Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

Dog Language Info That Will Astound You

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Dogs communicate using a rather unique language. Learning to understanding this “language” will greatly improve the relationship you have with your dog. Not only that, but when it comes to training you will seriously turbo-charge your results by communicating to your dog on his level.

Unfortunately, no-one has yet written a handy reference guide, but by following the guidelines set out below you’ll quickly be up to speed on what your dog is trying to tell you.

Here are some of the most common dog language cues you’ll need to know.

Standing Rigid – When a dog adopts a very rigid stance, he could be telling you to back off and leave him alone. He may also adopt this stance when he is protecting some possession. Give your dog a bone or a biscuit when there are other dogs around and you’ll see what I mean.

Showing the Teeth – Dogs don’t just attack out of the blue, they normally give a warning first. Flashing the teeth may be first warning that a dog is about to attack. Your best bet when this happens is to stand down.

Growling – Showing the teeth will often be accompanied by a low, rumbling growl. If that doesn’t work the dog make well bite.Many people scold or punish the dog for growling or showing its teeth. This is dangerous because if the dog is not allowed to give a warning he may escalate straight to an attack.

Raising the Hackles – When a dog raises the hair on his back, he is trying to look bigger in order to scare off a threat. It is often a sign of heightened fear, and means to dog may attack.

Tail between the legs – Typically, this indicates, timidity, fear or anxiety. There may be a number of causes for the behavior, such as separation anxiety, or being introduced to an unfamiliar person or dog. Often the behavior will be accompanied by submissive urination.

Putting the head down – Depending on the context this could be a attempt by a submissive dog to avoid eye contact. Or it could be a playful gesture.

Raised Paw -A raised paw is a playful gesture, which means, “ let’s be friends”.

Wagging the tail – The tail is one of the dog’s most important communication devices, and the one that is most often misinterpreted. A common belief is that a wagging tail suggests happiness, but this is only true if the tail is being wagged loosely.A tail that is flicked side to side in short rigid movements suggests agitation. And if the tail is tucked between the legs and wagging slightly, the dog is insecure and fearful.

Dogs rely greatly on body language and gestures for communication. A dog may learn to obey voice commands, but in their world body language will always mean more.

Learn to interpret their language and you’ll understand your dog that much better.

Want to discover more about dog training tips, dog care, dog breeds a-z and other interesting dog info? Stop by at www.dogsanddogtraining.com

The Risks Of Using An Electric Fence In Your Yard

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For stopping your dog from fence-jumping, sometimes it is effective to erect an inner fence to interfere with the animal’s approach to the barrier. In some cases, an inner fence of only 30 inches has proved to be effective. If the dog climbs the main barrier, an inward-slanting overhang can be installed along the top of the wall. You can save the expense of raising the wall by digging sunken gardens around the inside perimeter. The dry moats will interrupt the dog’s approach and raised the effective height of the wall.

Corrective measures should never include shock collars, hobbles, physical punishment, electrified fences and toxic chemicals applied to the wall. Though they work in some instances, the risk of injury and adverse behavioral side effects is greater than the benefit. Complications from use of such measures to the dog have included viciousness, displaced aggression toward family, death from hanging by a collar, and self-mutilation from hobbles.

With “invisible” electronic shock fencing, an electric shock is emitted from a collar to the dog’s throat if the dog crosses a wire around the perimeter of the yard. To delineate for the dog the area beyond which the dog should not pass, the perimeter is initially marked with obvious cues. The procedure requires a great deal of time and effort, and the devices are expensive, considering the electronics involved is slightly more sophisticated than a remote control garage door opener.

While manufacturers and adherents of the “invisible” fencing devices claim many successes to using this method, the system cause very serious drawbacks relative to safety of the dog and possible trespassers. These dangers warrant careful consideration, since there may be heavy legal consequences should serious injury to passersby occur. There is also the danger that a frustrated, electronically confined aggressive dog may redirect or displace his anger and frustration and turn on his family.

Aggressive stray dogs or malicious people are free to attack or harass the electrically confined dog. The conditioned pain and frustration associated with the perimeter may also be associated with passersby, including children. If the “fenced” dog feels aggressive toward outsiders and they cross the property line, the result could be unfortunate for all parties concerned. Electric shock has also been shown to induce acute stress in dogs. And stress has many undesirable side-effects, both psychological and physical, especially on their immune system.

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