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.

Amazing Dog Behavior Snippets

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Any study of dog behavior has to start with an analysis of the behavior of the wolf, ancestor of all domestic dogs.

Wolves are exceptional predators with a complex set of behaviors, signals and communication methods guiding their behavior. Their bodies and brains are the result of millions of years of evolution that has resulted in perhaps the ultimate co-operative hunter.

Dogs are directly descended from wolves and have been domesticated for only 15 000 years or so, a mere blip on the evolutionary scale. So it makes sense that many of the wolf’s instincts and drives are still present in dogs.

Understand this, and many of your dog’s strange behaviors will suddenly make sense.

Here are some of the behaviors common to dogs and wolves.

Pack Mentality: As pack animals wolves naturally submit to a leader. Wolf packs usually consist of a mating pair and their offspring, with the alpha male as the leader.

Dogs also look for leadership in their human “pack”. Where none is present, they will feel compelled to take up the role themselves, leading to dominance issues.

Body Language: In the world of the wolf (and the dog), body language trumps vocal cues every time. This is a complex “language” with body posture, movement, facial expression and eye contact all playing a part.

These signals are often misunderstood by humans. For example, many asume that a dog who wags his tail is happy when he may in fact be highly aggitated and ready to bite.

Territorial Aggression: In the wild, wolves will stake out a territory, then patrol and defend it against intruders. The same behavior can be seen in dogs. They will naturally protect what they perceive as their territory, whether it’s their home, a favorite toy, or even a person they regard as “theirs”.

Socialization: Social interaction is very important in a wolf pack as it helps to develop the strong bonds that are vital to the survival of the pack.

You can simulate this with your dog through play, walks and obedience training. But you need to go further, socializing your dog with a broad spectrum of people and other animals, so that he doesn’t start to see everyone outside his immediate circle as a threat.

Pursuit: A wolf pack hunts by pursuing a prey animal until it is exhausted and easily subdued. Their instinct is to chase anything that moves away from them.

Dogs have this same instinct which is why they love to chase cats, cars, and cyclists.

Fleeing: Even powerful, apex predators like lions, would rather back off than get involved in a fight where they could be seriously injured. A wolf or a dog will rather flee than fight if the odds are stacked against him.

Vocalization: Contrary to popular belief, wolves can bark, they are just less inclined to use vocalization as a form of communication. This is perfectly logical, as a hunter that makes a lot of noise is unlikely to be very successful.

Dogs, on the other hand have spent thousands of years in the company of humans and have learned that we communicate mainly by voice. They therefore have no problem expressing themselves with a bark, a while or even a howl if the mood takes them.

If you want to discover more about dog obedience training, dog care, puppy care and other useful dog information visit www.dogsanddogtraining.com

Description Of A Labrador Retriever: Part 3

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A Labrador Retriever is either a solid black, a solid yellow, or a solid chocolate. A white spot on the chest is permissible. All the colors should have the correct double coat. The thick undercoat lies under the topcoat. The topcoat should be a bit rough to the touch and does not have to lie flat. In fact, if the coat is too slick, the dog  probably does not have a good undercoat and would not be useful as a retriever in cold waters.

The Labrador Retriever undercoat acts as insulation and, working in conjunction with the coat’s natural oil, helps to repel water. The Labrador Retriever does not feel the cold the way a single-coated dog does. Another aspect of this coat is the special look that it gives the breed.

All four legs should have good, thick bone, the front legs coming straight down from the shoulders.  The rear legs should be well bent at the knee or stifle. The hind quarters should be thick with well-muscled thighs.  The hocks should not be too long and should also be well bent and well let down (not one continuous line from buttocks to the foot). Picture about a six-inch section from the foot to the hock joint and then a little jog, toward the front, and on up to the stifle. The view from behind the dog should not be narrow but rather hefty.

The tail should be set right off the back. In other words, you should see one straight line from the withers to the tip of the tail. If the tail is set too low or if the tail is set too high, the picture will be spoiled.  As a Labrador Retriever moves, the tail usually wags happily from side to side. It should never be carried curled up over the back like a hound’s tail. A tail that is carried too low or between the legs will give the appearance of timidity.

Timidity is a word that is not in the Labrador dictionary.  This very important tail, which should not be too long (not below the hock), acts like a rudder when the dog is swimming. It is sometimes called an otter tail because it is thick at the base and tapers down to a tip, like the tail of an otter. The tail should be well covered with a very distinctive short, dense coat. The underside of the Labrador Retriever tail should never have any long feathery hair on it.

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