ANIMAL WELLNESS
For a long, healthy life!
WELLNESS
WHY DOGS ARE
SMARTER THAN WE THINK
Ground-breaking studies bring canine intelligence to light
NATURAL WAYS TO
TASTY
YOGURT RECIPES
EASE HIS ANXIET Y
to share with your best friend
9
TIPS FOR TRAVELING WITH A SENIOR DOG
BREEDS WITH
BREATHING PROBLEMS
Why brachycephalic (flatfaced) dogs are more prone
TAKE A TOUR OF
DOG-FRIENDLY BREWERIES!
Brynn
HOW INTERACTIVE TOYS CAN IMPROVE BEHAVIOR
We met this gorgeous German shepherd at last year’s Woofstock festival in Toronto. Find out how she uses her fame to raise awareness about canine health, nutrition and a rare canine disease called Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency.
JUNE/JULY 2018 Display until July 9, 2018
$6.95 USA/Canada
VOLUME 20 ISSUE 3
AnimalWellnessMagazine.com
BONUS INSIDE!
Contents June/July 2018
Features
18 UNDERSTANDING YOUR DOG'S MIND AND EMOTIONS
42
How smart is your dog? How many emotions does he have access to? Recent research into canine behavior and cognition is yielding some surprising results.
22 NATURAL REMEDIES FOR CANINE ANXIETY
Is your dog a “nervous Nelly?“ Anxious behaviors are common in our canine companions, so here’s how to help him chill using a holistic, natural approach.
26 WHY INTERACTIVE TOYS ARE GOOD FOR YOUR DOG
Interactive toys offer many benefits to your dog – they provide mental stimulation and combat boredom, satisfy his natural instincts, and make mealtime more fun.
28 A SHORT HISTORY OF
DOG TRAINING
From cruelty to kindness -- how our approach to dog training has become more enlightened.
32 SERVICE, THERAPY
AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DOGS
The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but there’s a difference between these three working dog classifications.
36 DOG-FRIENDLY
BREWERIES
How about visiting a dog-friendly craft brewery? While you sample the suds, your canine companion can enjoy your company and socialize with other pooches.
38 DOGS THAT DON’T
LIKE TO PLAY
Depending on how a dog was raised and treated, he may not enjoy or even know how to play. Help him learn how to have fun again.
42 BRYNN
This German shepherd is more than just a pretty face. She’s using her influence to spread the word about canine health, nutrition and EPI, a rare but serious canine disease.
4
Animal Wellness
46 CCD AND VITAMIN D
Sometimes referred to as “doggy dementia”, canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) affects many senior dogs. A deficiency in vitamin D3 could be the cause.
50 SUCCESSFUL DOG TRAINING WITH TREATS
Treats are important rewards when you’re training a dog, but don’t become dependent on them. Learn to make training treats work for both of you.
58 BRACHYCEPHALIC DOGS
Flat-faced dogs with short noses are prone to health problems. It’s important to educate yourself about these conditions when adopting a brachycephalic breed or mix.
64 YOGURT – IT’S GOOD
FOR DOGS AND CATS TOO!
The health benefits of yogurt aren’t just for people, so why not share this treat with your pet as well? Most dogs and cats love it, and it makes an excellent addition to their diet.
68 TRAVELING WITH YOUR SENIOR DOG
Taking an older dog on vacation with you? Here are 9 ways to keep him safe and comfortable while on the road and at your destination.
76 AN ADVENTURE DOG NAMED CAT
This active young Catahoula dog is a perfect match for professional adventure couple, Emily Harrington and Adrian Ballinger.
80 6 STEPS TO HELPING YOUR NEW RESCUE DOG SETTLE IN
Rescue dogs can come from situations of neglect and abuse, so may have trouble adjusting to adoption. Help your new friend feel more secure as he gets used to living with you.
91 LITTER BOX CARE MADE SIMPLE
The latest in cat litter and litter box products are designed to help make clean-up a breeze.
94 GROOMING YOUR KITTY
Most cats do a superb job of grooming themselves, but sometimes they need a bit of assistance.
96 PANDORA SYNDROME IN CATS
Feline urinary tract disease may not always be just a physical condition. Research has revealed stress also plays a role in the development of what’s termed Pandora Syndrome.
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36 26 Columns
50
12 Yakkity yak 41 Business profile – animalEO
62 Passages 72 Rewind 75 Business profile – BioLogicVET
78 To the rescue 84 Book reviews 88 Tail end
Departments 8
Editorial
56
Product picks
67
The scoop
70
Animal Wellness resource guide
News, events, and tips! @ AW_magazine
85
Events
Tips, pet photos, and more! AnimalWellnessMagazine
86
Marketplace
Crafts, laughs, and more! AnimalWellness
87
Classifieds
98 Cat chat
Social media Tips, contests and more! AnimalWellnessMagazine
June/July 2018
5
By Tammy M. Donaldson, MS, PhD, CAAB
Understanding your dog's
mind and emotions
How smart is your dog? How many emotions does he have access to? Recent research into canine behavior and cognition is yielding some surprising results. 18
Animal Wellness
If you think our dogs know and feel more than we think they do, you’re correct. We live in an age of discovery when it comes to canine behavior, and a multitude of recent studies offer intriguing insights into the cognitive and emotional lives of dogs. We are learning that dogs have a unique bond with us and are more mentally capable than previously believed. Although the jury is still out on their ability to experience complex human emotions such as guilt, shame and jealousy, we do know dogs can read our body language and respond extremely well to it. They can also recognize our faces and decipher our emotions. They look to us for information, and use it to build a relationship with us and maintain their safety. Let’s delve deeper into the canine mind and what we’ve discovered about it in recent years.
DOGS LOOK TO US FOR
EMOTIONAL INFORMATION
Dogs also use information on how a person feels about a situation to determine how they will react, a phenomenon called social referencing. Isabella Merola
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH DOGS
and others found that when dogs received positive
Dogs have evolved to have a close relationship with us; in fact, studies show that humans are important to dogs. Researchers have found that when dogs interact with their owners, they display responsive behaviors similar to those seen in human infants. Dogs will approach their owners when stressed, use them as a safe base for exploration, and exuberantly reunite with them after separation. These results support the idea that dogs form real bonds to their people. This is rather unique considering that canines and humans are two different species. By exploring this relationship, we can determine what dogs have learned from living with humans and what capacities they have for complex communication, cognition and emotion.
messages from a person approaching an unfamiliar object, they were more likely to also approach the object than dogs who observed a negative message from the person. Dogs responded even more strongly when their owners were the ones giving the messages. This shows that dogs take in emotional information from us and use it to determine how they will respond to a situation.
CANINES HAVE EXCEPTIONAL SOCIAL COMPETENCE Dogs live and work in close association with humans and have therefore developed exceptional social communication skills. This is a form of social competence – the ability to get along with people; knowing what is expected for social interactions; “reading” people’s facial expressions and gestures; recognizing emotions; and communicating effectively. Researchers from dog cognition labs, including the Max Planck Institute and the Duke Canine Cognition Center, have found that dogs routinely outperform chimpanzees in tests of social cognitive ability.
WHAT DO DOGS KNOW ABOUT HUMAN EMOTIONS? Studies show that dogs can recognize our faces. Ludwig Huber and colleagues at the Clever Dog Lab found that dogs discriminate between images of their owners and unfamiliar people. Research by Laura Cuaya and others, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), demonstrate that dogs use areas of their brains similar to the ones we use for processing human faces and voices. Dogs determine the meaning of our facial expressions using information from multiple facial features (not just the eyes). Continued on page 20. June/July 2018
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