We pet owners have a habit of boasting about our dogs’ extra-sensory-abilities, or, in simple words- sixth sense. Now, please don’t think that this article is a revamp, extension or revised edition of onr of my previous articles: ‘Sixth Sense or Non-sense’.

The reason for attributing their extra-sensory-abilities to the so called sixth sense is unknown, but we know one thing for sure – dogs have an uncanny understanding of human emotions. In the world when we humans complain that our fellow humans fail to understand our feelings, it is quite surprising that dogs can, not just interpret complex and intense human emotions, but react to them accordingly. This ability can be attributed to the lifestyle of their ancestors. Erstwhile dogs were highly social, lived and travelled in pack and shared very strong emotional bond with other dogs. Surprisingly, they even had rituals that helped them bond and many such social structures that seem to correspond to human social interactions. This is the reason why we humans consider dogs to be our best ‘animal’ friend – if I may say so. The same set of abilities that helped dogs establish emotional connect in a pack, is inherited by the 21^st century dogs due to which we still pet them.

Food for thought: Even as monkeys, apes, chimpanzees, gorillas etc are more related to humans than dogs or any other species, we still connect better with dogs, why?

In this article series, we will look at some of the various emotions/feelings/attitude that dogs comprehend and react to.

Before I continue, I want to clarify that some parts of this article are mere observation and may/may not be backed with appropriate statistical data to come to a concrete conclusion. Reader’s discretion is of utmost importance.

1. They can sense your intentions

Ever wondered how your dog knows you are going to bathe him even before you search for his towel or switch on the heater?

The moment you decide to bathe him, and stand up to make your move, he’ll run for his life and hide. This was a negative response to a positive stimulus.

On the other hand, when he is hurt and you try to attend to him or nurse him, you might unintentionally hurt him but he knows that your intentions are clean and you want to help him. This is a positive response.

But the million dollar question is: “How does the dog understand your intentions even before you implement them? And more importantly, how do they react accordingly?”

One study shows that dogs do this by observing your body language. “Learning & Behaviour”, a study published in 2011 found that pet dogs are as intelligent as a 2-year-old human. Amazing isn’t it? This implies that your pet-friend can potentially understand the meaning of approximately 160 odd words. Not just this, they can also sense changes in your body language and react to these changes.

For dogs, your tell-tale signs are eye-contact, and hand gestures. Let us come back to the ‘bath’ example, when you think of bathing him, you inadvertently glance at the bathroom or his bathtub, this visual queue is enough for him to ring bells in his mind. These bells tell him that you are eager enough to clean his skunk-like fur odour that he is proud of.

2. They can sense your fear

Have you ever been afraid of darkness and at that instant, your dog leaps onto your lap and licks you as if to say: “I’m here, do not worry!”? I would not be surprised if I get mixed responses for this question because, in such situations, smaller dogs seek for your lead while larger ones will come to your rescue.

They do this with the help of their sharp olfactory sense (nasal sense).  They can smell the change in concentration of adrenaline in your sweat and they associate it with fear.

How do they know what fear is?

Fear is an emotion/feeling that is shared and experienced by almost all cognitively-able animals. In fact, it is one of the basis of their survival. We are well aware of the three Fs induced by fear: Fright, Flight, or Fight. Imagine an animal that has no fear, it would face all other animals, be it mightier or meeker in comparison to it. This would amount to underestimating the opponent, and if the foe is stronger, then the fearless animal is at its own peril.

Dogs can smell fear and can intuitively recognize our body language associated with it.

They too have a template reaction to fear. Some of the template reactions which both humans and dogs share are: Goosebumps, dilated pupils, change in stance or posture, and curling of lips etc. They can associate their fear and ours, and hence understand what our reaction to it looks like. In combination with their ‘smell’ sense, you’ll have no doubt that they can sense your fear.

3. They can sense shift in your priority (and feel jealous about it too)

Take a look at this conversation and you will understand what I’m trying to imply.

Pet parent: “My dog has been acting weird all of a sudden. I do not know what to do!”

Me: “Has he been like this before?”

Pet parent: “No, he has started behaving like this only after I have bought a new gadget.”

Me: “Aha! There’s your problem. Your dog sensed a sudden shift in your priority after you purchased a new gadget and he might as well feel jealous about it.”

If your dog has been acting weird after you have joined a new job/ brought home a new pet/ bought a new gadget/ anything that could shift your focus from him to the new thing; then it is a classic case of jealousy!

Jealousy is one part and being left out all alone is totally another, It is a sincere request to all pet parents, please do not neglect your pet. The most important thing in your pet’s life is you.

The only remedy to a jealous dog is to give his ‘me time’ back to him. Try and spend more and more time with your dog and make it a point that you use positive assertions/adjectives to make him feel better. Praise and reward him often so that you win his confidence and trust back.

The next article in this series would talk about some other emotions/feelings/attitude that dogs comprehend and react to.  

The post Sensible Dogs – Part 1 appeared first on Pet Attack.

Mice, Rats, and all of such rodents are one that create jitters in every women’s and most men’s body when discovered. A common stimuli that one reacts to any sort of meet up with these rodents instils a sort of fear, making them jump up and react in a surprised manner. The little creatures which is these mice with their little toes and long tails can create scare for anyone and everyone and thus are one of those common animals that one would not like to even think about owning or adopting as a pet ever in their lives.

So what is it about mice or rats that creates this mystical nightmare in everyone’s mind?

Mice are tiny, aren’t they?

Mice or Rats are technically 4 inch long creatures with the body shape of a human with 2 eyes, 4 legs and a huge tail that allows for them to move around in a swift, quick manner. They hardly fit into a palm yet can scare the behinds of anyone. It is probably because rats are able to move around so quickly that they may startle anybody if found luring around the house drawers or gardens.

Mice are 4 inches !

But it has been proven that size is an immaterial factor when it comes to characterising the reason for one’s fear of anything- be it from spiders, to snakes to rodents like rats or mice. It is believed to be instilled in one’s mind; the fear that instigates such unwanted reactions upon encountering with such species. Just like one may be afraid of mice and rats one who has a dog phobia maybe scared of encountering German Shepherds or a Chihuahua’s. Which is why targeting a single factor can never be the objective answer to one’s fear of anything as most likely the fear is not instilled because of that reason. Fear is an umbrella term that contains with itself many other factors that must be taken into account if one has to identify the problem.

Mice-Phobia: Acceptance of your fear

The first step when one wants to recognize their fears and overcome is to ACCEPT the very fact the existence of such fear. So the most logical thing to do when one or more people tell you that you are facing a fear of mice/rats- one must take into account all the past experiences that one must have acquired with the thing that caused the fear which in this case is the mice/rats and then accept it.

Rejection would only worsen the nightmare for anyone on this planet. Acceptance would help the affected person to find the required remedies for the same.

Usually such fears get instilled into anybody since their childhood, between the ages of 0-5. People around us who are deeply affected by the fear transfer their fear onto us; like your mother who might shriek every time she would encounter a mice/rat in the house while cleaning up that old drawer of yours. Which is why, precautions must be taken from everyone’s inception because a long instilled fear is hard to get rid of. It is even very rare that the fear that we contain in ourselves is the result of a natural scare embodied in one’s mind and body.

Fear of mice or rats is one of the most commonly found phobias which is even known as “murophobia” which means irrational fear of mice, rats etc. This phobia is known to have a history from the age wherein the mice were known to carry the Eldein plague which caused a number of deaths all around the European Continent during the 500 BC leading to this fear of getting diseases acquired by mice in people everywhere. Over 10 million people died during that plague.

It is even believed that Elephants carry with themselves murophobia, which has resulted in many metaphors and jokes being cracked with the relevant size difference and other factors.

Even Giant Elephants are known to be scared of
4-inch Mice!

Although, it is true that most mice do carry with themselves dieases like arthralgia’s, Skin lesions, Fevers, Headaches etc. which is true in the cases of stray mice and rats but not found that commonly when one goes for a purely vaccinated mice who has been given all of their shots for safety reasons.

How to get rid of your mice-o-phobia?

Although rodents are not that harmful in our daily activities and health, they can pose a large threat to one’s life but this does not mean that one completely diminishes their existence and starts hating on these small creatures- hatred will not help anyone, ever!

If one has decided to averse themselves with this fear and put forth their decision in order to get rid of this fear one must comply with the following steps:

1. Treat them like you treat your pet animals: one must take into account that no matter how dirty, unruly any animal is, they are of course animals, and because these little furry creatures have no one to take care of them, it is our duty as humans and as pet lovers to accept them in all their forms and tails!

Vaccines for Mice

2. Face your fear: if one truly wants to overcome their fear, they must face it! Which is why it is imperative that one tries to take a mice or a rat into their hands, let the mice get comfortable around you, which would help you become comfortable around them. Any sort of danger to these rodents leads them to biting in defence which can be avoided if one treats them in a humane manner.

3. In dire cases, wherein mice is a permanent sort of fear or nightmare one may comply with solutions like Hypnos-therapy or intra-vino that could help overcome the fear of mice in one’s mind by eradicating the fear from their body and mind via treatment.

Mice and Rats are not the scary rats that you saw in your Tom and Jerry cartoons and are not to be scared of, just how Mammy Two Shoes used to get scared of them!

Mammy Two Shoes from Tom & Jerry

The post MICE OH MICE! – Why are we so scared of them? appeared first on Pet Attack.

The most common non – medical problem in dogs is aggression towards people and other dogs. Many people do not prefer to buy a dog because of this reason. In order to prevent from biting, first you have to understand why they gets angry and then bites. Here are some reasons :-

1. POSSESIVENESS :- Without proper training dogs get possive about their things and this can cause biting. Usually this includes those dogs from whom we expects to behave like a human, what we need to understand is that dogs are not humans and we should not expect them to act and behave like one. Also we need to taught them that they do not rule the home and we CAN take things back from them. Many children are bitten when they try to take toys from dogs which obviously dogs considered as their “Personal Property”.

2. FEAR :- This aggression is usually towards strangers like veterinarians but they are experts in handling them. Fearful dogs can hurt you, do not ever sneak up on him or bother him when he is sleeping. Usually children tries to cuddle or hug him when he feels frighten but this might frighten him more, then they could bark more to keep them away and ultimately can hurt him if they do not.

3. PAIN :- The dogs suffering from pain can cause even the friendliest dig bite. In this case, you should check if he is having any disease or wounds. Also keep your children away from him in order to prevent from biting.

4. MATERNAL AGGRESSION :- When female dogs gives birth to puppies, she knows that her puppies rely on her fir everything like nutrition, stimulation, protection etc. However this is completely natural and you cannot control this behaviour but you can adopt some safety tips in order to prevent from biting for example, don’t let your children to handle puppies without your supervision, do not tease them etc.

DO THEY WARN US BEFORE BITING? 

Yes! They always show warning signs before biting however these signs are so subtle, that it is often missed by the people. If you could know the warning, you can be safe. Dogs often show signs that can include licking lips, yawning, wagging tail, – these sign means that they are uncomfortable with you however licking could often misinterpreted as the sign of affection but it could also be a sign of stress. Below are the signs which if your dog shows, then it could mean he is ready to bite you.

♦  Growling

♦ Showing teeth

♦ Snarling

♦  Jump towards you

♦ Ofcourse Biting

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR DOG BITES SOMEONE?

1. First control your dog’s aggression by cool him down and putting him a leash on immediately then check the person’s condition, if necessary take him to the doctor.

2. Ask address and contact number from the victim so that you can know his condition later on.

3. Provide some necessary information to the person like the date of your dog’s last rabies vaccination.

HOW TO STOP DOG BITING FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?

There is no guarrantee that your dog won’t ever bite someone again but you can definetly reduce the risks by following the steps :-

1. SPAYING / NEUTERING YOUR PET :- As I have already told you about the benefits of spaying or neutering your pet in one of my previous article, spayed / neutered pet is less likely to bite as it will reduce the desire to roam of your dog which means less fight with other dogs.

2. TRAINING :- Training dog is very important but you must know that only you can teach him how to properly behave at your home, so do not send him away. Training is the perfect way of socializing. In the method of training, you can also make your dog to introduce new people, places and situations which will help him to face normal social circumstances. You must teach him to behave properly. Do not tell him to chase someone or other animals, not even in fun as it may be fun to you but dogs cannot make the difference between fun and real life.

3. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO BEHAVE AROUND HOUSE :- Children do not know how to handle dogs and they treated them like a toy. They also wants to play with dog everytime, even when dogs don’t want to, child may harrass the dog and this might encourage the aggression of dogs towards that child. So never leave your child alone with the dogs.

4. BE A RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNER :- You must provide regular veterinary care which also includes rabies vaccination. Whenever you take him outside for a walk, make sure to put him on a leash for everyone’s safety. If you do not know how will your dog reacts infront of visitors then its better if you keep him in other room or if he feels frighten in the crowd then it will be better if you leave him at home. If you aren’t confident of his behaviour, you should avoid stressful situations.

The post Why Dogs Bite? appeared first on Pet Attack.