Learn your dogs langauage

Artificial Intelligence researchers at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary have been able to identify the similarities in barks in certain situation, and can understand them better than humans can!

These findings suggest computers might significantly help people comprehend animal communication. Scientists tested artificially intelligent software on more than 6,000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs.

Six different kinds of barks were taped:

Barks for strangers were recorded when a researcher approached a dog's owner's home when the owner was away.

Barks during fights were recorded at dog training schools, when a trainer encouraged dogs to bite the glove on the trainer's arms and bark aggressively.

• Barks for walks were recorded when owners behaved as if they were preparing to go for a walk with their dogs.


• Barks for balls were recorded when owners held balls in front of dogs.


• Barks during playtime were recorded when owners played tug-of-war or similar games with dogs.


• Barks made when alone were recorded when owners tied dogs to trees in a park and then walked out of sight.

After analyzing digital versions of the barks, overall the computer program correctly identified the kinds of barks the dogs made 43 percent of the time — about the same as humans' 40 percent, said researcher Csaba Molnár, an ethologist at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary.

The software identified 'walk' and 'ball' barks better than people, although people identified 'play' and 'alone' barks better than the software. The program also could identify which dog made each bark 52 percent of the time. Molnár and his colleagues had previously found that people can not reliably distinguish between individual Hungarian sheepdogs by their barks at all.

"I'm pretty sure this could work with any animal vocal signals," Molnár told LiveScience.
Molnár thinks dogs are ideal for study because humans and canines have spent thousands of years living together. "At least you know what the humans intend in any communication between them and dogs," he explained. "When you have communication just between animals, it's much harder to study what they mean."

In future experiments, the researchers will compare barks from different breeds. Since these dogs were bred for different jobs, this could result in differences in their barks, Molnár said. Molnár and his colleagues detailed their findings on January 15 in the journal Animal Cognition.

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Love Your Dog

People and dogs have lived together for over 10,000 years. Dogs are kept for companionship,
guarding, herding, also as assistance dogs for people with sight hearing or physical difficulties.

How To Care For Your Dog

In order to stay healthy and happy, a dog needs
● a balanced diet ● exercise
● veterinary care, ● companionship

Where Your Dog Lives

● A dog that lives outside needs a shelter to give protection from the heat or cold weather.
● A dog needs comfortable bedding.
● If your dog has to be tethered, use a long running line (pictured above). Fixed chains or rope
can become tangled around the dog causing injury.

Food & Water

● A dog needs a balanced diet of protein and
fibre. Household scraps will not be sufficient
to maintain good body weight or strong
muscles.
● Sharp bones can be dangerous, as they may
become stuck in the throat or cause problems if
swallowed.
● Fresh water should be given daily in a clean bowl.

Exercise

● A dog should not be permanently tied up, he needs regular exercise.
● A walk each day, and perhaps a game with a stick or ball, will
help to keep your dog alert, active and relieve boredom.
● A bored dog may bark excessively, annoying neighbours.
Hygiene
● A dog that is kept in dirty conditions can become
infested with worms, ticks, fleas or lice. Ask your vet for
advice.
● Keep your dog and his living area clean.

Vaccinations

● Dogs are vulnerable to many diseases which can be dangerous and costly to treat.
● Vaccination helps prevent illness and reduces the risk of infection to other dogs.

Grooming
● Regular brushing helps to keep your dog clean and free of tangles and
provides an opportunity to check for unwanted parasites.

Breeding

● Every year hundreds of thousands of dogs are destroyed
because there are not enough suitable homes available for them.
● Female dogs can produce many puppies every year. In six
years a pair of dogs and their offspring can produce 67,000
puppies.
● By constantly producing and rearing puppies, the health of a
female dog can suffer.
● Pregnant and lactating female dogs need extra food.
● Puppies generally suckle from their mothers for about three
weeks, gradually starting to eat additional food.
● A female dog is naturally protective of
her young and can be aggressive at
this time. A quiet place should
be provided for them.
● To prevent unwanted
puppies have your dog spayed / neutered – an operation
performed by a vet

Spaying

● Grooming helps to get your dog used to being handled.

Spaying / Neutering

● Modern veterinary equipment and drugs, make surgery safe, painless and recovery quick.
● Ask your vet when to have your dog spayed / neutered.
● Your dog does not need to have a litter before she is spayed.
● Early age neutering from eight weeks of age is now accepted as a positive
action.
● Once a female dog has been neutered she will never come into
season again and unwanted male dogs will keep away.
● In a female, spaying can reduce the risk of mammary
tumours.
● In a male, neutering can help to reduce aggression
and roaming.

Consult Your Vet

Remember your vet can advise you on:
● diet
● training your pet
● treatment against parasites
● vaccination
● spaying / neutering
● any other health concerns

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Dog Training

Advice on House Training your pet dog #1

Make the crate work teach your puppy or young rescue dog that ‘crate' feels good A crate (big enough for the dog to stand up and turn around in) can make housetraining and obedience training more effective when used properly.

During those short periods when you can't watch your puppy like a hawk, a crate prevents it from getting into mischief, such as chewing electrical cords, table legs or expensive pillows. It also discourages indoor urination.

Follow the following advice to make crate-training work for your puppy or young rescue dog:
Make the crate attractive to your dog by placing an old blanket or towel and a few of its favourite indestructible chew toys inside.

Leave the crate door open and allow your puppy to explore in and around the crate. If your puppy goes inside the crate, praise it "Good dog!" Encourage a reluctant puppy by tossing a tasty titbit inside the crate. When your dog goes inside to retrieve the food, praise it "good dog!"

Feed your puppy or young dog his meals inside the crate, luring it inside with the food bowl. This makes the crate a positive place for your dog. Once your puppy is comfortable being inside the crate and shows no signs of stress, try closing the crate's door for one minute, leaving it unlatched. Open the door and praise your dog for being brave.

Gradually increase the time your puppy spends in the crate as it becomes more comfortable with it. Puppies should live with their owners -not in their crates. Limit any confinement to one hour except at night. If your puppy whines or cries, wait for it to quiet down for a minute before opening the door. Otherwise, you will reinforce the puppy's whining. Do not leave your puppy alone in the crate for longer than an hour.

Alternatively - if the crate is not an option use an exercise pen, a part of your kitchen or the laundry room. This will give your puppy room to play, exercise and relieve itself on newspapers or potty pads if necessary.

NEVER USE THE CRATE TO PUNISH YOUR PET! IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE!

Advice on House Training Your Dog #2
House Training your dogThe quickest and easiest way to house train your puppy or young dog is to rely on your dog's natural instincts and behaviour.

What To Expect During the House Training Process
Unless you can monitor your puppy 24 hours a day, don't expect the house training process to be completed until your puppy is at least 6 months old. It's normal for a young dog to be a little 'input-output' machine.

Since puppies are growing and developing rapidly at this stage, they eat more food, burn up more energy and seem to need to eliminate constantly! They also have not yet developed bowel and bladder control, so they can't 'hold it' as long as adult dogs.

House Training When You Are Not Home
Confine your dog to a small, 'puppy-proofed' room and paper the entire floor. Put his bed, toys and food/water bowls there. At first there will be no rhyme or reason to where your dog eliminates. He will go everywhere and anywhere.

He will also probably play with the papers, chew on them, and drag them around his little den. Most puppies do this and you just have to live with it. Don't get upset; just accept it as life with a young puppy. The important thing is that when you get home, clean up the mess and lay down fresh papers.

Passive House Training or Paper TrainingWhile your dog is confined, he is developing a habit of eliminating on paper because no matter where he goes, it will be on paper. As time goes on, he will start to show a preferred place to dohis business. When this place is well established and the rest of the papers remain clean all day, then gradually reduce the area that is papered. Start removing the paper that is furthest away from his chosen location.

Eventually you will only need to leave a few sheets down in that area only. If he ever misses the paper, then you've reduced the area too soon. Go back to papering a larger area or even the entire room. Once your puppy is reliably going only on the papers you've left, then you can slowly and gradually move his papers to a location of your choice.

Move the papers only an inch a day. If puppy misses the paper again, then you're moving too fast. Go back a few steps and start over. Don't be discouraged if your puppy seems to be making remarkable progress and then suddenly you have to return to papering the entire room. This is normal. There will always be minor set-backs. If you stick with this procedure, your puppy will be paper-trained.

House Training When You Are Home
When you are home but can't attend to your dog, follow the same procedures described above. However, the more time you spend with your dog, the quicker he will be house trained. Your objective is to take your pet to his toilet area every time he needs to eliminate. This should be about once every 45 minutes; just after a play session; just after eating or drinking; and just upon waking.

When he does eliminate in his toilet area, praise and reward him profusely and enthusiastically! Don't use any type of reprimand or punishment for mistakes or accidents. Your puppy is too young to understand and it can set the house training process back drastically for any dog-whatever the age. Don't allow your pet freedom outside of his room unless you know absolutely for sure that his bladder and bowels are completely empty.

When you do let him out, don't let him out of your sight. It is a good idea to have him on leash when he is exploring your home. He can't get into trouble if you are attached to the other end of the leash. Every 30 minutes return your pup to his toilet area. As your pet becomes more reliable about using his toilet area and his bowel and bladder control develops, he can begin to spend more time outside his room with you in the rest of your home.

Begin by giving him access to one room at a time. Let him eat, sleep and play in this room but only when he can be supervised. When you cannot supervise him, put him back in his room.

Active House Training
The most important thing you can do to make house training happen as quickly as possible is to reward and praise your puppy every time he goes in the right place. The more times he is rewarded, the quicker he will learn. Therefore it's important that you spend as much time as possible with your pup and give him regular and frequent access to his toilet area.

Key to Successful House Training
Consistency and Patience. Never scold or punish your dog for mistakes and accidents. The older your pet gets, the more he will be able to control his bladder and bowels. Eventually your dog will have enough control that he will be able to "hold it" for longer and longer periods of time. Let your pet do this on his own time.

When training is rushed, problems usually develop. For pups don't forget, most puppies are not reliably house trained until they are at least 6 months old.

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