When good pets go bad

Your once calm and quiet Golden Retriever has started barking and chewing the kids toys. Is it a change that has developed with age? Been learned from other dogs? Or is this new behaviour something you may have unknowingly introduced... 

InfoStream Guest Author Barbara Walmer provides strategies for behaviour reinforcement in pets. 

Your dog is a part of your family.  This is definitely the way most people feel about their pets.  Do you expect that a member of your family could display inappropriate or aggressive behaviour?  Many families handle both human and animal members of their families differently when they exhibit behaviour that we label as inappropriate or aggressive.  Ignoring, re-directing, punishing, and disassociating are all methods different people utilize. 

Behaviour is constantly changing, in both humans and animals.  We do what works for us, on both an emotional and practical level.  To keep behaviour strong it needs to be reinforced.  If an animal is not reinforced for a certain set of behaviours, they are likely to change strategies.  For example, a dog who lies quietly on its dog bed is ignored will change its behaviour to getting up and barking, in order to get attention. 

Remember dogs are social animals who want to be a part of the action, which includes verbal and physical interaction.  We often are passive when behaviour that is exhibited is “appropriate”, but react to behaviour that is “inappropriate”.  Often behaviour problems start with small behaviour changes that go unrecognized or ignored for a period of time until they become problematic.  At this point, an animal has practiced the behaviour sequence many times and been reinforced (by the environment or people).  This is typically when people come to seek guidance. 

The good news, is behaviour is constantly changing. The bad news is the animal is finding the current behaviour pattern reinforcing and effective.  We have to change this dynamic in many situations to allow the animal to find other behaviours (typically ones they did before) more reinforcing.

As humans, we can contribute to undesirable behaviour by not acknowledging it.  The sooner we recognize behaviour changes and seek help with an accredited trainer the better it is for all.  Behaviour continues to change.  Be aware!

- Barbara Walmer CPDT-KSA, CBCC-KA, KPA CTP, ACDBC

You don't like sleep, right?

Lisa Milton, Squish's Mom, @summitLisa, lisa.miltonwork

Depending on where you get your next animal from, you may or may not have a choice of whether or not to spay or neuter your animal. Squish wasn't spayed when I got her and for a while I really struggled with that decision.

In my first few years working for PetLynx I spent a lot of time working directly with the Calgary Humane Society. Educational is the way I describe it now, it's amazing how much I didn't know about animals. My family had cats and dogs as I grew up and by that time I was actually living on a farm raising cows and horses, I had every opportunity to be more educated.

What I didn't have the opportunity to understand until then was how many animals have unintended litters and how overwhelming that can be for a pet owner. Imagine your cat or dog starts to get a little chubby, you think "Chubby can be cute, but maybe a few less treats and a little more exercise." Eight weeks later, out pop six kittens or puppies! Your pet is a first time mom so she's not very good at it and you spend the next eight weeks hand-feeding six little runts first every two hours, then four hours then six hours ect.... Eventually you're exhausted and stuck with six animals you somehow struggled to get to an appropriate age and now you have to find them new homes. You post an ad online and have a multitude of people you don't know tramping through your house for the next few weeks until hopefully you get them all into a new home. While you've been busy homing her last litter your lovely little lady has gone and gotten herself knocked up again.

Ok admittedly that last part might be a stretch, and I stress might, but either way, just writing that left me feeling exhausted. It's no wonder that so many animals end up in inappropriate homes or surrendered to shelters. Imagine if that whole story happened to you and to top it off you had a brand new baby or a sick parent you were caring for or even a hospital stay! My time at CHS really helped me to understand how easy it is to become completely overwhelmed as a pet owner and wind up in a place you never intended to be.

It's true there are a number of studies that attest to the medical reasons why spaying or neutering is a good idea but for me they weren't nearly as convincing as the scenario above. Squish was, and still is, the cutest dog in the whole wide world (ok I'm a little biased) and that legitimately made me consider breeding her at least once or at waiting until she got a little older to make the decision but the second I thought of the care, process and stress involved in the aftermath of that decision there was NO way I was going to risk it. The truth is there are lots of intentional sources of animals out there who do a much better job than I ever would. Just think of all the sleep I gained from that one tiny decision!

Look-a-Like Lost Cats Equals Double Trouble!

This unusual PetLynx HomeSafe story is an excellent example of why all companion animals  should have some form of permanent identification, such as a tattoo or microchip.

"We were elated when we thought we had found our domestic long-haired cat, Lulu, in a backyard just three houses down from ours," wrote Nina S. of Calgary "She appeared nervous, hungry and thirsty, but otherwise healthy. We considered that 'Lulu' may have became disorientated after being chased into a hiding spot and then had no idea how to get home again.

"But there was something in the shape of this cat's face,... the density of her coat and the way she reacted to our dog made us doubt ourselves. Was this really our Lulu, we wondered? It sure looked like her but...."

Dog-napping has a Happy Ending Thanks to PetLynx

If Chloe, could talk, she would have quite a story to tell!

According to her Calgary guardians, the American Eskimo X Sheltie, was dog-napped when she was left tied up outside a medical office. A witness saw two women pick up the tethered dog, unclip her leash and walk away.

"I was pretty naive," said Alessandro. "I never thought someone would just steal someone else's dog. I had been warned about it, but I just didn't think it would happen to us!"

Alessandro said that during the five days Chloe was missing, the guilt and stress played heavily on him. He tried to funnel all the negativity into positive actions by putting up posters, calling local radio and TV stations and the newspaper. He put announcements on the Internet, including PetLynx, and contacted the police.

It was the posting on Petlynx that helped get Chloe home!

The family received a call from a man who had found a dog in Airdrie, a city a few kilometers north of Calgary. He had posted the dog's information Petlynx which resulted in an Automatch!

"Our life was indescribably painful during the five days Chloe was gone ," concluded Alessandro. "We are all so thankful to have her back and feel blessed to be given this second chance. I don't think this story would have such a happy ending if it wasn't for Petlynx. Thank you!"

P.S. Alessandro says that he won't be tying up his dog and leaving her unattended in a public place ever again!

Area Service Providers:
Calgary Humane Society, City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services

Photo published and HomeSafe in an hour!

Bugsy, a seven-year old Wheaton-Schnauzer mix, went on the lam (without his collar and ID on) after someone accidentally left the front door open. His guardians searched the neighborhood until dark but couldn't find him.

"It was the eve of the first day of school," says Joann, "and instead of excitement and anticipation, my three daughters were inconsolable!"

Joann called the City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services to report Bugsy missing and find out what to do. They took her information, and told her about the Calgary Humane Society website and Petlynx.

"The Petlynx website was great!" exclaimed Joann. "I especially liked the lost posters and the regular email updates when there are potential matches."

At 5 pm the next day Bugsy's picture appeared on the PetLynx website! The family raced down to Animal Services right away. The staff were amazed to see them, since his photo had only been published an hour earlier!

"Fortunately, this was the first (and hopefully the last) time we have lost Bugsy," said Joann. "I was very impressed with how kind and concerned everyone was, and with the way Animal Services, the Humane Society and Petlynx work together to allow for such timely re-uniting of pets and their owners. It really works!

"Thanks again from our whole family, and as far as Bugsy is concerned, he is so grounded!"

Local Service Providers:
Calgary Humane Society
City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services