When a sleeping dog suddenly yips loudly and her legs start moving as if running, it seems that she's dreaming. I've seen Ashley do this often, particularly after a busy day of chasing rabbits and playing. I've often wondered, do dogs really dream? I did some research and here's what I found out.
Dogs do, in fact, dream. A dog's brain is really very similar to ours. Also, during sleep, the brain wave patterns of dogs are similar to those of people. A dog's brain goes through the same stages of electrical activity observed in humans, supporting the belief that dog's do dream. Researchers have found that dogs, like humans, experience two stages of sleep. One sleep stage is NREM, or Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep, during which you, and your dog, breathe deeply and demonstrate slow brain wave patterns. The second stage is called Rapid eye movement sleep, or REM. During this stage your dog demonstrates jerky eye movements, increased heart rate, and an increased pattern of brain waves. During this stage, humans, and dogs, dream.
There is also evidence that they dream of common dog activities. It makes sense, since much of what we humans dream about is connected to the experiences we have in our waking hours. As I watch Ashley sleep I can imagine that, in her dreams she is chasing a rabbit across the yard or a squirrel up a tree. Maybe she's playing with one of her dog friends. I guess I'll never know for sure but I do hope that her dreams are happy dreams.
References:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201010/do-dogs-dream
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/do-dogs-dream/page1.aspx
Only Natural Pet Store LLC
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Dog Greetings-How To Teach a Polite "Hello"
Nearly every dog gets excited when people come to visit, but some go completely overboard. They run around in circles, bark excessively, or jump as high as they can, leaving dusty little paw prints on your visitor jacket. Even people who love dogs don't enjoy being greeted with so much exuberance. Your visitor will appreciate even less the intrusion of inquisitive noses into embarrassing places.
Apart for walks and meal times, most dogs don't have a lot of high points in their days, so it's not surprising that hey get a little worked up when visitors drop by and liven things up. It's easy to train puppies to greet people with manners, but it's more difficult to teach older dogs to behave more soberly. Not only are they set in their ways but also there may be other reasons for their assertive hello.
In order to understand these dog greetings we need to understand a little about dog behavior. Among people, the most socially unacceptable kind of dog greeting is to have a cold nose pushed into the private place. But among dogs, this is simple the way they do things, and they can't figure out why people get so uncomfortable. When a guest visits dogs have two things on their minds. First, they are excited about someone new entering the house. Secondly, they are also wondering how this new person will fit into the group, and they aren't quite sure how to respond. So they display a whole variety of behaviors like jumping up, barking, and nudging in order to test how this new person is going to react to them.
In order to prevent the embarrassing nudge to your guest, quickly distract your dog as soon as you see her make a move. Use the "off" or "no" command and be consistent. An easy solution is to distract your dog as soon as people arrive. Never let One way to do this is to make her sit or lie down straight away. By going into traing mode, you will focus attention more on you than on the new arrivals. When she does what you tell her, give her a treat. Soon she will learn that acting calmly and following commands gets her something good to eat. It will reinforce a desired behavior when visitors arrive. Once your dog has calmed down and is sitting quietly you can let her satisfy her curiosity by sniffing your guests' hands.
When Ashley was young I had friends willing to help me with training stop by so that we could practice this. At first she would get so excited that following a "sit" command was just not working. So, I learned to put her on a leash before opening the door to guests. This gave me a little more control while we worked on the behavior. If she still had trouble I would stand on the leash so that she was forced to stay in the sitting position. I made sure that a reward was ready by keeping a jar of her favorite treats near the door.
Some dogs catch on quickly. Unfortunately, my Ashley took a little time. Remember to be patient. You want a guest visiting to be a positive experience for your dog. Greeting problems can be awkward because you can't deal with them in private-you can only work on it when someone is visiting. Although, at first, you will feel like you are paying more attention to your dog than your guest, over time you can have friends and guests visit without having to apologize for your dog's embarrassing "poke"hello.
Apart for walks and meal times, most dogs don't have a lot of high points in their days, so it's not surprising that hey get a little worked up when visitors drop by and liven things up. It's easy to train puppies to greet people with manners, but it's more difficult to teach older dogs to behave more soberly. Not only are they set in their ways but also there may be other reasons for their assertive hello.
In order to understand these dog greetings we need to understand a little about dog behavior. Among people, the most socially unacceptable kind of dog greeting is to have a cold nose pushed into the private place. But among dogs, this is simple the way they do things, and they can't figure out why people get so uncomfortable. When a guest visits dogs have two things on their minds. First, they are excited about someone new entering the house. Secondly, they are also wondering how this new person will fit into the group, and they aren't quite sure how to respond. So they display a whole variety of behaviors like jumping up, barking, and nudging in order to test how this new person is going to react to them.
In order to prevent the embarrassing nudge to your guest, quickly distract your dog as soon as you see her make a move. Use the "off" or "no" command and be consistent. An easy solution is to distract your dog as soon as people arrive. Never let One way to do this is to make her sit or lie down straight away. By going into traing mode, you will focus attention more on you than on the new arrivals. When she does what you tell her, give her a treat. Soon she will learn that acting calmly and following commands gets her something good to eat. It will reinforce a desired behavior when visitors arrive. Once your dog has calmed down and is sitting quietly you can let her satisfy her curiosity by sniffing your guests' hands.
When Ashley was young I had friends willing to help me with training stop by so that we could practice this. At first she would get so excited that following a "sit" command was just not working. So, I learned to put her on a leash before opening the door to guests. This gave me a little more control while we worked on the behavior. If she still had trouble I would stand on the leash so that she was forced to stay in the sitting position. I made sure that a reward was ready by keeping a jar of her favorite treats near the door.
Some dogs catch on quickly. Unfortunately, my Ashley took a little time. Remember to be patient. You want a guest visiting to be a positive experience for your dog. Greeting problems can be awkward because you can't deal with them in private-you can only work on it when someone is visiting. Although, at first, you will feel like you are paying more attention to your dog than your guest, over time you can have friends and guests visit without having to apologize for your dog's embarrassing "poke"hello.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Ashley's Favorite Treats
For many of us the holidays means shopping and decorating but also great food! During this time of year we throw out our diets until after the new year and partake of the many treats that are such a big part of the holiday tradition. Let us not forget, however, our furry friends. Why shouldn't they also enjoy some treats during the holidays? Also, with budgets so tight recently, many people are looking for inexpensive or even homemade gifts for their friends and family.
For this post I thought I would post some of Ashley's favorite homemade treats. These could make a great addition to a pet lovers gift basket for friends or family who have dogs. I've tried each of these recipes and Ashley loved each treat. I should also tell you that I'm really not much of a cook and Ashley is rather picky about her treats so I they worked for us, they should work for anyone :-)
Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 medium eggs
1/4 cup natural crunchy peanut butter
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup rolled oats
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together the water,
oil, eggs, peanut butter and vanilla. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine
the dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and beat
with an electric mixer until smooth. Roll the dough into a ball and place it on a
sheet of floured wax paper. Roll or pat out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 to
1/2 inch. Cut the dough with a cookie cutter (preferably one shaped like a dog
biscuit) and place the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 20
minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the biscuits in the oven for one hour.
Makes 1 to 2 dozen biscuits, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.
Pooch Peanut Butter Swirls
Dough #1
4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg
Dough #2
4 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup banana -- mashed
1 egg
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Combine all #1 ingredients and mix thoroughly. Knead on a lightly floured surface. Set aside.
Combine all #2 ingredients and mix thoroughly. Knead on a lightly floured surface.
Roll each dough separately to a 1/8 inch thickness, into rectangles. Lightly brush a little water over the
top of the light dough. Place the dark dough on top, then roll up like a jelly roll. Wrap the roll in plastic
and chill in the freezer for one hour. Cut the roll into 1/4 inch slices. Place them on a cookie sheet
sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Pumpkin-Patch Biscuits
1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour 1 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 T. butter flavored shortening 1/2 c. solid pack canned pumpkin
1 egg 1/2 c. buttermilk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cut in shortening. Beat egg with milk and pumpkin, and combine with flour, mixing well. Stir until soft dough forms. Drop by tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool and serve. Enjoy.
Holiday Gifts for Pets and Pet Lovers
I know that it's easy to get treats from the store but there's really nothing like home cooking. Friends will appreciate the time and effort you put into making these treats for their dog. Consider also, the added health benefit that natural food with no artificial flavors and coloring have for your dog. You could put the treats in holiday plastic treat bags to give or include them as a part of the gift basket.
If you are looking for other holiday gift ideas try my Gifts for Pets and Pet Lovers suggestions. Also try Animal Den - this Animal Lovers Gift Shop is highly recommended. Great products, top service, five stars.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)