July 9, 2008The weiner that bites backListen up, Ohio lawmakers. The most aggressive dog is not the pit bull or the rottweiler or any of the other dogs typically targeted by breed-specific legislation. 
The dog most likely to bite is the dachshund. Researchers found that one in five dachshunds have bitten or tried to bite strangers or other dogs. One in 12 has tried to bite the hand that feeds him. Second among the 33 breeds listed is another scary species: the Chihuahua. Jack Russell terriers came in third. Pit bulls ranked in the middle of the list, while greyhounds were found to be among the least aggressive. Score one for my little pack. The study was published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science based on research done by the University of Pennsylvania. The database included 6,000 dog owners and members of 11 AKC breed clubs. Most statistics of dog aggression are based on dog bites reported to authorities, not direct data from dog owners. Bites by larger dogs are more likely to require medical attention, and thus are reported more often than bites from tiny-toothed breeds. June 10, 2008The dogs-and-fireworks problemWhile surfing Google news yesterday, I found an article from the Canadian Press about ways to help a scaredy-dog deal with the fireworks that will be lit all over America in the coming weeks. 
The article quotes several dog trainers who recommend a variety of ways to help your pooch, depending on the dog's age and level of anxiety. According to the article, you can begin introducing booming noises at low volume while your dog enjoys a favorite activity, like eating or playing with a toy, slowly increasing the volume until the dog becomes desensitized to the noise. I would think you would want to start this right away to have any chance of it working before July 4. In extreme cases, the experts recommend making a vet appointment now and getting your dog anti-anxiety drugs to help them stay calm. You can also get your dog naturally relaxed with pheromone-mimicking scents that are aroma therapy for the pooch, helping to ease anxiety. We may adopt a divide-and-conquer plan at our house. We have an even adult-to-dog ratio, so we can each take a dog to a different part of the house so they won't feed off each other's energy. We can concentrate on keeping calm with only one dog to worry about, which should help Dexter and Storm. But for Coral, we may actually need doggy Prozac. For the whole article, click here January 10, 2008Lights in the skyWe're a pretty sedate bunch around my house. On New Year's Eve, my husband and I were already dozing at the 11 p.m. news. My 21-year-old daughter watched the ball drop in Times Square on television, and then let the dogs out just after midnight. We may regret that for a long time. From our home in northern Roanoke County, we were treated to the sights and sounds of the New Year's fireworks display in Vinton. Dexter is afraid of fireworks, and our newest dog, Coral, became absolutely panicked at the loud noises and bright lights. 
Now she all but refuses to go out the patio door at night, requiring a walk upstairs to the door that leads to the deck and then down the deck stairs to the yard for her pre-bedtime potty break. The entire time she is in the yard after dark she seems very nervous. I understand a phobia like this is in dogs is very hard to treat. According to animal expert Steve Dale, our best bet is an anti-anxiety drug. But I really hesitate to give my pets drugs, especially mood altering drugs. I gave anti-anxiety pills to my daughter's cat when we moved from Nashville to Roanoke, and it was awful. She was like a mean drunk who cried for seven solid hours in the car. I am sure many of you have dealt with fear and anxiety in pets. What's worked for you, and what hasn't? October 31, 2007Another pampered pooch taleThis is from blog reader and co-worker Annie Johnson. She posted this as a comment to my last entry, but you really have to see the picture to get the "awwwww" factor:
 October 25, 2007HomecomngMy husband’s business meeting is over, so now we are really on vacation in Colorado, visiting family and taking in the local attractions. I have heard stories that some pets can seem to know when family members are coming home, even when the return trip is not part of the daily routine. Dogs will wait by a door or a window in anticipation of their favorite human’s reappearance. If your pet seems to know you are in the neighborhood long before your turn into your driveway, you might be able to contribute to a study being conducted by OpenSourceScience.net. According to the Web site, OpenSourceScience is a free, Web-based collaborative project for facilitating the discussion and replication of controversial scientific experiments. I think that means they try to explain the unexplainable. I don't see much controversy in trying to figure out if dogs have a sense for the return of a beloved human. It just seems like a fun way to share stories about your smart and sensitive pooch in a the name of science. When we board the plane back to Virginia later this week, I really doubt if Dexter will have any sense that we are homeward bound. But as soon as we open the door, he will do his happy-dog dance. I can document that phenomenon conclusively. 
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