dog behavior.

Getty Amy D. Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of 23 pet care books, including "PETiQuette: Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multipet Household" and "Complete Care for Your Aging Dog." People who love dogs want to understand canine communication. But growls mixed with tail wags can be confusing. Though people rely on words, dog talk combines vocalizations, body language and smells. Here are 12 ways canines communicate. 1. Barking is used during play and defense -- and to get attention. Barks signal conflicted feelings -- "I like you, but I'm not sure," or "I want to play, but I shouldn't." Barking also serves as a canine alarm to alert the ...

Ben Westhoff Each week, Ben Westhoff shares the ups and downs of owning Pippi, the dalmatian mix he and his wife, Anna, adopted as a puppy in late 2009. The reasons dogs jump on people is simple -- they want to be face to face with us. It makes sense; heck, if my head naturally sat 18 inches off the ground I would get tired of it, too. But it's also not something you want your dog to do. Even if you don't mind her jumping up on you, it sets a bad precedent for other people. Not everyone is a dog lover, and even those who are can be put off by a 50-pound wiggle worm getting up in their business. We wrote last year about a woman whom Pippi annoyed after jumping up on her collarbone. You ...

Getty Amy D. Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of 23 pet care books, including "PETiQuette: Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multipet Household." We want dogs to love us, but snarls, growls or (heaven forbid!) bites are dangerous and make it hard to love them back. But dogs aren't evil and you are not a bad owner if you have a growly dog. Forty percent of dogs have growled at their owners at one time or another. There are many kinds of aggression and, depending on the circumstances, some are normal. It's good to understand that growly dogs believe they have a good reason to aggress, whether owners agree, but it still should be dealt with. ...

Angela Lloyd and Westminster Best in Show winner Hickory. Credit: Larry Kay It's not just the Westminster Best in Show 2011 winner, who thrives under praise. Paw Nation interviewed more than two dozen Westminster Dog Show handlers, owners and officials and found that every one we spoke with uses positive reinforcement dog training, in which praise is emphasized and bad behavior is mostly ignored. The biggest name in the dog world right now, Scottish deerhound Hickory, is busy taking in the adoration and good wishes of not just the fans at the Westminster Dog Show but animal lovers all over the world. Fortunately, she's had good training for all the attention from the likes of Martha ...

Alamy Amy D. Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of 23 pet care books, including "Complete Care for Your Aging Cat" and "Complete Care for Your Aging Dog." For centuries, people created fanciful stories to explain puzzling animal antics. Many of these myth-understandings about cat and dog behaviors linger on, even though modern veterinary and behavior experts have uncovered scientific explanations for these issues. Here we lay 12 common myths to rest. Myth 1: Dogs and cats enjoy being hugged. People are by nature touchy-feely creatures. Dogs and cats on the other hand, grab and hold prey, and "hug" during mating or fighting. Pets may enjoy ...

Anna Westhoff Each week, Ben Westhoff shares the ups and downs of owning Pippi, the dalmatian mix he and his wife, Anna, adopted as a puppy in late 2009. Anna wrote this week's column. We moved -- again! It seems Ben and I -- and our furry family -- just can't sit still for more than 365 consecutive days. So we packed up and moved ourselves from one New Jersey suburb to another, a few miles away, into a larger place with a yard for Pippi. It's only been a few weeks, but the move brought out some odd behaviors in our dog, and I hope our readers can offer some good advice for handling them. First, Pippi has taken up the habit of jumping on the living room sofa in order to look out the ...