June 13th, 2009 by admin

1. Lessens male aggressive and territorial behaviors, but doesn’t affect the dog’s personality.  Behaviors are often owner-induced, so neutering is not the only answer, but it is a good start.

2. Prevents the need to roam in search of females in season.

3. Decreased incidences of urogenital diseases.

This means of controlling breeding stock (neutering) improves the chances that knowledgeable breeding will take place, with dogs that will carry the breed forward because of their positive traits and absence of undesirable ones.

A matter of recent public controversy revolves around the contention that purebred-dog genetic factors carry a certain number of physiological flaws and susceptibility to certain diseases.  The flames of controversy are fanned by people who ignore the fact that non-purebred animals suffer from the same kinds of conditions, and that there is less attention paid to identifying illnesses and infirmities in non-purebreds and almost none to eliminating them.

June 12th, 2009 by admin

Dog Aggression

A dog that growls at and/or bites its owner does so for some reason, even if the behavior appears “unreasonable” to the owner.  A complete medical examination, including tests for hormonal balance, neurophysiologic function and allergies, may reveal the underlying cause.

This has been especially helpful in dogs that have swings in mood.  When growling or biting has erupted as a consequence of scolding or punishment for such behavior as chewing, jumping, general unruliness, or overprotection of food, these problems must be treated at the same time the program to correct aggression is initiated.

The Owner’s Actions Owners must understand that their dog growls or bites at them as a result of defensive feelings.  Even the dog that growls when ordered off the couch is reacting defensively, as it feels its dominance status has been threatened.  If scolding and punishment provoke aggression, the dog is reacting to a perceived threat to its physical safety.  In either of these situations, the owner’s threatening behavior is producing negative results.

June 12th, 2009 by admin

Dog Pheromones

Pheromones are chemical substances secreted by an animal that influence the behavior of other animals of the same species.  Unlike other hormones, pheromones are secreted externally and influence other animals, typically by smell.  In this case, pheromones may play a very important role in animal behavior.  In dogs, pheromones probably influence group integration and are a factor in fighting and general aggressiveness.  Some theorys suggest that dogs release pheromones in urine and feces, and perhaps through exhaled breath, subcutaneous glands at the base of the tail and the foot pads.  This would tend to explain why aggressive, fighting dogs are often compulsive urine sniffers and urine markers, and why they become less aggressive when sniffing and urine marking are not allowed by their owners.

Pheromones may act as a trigger or primer for certain types of behavior.  This case is typical of many wherein a dog appears to sense, by smell, another dog that may be perceived as a threat.  Also typical among some vicious biting dogs is the need to brand a strange territory with their own pheromones before launching an attack.  Some take place even when the biting dogs were on their home territory.  Remedial programs include restricting urination of the problem dog to a single area of his own yard.  This tends to lower the aggressiveness, as well as reduce the incidence of household urination.