Companion Animal Psychology

Two studies show the effects of economic hardship on companion animals. Photo: Miroslava Levina/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. With the news yesterday that the UK is in a double-dip recession, and other world economies still struggling, the effect is likely to be felt by animals too. Over the last few years, there have been many reports in the media about animal rescue charities being inundated with cats and dogs due to the recession. These reports are illustrated with heart-breaking examples such as the sixteen year-old border collie surrendered to a rescue because her owner could no longer afford to look after her. Although many rescues are bursting at the seams, actual data is hard to come by. Two recent studies address this by looking at the effect of the recession on animal relinquishment and adoption in the US. A paper by Gregory Morris and Jennifer

This page is being used for test purposes. Please choose another page from the sidebar. Thank you. This is another test of the photo link up. One of the things I often hear about dogs is that they are always trying to be dominant. It comes up in advice that is sometimes given about dog training. For example, that you should always eat before your dog, otherwise it will think that it is dominant; that you shouldn't let your dog walk in front of you, or go through a door ahead of you, or win a game of tug of war. It makes people's relationships with their dogs sound like a constant battle. Fortunately it's not true. This idea of dominance comes from what I'll loosely call 'pack theory', and is based on studies of captive wolves. In a captive wolf pack, it seems that there are battles between wolves fairly frequently, and at the top is the 'alpha wolf', the one that is in control. Since dogs are evolved f

I am fascinated by the behaviour of my cats and dogs. Through this blog, I am going to find out more about canine and feline psychology, and the relationship between people and their pets. What is companion animal psychology? Well, I chose the name because the blog won't be limited to dogs or cats , so neither canine psychology or feline psychology fit the bill. I'll try and include all kinds of pets, although I'm sure that cats and dogs will be featured more than rabbits and parrots. I could have called it 'pet psychology', but I'm interested in the behaviour of the owners as well as the pets. Hence, companion animal psychology, because it includes the psychology of the companion animals, as well as of their companion (the owner). I want to look at questions such as: why is pack theory/dominance outdated when talking about dogs? how did dogs evolve from wolves? is it possible to train a cat not to jump on the table? how does someone decide whether to get a