Search Results for: blog types of dog aggression

Aggression in Multiple Dog Households

Here at the pets blog we’ve published many articles on dog aggression. It seems like one can never have too much advice on how to handle it; anyone who’s seen dogs fighting, and not in the playful way, knows how upsetting it can be. Today I’m going to focus on how to handle aggression between dogs in a multiple canine living situation. If you’ve already one dog and you want more, you need to be ready for the possibility of the rare or occasional spat between them. If at all possible, introduce the dogs before adopting your second, to make … Continue reading →

How Not to Approach a Strange Dog

My two dogs have very different personalities. Moose (my eight year old shepherd mix) is very easygoing. He loves just about everyone, and would happily follow a stranger home if he thought there would be snacks or petting or both. Lally (my seven year old boxer/shar-pei mix) is far more skittish. She’s easily startled by things like sudden noises and quick movement. When we’re out walking, I have to keep a careful eye out for things that might frighten Lally. When she gets scared, she can exhibit signs of fear aggression, including growling, barking, and lunging. I saw trouble coming … Continue reading →

Bringing Your Dog to Work: Keeping the Office Safe

If your dog will be joining you at the workplace, you need to take steps to make sure your office is pup-safe and pup-friendly. Make sure your personal workspace can comfortably accommodate a dog. When I used to bring Miko to the radio station, he would curl up and sleep underneath the counter while I was on the air. It was perfectly Miko-sized! (I wish I had pictures of this, too!) Keep all power cords and wires out of range — you don’t want your pup nibbling on any electrical cords. I caught my dog Lally chewing on the cord … Continue reading →

Dogs Detecting Cancer: Does It Provoke Attacks?

As I wrote last week in National Pet Cancer Awareness: What You Should Know, November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month. As I also wrote in that article, pet cancer reminds me of Budly because that’s why we had to put him to sleep. But the week before Budly’s health took such a nose dive that we had to rush him to the animal ER, he got attacked. The Attack We were out for our usual morning walk and had stopped to talk with a neighbor who had just gotten a chocolate lab puppy. All of a sudden this huge dog … Continue reading →

Murphy’s Best Friend: Tucker, the 80 Pound Wonder Dog

Murph at Tuck’s Birthday Party. (Tucker’s the rust colored dog to the right of Murph.) In honor of Best Friends Day, I thought it’d be fun to profile Murph’s all time bestest bud in the whole wide world: Tucker Joseph. (Or, as I like to call him, Tuck Tuck Toodle Bottoms.) How They Met When we adopted Murphy, he was about the friendliest little pup around. He was always eager to meet other dogs. (Kind of reminds me of Aimee’s thoughts on being a dog and how the world would be a better place if we were all a little … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for May 21-27

Delivered for your reading pleasure is another installment of the Pets Blog Week in Review. Below you’ll find all the topics Aimee and I covered the previous week. Monday, May 21 Poor Aimee, Moose and Lally! They just arrive in their new town, find a great dog park, and what happens? Poor Moose gets attacked! Aimee tells all about it in You Should Have Seen the Other Guy? This incident also sparked her to write about dog aggression in general. The days of aggression in my household (except mine is cat-based) might be nearing an end as there have been … Continue reading →

Types of Dog Aggression

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All aggression is not alike! There are different kinds of aggression, and different situations where you may encounter an aggressive dog — or see your own dog exhibit strange behaviors. Dog-Dog Aggression — can be set off by a variety of things. If a dog feels that he needs to protect food, resources, or his two-legged family. An undersocialized dog may not know how to behave around other dogs, leading to possible aggression on both sides. Some dogs find it fun to bully other dogs, or try to herd them. Some dogs don’t know how to temper their bites — … Continue reading →

Cats and Fence Fighting

I’ve talked about “fence fighting” before. Also known as redirected aggression, it is a scuffle that breaks out between pets when they see something on the other side of a window or fence. Basically, the dog or cat can’t get to the thing they want to attack, so they turn on the next nearest animal. Moose and Lally sometimes do this when another dog is walking past the apartment. One moment, they’ll be barking at the patio door; the next, they’re barking at each other. Dogs aren’t the only ones who can turn to fence fighting. Cats can do it, … Continue reading →

Don’t Pat My Head!

In a moment that bordered on the surreal this morning, I heard a public service announcement on the radio at work featuring John Tesh talking about how dogs don’t like to be patted on the head. Odd indeed. But he’s right — most dogs aren’t fans of being patted on the top of the head. There will always be some exceptions to any rule, but there are lots of other “safe” places to pet a dog. My dog Miko absolutely hated being patted on the top of the head. He also really didn’t like one particular friend of mine, and … Continue reading →

Swimming with Kangaroos and Author/Publisher/Pet Rescuer Dindy Robinson: Part I

Dindy Robinson runs the Swimming Kangaroo Books publishing company with her husband Bill. Like her name (both her given and her company’s), she is quite the colorful character who also happens to be quite the animal lover. She was kind enough to take time from her busy duties to answer my questions. Following below and in Part II are her answers. Courtney Mroch: How did you come up with the name “Swimming Kangaroo” for your publishing company? (It is very catchy!) Dindy Robinson: It’s from a family joke. We were carrying on a debate with a young man about evolution … Continue reading →