Linda P. Case's Blog, page 19

With a Little Help from My Friends

There is a large body of research showing that dogs are quite capable of noticing and responding to human communication cues such as body language, tone of voice, and various forms of pointing. Dogs also will initiate eye contact with people and respond to human gaze. We are well matched in this respect because humans, of course, use eye contact to communicate […]

Only Have Eyes for You

Eye contact is one of the first things that I teach to my own dogs and is a basic behavior that we teach to all of our students at my training school, AutumnGold. In our training classes, we introduce eye contact very early because it is easy to teach and provides very rapid and positive results to owners […]

Dog Food Marketing – Science Weighs In

Marketing researchers know a lot about advertising strategies that successfully increase sales. This is no less true for pet foods than it is for any other consumer goods. Some of the more obvious approaches to attracting dog owners to a particular brand are advertisements that appeal to our emotional attachment to dogs, capitalize on our desire for expert […]

Dogs are Carnivores, Right?

There is a great deal of confusion (and opinion) today regarding how to classify the domestic dog. Those who identify dogs as carnivores (meat-eating) animals tend to focus on the predatory nature of the dog’s closest cousin, the wolf. Conversely, those who are inclined to classify the dog as an omnivore (consumes both plants and […]

Be a Citizen (Canine) Scientist!

Love dogs and interested in helping scientists to learn more about their behavior? If so, this study is for you! Graduate student Mie Kikuchi and Professor Daniel Mills of the University of Lincoln are conducting a survey study that examines cultural perceptions of canine aggression. Click the photo below to be a citizen scientist and participate […]

Got Gullet?

Innovative dog chews and treats are all the rage these days. Despite the claims of their sellers, most of these products are new twists on an old theme – taking the parts of food animals that we typically discard as inedible waste and turning them into expensive and often highly sought after dog treats. A few examples are bully sticks, […]

How Many Barks does a Nuisance Dog Make?

According to a paper that I read recently, nuisance barking is identified as a major, worldwide behavior problem that affects 1 in 3 dogs, is a frequent cause of neighbor disputes, and is a common cause of relinquishment of dogs by their owners to shelters and rescue groups (1). Hmmm…. Nuisance barking. So, once again, […]

Go Ask Alice

We have a new puppy in the house. Alice is her name. She’s cute. Really cute. Of course, it is possible that I am a bit biased…….(nah…..she really is adorable, even now at 4 months….). During the first few weeks that Ally was with our family, we could not go walking at our local park without […]

Weigh In On This

It is a fact that many pet dogs (more than 50 percent by several accounts) are overweight. I reviewed the current statistics regarding canine waistlines in an earlier blog, “Do you think I look fat in this collar“. In that essay, we learned that owners of overweight dogs have a tendency to incorrectly assess their dog’s body condition, almost […]

Fear Itself

Last year, on the drive home from our annual vacation in Bar Harbor, Maine, our 11-year-old Brittany, Vinny suddenly and inexplicable awoke from a sound sleep and began to tremble, pant, pace, and obsessively lick at the sides of his travel crate. When I crawled back over the seat to find out what was wrong, Vinny’s […]