SO MUCH thought-provoking stuff here ….. altogether a very interesting weekend! The great thing was that it was attended by people from all over Europe, giving a slightly different cultural slant from each speaker. Here’s some of what we came away with – very briefly.
Dogs’ pulse rates go up when you throw a ball for them; pulse rates go down when you scatter some treats on the ground for them to find. So far, quite a small study, but really interesting.
When you CURVE towards a dog you don’t cause him stress. When you walk straight towards him, you do. Another fairly small study.
A vet agreed that they don’t learn much about nutrition at vet school. We applaud her.
There’s a scheme in Germany where people open their gardens to other dogs while their own dog isn’t there. It’s a safe place to sniff and allow freedom.
A Labrador rescue centre in England allows its residents to mingle, not stay in separate cages. Nice. Good for exchanging social info.
A Lab breeder in Spain keeps several generations of dogs who have freedom to wander and explore a large outdoor area and pups get shown by example of the older dogs how to behave. No human interference.
There are no dog shelters in Norway.
Control yourself, not your dog, and NEVER shout at your dog.
Agility and other fast games may not be good for dogs in terms of stress levels. Take it gently and slowly, allow exploration of different surfaces and heights when on walks.
Focus on what the dog NEEDS - they need to fulfil their instincts to get happiness e.g. smell/dig/swim/run - even roll in smelly stuff!
The more your dog stays in a prolonged alert state, the more stressed he becomes
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