Showing posts from May, 2013

Interactions between shelter dogs: some new research


Dogs can haz brainscanz and EEG?


Why do people surrender dogs to animal shelters?

Dogs surrendered to a shelter are more likely to have behaviour problems, and their owners to have a low attachment to them, study shows. By Zazie Todd, PhD Five to seven million companion animals arrive at animal shelters in the US each year, and about half of these are animals being surrendered by their owners. Why do people surrender their pets? To find out, a new study by Jennifer Kwan and Melissa Bain compared dogs being relinquished at three Sacramento animal shelters to those dogs that were there simply to receive their vaccinations. Photo: rebeccaashworth/Shutterstock The experimenter spent time at the shelters during the hours when relinquishments could take place, and when vaccination clinics were available. She approached people to ask them to complete the questionnaires, which were available in English or Spanish. A total of 129 people took part; 80 relinquishing owners, and 49 continuing owners.  Some people were not approached to take part because their

On Puppies, Pet Stores, and Behaviour Problems

Research finds puppies from pet stores are more likely to have behaviour problems than those from non-commercial breeders. By Zazie Todd, PhD If you buy a puppy from a pet store, could you be getting more than you bargained for? It has long been thought that puppies from pet shops might have behavioural problems. A new study by Franklin D. McMillan et al investigates this by comparing puppies from pet stores to those from non-commercial breeders. ﻿ The puppies that are for sale in pet shops originate from commercial breeding establishments, also known as puppy mills or puppy farms. These are large establishments that breed puppies for profit. The ASPCA says they “usually house dogs in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, without adequate veterinary care, food, water and socialization. Puppy mill dogs do not get to experience treats, toys, exercise or basic grooming. To minimize waste cleanup, dogs are often kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and

Describing Dog Training: Weasel words or clear descriptions?

By Zazie Todd, PhD Dog training is an unlicensed profession. Sometimes it surprises people to learn there is a science to training, the origins of which can be traced back to Pavlov and Skinner. When studying how ordinary people train their dogs , scientists have to map between technical terms and everyday language. How do they do this? Photo: Jeffrey B. Banke/Shutterstock You’ve probably heard the phrase that “dogs do what works”, as explained by Jean Donaldson in her wonderful book Culture Clash . What this means is, the behaviours that are rewarded get repeated, and the ones that don’t get rewards tend to disappear (this is called extinction). Our knowledge of operant conditioning has its roots in the work of B.F. Skinner, who coined the phrase in 1937, but applied behaviour analysis is still an active field today; for example, it is used to help children and adults with autism. Operant conditioning relies on punishments and reinforcements. Reinforcement makes a