Dogs and Children

Recent events in the UK have fuelled the debate over dogs and children. The death of a five month old baby after being attacked by two Rottweilers has saddened and shocked everybody and our thoughts go out to that poor family. For a while there may well be an over-reaction but lets keep a clear head and look at the facts and what can be done to help keep children (and dogs) safe. The thoughts that follow are not the voice of an expert but they are an informed opinion. My interest in animal behavior is that of a hobby not a career.

Some of the facts

Its very rare for a dog to attack a child

The most likely cause of an attack is teasing NEVER tease or provoke a dog, however friendly

Most family dogs accept and protect the family children but should never be left alone with them.

Stand still if a dog threatens you. It is instinctive for a dog to chase something moving.

Generally watch out for growling, pricked upright ears pointing at you and a stiff tail held high. (Unfortunately some dogs so enjoy a chase that they may wag their tails as if they were friendly when they are not, so try to get to understand doggie body language.)

The best defense is to become familiar with dogs and their signals.

Most barking, excited dogs you meet in parks may wish to chase you but are not intending you harm.

Dogs are not generally aggressive unless trained to be so. The danger lies in play which gets out of hand. Dogs are not little people in fur coats. They brains work differently from ours. They can hurt a child accidentally because they dont realize their actions will harm them.

Two or more dogs are more likely to get too excited and go into attack mode. The pack instinct rises up.

The only way a dog can tell you it doesnt like something is to move away or nip. Teach children not to pester dogs who are trying to get away.

A distressed dog will sometimes warn by snapping into the air. This is only intended to communicate their displeasure but they can catch a child in the face accidentally.

Dont touch a strange dog without checking with the owner that its okay first.

Take extra precautions if your dog shows any jealousy towards a child. You may want to consider whether you should keep him in those circumstances.

Treat dogs with respect, as fellow creatures not playthings. Dont rob them of their heritage and dignity. The relationship between humans and dogs has been rewarding on both sides. Lets celebrate that.

© Linda Cooke, 2006
http://www.good-ideas.biz
Dogs, cats, work, play and more

Linda Cooke trained as a teacher but has also produced writing and photography for magazines for more years than she would like to mention. More recently she has taken to the Web.

How To Get Rid Of Raccoons

Many of you know that raccoons are known to adapt very easily to a changing environment that is why many people have problems with the damages caused by these creatures. Raccoons have inherited a bad habit: they vandalize garbage cans, fish ponds and also your very own kitchen pantry due to the fact that many houses ( especially in United States ) have a pet door which for a raccoons is like an invitation.

Besides this, raccoons invade attics, chimneys, porches and other similar locations, not to mention that the cities and suburbs offer these creatures a developed underground roadway system for those intelligent animals who use these storm sewers. These raccoons not only invade your privacy but also they cause damage, for example, they can get into crops or just by simply occupying your chimney they make annoying little sounds that eventually will drive you crazy.

The first thing you should do is to find out if you are truly having problems with raccoons because many people have the tendency to affirm that raccoons are the ones to blame for the damages but in reality, the ones who should be blamed for causing these problems are dogs, cats or other friendly animals.

If you dont have the possibility to observe these animals directly the best thing you could do is to identify their tracks. In order to do this you should use the following : flour, nontoxic powders and also cornstarch, these will help you to check out footprints on hard surfaces. A useful tip : raccoons which use chimneys or attics usually begin to make noise when it is getting darker and they stop doing this in the morning, when the sun makes its appearance. The sounds that raccoons make when they are moving can help you detect them more easily. Also, if you hear purring noises then you should know that young cubs are present. Usually, you will hear these noises when their mother comes back to the den.

A wise thing you could do if you have problems with raccoons is simply wait; in other words, many of the problems made by raccoons ( for example: occupation of a building ) resolve themselves within a few weeks or if you are lucky, in a few days. If cubs are also causing you problems then you should know that they wont leave your attic until they are nine weeks of age because until then, they cant take care of themselves so they wont venture in an unknown environment where they will be helpless.

When it comes down to chimneys and attics if yours is uncapped then raccoons will probably use it for denning but also for giving birth and raising cubs. If you assume that after a while they will leave, the best thing you should is that you might try using some harassment techniques so that you could hurry their departure. Also, you might as well leave the attic lights on or place a radio tuned to a talk-show and leave it a high volume.

Once you are certain that you got rid of all the raccoons, the first thing you should do is install an approved chimney cap so that in the future, raccoons wont be able to invade your privacy. A very important note is that you shouldnt use fire or smoke to make the animals come out of the chimneys because by doing so, you will most likely kill the youngsters as they arent able to evade on their own.

When it comes down to yards and gardens, in order to discourage garbage vandalizing you should place cans at the curb when the day of garbage pick-up has arrived. Another thing you could do is that you should secure the lids using bungee cords or weights. Dont forget that raccoons are often attracted by birdseed and suet and they usually cause a lot of damage to garden fruits and also vegetable gardens , especially corn and grapes. Garden vandalizing will often occur when the foods are ready to be picked so you should be more attentive during those periods.

All in all, raccoons can cause a lot of problems so some safety precautions should be taken in order to avoid these problems which can become very annoying if ignored for a longer period of time.

Summary: Getting rid of raccoons can become a very frustrating thing to do if you dont take the best decisions. Patience and clever thinking are a must when confronting with such a delicate situation.

Angelina Diaz has been dealing with raccoon issues for years. You can visit http://www.coonhuntinginfo.com to find the latest tips & tricks about how to get rid of raccoons but also very useful coon hunting info.

Dealing with a Jumping Dog, or "Jump up, jump up and get down!"

Often its ok for a dog to jump on its owner, but awkward and even harmful when he jumps up on others, such as other family members or friends. This can be confusing for the dog, but a well-trained dog can quite happily learn never to jump on strangers, and when its ok and to jump on you (playtimes, for example). A dog jumping up on a child can be a frightening experience, especially when the dog becomes taller than the child when he rears up. A dog jumping up on strangers is always a bad look.

During greetings, always try to prevent your dog from jumping up in the first place. Put your hand (or both hands) out in front of you and hold still. A trained dog will be able to respond to this gesture, without any verbal commands, and realize that it should stay down. If he gets down on his own accord, then start using the down command to accompany the behavior. Ideally, you always want the dog to perform the correct behavior first before using a verbal command, so they have some action to associate it with.

For most, this type of prevention does not work right away, especially for puppies that lack enough formal training. Youll have to know how to react when your dog starts jumping up. Mostly, this involves what NOT to do. For example, dont be over-enthusiastic during your greetings. This obviously reinforces the behavior. And do not forcefully push the dog away from you. They interpret this as a form of playful engagement. The result: dogs always push back. Its instinctive (and the same principle is the reason for the majority of cases where dogs pull on leashes - they are encouraged by the force exerted on them).

Turn your back and ignore the dog. And calmly ask him to sit. When he has calmed down, and ideally responded to the sit command, then you can turn and greet the dog. If it starts jumping again, repeat the process. Be patient, this is where you get to send a message mainly through your body language, and the dog will surely take many trials to receive it. Often it is recommended that you stick your knee up and put the dog off balance, which is almost a reflex reaction. Turning your back and stonewalling is better if you can manage.

One of the absolute best suggestions I can give is to always greet a calm dog at its level. Squat or kneel down, and open your palms open toward the dog. This is a non-threatening posture that dogs very quickly associate will impending praise. We all like when others try to meet us on our level. Dogs are no different in this respect. But make sure they earn it first!

Avoidance is your best bet when introducing new people into your house. If you have established your position as the dominant member of your pack, then your dog should never be allowed to position himself in front of you when the front door opens. Time for you to become the Alpha Dog if thats the case, which is means more training for you.

Martin Olliver is a proud member of the Kingdom of Pets team (http://www.kingdomofpets.com). For more great articles on problem jumping, visit: http://kingdomofpets.com/dogobediencetraining/articles/jumping_dog.php.