Woof and Word Press

this is an EXCELLENT reference, i have the 1st edition and will be taking full advantage of the sales-offer, LOL -
i want the 2nd-edition + can get it for half-price, early Xmas for me, yippee.
(see the ERRATA link on the WoofAndWord page, top-left, for the few omissions of credit or misconstrued sources - total of 3 ,
pretty good for an over-250 page tome with hundreds of sources.)

for some wonderful k9 body-language photos for discussion, see
The Canine Behavior Blog » Welcome to The Canine Behavior Blog

it is up to us big-brained primates with the opposable thumbs, IMO, to grok the dog -
dogs already do more than half of the heavy-lifting, they grok our emotional states even better than we do.
we need to SEE what our dogs are saying - in their marvelous, eye-blink fast, subtle or blatant body-signals.
enjoy the blog, the pix from the Nederland dog-walker are especially wonderful!

cheers,
--- terry

PS - full and free disclosure -
barbara is a fellow-apdt-USA member, but i get no consideration whatever from her, the book, whatever publisher,
...nothing whatever, in monies or kind, from any person or business connected.

i just think this is a CRACKING-good reference, and would love to see it in every public-library! dog-parents need to have a basic understanding of canine grammar, and any owner struggling with B-Mod needs some fluency in highly-significant Pre-Arousal clues, where they can still effectively intervene, interrupt or re-direct.

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

I have this, in addition to Aloff's and Abrante's book on the same subject.

The Canine Behavior Blog » August 8, Interrupting Rough Dog-to-Dog Play

The video was interesting to me for the shaking-off. A behavior that seems result from a variety of reasons. From the physiological (wet) to something innocuous as being carried or brushed and during the interrupted play we see here.

Wow thanks for the blog link it's great! I've been reading up on doggy body language in preparation for the puppy, & this is the most detailed source I've seen. Brilliant!

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Thanks for the blog will have a read with a coffee later.

I'm after the Sarah Kalnajs DVD's but they are so expensive!

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Use your brain, not a choke chain.

re corinthian -


hey, cory! :--)

i taught my Akita to shake-off anywhere / anytime On-Cue, as this is a wonderful way to de-stress the dog after any upsetting, tense, or highly-emotional event - even happy stuff that is emotionally-loaded, needs to be grounded-out afterwards, IMO.

we would exit the physical-therapy hospital after a couple of hours, 60 to 90-mins spent visiting patients, a 30-min break for me to eat in the cafe (while she lounged in the hallway within eyesight, just outside the door - i sometimes had to save her from being harass... erm, Petted by unknown children who signally FAILED to Ask-First, ;-)
and of course, even during down-time between patients, staff would stop us in the hall to get a dog-fix. everybody needs a chance to take a deep breath, and therapy is very stressful stuff; emotional, difficult, lotsa picky details, frustrating,...

anyway, we would be on our way into the parking-lot, and i would cue her to shake - she would stop, brace, and give a HUGE shake-off, then her mouth would drop open and she would look at me with a big toothy-grin and squinched eyes, and pant.
often she would shake a SECOND time (un-cued), only a step or two forward from the first, as if for emphasis, and now and again, a THIRD - each time they got bigger, when she did the repeats.
the rare THIRD-shake was always so intense, i had to wonder how she didn;t lose her back-pack, LOL...
sometimes that super-vigorous 3rd-shake squeezed a grunt out of her, which always seemed to surprise her, and that was quite funny.

post-shake (whether 1, 2 or even 3), she would give a big-grin, her gait would loosen-up, and we would walk home (another de-stressor - the walk was a chance to just enjoy the scenery, and transition from the rehab-hospital to the quiet adults-only house.)

if U have not taught Ur dog to shake-off on cue...
try it! it is the single simplest de-stress i know of, portable, simple, very effective.
my disabled clients have used that as a bridge between outside-world (on duty) and inside-home (off-duty),
and it makes a world of difference to the dogs. the nice routine signal to shake-off their accumulated tension
from a day / hour / whatever, of being aides, after their cape / back-pack comes off, and relax at home
is a chapter-ending marker.

cheers,
--- terry

PS - cory, didja see my note elsewhere?
i could not PM to thank-U for the permit - Ur in-box is full...
thought U;d want to know U are outbound-mail only!
and thanks very much for permission to share!

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

check out the excellent photos on Barb's blog.

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Roger Abrantes Dog Language is worth a look