December 5th 2005 8:57 am
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Dec. 4, 2005 — Researchers at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service in Washington state say sometimes a bark is just a bark — but a long, loud panting sound has real meaning.
They say the long, loud pant is the sound of a dog laughing, and it has a direct impact on the behavior of other dogs.
"What we found is that it had a calming or soothing effect on the dogs," said Patricia Simonet, an animal behaviorist in Spokane who has studied everything from hamster culture to elephant self-recognition. "Now, we actually really weren't expecting that."
Nancy Hill, director of Spokane County Animal Protection, admits she was skeptical at first that this noise would affect the other dogs.
"I thought: Laughing dogs?" Hill said. "A sound that we're gonna isolate and play in the shelter? I was a real skeptic … until we played the recording here at the shelter."
When they played the sound of a dog panting over the loudspeaker, the gaggle of dogs at the shelter kept right on barking. But when they played the dog version of laughing, all 15 barking dogs went quiet within about a minute.
"It was a night-and-day difference," Hill said. "It was absolutely phenomenal."
Officials say it works every time, and researchers across the country are taking note.
"The laughing sound that they make is something that was not even considered a vocalization until this study was done," Simonet said.
Those who study dog behavior have varying opinions about exactly what Patricia Simonet's "dog laughing" sound really is. What they do agree on, however, is that to other dogs, it is at least a sound worth keeping quiet to listen to.
January 12th 2005 9:28 am
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Naughty dogs are 'smarter'
12 January 2005
By REBECCA PALMER
If your dog tears up your living room every time you go out, it might just be showing signs of genius, visiting British expert and author Jan Fennell says.
Known as "The Dog Listener", Miss Fennell says delinquent dogs are far from irredeemable: "The naughtier they are, the more intelligent they are and they aren't going to be pushed around by an idiot.
"There's no such thing as a bad dog. We've worked with what's considered the worst and they're actually the best."
Miss Fennell shared her insights into the world of man's best friend at a seminar organised by the Dog Wise programme in Wellington this week.
The most common mistake people made with their dogs was to treat them like humans, she said.
"They can't learn our language, it's impossible. But we can learn theirs and anybody can do it in their own pace."
People bringing home puppies should let them learn the boundaries of their new home as soon as possible and reward them with food when they went to the toilet outside.
"If it has an accident inside, clean it up, don't say a word."
Owners should not lose their temper with their dogs, she said: "If you lose it, you've lost it."
Other advice includes: "Never work with a dog without any food or water."
Miss Fennell, who owns 12 dogs, said she was upset by the "growing use of gadgets" to control dogs, such as choke chains, harnesses and shock collars.
Her career as a dog listener began after she saw Monty Roberts, the American "horse whisperer", at work in 1989.
"It just inspired me, I can't begin to tell you."
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