Why Do Dogs Do That? E-Book

Kim Campbell Thornton

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 38

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Presented in a format that any dog lover will enjoy, this fun-fact book discusses twenty curious topics that have plagued the minds of dog owners for generations. From the simple, straightforward queries, "Why do dogs bark?" and "Why do dogs chew?" to the more challenging musings, "Why do dogs eat grass" and "Why do dogs howl?" More than just entertainment, owners will discover the reasons behind common training problems, including car and cat chasing, jumping up, pulling on the leash, digging, and more. For those polite dog owners afraid to ask, there are answers for you, too, to questions like "Why do dogs eat poop?" and "Why do dogs sniff butts?" Fun tidbits for everyone, plus hilarious illustrations by Keith Robinson, in this Simple Solutions book.

Leseprobe

June Kikuchi, Editorial Director

Roger Sipe, Special Projects Editor

Karen Julian, Publishing Coordinator

Elizabeth Spurbeck, Assistant Editor

Jerome Callens, Art Director

Jessica Jaensch, Production Supervisor

Tracy Burns, Production Coordinator

Copyright © 2004, 2009 by I-5 Press™

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel cover by Seth Casteel/www.littlefriendsphoto.com Interior photos by Seth Casteel/www.littlefriendsphoto.com (pages 6, 13, 17, 18, 20, 25, 23, 24, 28, 43, 48, 53, 57, 63), Isabelle Francais/I-5 Publishing, LLC™, and Gina Cioli and Pamela Hunnicutt/I-5 Publishing, LLC™

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of I-5 Press™, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-80216

ISBN: 1-889540-01-3

eISBN: 9781620080559

I-5 Press™

A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™

3 Burroughs, Irvine, California 92618

Printed and bound in China.

15 14 13 12 11 10 09     3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Why Do Dogs …

Bark

Chase Cars

Chase Cats

Chew

Cock Their Heads

Dig

Eat Grass

Eat Poo

Fetch

Hate the Mail Carrier

Howl

Jump on People

Lift Their Legs

Pounce on Their Toys

Pull on Their Leashes

Roll in Smelly Stuff

Sniff Butts

Stick Their Heads Out of Car Windows

Wag Their Tails

Whine

THE FINAL HOWL

BEHAVIORAL BYTES7, 10, 14, 21, 26, 30, 36, 40, 52, 62

FIDO FACTOIDS4, 18, 22, 29, 33, 42, 45, 50, 56, 60

The Basics of Barking

Dogs bark because they have something to say. Barking may sound just like noise to us, but to dogs, barks actually say a lot of things:

“That guy in the blue uniform is attacking our front door again!”

“A strange car has pulled into the driveway!”

“Help! I’ve stuck my head through a hole in the fence, and I can’t get out.”

“Hey! You’ve been home for five minutes, and you haven’t said hello to me yet.”

FIDO FACTOID Dogs have been barking for a long time. More than 10,000 years ago, wild dogs hung around people’s caves, scrounging for leftovers and trying to sneak in when it rained (sound familiar?). These traits were passed on to generations until eventually some dogs lost their wild side, a process called domestication. One of the results of domestication is that dogs have kept many puppy-like characteristics, including barking. For example, adult wild dogs, such as wolves, coyotes and foxes, bark very little, but their puppies bark a lot.

Dogs communicate with us in many ways, and barking is one way they can get their point across. A dog’s bark can warn us of danger or when they need help.

Dogs bark when they get excited and sometimes just for the fun of it. When you yell at them to stop, they get even more excited. “Cool! My owner’s barking back at me. Now we can have a real conversation.” To a dog, any kind of attention — even yelling — is something to celebrate.

Car Wars

All day long, your dog tears off after the motorized monsters, barking and snapping at the tires. As each vehicle pulls away, he happily turns back with a satisfied expression. Score: Dog 5, Cars 0. Car chasing is generally a territorial reaction, often aimed at cars or trucks that drive by regularly, such as postal trucks or delivery vans.

Car chasing can also be a form of predatory behavior, usually triggered by noise and motion. Frustrated herding dogs frequently engage in predatory car chasing. After all, the herding instinct is nothing but a redirected form of the prey drive, in which the dog circles and drives his prey but does not follow through with the kill. Such an ingrained behavior can be difficult to change, but it’s not impossible.

BEHAVIORAL BYTE As with most training, patience and consistency are key. If your dog chases particular vehicles (the neighbor’s or mail carrier’s), try a couple of methods.

If your dog doesn’t know the drivers, ask them to stop by for an introduction. If your dog gets to know them, especially if they give her a treat, she will be less likely to view them — and their vehicles — as trespassers.