Late Summer

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CAPB is on vacation:

A rottie and three chihuahuas on the beach in summer
Photo: Shutterstock

If you want to catch up on any posts you've missed, there's the series on dog training (you can start at the beginning or skip to the end), read about the long-term effects of puppy mills on breeding dogs, or find out why some owners don't walk their dogs. If you're more of a cat person, you might enjoy the cat at the window or these reasons why two kittens is better than one. And if you like both cats and dogs, which should you get first?

Back next week!

By Zazie Todd, PhD

 This page contains affiliate links.
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy. She is the founder of the popular blog Companion Animal Psychology, where she writes about everything from training methods to the human-canine relationship. She also writes a column for Psychology Today and has received the prestigious Captain Haggerty Award for Best Training Article in 2017. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband and two cats.

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The Danger Hidden in Plain Sight in Photos of Dogs and Children

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Three lessons we need to learn to keep children and dogs safe.


By Zazie Todd, PhD

I don't know about you, but some of the photos of dogs and children I see on social media make me feel uncomfortable, even while others find them cute. The reason is we misjudge the risks of dog bites, and young children – often with their faces at the same height as the dog’s mouth – are at the greatest risk of dog bites (Davis et al 2012).

I’m not talking about staged photos, where we can assume the photographer and parent are both present and keeping a close eye. I’m thinking of the everyday photos people take at home.  We don’t know if there is anyone else in the room ready to intervene, whether the interactions pictured are common events, or even, in some cases, why someone hasn’t already stepped in.

But the advantage of a static photo is it gives us time to think about what’s going on. Here are three things to bear in mind when supervising young children with dogs.

1. Don’t assume a familiar dog…
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Positive Reinforcement is More Effective at Training Dogs than an Electronic Collar, Study Shows

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New research got professional dog trainers to train dogs who had issues with off-leash disobedience. Positive reinforcement worked better than an electronic collar, without the risks. 

By Zazie Todd, PhD
We’ve known for a while that training dogs with aversive methods, including electronic collars, has risks for animal welfare. Positive reinforcement training is effective and does not have those risks. New research from the University of Lincoln, published today in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, finds that in a typical situation where proponents of electronic collars often recommend them, positive reinforcement training by trainers who specialize in reward-based training works better than training with or without a shock collar by trainers who would normally use a shock collar. 
The scientists say, “These findings refute the suggestion that training with an E-collar is either more efficient or results in less disobedience, even in the hands of experienced trainers. In many ways, trainin…
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Flat Collars Risk Damage to Dogs’ Necks if They Pull or You Jerk the Leash

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Don’t use leash jerks, and if your dog pulls on leash, walk them on a harness, as new research shows the potential pressure applied to a dog’s neck by the use of a flat collar.


New research published in the Veterinary Record finds that the pressure exerted on a dog’s neck by a flat collar when the dog pulls is enough to risk damage to the dog’s neck. The study, from scientists at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham, used a model to simulate the dog’s neck, and measured the forces applied when the leash was pulled. The study aimed to mimic the effects of a dog pulling consistently on a leash or the human tugging the leash (sometimes called a “leash correction”).

The results show the importance of teaching your dog to walk nicely on leash, using a harness if they do pull, and never using leash corrections.

The study tested a variety of eight different collars, including flat and padded webbing collars and leather collars, a rope slip leash, and a check chain.

Dr.…
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