9 hours ago
Common myths and curly questions about our fur friends answered
Not all tail wags from our dogs are actually friendly.
Photo:
Unsplash
What does it really mean when your dogs wags its tail?
Why do they sometimes like to eat poo?
And can cats really make good therapy animals like dogs?
Well animal behaviourist and certified dog trainer Dr Zazie Todd answered some curly questions around our canine and cat behaviours.
Todd told
Sunday Morning
there were many myths surrounding our furry friends, including what it meant when dogs wagged their tails.
She said the way a dog wagged its tail suggested it was
feeling positive
or negative emotions.
"There's some research that shows that depending on the side of the dogs body that they are wagging too, it tells you something about the hemisphere of their brain that's involved.
"So if the dog is wagging the tail to the left it would mean that the right hemisphere is involved and that's more associated with negative emotions, where as if their tail is wagging more to the right, that means that the left hemisphere is involved and that's positive emotions."
But she said not all tail wags from our fur friends were actually friendly.
"If the tail is quite up right and if it's kind of a tight wag and sometimes quite a quick one, that actually is a sign of the dog feeling stressed and aroused and that is also a sign that you should be more careful of that dog."
Zazie Todd with her late dog Bodger
Photo:
Supplied
'
Todd said when it comes to the personality of a dog it is largely not determined by its breed.
"There's actually a lot of variability in a breed, in terms of how those dogs behave.
"There is probably more variability within breeds than, you know, between different breeds, so the breed of a dog doesn't tell you everything about how that dog is going to behave.
Genetics and environment both shaped a dogs behaviour, she said.
Todd said dogs eating poo is actually a really common behaviour.
"From the dogs perspective, poo seems to be quite a delicacy and something they enjoy eating and it might even have some nutrients in it from the food that has been eaten before."
She said the best thing owner could do was just not give their dog the opportunity to do so.
"Clearing up in our yards... maybe also have a conversation with your vet if your dog likes to eat poop often and think about making sure you have de-wormed them.
"As well we can teach them to leave it and that's a really helpful thing to teach dogs anyway," she said.
Cats can sometimes be a therapy animal.
Photo:
Unsplash
Another mystery question that needed answering was whether cats could be a therapy animal like dogs?
Todd told
Sunday Morning
they could, but it was uncommon.
"Therapy cats can help people feel less stressed... but most cats won't enjoy this," she said.
"The cat also has to go somewhere for this to happen, which is something most cats don't like. If you think of what most cats do when you get a cat carrier out - they run and hide."
She also said scent was really important to cats, and when placed in an unfamiliar environment that didn't smell like their home "it can be quite stressful for them".
"So i think some cats can make great therapy cats but I think they are a minority."
Just like a dog wagging its tail, a cat purring didn't always mean they were happy, Todd said.
She said sometimes cats could purr when they were sick or scared.
"There is something that we call a solicitation purr... which kind of corresponds to the frequency of a babies cry.
"So when the cat is waiting to be feed and wants some food that is the purr you will hear," she said.
Cats have evolved this particular frequency overtime, Todd said.
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