How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys

Training a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys can be very frustrating at times, especially if you want to use positive reinforcement training. If you are set on using reward based training, check out my post Motivating a Non-Treat or Toy Motivated Dog

There are some dogs that just dont respond to food or toy based training. Such as the dogs mentioned in the comments of the post linked above.

Youre here because your dog doesnt like either food or toys. In fact, you have a hard time seeing anything your dog does like! You see reward based training everywhere, and every time you ask What do I do if my dog doesnt like food or toys you either get no answer, or you get answers just to get you to go away and ask somebody else.

My answer is, try a different Method! Its Okay if you dont train using food or toys.

Now, lets go over the other methods available to you.

How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Praise and Correction

In this method, you dont use food or toys. You simply use petting and praise as a reward for doing the right thing. You always have these with you and its really easy to do! Dog doesnt like food? No problem!

To teach your dog what you want, you first show them what you want by getting them to do the behavior a few times. (Im not going to go into detail on how to do this, the link to the system below will show you exactly how to implement this training method. It works very well and is very fast.) Once you know the dog knows what you want, then you add in corrections when they dont do it on the first time you say.

If you would like more information on this system, check out the website to watch videos, read testimonials, and read more about it. See the website Here

I have this system myself and have used it on many dogs. Ive gotten very good results every time, and it does happen as fast as they say it does.

Get the Large Dog System here.

How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Remote Collar Training

Our next method available to us if you have a dog that doesnt like food or toys, is Remote Collar Training. When used correctly, these do not hurt the dog and should not be used to hurt your dog. If youre hurting your dog or you see someone else using one of these and they are hurting their dog, you are Using It Wrong!

Remote collars can be an extremely useful tool in training, if you choose this method, please go to someone who knows how to properly use one and can teach you how. The best people Ive found that use Remote collar training is Sit Means Sit dog training. This company does amazing things, and no Im not affiliated with them in any way. I do not get paid to recommend them. Ive seen their You Tube Channel and have really liked what Ive seen. I highly recommend watching as many of their videos as you can so you can get an idea of whats possible with them. They have trainers all over the place, so be sure to see if there is one close by to you.

Here is a video of one of their off leash classes, it might give you an idea of what you can expect.



Sit Means Sit Dog training will let you use food or toys if you want to or if your dog responds to them, but they are not required.

How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Natural Training

Natural training is using communication your dog understands and use on themselves. No corrective collars, no food or toys. I have honestly not experimented a lot with this type of training but would like to learn more on it. I found this nice website that is all about it, you can see it at Pam Shaw Canine Consultant. He has a DVD available and I think Im going to order it myself and see what its all about.

I am sure there is more available on the internet about him and on Natural Dog Training. Do a search for it and see what you can find.

To sum this all up, if you have a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys then throw out the reward based training and try something else! It is Okay! Dont let others make you feel bad because you dont use food or toys with your dog. The important thing is finding something that Works!

I would also like to point out, all of these methods are great even if your dog does like food or toys, but maybe you would like to try a different method.

Food or Toys are great to use during training if your dog finds them rewarding! However, dont get frustrated if your dog has no interest in either. There are plenty of other methods out there that dont use food or toys. I hope I helped you find some that will work for you.

Happy Training!

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Image Credits:
Dobie Pic: Pato_Garza @ Flickr


Amy @ Talented K9
talentedk9@yahoo.com
www.talentedk9.com

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Do Dogs Fall in Love Like in the Movies

By Tamara McRill

Remember that romantic kiss scene in Lady and the Tramp? You know the one…where they are eating a big plate of spaghetti and unknowingly slurping away at the same noodle, until their snouts meet in a smooch. Then Tramp noses the last meatball across the plate to Lady.

Aww. So adorable, right? Not to kill the cuteness factor, but have you ever wondered whether dogs can really fall head-over-paws in love like that?

Doggy love is a hard topic to find solid research on, maybe because it’s hard to qualify the emotion separate from simple affection. A lot of scientists seem to just flat out not believe in it.

Anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Social Lives of Dogs, believes that dogs can fall in love. In her book, she tells the story of Sundog and Bean, two dogs that met each other by chance and only had the pleasure of each other’s company for a brief period of time. Bean’s owner was a builder and they were off as soon as the job was finished.

Sundog would still faithfully wait to hear the sound of the vehicle Bean’s owner drove, but to no avail. He stopped eating and slept more often. Even bringing in another female dog didn’t interest him. As for Bean, her owner believed she was yearning for Sundog, even to the extent that she would run away, looking for him.

Sundog and Bean’s doggie “romance” may not be quite like it is in the movies, since their story lacked a happy ending, but their love seems real enough to me. Even a little reminiscent of Ben and Jade’s touching story, “Ties that Bind: What One Dog Did for Love.” Except that Ben and Jade did have a happy ending where, after trials and tribulations, they found each other again…much like Beethoven and Missy in the movie Beethoven’s 2nd.

I’ve only had two dogs that I ever considered “in a relationship.” Bo and Daisy were malamute and husky mixes that were bonded from birth. They played together and had puppies together.

Daisy passed away first and although Bo was sad, he seemed to recover fairly quickly. I’m sure this had much to do with his incredible bond with my mother. So were Bo and Daisy two dogs in love? It’s not like they were separated long enough to search each other out like Ben and Jade did and dramatically prove their devotion, but who am I to judge? I think it’s entirely possible they were “in love.”

So yes, it seems to me that dogs can fall in love with other dogs, just like Perdita had her Pongo in 101 Dalmatians and Marmaduke had both his Jezebel and, ultimately, his Mazie. Maybe one of these days I’ll get to witness my Wuppy nosing his CANIDAE Pure Heaven treats over to the love of his doggy life. We’re not just talking about fleeting puppy love here, but a long-lasting, deep emotional bond. Surely that’s favorite treat share-worthy!

Has your dog ever fallen in love with another dog?

Top photo by Michael Gil
Bottom photo by Droid Gingerbread

Read more articles by Tamara McRill

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Dogs Are Like Porn All Over the Internet and Waiting For You

Hi Mia,

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I’m coming to you hopped up on 3 cups of coffee, a chocolate chip cookie and a barrel of excitement. This weekend, I’m participating at Science Hack Day: Science in the City, an event in its second year running. The host is Francois Grey (Twitter:@FrancoisGrey) a physicist and the head of Citizen Science at NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress.

This two-day event is built on a simple premise:

Life in the city is complicated, and sometimes the only way to solve an urban problem is with a hack–a science hack, that is.

Science hacks are low-cost, elegant workarounds that create useful scientific projects. Science Hack Day is a two-day event that brings together scientists, designers, developers and innovators who will invent, build and test their projects.

On Saturday morning, thirteen hacks were pitched, and anyone who is interested can drop by to participate in Downtown Brooklyn. I’m surrounded by people either tinkering away on computers or other robotic-looking structures. Others took to the streets to record the sounds of the city or set-up hi-tech trash cans. Tomorrow I have the pleasure of sitting on a panel that will give out awards for the best Science Hacks.

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You know exactly what Im talking about because you were all jazzed after attending  Science Rewired (and covered the experience here), and a while back, I listed some of my favorite #citsci projects, including projects involving laughing babies, otters and clouds. 

For those less familiar with public participation science projects, here’s a short, quick and dirty video describing the wide range of projects that anyone can join. Being involved is not only about participating in research and helping researchers, its also about learning more about local communities, collecting relevant data (say on air quality in your neighborhood), and in some cases, making new discoveries:



But what about dogs? Much of the canine research in recent years is conducted in academic lab spaces or owner homes, but over the last few years, we’ve seen immense growth in virtual, online projects that require active participation from anyone in the world. As examples, weve previously blogged about Project: Play With Your Dog as well as Poo Power!

Here are online, public participation dog science projects that anyone in the world can join:

C-BARQ (Free)
A questionnaire designed to provide dog owners and professionals with standardized evaluations of canine temperament and behavior. 

Dognition 
A variety of science-based games that Dognition members can sign up for and play with their pup.

Emotional Content of Vocalizations (Free)
What is the emotional content of dog and human vocalizations? Listen and submit your answer (I covered this study on Scientific American, dedicating a lot of words to making fun of Bret Michaels, as is appropriate).

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Howl Coder (Free)
The Canid Howl Project is the work of a large number of scientists, trying to understand the range of different vocal behaviours of canids, primarily wolves, dogs, and coyotes. Participants listen to vocalizations and analyze the recordings.

Woof! (Free)
The Woof! experiment explores how people respond to dog barks. The study is trying to better understand how we respond to everyday sounds.

Risk factors for low-appeal shelter dogs (Free) 
This online study investigates how descriptors and physical appearance affect shelter dog length of stay and adoption success. Participants help by tagging images of dogs.

Factors contributing to aggressive impulsivity in the dogs (Free)
This is a serious welfare problem for both humans and dogs. PhD student Fernanda Fadel is trying to identify genetic risk factors in dogs which may allow researchers to develop a simple test to identify at-risk individuals. These dogs may need specific management measures to help them live happy and fulfilling lives, at minimal risk to others. Participate by completing a short questionnaire. 

Canine Researchers! Do you have an online, public participation project that we havent listed here? Email us, and let us know! doyoubelieveindog@gmail.com
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Projects often revolve around researchers and participants, and each group can have slightly different needs. 

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RESEARCHERS! I imagine that many of our colleagues are looking for study participants. Hooking up with citizen science project aggregators, like those listed below, is a great way to find interested participants. Researchers spend months and months on project design and methods, but recruiting and engaging participants is an entirely different bag of worms. Some of the below websites focus on participant recruitment and engagement. For example, SciStarter has many tools and resources for citizen science projects seeking participants.

PARTICIPANTS! Its not just about dogs, although dogs are very excellent. Many public science projects need help collecting and analyzing data on a wide range of topics. Interested in plants? Interested in birds? Interested in whale vocalizations? Theres something for everyone. Take a look below:

SciStarter

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“SciStarter is the place to find, join, and contribute to science through recreational activities and citizen science research projects. Our database of citizen science projects enable discovery, organization, and greater participation in citizen science.”

CitSci.org
“CitSci.org supports your research by providing tools and resources that allow you to customize your scientific procedure - all in one location on the internet."

Cornell Lab of Ornithology
"Anyone who watches birds, from backyards to city streets to remote forests, can help researchers better understand birds and their habits."

Zooniverse
"Zooniverse contains projects produced, maintained and developed by the Citizen Science Alliance. The member institutions of the CSA work with many academic and other partners around the world to produce projects that use the efforts and ability of volunteers to help scientists and researchers."

Scientific American
An aggregator of many public engagement projects.

Your Wild Life 
Many projects that "explore the biodiversity in our daily lives." I’m pretty psyched about the new Cat Tracker project. 

These are just a sampling of non-canine projects flying around the Internet. If anyone has contributed to public participation projects, wed love to hear about your experience.

See you in T minus 2 weeks!!!!

Julie

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Tip of the Day Dogs Dont like Hugs and Kisses

A different kind of love

One of the most important things you can teach your children is that dogs dont like hugs and kisses. This is a tough lesson, because many (if not most) dog owners simply do not believe it themselves.

Children learn early on that giving hugs to parents, siblings, and stuffed animals is a way to show love and affection. The desire to show affection extends naturally to the family dog. To a child, the family dog is just an animated stuffed animal.

Sadly, this desire to show affection to the family dog is a major cause of facial bites to children. Dogs may tolerate hugs from kids, but few actually enjoy this type of attention. If a dog does more than tolerate this inappropriate handling, it is only on the dog’s own terms—when the dog comes to the child for attention, and only if the child does not hug tightly or hang on too long. There is no dog that loves hugs from kids anytime, anywhere, anyhow.

Listen to the experts, including the dogs!

How do we know this? In part it is because every dog behavior expert tells us so. For example, world renowned expert and author Patricia McConnell in her wonderful book "For the Love of a Dog" says that she has at least 50 photos of kids hugging dogs and in not one of them is the dog happy about it. We also know because dogs tell us and dogs dont tell lies.

If your dog is enjoying a hug he will do one or more of the following:

• Ask for more if you stop
• Lean into you
• Relax and close his eyes
• Pant and wag his tail with a loose body

If your dog is not enjoying a hug he will do one or more of the following:

• Turn his head away from you
• Lick your face repeatedly
• Lick his lips or flick his tongue out
• Yawn
• Lick or chew at himself
• Sneeze
• Wriggle to get away
• Hold his body tense
• Shake off vigorously when you let go
• Show a half of moon of white in his eye
• Wag his tail stiffly

Here is a video of a nice dog showing a typical reaction to a hug from a child. He is tolerating, but not enjoying the interaction. 

This is the type of dog about whom the owners will say "he just loves the kids, they can do anything to him". If you hear yourself saying these words, then take a close look and see what the dog is really saying. In the vast majority of cases, the dog will be saying (at least some of the time), "I dont like this, please make it stop".

Prevention is the key

When the dog tells us and we dont listen, eventually he may come to the point that he just cant take it anymore and his only recourse is to use his teeth to say clearly "stop that".

Be an advocate for your kids and your dog, intervene and allow only interactions that the dog truly does enjoy.

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Tip of the Day Dogs Dont Like Hugs and Kisses What !

A different kind of love

One of the most important things you can teach your children is that dogs dont like hugs and kisses. This is a tough lesson, because many (if not most) dog owners simply do not believe it themselves.

Children learn early on that giving hugs to parents, siblings, and stuffed animals is a way to show love and affection. The desire to show affection extends naturally to the family dog. To a child, the family dog is just an animated stuffed animal.

Sadly, this desire to show affection to the family dog is a major cause of facial bites to children. Dogs may tolerate hugs from kids, but few actually enjoy this type of attention. If a dog does more than tolerate this inappropriate handling, it is only on the dog’s own terms—when the dog comes to the child for attention, and only if the child does not hug tightly or hang on too long. There is no dog that loves hugs from kids anytime, anywhere, anyhow.

Teach children to pet with one hand and to wait for the dog to come to them for attention and then to leave the dog alone if he moves away.

Listen to the experts, including the dogs!

How do we know this? In part it is because every dog behavior expert tells us so. For example, world renowned expert and author Patricia McConnell in her wonderful book "For the Love of a Dog" says that she has at least 50 photos of kids hugging dogs and in not one of them is the dog happy about it. We also know because dogs tell us and dogs dont tell lies.

If your dog is enjoying a hug he will do one or more of the following:

• Ask for more if you stop
• Lean into you
• Relax and close his eyes
• Pant and wag his tail with a loose body

If your dog is not enjoying a hug he will do one or more of the following:

• Turn his head away from you
• Lick your face repeatedly
• Lick his lips or flick his tongue out
• Yawn
• Lick or chew at himself
• Sneeze
• Wriggle to get away
• Hold his body tense
• Shake off vigorously when you let go
• Show a half of moon of white in his eye
• Wag his tail stiffly

If you hear yourself saying, "he just loves the kids, they can do anything to him", then take a close look and see what the dog is really saying. In the vast majority of cases, the dog will be saying (at least some of the time), "I dont like this, please make it stop". You love your dog, so why would you want him to have to tolerate hugs when it makes him uncomfortable? You love your kids, so why not teach them this simple safety rule: pet dogs with one hand.

Prevention is the key

When the dog tells us and we dont listen, eventually he may come to the point that he just cant take it anymore and his only recourse is to use his teeth to say clearly "stop that".

Be an advocate for your kids and your dog, intervene and allow only interactions that the dog truly does enjoy.

There is one safe way for kids to kiss their dog. Check out this terrific video from The Family Dog TV:


Learn More About Dog Body Language

Learn more about dog body language by taking our online course: Basic Dog Body Language, and also from the Doggone Crazy! Board Game, available in the Doggone Safe store.

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Parents Is Your Child Really Safe Around Your Dog

In this article you will learn some dog bite prevention information that you probably

have never heard of before. Did you know that dogs often yawn, not because they are bored or tired, but because they are tolerating a situation that they consider to be unpleasant? Here you will learn how to assess the emotional state of a dog and decide whether the dog is likely to be receptive or annoyed by the attentions of a child. This is important, since in most dog bite instances the biter is a family pet or a dog belonging to a friend, neighbor or babysitter. Normally the children of the family would consider it to be safe to go up and pet the dog while he is sitting looking out the window at a cat on the fence. They would not be breaking any of the safety rules children are generally taught to follow, however, in this case it is not safe to approach the dog. The dog is focussed on the cat and in this state of arousal is not interested in being petted by children. A dog in this frame of mind may snap if approached. In order to prevent these types of bites, children and parents need to learn how to assess the emotional state of the dog and determine whether the dog is safe for a child to approach.

Happy Dogs are Safer

Dogs cannot talk to us with words, but they are highly skilled in the use of body language. Some signals that dogs send are very obvious in their meaning. For example a dog showing his teeth with raised hackles is clearly indicating that he will not tolerate the attentions of a child. A dog that turns his head away or gets up and walks away is asking to be left alone. Other signals are subtler, or are quite obvious, but most people do not know how to interpret them. Happy and calm dogs are safer for children to interact with than dogs that are anxious, scared or angry. Happy and calm dogs will present one or more of the following signals: panting with happy expression, ears and forehead relaxed, tail wagging enthusiastically or lying with one paw tucked under. A dog presenting this way is safe for a child to approach. Note that we are talking about your own dog here. Children should never approach someone elses dog. If the demeanor changes and the dog stiffens, stops panting and wagging or raises his tail high upon the approach of the child then the child should not approach. This applies even to the family pet. An anxious or fearful dog may wag his tail low or even between his legs, he may back away when approached or raise a front paw slightly. A common sign that the dog is unhappy with the situation is the pleading look that happens when a child is mauling the dog. This look involves the dog showing part of the white of the eye in a half-moon shape. Parents seeing this half-moon eye should intervene, since the dog is anxious and may not tolerate the child for much longer. Another danger sign which parents must take very seriously is the raised tail. If a dog raises his tail to a child when the child approaches the dog or when the dog comes near the child, this dog is saying, “Don’t mess with me”. This dog is likely to bite the child if the child continues to antagonize the dog. Parents who see this behavior in the dog should seek the advice of a canine behavior consultant.

Here is a slideshow that gives interpretations to many common dog body language signals:

Approaching a Dog?

In general it is best to teach children to wait for a dog to come to them, rather than going to the dog. This applies even to your own dog (although we know that most people will not agree with this advice). If a dog does not come to the child for attention, then the dog does not want attention at this moment. It is always safer for a child to interact with a dog who wants to interact than with a dog who doesnt. Under no circumstances should a child approach a strange dog or someone elses dog.

My Dog Will Let the Kids Do Anything to Him

Some dogs are more tolerant than others. If you ever hear yourself saying something like: "My dog loves kids, they can do anything to him", then you are allowing risky situations to occur and you are expecting way too much from your dog. Many people think that their dog is good with children and will tolerate any sort of poking, prodding and cuddling. To find out what the dog really thinks, watch the dog for signs of displacement behavior that may occur while the dog is being “tolerant”. If there is conflict in the dog’s mind and he wants to take one action (say, biting or getting up and walking away), but instead he takes another less preferable action (staying put while a child hugs him), he will often displace the desired action with some out-of-context behavior. Common out-of-context, or displacement behaviors include yawning and or stretching when not tired, licking chops when there is no food, sudden scratching, sudden biting or licking of paws or other body parts and wet dog shake when not wet or dirty. The dog may also lick the child repeatedly. This is often mistake for affection when in reality it is the dog attempting to create distance from the child. If you observe displacement behavior during dog-child interactions this is the time to intervene, since the dog is signaling that he may not tolerate much more attention from the child.

Even if you do have the sort of dog that will endlessly tolerate things he doesnt really like from the kids, is it fair to the dog to allow this to continue? Why should your good dog be expected to put up with this? Read about the curse of the good dog and how you can avoid this curse for your good dog.

Interact Only with Happy Dogs

Some breeds of dog always look worried, or alert or carry their tails high or have so much fur that it is difficult to tell which end is which. Children should avoid interactions with dogs if they are unsure about how the dog is feeling. The simplest rule for young children to follow is that happy, panting, wagging dogs are safe and dogs with their mouths closed and intent expressions are not safe. Be on the look out for key signs that the bite risk is increasing. These include, tail raised to the child, half-moon eye, dog intently focussed on something other than the child (cat, food, leash etc) or displacement behavior (yawing and licking of chops are the most common). Dogs displaying these signs are not in a suitable emotional state for interaction with a child and a bite could follow if you do not intervene.

Recommended Parent Resources for Teaching Kids

Family Paws Parent Education
Body Language Flashcard Kit
Dog Detective eBook
Good Dog! Kids Teach Kids About Dog Behavior and Training ebook - by Evelyn Pang and Hilary Louie
Doggone Crazy! Board game (20% off until Sept 30 2012 - use the code FALLGAME in the Doggone Safe store

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Working like a dog

Hello Julie,

Having consulted two of my fabulous friends who happen to be ‘real world editors’ I can happily report that the technically correct format would be “Hi there, Mia”. This is to clarify that my name is not ‘there Mia’, although one friend said “no one does it on the internet”, so maybe you can’t win – or can’t lose?! 
I’m just happy you said “Hi”.

Its so true that there are welfare issues all around us – even when perhaps we’re not expecting to see them. Or when we are so used to seeing them that we need to put on ‘fresh eyes’ to see them in a different light. I find it really interesting that some of the features we find attractive in dogs can be the very same that equate to poor welfare for the animal. I hope you can tell me some more about the why and how we humans identify certain features as attractive. It’s a really fascinating topic.

In a not-really-related-but-kind-of-interesting side note – I noticed some interested physical traits we were encountering when I worked with guide dogs. Our breeding colony was selected for good physical health and on a basis of behavioural traits deemed ‘suitable for guide dog work’, but not to a strict physical standard (as a ‘pedigree’ Labrador might be). We had some Golden retrievers and F1 and F2 crosses/crossbacks between the two breeds – always selecting for dogs that could work well as guide dogs for people with vision impairment.

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We started seeing some brindle coming through in some black dogs. 
So we had some Labradors that looked like this >>>  

There were people telling us they COULDN’T BE LABRADORS! 

They MUST be Rottweiler crosses. But they werent - and we had records showing 50 years+ of breeding history to show it.

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Turns out that it’s not an unheard of ’mismark’ (such a dirty word for such attractive markings) to Labrador breeders. 









But here’s the neatest part – it’s even been seen in other Guide Dog schools, in other countries (how cool is that!?!).

This brindle lab is from a GD school in the USA (source)

Reminds me of those silver foxes, but man, are they a topic for another whole post.

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So how have you been? 
I’ve been quite busy this past week – working hard ahead of a national workshop that’s coming up in a couple of weeks’ time. 




Speaking of that, I find it so interesting that ‘working like a dog’ means to work extremely hard (at least in Australian culture – is it the same in the US o’ A?). Their industrious capacity is built into our everyday language.

Working dogs are really quite iconic here in Australia.
We have statues celebrating them, movies about them...

...we even commemorated them on a set of stamps a few years ago (I personally knew that chap on the right very well)!

One of my favourite picture books as a child was about ‘Suey the sheep-dog’. The Australian working dog industry is truly diverse. In the work I’ve been doing over the past few years, we have chosen to define working dogs as domestic dogs kept for non-companion purposes that work in a private industry, government, assistance or sporting context.

I will tell you more about that work and Australia’s working dogs next time!

I hope your weekend is full of sunshine and laughter,

Mia

References:

Trut, L. (1999). Early Canid Domestication: The Farm-Fox Experiment, American Scientist, 87 (2) DOI: 10.1511/1999.2.160

Schmutz, S.M. & Berryere, T.G. (2007). Genes affecting coat colour and pattern in domestic dogs: a review, Animal Genetics, 38 (6) 549. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2007.01664.x

© Mia Cobb 2012

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Fireworks not fun for everyone or every dog

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Hi Julie,

I hope you have had a lovely Christmas, we certainly did! The sun has been shining and we’ve enjoyed seeing our friends and family over the past few days.

I’ve got my eye on New Year’s Eve now that Christmas has passed, but not because I’m planning a big night out. It’s all to do with fireworks. 

My two dogs demonstrate very different reactions to fireworks. One used to default into a shaking ball and tuck herself away into a corner somewhere (usually under my desk or next to my bed). 

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The other prefers to charge around, barking at the sky as though the sound is an intruder and will continue racing and barking until the noise stops. I’m sure that in his mind, he is convinced that he (once again) successfully saved us ALL by scaring off the weird sky-noises. To his credit – it works every time. Bark long enough and the noises do go away! 

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Over the years, we’ve developed strategies to help them both cope better with less anxiety and fear in these situations. Most of the time, these strategies work (or maybe they are just going deaf as they get older?!).

However, lots of dogs have a really rough time on New Year’s Eve. 

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When I worked in a shelter, it was by far our busiest 24 hour period of the entire year. One year, we had more dogs enter the shelter than we physically had room to kennel (on average, we had 5-10 dogs admitted per day; on NYE, we could receive 100+!). They would end up in offices and leashed to anchor points in various locations. It was also a peak period for the associated vet clinic in treating emergencies, generally dogs hit by cars. Other dogs needed injured paws treated after running panicked along rough roads. Fortunately most dogs we reclaimed by their owners, but sadly, some were not so lucky and never made it home again.

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Research conducted by the University of Bristol (UK) in 2005, showed that nearly half of the owners surveyed reported their dogs were frightened of loud noises. Of these dogs, fireworks were reported (in 83% of dogs) to cause fearful behaviours more than any other loud noise (e.g. thunderstorms). These figures are consistent with a later study conducted in New Zealand, published in 2010.

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What behavioural signs indicate fear in dogs?

•     Trembling/Shaking
•     Barking/Howling
•     Hiding
•     Destructive behaviour
•     Seeking out people
•     Scratch door/Escape
•     Toilet/defecate

Interestingly, This study suggested a link between the time of year dogs were born and fearful behaviour to loud noises (i.e. if they were likely to have heard fireworks when puppies, they were reportedly less likely to show a fearful response).

Most owners of dogs exhibiting fear behaviour to loud noises report they were unaware that professional help (from animal behaviourists or their vet) was available to assist in helping their dog, or had not pursued such help.

Several types of treatment have been researched with various levels of success reported:

•   homeopathic remedies (was not shown to be significantly effective);
•   dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) (has been shown to help);
•   desensitisation/counter-conditioning CDs (has been shown to help); and
•   vet-only dispensed medication, such as clomipramine (has been shown to help)

Some of these treatments can be used in conjunction with each other.

I couldnt find any research about the success of ear muffs! (source)

If you have any friends facing their first New Year’s Eve with a new pet dog, it might be worth warning them that their dog might be one of the many that are sensitive to loud noises like fireworks.

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The RSPCA and ASPCA have some extremely helpful resources and tips to help dogs cope better. 

RSPCA Victoria also have a great set of information that gives advice based on whether you will be home or not - its even available in a handy printout. 

Tell your friends!

I dont mind fireworks, but Im keeping very conscious of the fact my dogs dont.
Wishing you a fabulous close to 2012 and and exciting start to 2013!

Mia

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Further reading:

Blackwell E., Casey R. & Bradshaw J. (2005). Firework fears and phobias in the domestic dog., RSPCA / University of Bristol, Report: Link to full report here 

Dale A., Walker J., Farnworth M., Morrissey S. & Waran N. (2010). A survey of owners perceptions of fear of fireworks in a sample of dogs and cats in New Zealand, New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 58 (6) 286-291. DOI: 10.1080/00480169.2010.69403

Bowen J. (2008). Behaviour: Firework fears and phobias, Companion Animal, 13 (8) 59-63. DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-3862.2008.tb00529.x

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Dreschel N.A. & Granger D.A. (2005). Physiological and behavioral reactivity to stress in thunderstorm-phobic dogs and their caregivers, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 95 (3-4) 153-168. DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2005.04.009

Levine E.D., Ramos D. & Mills D.S. (2007). A prospective study of two self-help CD based desensitization and counter-conditioning programmes with the use of Dog Appeasing Pheromone for the treatment of firework fears in dogs (Canis familiaris), Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 105 (4) 311-329. DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2006.11.006

Cracknell N.R. & Mills D.S. (2008). A double-blind placebo-controlled study into the efficacy of a homeopathic remedy for fear of firework noises in the dog (Canis familiaris), The Veterinary Journal, 177 (1) 80-88. DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2007.04.007

Bolster C. (2012). Fireworks are no fun for pets, Veterinary Nursing Journal, 27 (10) 387-390. DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2012.00224.x

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© Mia Cobb 2012

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