#behavior problems

[crowsstars]

My dog bit me because I wanted my sock back, lmao

It hurts a lot

[hazard-and-friends]

is it ethical to get my dog neutered? he humps his bed pillow a lot until it’s soaked and I basically need to wash it on the daily and it’s a bit of a gross inconvenience but I feel that it’s mean to get his balls chopped off. like it’s not like he wouldn’t notice?

(DISCLAIMER: I am not a vet. This is not medical advice. Please, please, talk to a vet before making surgery decisions.)

Where you live is going to have a huge impact on this. In some areas, particularly the urban USA, it is standard to have your dog neutered/spayed as a young adult. In other areas, particularly Europe, it is standard to leave the dog intact unless/until problems arise.

For chronic humping: I would talk to your vet and then a good, force free trainer. Neutering may or may not do anything, because at this point he’s had a lot of opportunity to practice the behavior and it’s very well ingrained.

As for neutering in general: It depends. Long term, it has both positive and negative physical impacts, and positive and negative behavioral impacts. Short term, the concern is mostly with a) how safe a surgery is (the dog will be anesthetized, which always carries some risk that depends on the dog’s overall health, age, and breed) and b) pain management following surgery.

He does not know his balls are there in the same way that you and I know our genitalia are there. Once neutered, already established behaviors will continue occurring, so it’s not going to change him that way. So is it mean to neuter? It depends on if you think that reproduction falls under freedom to express normal and natural behavior (from the Five Freedoms). Some people will say yes. Some won’t. I think it depends on species, and in dogs, where relatively little of their life is structured around reproduction, and where there is an imbalance of pet dogs in the first place (some areas have too many, others too few), I think your energy is better spent in making sure he gets to express other dog behaviors, particularly sniffing and foraging for food.

In sum, for this specific case, talk to your vet, and for neutering in general, if done at the right age with a good vet and without a hope that it will change behaviors: Sure, go right ahead.

Further reading: IAABC 2018 article with a good table of pros and cons. 2020 research paper looking at age at spay/neuter and joint disorders.

[krystalteaches]

“get to know your students” they say. “when you build relationships, they’ll respond better.”

please tell me the last time you had to build relationships with 160 people in a five-day span.

i’ll wait

[whitefangsandwildhowls]

The hardest thing you learn to do when you own a dog with a behavior problem is to stop blaming yourself.

[charliebirddd]

Why is my bird plucking? Non-Medical Causes of Feather Plucking

(Here is a thing I wrote for a Wordpress blog! Contains academic sources!)

Feather plucking in birds can be a confusing situation. Sometimes birds pluck themselves, sometimes they pluck other members of the flock; the cause can be a medical issue or the cause can be a behavioral problem. In this post, we'll take a look at the non-medical side to feather plucking.

Note: If your bird is plucking, please do not try to diagnose the cause on your own. Seek veterinary care, as the plucking could be caused by an underlying condition.

Birds are incredibly smart creatures, and without the proper environment and stimulation, they can turn to self-mutilation. Likely causes for behavioral-based plucking include stress, separation anxiety, lack of enrichment/interaction and attention seeking. It's also important for bird owners not to encourage behavioral plucking, especially if plucking is used as an attention grabber.

However, in a study called "Nonmedical Factors Associated with Feather Picking in Pet Psittacine Birds," published in the 2014 issue of Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, researchers found that some species are more inclined to pluck. They found that African greys and cockatoos were more likely to pluck than other birds. A few other studies included macaws and eclectus parrots as being more likely to pluck. The researchers also found that rescue birds and birds given more than eight hours of out-of-cage-time were more likely to pluck.

So why would African greys and cockatoos be singled out as the most likely to pluck? African greys are extremely intelligent birds -- they're compared to human toddlers for a reason. Their intelligence may lend them to be more likely to suffer from lack of interaction and enrichment and turn to feather plucking. Cockatoos are also intelligent birds, but lean toward the affectionate side. Cockatoos crave socialization, and if they are denied that, especially if it is a single bird, they may pluck due to separation anxiety, lack of interaction or attention-seeking behavior.

On the flip side, over-stimulation can lead to plucking and feather damaging behaviors, too. Lack of sleep or downtime and constant noise (think young children playing or a noisy neighborhood) are examples of over-stimulation that are likely to cause stress and possibly feather plucking.

Mating behavior and territorial behavior may also lead to feather plucking. Either of these could lead to one bird plucking its flockmate. If this occurs, the owner needs to separate the two to prevent further aggression.

Why is your bird plucking? Even on the behavior-based/non-medical side, there is a plethora of reasons why a bird may pluck. Other research, which wasn't even discussed in this article, cites cage placement, sex and obsessive grooming as causes. It can be difficult to pin down the exact reason. The best way to answer the "why" is to evaluate yourself, your bird and your relationship. If you are able to examine your bird's behavior, diet, sleep schedule, toys, etc., you can narrow down your possible causes.

A vet can help you diagnose the cause of your bird's plucking, as well as correct it.

[theclassicalhorse]

Look at what I gotta deal with when I fuck up one time lmao

[adhdcoaching]

Executive functions refer to cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior to successfully attain chosen goals. We all use these

[trainingfaith]

My boyfriend is considering self training a service dog, and I was just wondering at what point one would know a SDiT needs to be washed out? As opposed to just needing lots more work or a change in how training is approached.

Good question! IMO, this depends on the individual dog, as well as the problems (and severity of such problems) the dog is experiencing. If you have concerns about your SD prospect, contacting a professional trainer and/or certified behaviorist will be your best bet. 

For example, Faith had issues with resource guarding when she was younger. It was never directed towards other humans, but she would growl and possibly snap if another dog got too close to something she considered “hers”. Obviously this caused great concern for me and I did worry that I’d have to wash her out. However, I pulled her from public access and contacted a behaviorist right away. Less than 3 months later, the issue was completely resolved. She now willingly and enthusiastically shares her toys, chews, and even food bowl with other dogs that come into my home. 

So I guess my best advice is to treat behavior problems on a case-by-case basis because no two dogs are exactly alike. Things such as excessive shyness, aggression, inappropriate marking, etc may be very easy to correct with one dog, but impossible to correct with another. Discussing your options with a professional trainer is the best way to go about things. 

I hope this helps!~ Lex (& Faith)