Dog Behavior

Getting your dog ready for its first show is an exciting and potentially highly rewarding time.

It’s hard enough to keep up with your own to-do list, but do you ever stop to think about your dog’s daily schedule?

Joanne Stout of Oceanside, California, admitted she got impatient with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Rusty. "I am constantly tripping over him," she says. "He is always under foot," she said.

New York City graduate student Lacey Brown was walking her roommate’s German shepherd last fall when the dog lunged and bit an elderly neighbor on the wrist.

Most dogs behave in ways that may seem downright dumb. Drinking water from the toilet bowl. Eating grass. Sniffing the waste of other canines. But there are reasons for these behaviors: Dogs prefer cold water over stagnant water that’s been sitting in a dish, grass is natural roughage and may induce vomiting if they have a stomachache, and urine and poop are the newspapers of the dog world, communicating who did what where and when.

The movie Up features a dog with a collar that translates his thoughts into sentences like "I have just met you, and I love you!" Real dogs, however, speak more with body language than with barks.

A few years ago, veterinarian Sophia Yin took her Australian cattle dog, Zoe, to a horse ranch and let the dog sleep in the stables overnight. In the middle of the night, Dr. Yin was startled by a strange, loud howling sound.

Children go through the "terrible 2s", a developmental stage characterized by whining, misbehavior and perpetual inquisitiveness. Dogs do something similar, only they never grow out of it.

When a wolf bites, it can inflict up to 1,500 pounds of pressure per square inch. Yet when two wolves square off in a playful wrestling match, each usually barely grazes the skin surface of its rival. Why?

When a technician comes to my house, my next-door neighbor’s friendly yet hyper dog often dashes outside. Goober jumps on the startled individual in the middle of the street – I jumped too the first few times the large dog leaped on me. But a stern "No!" and "Sit!" calms him down and leads to "the look."

Some dogs see a verdant lawn as an invitation to romp. Others view that swath of grass as a welcome snack. If you count your pup among the dogs that occasionally graze on grass, you’re far from alone. Veterinarians receive many questions about grass grazing, and they don’t always have direct answers for their clients, says Laird Goodman, DVM, a member of the board of directors of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association.

Try a little experiment with your dog: Have it stand perpendicular to you, with another person facing your pet about 3 feet away. Ask the other person to call your dog. As the dog moves toward that person, look at which foot it moves first.

The Chappell family was puzzled: Why was their house-trained mixed poodle, Molly, now wetting her bed during the night? Ten-year-old Molly had never done this before, making it seem like the once well-mannered canine suddenly decided to misbehave.

When Aleta Watson’s 1-year-old grandson, Xavier, tried to crawl on Aggie, her golden retriever, during Watson’s recent visit to Portland, Ore., there were no worries. The large, imposing dog simply got up and walked away, says Watson. "We love golden retrievers because they tend to be so mellow," says Watson, 62, a writer based in Ben Lomond, Calif. "Aggie is our fourth purebred golden, and she’s really easygoing. We’ve never seen any sign of aggression in her or our previous goldens."

Dogs are so furry that even the most observant of owners can miss details about their appearance. Take dog whiskers, for example. They’re usually visible above the eyes and on the muzzle, but did you know that your dog likely has a tiny beard of whiskers below its jaws?

Has your dog ever raised hackles at the letter carrier or growled at the neighbor’s kid? Untreated aggressive behavior in your dog can escalate to tragic consequences unless you take control.

"If my dog ever bites my child, he’s out of here!" I hear that all the time. It just makes me want to scream, "But that will be too late!"

By right, dogs are pack animals, and as such must be able to communicate their intentions effectively, so as to avoid misunderstanding and unintended conflict. All breeds of dogs share the common language which is Doggy Speak. They communicate in far more ways than some might give them credit for: They do not just wag their tail – their posture, ears, teeth and eyes all communicate certain feelings as well.

How many times have we seen Lassie save Timmy or some other child from disaster? What about Rin Tin Tin and Rusty? Who could forget Nana from Peter Pan? What about the flip side? How often do we hear reports of the family pet mauling a young child? How many pets are surrendered each year when a new baby arrives? How many pets are given up because owners find they have little time for the child and the dog? Dogs and kids can be the best or the worst match. What can you do to help ensure the best with your dog and child?