Pamela Reid - Dog Insight

Dog InSight
Pamela Reid, Ph.D., CAAB

Dogwise Publishing
A Division of Direct Book Service, Inc.
403 South Mission Street, Wenatchee, Washington 98801
1-509-663-9115, 1-800-776-2665
www.dogwisepublishing.com / info@dogwisepublishing.com

2012 Pamela Reid
Photos: Nick Burchell
Graphic Design: Lindsay Peternell

The essays in this book originally appeared in Dogs in Canada. Used with permission.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty:
The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising out of, the furnishing, performance, or use of the instructions and suggestions contained in this book.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reid, Pamela, 1960

Dog inSight / Pamela Reid.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-61781-054-1

1. DogsBehavior. 2. DogsTraining. I. Title.

SF433.R45 2012

ISBN: 978-1-61781-054-1

Printed in the U.S.A.

To my Dad,
Dickson Reid,
who instilled in me a fascination
and respect for all animals.

More praise forDog InSight

Dog InSight is a must-read book for dog owners who seek plainspoken guidance on ways to improve their relationships with their dogs. If your dog has ever quivered with fear at a clap of thunder, forgotten his housetraining skills, or simply befuddled you with his wacky antics, Dr. Reids insights into the causes of behavioral problems, along with her advice on modification techniques, will prove enlightening. Throughout the book, Dr. Reid debunks myths that have pervaded among dog owners. Readers will no longer fear that playing tug-ofwar with their puppies will foster aggressiveness. With her thoughtful approach and real-life examples, Dr. Reid has written a book that is destined to become a resource for dog owners everywhere.

Ed Sayres, President & CEO, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

As a colleague I have had the pleasure of hearing Pam Reids insights on dog behavior for a number of years. In her new book, Dog InSight she brings her thoughts to a larger audience. Dr. Reid uses common examples of dog behavior familiar to everyone who has shared their life and home with a dog to illustrate our current scientific understanding of dogs and their behavior. At the same time she weaves a compelling story about how her insights can help to ensure that both dogs and people will enjoy being together and doing things together.

Stephen L. Zawistowski, Ph. D., CAAB, Science Advisor, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Have you ever considered what a privilege it is to share your life with a dog? Think about it. Here we are: an advanced primate speciesdevastating to the environment and feared by most other species on Earthyet befriended by an innocuous, medium-sized terrestrial carnivore. Clearly, we have a symbiotic relationship. Early in the domestication process, both species benefited from the presence of the other. As we evolved together, the dog served us well as a hunting partner, protector, clean-up crew, and companion. That last function is what makes dogs so unique. Dogs proved to be precious to humans because of their companionship. No two species in the history of the world have come to develop such a friendship as dogs and people.

Im sure we all have a story about how we came to know the love of a good dog. My story isnt anything special. I grew up as an only child in rural Nova Scotia. I wasnt really an only child; my parents had already raised a family of three when I came along. But I was a lonely child. I had no siblings living at home, and I lived several miles from other children my age. My mom was allergic to animals so I had no pets either. That is, until the day we spied Charlie in the dog catchers van. Charlie was a Border Collie-ish mutt who spent his days hanging out at the elementary school. No one really knew if he had a home, although in retrospect he wasnt thin or in poor condition, so he probably did. We all adored Charlie, but someone must have called the dog catcher that day, because he staked out the school to nab the trusting dog. Who knew that it would lead to a crowd of kids and our teacher, Mrs. Robinson, swarming around the van, all bawling and pleading for the catcher to release the dog? Drawn into the melee, my mother somehow found herself paying the fine to the dog catcher. Charlie had a new homeand I had a friend. Charlie and I were inseparable until the day I left for university. We roamed the fields and the forests together, we went fishing with my dad, and we covered miles with me on my bike and Charlie by my side. Once Charlie came into the picture, I had an idyllic childhood. My mom adored Charlie too, despite the sneezing that ensured through the next ten years, and she grieved deeply when Charlie died. Charlie graced me with his presence and instilled in me a fascination for all animals. Ive been so fortunate to have subsequently shared my life with several incredible dogs.

The dog is a wondrous animal, deserving of our admiration and respect. He is physically powerfulan athlete capable of loping across miles of countryside. He is intensely aware of his surroundings, with hearing much keener than ours, a visual system sensitive to the slightest movements, and a sense of smell we cant even begin to comprehend. His is a rich sensory world that we cannot enter. He is social, preferring companionship to solitude. Left to indulge his whims, the dog will hang out with friends and share information through a complex and subtle system of language to which we are only vaguely privy. He is highly intelligent, though in very specialized ways. The dog is particularly adept at associating his actions with consequences. He is a master of spatial navigation. He is more than capable of learning how to read and cope with his mystifying human partners. To top it all off, the dog is a passionate spiritalways ready for fun, utterly gleeful about life, yet highly sensitive to the emotional states of others. The dog seems to know exactly when a lick or nuzzle will do the trick. He is an ironic little being; I am awed by his power and self-sufficiency on the one hand, yet feel an intense need to protect and nurture him on the other. Although, if I could change one thing, it would be the dogs life span. Dogs lives are tragically short.

I wrote the information contained in these pages in the hope that readers will share my appreciation and admiration of dogs. These essays are snippets of information and insight into the behaviour of dogs. They originally appeared as columns in the monthly magazine Dogs in Canada, and Ive loosely partitioned them into three sectionsPart 1: Behaviour; Part 2: Training, and Part 3: Behaviour Problems.

BEHAVIOUR