone are these: keep her tired and/or keep her busy. I’m sure you can figure out the tired part. To keep her busy, maybe supply a Kong or something similar that can hide a treat and make her work for her reward.

Please don’t judge me… everybody’s got “a thing” – this is mine.

Well, golly, I feel SO much better now.

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

New Feature – Dogs Without Blogs

Written on March 9, 2010 by Scout the Dog in dog behavior, dogs

who is your dog?
I created a mission statement.

Now, before you roll your eyes… (I’m writing to you, humans, as dogs don’t roll their eyes)

My mission statement is simple:

mission
With a little nod to Salt-n-Pepa, I’m reaching out to my fellow dogs and asking about you. If you’re interested in writing about yourself or if you humans want to write about your dogs, email me: Scout at riverdogprints dot com. I will send you a list of questions and ask for an adorable picture of you. Then, you’ll be featured right here on the old dog blog.

Why am I doing this? Well, I’ve thought a lot about this little blog and I’d like to write more posts. Problem is, how much can you write about yourself? If you’re a complex human, probably quite a bit (and probably more than you should.) Dogs live pretty simply by choice, so interesting posts about my life come sporadically. But I want to keep the blog about dogs, who we are and how we operate.

If you think you’re not interesting enough, you’re wrong! Send me an email, I’ll send you the questions and you’ll see how interesting you can be.

4 Comments - Leave a comment!

Terror on the Trail

Written on January 14, 2010 by Scout the Dog in dog behavior, instinct

vicious
Don’t I look vicious? Grrrrrrr.
Probably more freaky than vicious…

I usually love walking the trails around where we live, but today, whew! We mostly walk trails where humans take us dogs off our leashes. When we meet other dogs, we socialize. Simple concept.

We see a small dog running down the trail to greet us. There are introductions of the doggie kind. Then, his big dog brother lopes on down. More intros – all good. When their human joins us, all H-E-double-hockey-sticks broke loose. The little dog barks what seems like orders to the big dog and big dog attacks. It’s an intimidation strike, teeth bared, but no intent to bite… yet. Their human reprimands, as I snuggle myself in the human tunnel of mine, between both his legs with my tail in assault mode. The human apologized for her dogs, even gave me a little pat on the head and they were on their way.

It was pretty much out of sight, out of mind for me. I heard A-Dog say that the little dog reminded her of the cartoon dog with a hat and cigar, barking orders to his big, dopey dog friend. I don’t know about that, but I do know that dogs can be unpredictable to humans. We don’t always act sweet and want our heads rubbed. And when you’ve got more than one, you must be wary of the dynamic. Those behaviors live deep in our furry genes. Woof!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Snow Dog 2009*

Written on December 15, 2009 by Scout the Dog in dog behavior, dogs, snow

snow-dog

Is there anything better than sticking your snout in snow? Eating snow on the run is pretty good too…

Here in the Northeast, we dogs rock with the changing seasons. We dig more from fall to spring, because WE CAN! There are leaves and snow separating us from the precious ground, so we get a pass on the “No dig!” command.

Anytime I can shove my face into something soft and get a big whiff is a good time. Snout in snow makes me sneeze – love that. And gobbling snow on the run is just another pleasure I can’t pass up. On a winter walk, the air is dry, so I hydrate. It’s what great athletes do :)

One caveat – if your dog is older and eats snow obsessively, you might want to make a trip to the V-E-T (I have to spell it for those sensitive dogs out there.) It could be a sign of a health problem.

But if your dog is just as quirky, and dare I say, lovable as I am, Let them eat snow!

*This post was originally published in December 2008.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Can you please get my toy?

Written on November 9, 2009 by Scout the Dog in dog behavior, dog toy, YouTube

A good portion of my workouts are outside in our yard. I play with balls and different retrievable objects, but my absolute favorite, is the water Kong. It looks like a long, tennis ball and is attached to a braided string for throwing. It can frequently get caught in a tree, as seen below. We communicate very well together and A-Dog is a good lady!

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

Pack Order – Scout Sandwich Anyone?

Written on October 7, 2009 by Scout the Dog in dog behavior, dogs, humans, pack order, relationships

Hold the mayo!

Humans don’t get it. When you sit or lay on the floor, you are now in dog territory. You’re fair game to sit on and get your long overdue face bath. You are also considered to be lower in the pack order.

A-Dog rarely sits on the floor, but Shoes-on-the-Floor, Little-Feet and Preemie-Feet, all spend quality playing time there. I don’t pay attention to the little ones, until Shoes plunks himself down on the carpet. Then I am compelled to get between him and whomever he’s playing with at the time. ::see photo above :) I am illustrating our pack order here.

I am allowed to lay on the furniture and, heaven forbid, sleep on the bed. But I do follow the pack rules. When A-Dog gets in bed for the night, I get off the bed and go to my chair. When the mornings get chilly, I move from my chair to the bed, but I almost always sleep on Shoes’s side. I’m respecting my leader. Pack leaders eat first, get the best food, sleep where they want and can wither you with a look. They sound bossy, yes, but if there was no leader, guaranteed there would be mayhem.

As you can see from the photo, I consider myself to be third in line. I’m letting that little guy on the left know that he is fifth and he and Shoes should remember that fact. I’m not aggressive about it, except for the destruction of the block tower. But the tears dry and the shouts fade and I am still THIRD! Booyakasha baby!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Chesapeake Bay Retriever Week – A Little History

Written on August 21, 2009 by Scout the Dog in chesapeake bay retrievers, dog behavior, dogs, retrievers, swimming

happy
For the wrap-up of Chessie Week, I thought I’d give you a history of the breed.

An English brig shipwrecked off the coast of Maryland in 1907. The crew was rescued, as well as two Newfoundland puppies named Sailor and Canton. They were bred to local retrievers, including the English Otter Hound, Flat-Coat and Curly-Coated Retriever. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever was created, one of the few American-bred dogs.

Chessies were well-known for hunting waterfowl in rough and icy waters. We could be asked to retrieve hundreds of ducks in a day. We could be in the icy waters of the Chesapeake Bay for many hours retrieving and tossing them over the side of the boat with very little rest. Gives you a little snapshot into how much exercise we need, doesn’t it? As a result of being in the water for so long, we started to think instead of just obey. Perhaps the reason why we have the reputation of being stubborn…

That’s just a little of Chessie history. We have our unique traits, just like most breeds. if you’re interested in a hands-on experience with all different kinds of breeds, you can visit Meet the Breeds. This is an AKC event at the Javits Center in NYC on October 17 and 18. There will be 166 breeds of dog (lots of cat breeds too, if you like that sort of thing), including the Chesapeake. Go, pet our wavy fur and perhaps, fall in love.

Thanks for hanging out for the week and celebrating my heritage! Woof!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Chesapeake Bay Retriever Week – The Happy Growl

Written on August 20, 2009 by Scout the Dog in chesapeake bay retrievers, Chessie smile, dog behavior, dogs, humans

Classic Smile

A classic dog smile… we Chessies know how to smile like that as you can see above. But did you know that we also have a Chesapeake-only “smile” that can flip out the uninitiated?

This “smile” is toothy and comes with all kinds of vocalizations, which can include a growl or two. Each Chessie has a unique “smile,” just as humans do. If you don’t know this about our breed, it could seem as if we’d like to eat you for lunch. But it’s our way of showing happiness. Even when we aren’t smiling, we can be very vocal. A deep and throaty “roo-roo-roo” means “What’s up? Where have you been? I’m so happy to see you!” It always makes the humans laugh.

I give my smile only when I have a toy in my mouth, so you don’t see my teeth, but you can hear my happy growls. Many a visitor has recoiled to these noises, but they soon see I’m just a bucket of love. I don’t have any media to show you my smile, but here’s a little clip of another Chessie showing his lovely teeth, enjoy!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!