Showing posts with label doggies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doggies. Show all posts
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The problem with the constantly-evolving English language
I'm in a pet store looking at an adorable pile of puppies playing. They're an adorable pile of puppies and they're playing, so a small crowd has gathered. At one point, one of the puppies decides to lick his brother's genitals, to the general disgust of the audience. "OMG, that's sick!" I blurt out without thinking.
Some kids next to me look at me strange.
I look back at them, not understanding why they're looking at me.
They keep looking at me strange.
Then I realize what they're thinking. "Ew, no! I meant that in the Gen X sense of the word!"
Some kids next to me look at me strange.
I look back at them, not understanding why they're looking at me.
They keep looking at me strange.
Then I realize what they're thinking. "Ew, no! I meant that in the Gen X sense of the word!"
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Can dogs read humans?
The other day, a puppy who didn't know better tried to use me as a chew toy. I didn't particularly mind because he was adorable and fixed all my blood pressure problems, but nevertheless I withdrew whenever his teeth got me because it wouldn't do to give him the idea that biting people is acceptable.
Later it occurred to me that it might be helpful for training if humans acted like they're in pain every time the puppy gets them with his teeth. (It wasn't actually painful IRL, it was just...teeth.) That might help teach him that biting isn't good.
But could a puppy read humans enough to tell that they're in pain and this is bad? And would he care that they're in pain and interpret it as bad that they're in pain?
Or, conversely, could a puppy read humans so well that he could tell that we're exaggerating the pain and think "What a bunch of drama queens!"
Later it occurred to me that it might be helpful for training if humans acted like they're in pain every time the puppy gets them with his teeth. (It wasn't actually painful IRL, it was just...teeth.) That might help teach him that biting isn't good.
But could a puppy read humans enough to tell that they're in pain and this is bad? And would he care that they're in pain and interpret it as bad that they're in pain?
Or, conversely, could a puppy read humans so well that he could tell that we're exaggerating the pain and think "What a bunch of drama queens!"
Friday, May 22, 2009
More information on inter-dog interaction please
Reading Antonia Z talk about dog park drama reminds me of a problem I've been having in my dog research.
I don't know much about inter-dog interaction, and I'm not finding much information about it.
Most of the information I am finding has to do with integrating a new dog into the household. That's not what I'm looking to do. I'm looking for what I need to know when I'm walking a dog and he meets another dog. Should I make my guy sit? Should I let them just walk up and sniff each other? Should I get the other dog's human's permission first? How much slack do I give my guy on the leash? What behaviour is normal? What behaviour requires human intervention? How is this different on-leash vs. off-leash vs. if one dog is leashed and the other isn't? (I've heard there are differences, I don't know what they are.) How do I protect my dog if the other dog gets nasty? How can I tell when he's getting nasty vs. just playing vs. attempting to mate? (Should I let them mate if they want to? It seems rude to stop them, but it seems like other humans would frown on me if I didn't intervene. And it seems vaguely inappropriate to ask the other dog's human's permission on behalf of my own dog.)
Ms. Z's article mentioned that puppies upset the balance in a pack. How? What should I do with this information if I have a puppy? What should I do with this information if I have an adult dog? What if my dog is little and there are big dogs around? What if my dog is big and there are little dogs around?
The information I have found googling dog park etiquette is either not about behaviour (e.g. make sure your dog is immunized and comes when you call him) or seems to assume that you can already read dog behaviour and know where the boundaries are. I don't know where the boundaries are and I'm not confident in my ability to read dog behaviour.
I've looked for this information and have not found it. If I had lower standards, I would totally assume it's all completely obvious when you see it happen and no further research and education are required. And if I had lower standards, I could totally walk over to the pet store and buy a puppy, who would then proceed to encounter another dog, and I'd be there with no idea what to do or expect.
This information needs to not only be available but obvious. It needs to fall into people's laps like the basics of crate training and sit-stay do, like the importance of spaying and neutering. I will get a shelter or rescue dog, and because of that I'll be able to ask his foster humans for tips on how he, personally, interacts with other dogs. But people who would buy from a pet store are also the people who are less likely to do as extensive research. So if information about inter-dog interaction is not made easy to stumble upon, these people with their store-bought puppies are going to be disturbing your dog park.
I don't know much about inter-dog interaction, and I'm not finding much information about it.
Most of the information I am finding has to do with integrating a new dog into the household. That's not what I'm looking to do. I'm looking for what I need to know when I'm walking a dog and he meets another dog. Should I make my guy sit? Should I let them just walk up and sniff each other? Should I get the other dog's human's permission first? How much slack do I give my guy on the leash? What behaviour is normal? What behaviour requires human intervention? How is this different on-leash vs. off-leash vs. if one dog is leashed and the other isn't? (I've heard there are differences, I don't know what they are.) How do I protect my dog if the other dog gets nasty? How can I tell when he's getting nasty vs. just playing vs. attempting to mate? (Should I let them mate if they want to? It seems rude to stop them, but it seems like other humans would frown on me if I didn't intervene. And it seems vaguely inappropriate to ask the other dog's human's permission on behalf of my own dog.)
Ms. Z's article mentioned that puppies upset the balance in a pack. How? What should I do with this information if I have a puppy? What should I do with this information if I have an adult dog? What if my dog is little and there are big dogs around? What if my dog is big and there are little dogs around?
The information I have found googling dog park etiquette is either not about behaviour (e.g. make sure your dog is immunized and comes when you call him) or seems to assume that you can already read dog behaviour and know where the boundaries are. I don't know where the boundaries are and I'm not confident in my ability to read dog behaviour.
I've looked for this information and have not found it. If I had lower standards, I would totally assume it's all completely obvious when you see it happen and no further research and education are required. And if I had lower standards, I could totally walk over to the pet store and buy a puppy, who would then proceed to encounter another dog, and I'd be there with no idea what to do or expect.
This information needs to not only be available but obvious. It needs to fall into people's laps like the basics of crate training and sit-stay do, like the importance of spaying and neutering. I will get a shelter or rescue dog, and because of that I'll be able to ask his foster humans for tips on how he, personally, interacts with other dogs. But people who would buy from a pet store are also the people who are less likely to do as extensive research. So if information about inter-dog interaction is not made easy to stumble upon, these people with their store-bought puppies are going to be disturbing your dog park.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 03, 2009
You're a puppy! Yes you are!
I was introduced to a puppy the other day, and I felt the need to say to him, repeatedly and in a very squeaky voice, "You're a puppy! Yes you are!"
My new goal in life is to do that to some creature that is very clearly not a puppy.
Bonus: the relevant xkcd.
My new goal in life is to do that to some creature that is very clearly not a puppy.
Bonus: the relevant xkcd.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
OMG PUPPY SQUEE!
Dude walks into my building walking the most adorable dog ever. Big puppy, floppy ears, white with brown spots including a spot over one eye, so soft and fluffy (two levels fluffier than you're picturing), apparently some kind of collie spaniel mix, but I can't seem to google up a picture.
The lady in front of me stops and squees at the puppy and pets it and asks about it. Then I stop and squee at the puppy and pet it and ask about it (I know the puppy just got stopped, but I couldn't help myself. It took all my self-control not to pick it up.) Then the guy behind me stops and squees at the puppy and pets it and asks about it.
That's three people, just in a walk across the lobby. They probably encountered between 20 and 50 people in their walk, and I'd bet the majority of those people stopped and squeed at the puppy.
I wonder if that gets annoying for the puppy's human? On one hand, he does appreciate the sheer awesomeness of the puppy or he woudn't have chosen it. On the other hand, he does most likely have other things to do with his day and by the time you're on your 20th squeeing idiot it must lose its novelty.
The lady in front of me stops and squees at the puppy and pets it and asks about it. Then I stop and squee at the puppy and pet it and ask about it (I know the puppy just got stopped, but I couldn't help myself. It took all my self-control not to pick it up.) Then the guy behind me stops and squees at the puppy and pets it and asks about it.
That's three people, just in a walk across the lobby. They probably encountered between 20 and 50 people in their walk, and I'd bet the majority of those people stopped and squeed at the puppy.
I wonder if that gets annoying for the puppy's human? On one hand, he does appreciate the sheer awesomeness of the puppy or he woudn't have chosen it. On the other hand, he does most likely have other things to do with his day and by the time you're on your 20th squeeing idiot it must lose its novelty.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
Seen on Yonge St.
Walking one way is a toddler holding a cookie. Walking the other way is a doggie that has almost, but not quite, grown out of being a puppy. The two are exactly the same height.
The toddler wants to pat the doggie.
The doggie wants the cookie.
The doggie's humans and the toddler's grownups all tell the toddler that she can totally pet the doggie, but he's going to try to steal her cookie. Nevertheless, the toddler surges bravely forward.
The toddler's grownups try to take the cookie out of her hand, but she's having none of that! They're not going to trick her into giving up her cookie! The doggie's humans try to get him to sit, but he's having none of that! There's a cookie right there!
The toddler reaches the doggie and pets him. The doggie licks her face. She bursts out crying - and drops the cookie. The doggie snarfs it up.
I move along so as not to be seen laughing at what what the poor kid will one day be telling her therapist was the turning point in the development of her lifelong fear of dogs.
Unrelated bonus: a whole herd of puppies
The toddler wants to pat the doggie.
The doggie wants the cookie.
The doggie's humans and the toddler's grownups all tell the toddler that she can totally pet the doggie, but he's going to try to steal her cookie. Nevertheless, the toddler surges bravely forward.
The toddler's grownups try to take the cookie out of her hand, but she's having none of that! They're not going to trick her into giving up her cookie! The doggie's humans try to get him to sit, but he's having none of that! There's a cookie right there!
The toddler reaches the doggie and pets him. The doggie licks her face. She bursts out crying - and drops the cookie. The doggie snarfs it up.
I move along so as not to be seen laughing at what what the poor kid will one day be telling her therapist was the turning point in the development of her lifelong fear of dogs.
Unrelated bonus: a whole herd of puppies
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Gorgeous sled dogs!
Clicky! (No, I don't know why the Toronto Star randomly has pictures of sled dogs.)
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Puppies learning to walk!
I recently learned that puppies aren't really able to walk when they're born. Which means that puppies go through a stage where they're learning to walk. I know human babies are ridiculuous cute when they're learning to walk, so imagine how cute puppies learning to walk must be!
Fortunately, we live in the age of YouTube, and it came through with flying colours.
It seems a key developmental stage is not knowing or caring the different between stepping on the floor and stepping on your siblings.
Fortunately, we live in the age of YouTube, and it came through with flying colours.
It seems a key developmental stage is not knowing or caring the different between stepping on the floor and stepping on your siblings.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Things They Should Invent: dog parks for apartment buildings
There are notices up in my building telling people not to walk their dogs on this one patch of grass because it belongs to the building next door. There are a lot of dogs in my building because it's actively pet-friendly, but there isn't really a good place to walk them.
However, I think if they re-arranged the landscaping a bit, replaced some of the purely decorative bits with grass and consolidated the driveway into a more sensible arrangement, we could have a grassy area that could serve as a suitable dog park for our building. Maybe not for the German Shepherd or the guy with two Rottweillers, but it would be fine for the terriers and Shih Tzus that make up the majority of dogs living in our tiny apartments.
My old apartment building had a lot of stuff on the grounds. We shared a sort of courtyard area with several other buildings, and in it there was an outdoor pool and tennis courts and a grassy patch with picnic benches (just metres from the dumpsters!). They could totally have fit a small dog run in there, taken out the tennis courts and pool and had a decent-sized dog park. The vast majority of the time the tennis courts and pool would be empty, but there was always someone out there walking a dog!
I really think this could be desirable amenity in high-rise buildings. It would be almost as good as having a backyard! It would hardly require any maintenance - just put up a fence and maybe cut the grass once in a while - and it would have far fewer liability issues than a pool.
However, I think if they re-arranged the landscaping a bit, replaced some of the purely decorative bits with grass and consolidated the driveway into a more sensible arrangement, we could have a grassy area that could serve as a suitable dog park for our building. Maybe not for the German Shepherd or the guy with two Rottweillers, but it would be fine for the terriers and Shih Tzus that make up the majority of dogs living in our tiny apartments.
My old apartment building had a lot of stuff on the grounds. We shared a sort of courtyard area with several other buildings, and in it there was an outdoor pool and tennis courts and a grassy patch with picnic benches (just metres from the dumpsters!). They could totally have fit a small dog run in there, taken out the tennis courts and pool and had a decent-sized dog park. The vast majority of the time the tennis courts and pool would be empty, but there was always someone out there walking a dog!
I really think this could be desirable amenity in high-rise buildings. It would be almost as good as having a backyard! It would hardly require any maintenance - just put up a fence and maybe cut the grass once in a while - and it would have far fewer liability issues than a pool.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
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