If you’re one of the millions of people who have seen this video, you either laughed or you were appalled. The video received instant fame when it was on America’s Funniest Home Videos many years ago, garnering many audience chuckles; however, from a veterinarian’s perspective, this dog’s behavior raises some serious red flags. Based on just this small clip with no history or other information, I recently showed this video to three neurologists and all three felt that the number one rule out for the twitching of the hind leg was that it was caused by a mis-firing of neurons in the brain, in

With 72 million dogs in the U.S. and 400 million dogs worldwide, humans have established many different relationships with dogs. An estimated 3/4 of the world’s population eats dogs and most of the world’s dogs roam the unpaved roads of developing nations, scavenging through human trash and waste like rats. They choose to live and breed near humans because they’re better adapted to scavenging than to hunting. This is a far cry from our pampered pets who subsist on food formulated by large companies to meet their specific nutritional needs. We’ve not only brought dogs into our house, we’ve developed

When a child is bitten by a four-legged family member, it can turn the household upside-down. Owners feel puzzled and confused. “They sleep together all the time,” they might say, or, “He’s always been really good. He even lets Timmy sit on him.” In a majority of cases, the bite seems out of the blue. The humans can’t fathom why their once-trusted companion would bite an innocent child. But anyone who reads “dog” or can see life from the pet’s point of view would most likely say, “I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.” The fact is, a quick perusal of

In the last decade some people have questioned the need for giving vaccines, at least so frequently to dogs. In the past the routine suggestion has been to vaccinate once a year. These suggestion were based on the vaccination schedules tested by the drug companies. But the pharmaceutical companies were not required to ask the question, how long does each vaccination last? Now, the guidelines for vaccine frequency have been modified and tailored more to the individual pet’s need. For instance, the American Animal Hospital Association now recommends that dogs who have received their initial Parvovirus vaccinations need only be

A reader once asked, “How can a dog bark for such great lengths of time? If I holler and scream for a long time, I lose my voice.” The answer, of course, is practice. And it starts when they’re young. Take, for instance, Alf the Aussie, who lives down the street. He started out at the front window, barking sharply at passersby: “Stay away from my property. Just move it on by.” He was so successful at sending the mail carrier and other pedestrians scurrying that when his owner promoted him to the front yard, he increased his alarm duties,

As an animal behaviorist, science and animal behavior are always on my mind; which is why I came up with the idea for this blog in the middle of my deep-water running workout yesterday. I was listening to a podcast of NPR’s Fresh Air, while speeding along at an incredibly slow pace when an interesting question was posed by the guest, neurologist David Linden, author of The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good. Why are Cigarettes More Addicting Than Heroin? He asked, “Why is it that 80% percent