Feeding your Canine Companion

2005 Annual Report
Please click here to view the Sequoia Humane Society's 2005 Annual Report (PDF)

Vets who support SHS Spay/Neuter Drives Sunny Brae Animal Clinic 900 Buttermilk Lane Arcata, CA 95521 822-5124 Eureka Veterinary Hospital 4433 Broadway, Eureka 442-4885 Animal Health & Surgery Center 1257 Riverwalk Drive, Fortuna 725-6154 Myrtle Avenue Veterinary Hospital 2715 Hubbard Lane, Eureka 443-8686 Ferndale Veterinary 1140 Van Ness Ave., Ferndale 786-4200 McKinleyille Animal Care Ctr 839-1504

The discipline of animal behavior, also known as "ethology" has been around for a long time. In the 1970’s Konrad Lorenz was one of the first scientists to study the natural behaviors of animals and try to figure out why they do what they do. Later, psychologist B.F. Skinner developed the theory that we can predict and control behavior by controlling the animal’s environment; he described this as the science of "Behaviorism." He did not believe that non-human animals were capable of thinking, but that they simply responded to stimuli in their environment, much like robots.

Today, scientists have taken this theory out into the real world and have abandoned the notion that animals do not think. Quite the contrary, they think, they just don’t think the same way humans do! At first, this might not seem like such earth-shattering news, but the concept that animals think differently from people can help us improve our relationships with them by giving us a better understanding of how they see the world, and why they do what they do.

For example, dogs’ senses of smell and hearing are much more sensitive than ours, which leads them to perceive the world very differently. For a dog, walking past a trash can is like walking past a Mrs. Fields cookie bakery! The smell is so attractive and overpowering, it is easy to see why they get into the trash and why the notion of teaching them to stay out of the trash seems absurd! Obviously it is just easier to keep the trash out of reach.

Another important way in which dogs and cats think differently is that they do not understand the concepts of sympathy or compassion. In the wild where cats and dogs evolved, sympathetic and compassionate behaviors are perceived as weak and unstable. Instead of appreciation, your comforting behaviors are likely to be met with aggression and/or an increasingly unhappy pet! You are much more likely to make friends if you act calm, confident and non-threatening.

Dr. Michelle Stone is an Animal Behaviorist. For a consultation call 986-7849

Suggested Reading: The Other End of the Leash, By Patricia McConnell

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