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Attention Seeking Behaviours Revealed

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Attention Seeking Behaviours Revealed
From a dogs point of view, if a behaviour is successful, (which means that the dog is rewarded – even if it is unintentional – for exhibiting a particular behaviour), then he will repeat the behaviour.

Reward, to a dog, can be one of many things, the most important being receiving attention from his owner or pack leader! Most dogs even perceive negative attention as rewarding. Negative attention could be perceived as any response to a behaviour.

Dogs that constantly demand attention from their owners have learnt that this behaviour is successful. More often than not, the more attention they demand, the more attention the owners give – if only to keep the peace.

Attention seeking behaviour can present in many forms such as:

  • Demanding to be stroked
  • Nudging for a stroke
  • Pawing
  • Resting his head on your lap for a stroke
  • Constantly demanding to be let in / out
  • Demanding food / water
  • Refusal to eat – especially in the hope of being hand fed in overindulged cases.
  • Begging
  • Vocalisation (the reward is the owners yelling “shut up”
  • Vocalisation when the owner is on the telephone.
  • Toy control
  • Demanding to play (with or without toys)
  • Demanding to go for a walk (ritualised behaviours)
  • Begging at the table
  • Physical exhibition of neurosis – to receive a response or comfort (shivering etc)
  • Jumping up and excitable behaviour
  • Some destructive behaviour.
  • Leash forging (pulling on the lead)
  • Jumping up against you to be picked up or carried.
  • Dogs who exhibit “attention seeking” behaviours are often insecure and over-indulged. These dogs often are suffering from stress
  • caused by a lack of leadership – thus the basic pack responsibilities are directly on their shoulders. If a human does not provide
  • leadership, the dog will instinctively have to take over that role.

In this regard, dogs are also often receive conflicting signals from their owners – thus adding to their confusion and indirectly encouraging the behaviour – if only to receive a response.

Attention seeking dogs often are low ranking individuals, given owner status that they have not earned – this also causes confusion and encourages negative behaviours and dissention in a pack.

Anthropomorphism (accrediting animals with human feelings and emotions) causes insecure, unhappy dogs.

 Ways to reduce or eliminate attention seeking behaviour ​           

Ignore negative behaviour and only reward and react to “good” or positive behaviours.
Use the “doggie time out” principles – which include – If the dog wants to be included in he has to abide by your rules.
Become a good leader and decision maker – do not let the dog make any decisions. This will make you more valuable, reduce much doggy stress, and make your dog feel more secure as it lifts much (decision making) responsibilities off his shoulders.
Ensure that you initiate any contact with the dog – for example, if your dog comes and demands to play ignore him until he stops demanding. Wait a couple of minutes and then call him for a game, or give him the attention he wants. In this way you have taken control, been the decision maker and rewarded the dog be encouraging the “good” behaviour to be repeated (as when he was calm and quiet – you then called him for a game)​
If the dog repeatedly jumps up against you for a stroke or to be picked up. As he starts his “routine” then without speaking or reacting, simply jump up, march out of the room, and slam the door in his face. Give it a minute or two and then return and repeat if necessary. The second the dog does not demand to be picked up, then call him to you and pick him up and give him attention. Reward only good behaviour. This principle can be followed through to reduce various attention seeking behaviours.
 

Source: Friends of the Dog

How to Stop a Pup from Barking or Howling at Night

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How to Stop a Pup from Barking or Howling at Night

 Let’s put ourselves in our pups shoes (paw’s?) for a second. This little bundle of fluff has been taken away from it’s mom and litter mates, very often without being prepared for the separation at all- no wonder it is crying!

A good breeder will start to get a pup used to being away from it’s litter mates and mom for short period from about 5 weeks of age for longer and longer periods. Additionally, a good breeder will get the pups used to travelling in a car and if possible will have the new owner come to interact with the pup a few times before going home – unfortunately not all ‘breeders’ are reputable, responsible breeder who only have the best interests of their dogs and pups in mind!

Here are some tips that can make it easier for the pup to settle. 

  1. Do a little bit of the TTouch Ear Work on the pup during the day and before it goes to sleep. All this consists of is gently stroking your fingers over the ear – from the base to the tip. The ear contains over 100 acupuncture points and the tip of the ear especially, will help to calm any animal down.
  2. Make use of the FOTD Dog Behaviour Spray General Anxiety . Actually this would be a wonderful tool to help right from when you pick up the pup at the breeder. They are 100% organic, herbal and go a long way to helping to reduce stress.
  3. Take your pup outside to eliminate at late as night as possible in order that it has an empty bladder. On average a pup at about 8-10weeks of age should be able to hold its bladder about 3 hours at night at a time. As in humans, all dogs are different and some can hold longer than other. The one thing about a crate is that the pup will be less likely to eliminate where it sleeps and will whine to tell you it needs to eliminate.
  4. Place the crate in your bedroom which will make the pup feel more secure as you are nearby. Cover the crate with a thin blanket or sheet. This will give more of a feeling of security.
  5. Have a cozy (but not too thick) blanket in the crate for the pup to cuddle up in. It often helps to put in an old shirt or item of clothing that smells of you which will have a calming effect on the pup.
  6. When the pup wakes up after a few hours, pick it up (to avoid accidents) and take it to its elimination place. When it has finished, take it back to the crate and pop it in with a nice chewy rawhide bone or similar chew toy. Care must be taken that this is big enough that no choking can occur. Place the cover over the crate again.
  7. If the pup starts whining or barking – IGNORE IT! It has just been put back in – the bowel and bladder are empty – he is just  looking for attention and if you give in now the pup is successfully training you to come when called!
  8. Replace the chew toy daily to stimulate the pup and provide a change. What I find works very well is to keep the pups favourite chew toy for night time only.
  9. If the pup keeps on whining or crying, make sure it does not need the toilet and if not, try leaving a light on close by or music playing very softly on the radio for a few days. This is just an adjustment period and the pup will soon get used to its new environment.​

                                      By Scotty Valadao – Accredited Animal Behaviourist (Canine) (ABC of SA™)

Source: Friends of the Dog

Common Mistakes when Keeping Rabbits

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Common Mistakes when Keeping Rabbits

Guide for Rabbit Owners: Seven of the typical Mistakes

Rabbit owners, who believe that they have an easy to handle creature as a pet, should know that it’s not the case: Many mistakes can be made in the keeping of these mammals.

  1. Rabbits are acquired for children: Young children, in particular, do not have the necessary knowledge and the important sensitivity in dealing with the animals. On the one hand, they tend to grasp the delicately built creature too firmly, on the other hand, they like to take the rabbit in their arms. Both can cause damage such as broken bones and fear.
  2. They lack enrichment opportunities: The intelligent and active rabbits need an environment that enables them to live out their natural and species-specific behaviour as they stretch out, stand on their hind legs, hobble, dig and much more. They need incentives for physical and mental stimulation. If this is not the case, they can suffer from boredom.
  3. Rabbits are kept individually: Rabbits are very social animals. The need for company is deeply rooted in them: they live in the wild in large groups, searching for food, looking for predators and warning each other. A life without at least one social partner and attention from the keeper can lead to boredom and moping with destructive behaviour, hyperactivity or withdrawal as a result.
  4. Not enough attention is paid to their health: Rabbits can hide diseases very well; in a group they must prove to be strong. However, as they can fall ill with many diseases, it will have fatal consequences for them if their owners do not carry out regular health checks on them or pay attention to deviations.
  5. Rabbits are kept awake: Their active time is at dawn and dusk. In between, they must rest or sleep to relax.
  6. They do not receive adequate nutrition: Fresh water and hay and/or grass must be available at all times. A lack of water leads on a long-term basis leads to dehydration and death. Hay and/or grass are extremely important for rubbing their constantly growing teeth to a healthy level and keeping their intestines going.
  7. Rabbits are not properly cared for: Appropriate care includes taking care of the coat and nails. Especially for rabbits, with a dense and constantly growing coat (Angora rabbits) regular care is very important. In case of insufficient care, the coat becomes matted. In addition, the rabbit will swallow a lot of fur during cleaning, which can lead to stomach problems. If claws are not kept short enough, the animals can no longer hobble or jump properly, and the claws can tear painfully.

Source: Four Paws

Horses have amazing healing powers

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Horses have amazing healing powers

You may be able to fool yourself, but you cannot fool a horse.

“Horses change lives. They give our young people confidence and self-esteem. They provide peace and tranquillity to troubled souls, they give us hope.” – Toni Robinson.

For decades now, horses have been included in therapy, but what is it about horses that helps people heal?

Horses have been used in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) since the early 1970s. Horses are highly attuned to emotional energies and can sense what we’re feeling – sometimes even more acutely than we do.

Humans have become quite adept at hiding their true feelings from each other – sometimes, even themselves. But we cannot fool a horse. Horses can sense our deepest emotions and mirror them back to us, often showing us what we have been avoiding.

Obviously, getting to this level of trust with an animal takes time, but that is part of the healing, empowering process. 

Beneficial to children

horses

Equine therapy has proved of tremendous benefit to children with ADHD, autism, eating disorders, depression and anxiety, as well as those suffering abuse.

The many ways of interacting with a horse – from offering it carrots and apples, feeding, grooming, and cleaning up after it to leading it around on a long line, saddling up and riding it help to develop children’s self-awareness over time.

In communicating with a horse, they learn patience, attention, compassion, and responsibility, leading to a greater understanding of themselves and others.

Source: JHB SPCA

Why you shouldn’t give your birds attention when they scream

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Why you shouldn’t give your birds attention when they scream

One of the most common reasons for parrots being surrendered is their screaming.

It is important to understand the reasons why your parrot is screaming and how to handle each scenario. Listen closely to your parrot and you’ll quickly realize that their screaming is due to either being bored, seeking attention, being injured, stressed, not feeling well or an expression of joy.

We unintentionally teach our parrots to scream when we pay attention to their screaming bouts. Research shows that if we want this behaviour to continue then we need to pay attention to it. We fail at trying to control the situation by yelling back at the parrot or by running to them every time they scream. We are positively reinforcing their bad behaviour by going to parrots and giving them the attention, they are demanding. Birds are very clever, they quickly learn that screaming will lead to attention, in this way they are training their owners instead of the other way around.

Yelling at your parrot when they are screaming, isn’t helping you at all. In the wild parrots ‘scream’ to locate each other or to communicate with each other about food, predators and they also ‘chat’ at dusk (flock calling). So, if you think they will respond to your yelling by being quiet you are mistaken, all you are doing is reinforcing their screaming as they take that that you are busy having a conversation with him/her. They see it as bonding time!

So, what can I do to decrease my parrot’s screaming bouts? One way is by rewarding them when they are playing by themselves and being quiet. The best way to respond to screaming is to ignore the screaming and positively reinforce quiet behaviour by paying attention to them during the times when they are playing quietly. After a while, they will notice that screaming does not accomplish the same response from you, and that quiet behaviour leads to the attention they desire. Rewarding positive behaviour is acceptable and ignoring unacceptable behaviour is the best way to deal with problem behaviours in parrots.

Written by: Marianka Meiring
Source: Cheeky Beaks

Signs That Your Cat is Grieving & How You Can Help

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Signs That Your Cat is Grieving & How You Can Help

Little attention is paid to the subject of grieving in cats, largely because they are often seen as independent animals that retain much of their ‘wild’ nature. But cats do exhibit behavioral changes after the loss of another cat and sometimes these can be difficult to understand.

When animals are closely bonded they are more likely to be upset by the loss of their companion. Even cats that constantly fight can grieve the loss of a feuding partner. While no-one will ever know if a cat understands death, they certainly know that a fellow housemate is missing and that something has changed in the house. The owner’s distress at the loss of a pet may also be communicated to the cat, adding to the confusion it may be feeling.

Signs of grief

There is really no way to predict how a cat is likely to behave when a companion is lost. Some cats seem completely unaffected and, indeed, a few may even seem to be positively happy when their housemate disappears. Others may stop eating and lose interest in their surroundings, simply sitting and staring; they seem to become depressed. A few cats undergo personality or behavioral changes when a companion is lost.

While there has been no major research on the subject of feline bereavement, a survey by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found that cats ate less, slept more and became more vocal after the death of a companion cat. But encouragingly, in the 160 households surveyed, all pets that lost a companion were behaving normally within six months.

How can we help?

There are a number of things you can do to help a grieving cat to overcome the loss. Minimising change gives the cat time to come to terms with the loss of a companion cat. Keep the cat ‘s routine the same. Changes in feeding times or even simply moving furniture around can cause further stress. A grieving cat may go off its food. A cat that goes off its food for several days is in danger of a potentially fatal liver disease called hepatic lipidosis. Encourage eating by warming food slightly or putting water or meat juice or it. Sit with your cat during meal times to provide reassurance. Don’t be tempted to change diets to stimulate appetite as this may cause digestive upsets. If the cat does not eat for three days seek veterinary advice.

Quality time

Spend more time with the cat grooming, stroking and playing. This will give a positive feel to any changes in the house that the cat senses. Don’t attempt to replace a lost cat immediately. While your remaining cat may be missing a long term companion, she is unlikely to welcome a stranger when she is still unsettled about the loss. A new cat at this time simply provides an extra source of stress. Like many species, time spent sniffing and nuzzling the dead body of their companion may be a necessary part of the grieving process. It can therefore be helpful to bring the body of a euthanised cat home rather than have it cremated at the vet’s. Whenever dramatic changes in behaviour occur, the cat should always be checked by a vet for any underlying physical problem. Unresolved behavioral problems can be referred onto animal behaviourists.

Source: Hill’s Pet Nutrition