Animal Book Club December 2019

-
"The astonishing true story of one of the first wolves to roam Yellowstone in more than 60 years."

Animal Book Club December 2019: The Rise of Wolf 8


By Zazie Todd, PhD

This page contains affiliate links.

In December, the Animal Book Club is reading The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone's Underdog by Rick McIntyre with a foreword by Robert Redford.

From the book's description,
"Yellowstone National Park was once home to an abundance of wild wolves―but park rangers killed the last of their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the rangers brought them back, with the first wolves arriving from Canada in 1995. 
This is the incredible true story of one of those wolves. 
Wolf 8 struggles at first―he is smaller than the other pups, and often bullied―but soon he bonds with an alpha female whose mate was shot. An unusually young alpha male, barely a teenager in human years, Wolf 8 rises to the occasion, hunting skillfully, and even defending his family from the wolf who killed his father. But soon he faces a new opponent: his adopted son, who mates with a violent alpha female. Can Wolf 8 protect his valley without harming his protégé?"
This (and many other great books about animals) are available in my Amazon store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/animalbookclub

The Rise of Wolf 8 (book cover)


For more information about the book club or the separate Animal Books Facebook group, visit the Animal Book Club page.

P.S. Companion Animal Psychology t-shirts are 10% off through Monday 2nd December with this link.

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.

Useful links:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an Etsy affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Comments

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Survey Shows Which Treatments Are Effective for Fireworks Fears in Dogs

-
Image
Ad-hoc counter-conditioning and relaxation training work, say owners, but many other treatments don’t.


By Zazie Todd, PhD

Many dogs are afraid of the bangs and whistles from fireworks, up to half according to one study. A new, large survey by Dr. Stefanie Riemer (University of Bern) shows that treatments involving food and play are effective – but many other popular treatments are not rated as successful, according to people using them.

The standard recommended treatment for fireworks fears is desensitization and counter-conditioning (DSCC) using recordings of fireworks noises. The sounds are initially played very quietly at a level the dog is happy with, and over time the volume is gradually increased (the desensitization part). In addition, while the sounds are playing, the dog is offered very nice treats (the counter-conditioning part). In some cases, vets may also prescribe medication.


Outside of training sessions, of course, fireworks and other loud bangs will still happen, especi…
Read more

The Ultimate Dog Training Tip

-
Image
The one thing every dog owner should know about how to train a dog.



By Zazie Todd, PhD

There’s a lot of incorrect dog training advice on the internet, which makes it hard for people with dogs to sort out which advice is good and which is not.

Does it matter? Some of the time, despite using methods that aren’t recommended by professional organizations, you can get away with it. Maybe you will have a well-trained dog or maybe you will muddle along. Maybe your dog will actually be a bit afraid but you won’t notice (people aren’t very good at recognizing fear).

But unfortunately, for some dogs, there will be issues. And perhaps, instead of blaming the method, you'll blame the dog.

Here’s what one scientist concluded after reviewing the evidence on dog training methods (Ziv, 2017):
“it appears that aversive training methods have undesirable unintended outcomes and that using them puts dogs’ welfare at risk” Dog training is not regulated and so trainers do not have to be transparent abou…
Read more

Don't Punish Your Dog for Peeing in the House

-
Image
Why punishment is the wrong approach for house training mistakes, and how you should house train your dog or puppy instead.


By Zazie Todd, PhD

How should we house train puppies, and deal with the inevitable mistakes that puppies and adult dogs can have? Suppose your dog suddenly starts to pee in the house. You clean it up the first time but it happens again…. And then again.

Or your new puppy keeps having accidents indoors even though you take her outside often.

In this situation, some people will yell at their dog. Some might even try physical punishment like hitting the dog or an alpha roll. And we’ve all come across the advice that you should rub their nose in it.

Don’t do it.

Whether you're toilet training an adult dog or house training a puppy, here’s why that’s the wrong approach, and what you should do instead.

Punishment can make things worse First of all, let’s think about it from the dog’s perspective.

Suppose they pee in the house and you yell at them. What do they learn…
Read more