about dogs april june 2014
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The new issue of About Dogs - For international (and italian) people...TRANSCRIPT
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on the coveron the coveron the cover
Draws of dogs by Jean Louis de Buffon
(18.th Century)
"Dear friends near and far," said a well-known Ita-
lian television presenter, we are here with you to ce-lebrate the more than 8000 views of the first issue of
About dogs. A great result. Thank you for having enjoyed our i-
tems and our desire to make information.
We are here with the new number, new articles. We talk about the history of the leash, that of the Jack
Russell Terrier, the wolf of the grand paradiso and
much more. As for the magazine Cinofili Stanchi we always try
to bring news and information science. We hope all this will be acceptable.
Good reading.
T H E S T A F F O F A B O U T D O G S
2
Editorial 2 The Wolf of the Grand Paradiso 4
The origin of social behavior - Part two 8 The history of the Jack Russell Terrier 10 Do you use a bid ora a collar? 12
Are we that different from dogs? 16 A look into your eyes 19
Twenty years of puppies 21 Protohistory and history of the leash 24 Malva 27
Dogs in Poetry: I started Early - Took my dog 30 Canine Jokes 33
INDEXINDEX
3
by Angelo Romanò - Moist
air, that at down invades
your still warm lungs, not
yet accostomed to breathing
it, temperatures still low for
the season, fresh particles
of water suspended in the
air that you can feel on the
skin, it is hard to start, to
focus my vision in the nar-
row muddy and rocky
paths, slippery to the point
that two legs are not enough
to support myself, legs are
already tired from the previ-
ous climbing with slopes
and trails on the edge of
balance, slippery paths be-
cause of their southern posi-
tion and the heavy rain
from the previous day, the
heartbeat and shortness of
breath rumble in the ears,
and overpower most of the
senses, the wind coming
from the valley carries the
echo of the river, infinite
woods, trees, foliage and
landscapes that after a while
all look the same to the un-
experienced eye, but tso di-
versified to those who know
them very well, animal and
human sweats scents car-
ried by the wind, leave a
nearly indelible trace be-
hind, the sound of footsteps
in the distance amplified by
the load you carry, a load
not suitable for an environ-
ment like this, your short-
ness of breath, your uncoor-
dinated movements, signs
of fatigue, are heard clearly
its ears and an exact point
in space for his views. Yes,
because he is there, aware,
still, observing you from
afar on top of the mountain,
calm, quiete and perfectly
camouflaged in the vegeta-
tion.
He listens to your sounds
and movements. His pres-
ence makes you realize that
this is his home, his land,
his environment, where he
leaves marks on the path
that only a keen eye with an
exceptional sense of smell
may be able to spot. The
clear howling in the dis-
tance confirms his undis-
puted presence, warning all
the creatures around.
September 5-8, heading for
the Park Gran Paradiso, 750
kilometres of protected bio-
diversity that we think it’s
hosting a pack of wolves.
Then out to the field where
we will be able to observe
the ancestor of the dog or-
ganized by the Canislupus
Italy association ( http://
www.canuslupus.it ), a cen-
ter for the study and docu-
mentation on the wolf. The
participation is very high
and packed with excep-
tional human beings, capa-
ble of forming a cohesive
group amongo strangers
willing to share their ex-
perience and knowledge.
It is thought that migration
and new settlements of the
wolf in Val Soana started
from the Apennines cross-
ing the Alps to the north in
Piemonte and Valle d' Aosta
up to the end of Gran Para-
diso Park. Here on the
mountains the presence of
ungulates (chamois, boar),
foxes and other small ani-
mals make up the diet of the
wolf, a primary resource .
Many are the unknown fac-
tors that separate planning
from reality. The weather
conditions, the constant re-
locations to find the obser-
vation points, instruments
(verifications and settings)
and much more. Everything
has been ready for some-
time now, and many people
like me are waiting for this
moment. Different people
with different jobs, different
experiences and but with
the same strong motiva-
tion .
The beginning of the camp
has a great start, having
joined a ranger for an in-
spection at a breeder who
has suffered the loss of a
lamb by an alleged preda-
tion (however this case had
nothing to do with wolves),
we hear in the distance the
howl of the wolves. At first
the strong wind covered the
sound, but after a while it
became clearer and clearer.
From the tone they seemed
several young wolves. From
that moment on, do not we
did not heard anything else.
The placement of the photo-
traps in strategic, places
where it was assumed we
would see the wolves, were
The activity is then contin-
ued, hiking on high gradi-
ents from which we could
observe a good presence of
alpine fauna: chamois, deer,
marmots, hawks, kestrels,
eagles and some few foxes
at night.
The end of the camp
brought us together. Gath-
ered to watch the footage
captured by the photo-traps,
we had a great surprise: a
young wolf with his pups
stops for a brief moment
that gave us the the actual
confirmation of a small
pack. I leave it to you any
comments on the movie.
( http://m.youtube.com/
c h a n n e l / U C X 1 Y P i -
kpNS4msMwks-E6jg # /
watch? v = ZEVdaus -
qo0 )
These moments allow you
to stop, analize, compare
and think about how we re-
late to our pets, to their
needs and special skills.
Biodiversity requires re-
spect, the difference be-
tween our bahaviors and
those of our animal com-
panions are sometimes
many and we have to take
note of this . Striving to de-
vote more time to under-
stand their needs by setting
aside our own, is the only
way to relate to them.
Angelo Romanò - http://
www.cuccioliprodigio.it
This sett lement was
founded by the wolf’s need
to survive covering large
areas in search of a place
that will allow proper diet,
here they become sedentary,
reproduce and the young
elements migrate to popu-
late new areas.
This is the first camp that
takes place in the territory
of the Gran Paradiso and
has been organized in close
collaboration with represen-
tatives of the National Park
of Gran Paradiso. The con-
tribution of PNGP was cru-
cial, both for having ac-
cepted the proposal and for
the great competence and
knwoledge of the territory.
The same applies to the or-
ganization of Canislupus
Italy and the presence of its
president, one of the great-
est experts of the wolf in
Italy. Knowing the places
where a settlement of
wolves has been established
is very important especially
for the impact it has on the
local population and for the
protection of livestock. Co-
existence is possible, to
date there are proven tools
that allow prevention
against damage caused by
predation .
Concrete results are not al-
ways possible when on a
journey and a short stay.
by Giovanni Padrone - Paleontologist Xiaomin
Wang, curator of the Mu-
seum of Natural History in
Los Angeles, has done ex-
tensive studies on the
canids’ cousins: the
Borofagins. These car-
nivorous mammals ap-
peared for the first time 30
million years ago and to-
gether with the Leptocyon
Vulpinus, who was the
first true canine, both
branched off from the Hes-
perocyonidae, that lived
about 4/6 million years be-
fore them, and the canids
did not evolve from
Borofagins as it was be-
lieved before.
Wang’s studies led to this
conclusion: Even though
definitive evidence was
not found, just strong
leads, about 16 million
years ago the Borofagins
grew in dimension and
changed their craniumden-
tal morfology, probably
because they specialized in
hunting bigger prays
(whereas before species
belonging to this group
tended to be hypercarnivo-
rous, durophagous (shell-
animal eaters) and more
likely scavengers.
Considering that both the
large sized canids (wolves,
licaons and dholes, but
also the the smaller
Speothos Venaticus from
South America), and the
bigger Hyenas (crocuta cro-
cuta) hunt within a pack, it is
easy to assume that by com-
parison, that also the large
Borofagi-nae appeared 16
million years ago, actively
hunted in packs.
As stated by the scientist “…
Even though the difference
in the morphology of the
brain is interesting , it’s not
sufficient to exclude a social
interaction among the
Borofagins. The functional
relation between of morfol-
ogy of the external brain and
a complex behaviour like so-
cialization is not well de-
fined. On the other hand, the
association with pack hunt-
ing and the strong and pow-
erful bone-crushing teeth and
jaw typical of Hypercarniv-
ours, a reduced flexibility of
the frontal legs and a body
mass of 42lb, takes into con-
sideration both the energy
and the function.
Concerning the extinct spe-
cies of the living canids, we
have Canis arnensis and C.
Falconeri whose body mass
suggests they hunted in
pack: in fact the first is es-
teemated to weigh between
42 lb and 36lb, the second
over 50lb. Further more, the
dental apparatus seems to
suggest animals very active
in hunting. In his study Plio-
Pleistocene large carnivores
from the Italian Peninsula:
functional morphology and
macroecology -2007, Carlo
Meloro (Universita’ degli
Studi di Napoli) writes: “…
Canis etruscus (Pict. 1) is
usually considered to be a
pack hunter, however there is
no proven evidence o pa-
leological riconstruction of
such a behavior. It’s worth to
mention that C. etruscus is
one of the most popular in
the canids family in Italy
(Raia et al. 2006b) and
maybe in Europe…” and also
that “…among the canids,
both specimen of Canis
etruscus are classified as
large prey eaters. This means
that this “dog”, in the Italian
peninsula, was already a
pack hunter and its morpho-
logical resemblance with the
wolf is surely surprising…”
Considering that C. etruscus
( in particular the underspe-
cies of Canis e. mosbachen-
sis) is considered to be the
direct ancestor to the Gray
Wolf (Canis Lupus), it is
easy to undestand where the
Canis lupus pack hunting
originated from. However
this social behavior is just
one of the many that the wolf
aquired from its ancestors
and that the dog inherited, at
least partially, handing down
8 A B O U T D O G S ( N O S I L L I E S T T H I N G S )
Pict. 1 - Canis etruscus
some of them to its symbiotic
companion, human beings.
Since, in fact, behaviors set to
reinforce the social bond
among the wolves are numer-
ous and varied, as are for the
other species of highly sociable
Canids. Dogs manifest similar
behaviors that they use among
them and towards humans or
any other kind of companions/
pets living in the same home.
Granted that these last ones are
able to communicate with the
dogs.
There is a strong knowledge
that these different extinct spe-
cies shared a close interaction
among the packs that could be
small or big, probabily even
before the Gray wolf, some of
them experienced a unity
within their family. Besides the
wolves, one example of would
be the Canis dirus (Pict. 2), a
large canid very similar to the
wolf, that appeared in North
America about a million and
half year ago and that disap-
peared at the end of the last
glaciation. This large carnivore
cohexisted in North America
together with other large
predators, like the Smilodon
fatalis ( that similar to the lion,
shared a strong social bond to-
wards its own kind) and the
Arctodus simus, a bear as tall
as 3,5 meters and as heavy as a
tonne, more likely a solitary
predator. In this case too, pale-
ontologists have based their
theories on the many fossils of
the C. dirus found around
preys, in Rancho la Brea, Cali-
fornia, an ancient cediment of
natural asphalt near Los Ange-
les that for thousand of years
has trapped many of the ani-
mals that lived nearby during
the Plestocene period. When a
bison or a horse ended up
trapped in the fatal grip of the
asphalt, the predators would
take advantage of what they
considered to be an easy meal,
when in reality they would all
perish. Among these predators
were the Canis dirus (of which
about 2000 skeletons were re-
covered), which explains such
an assumption.
When the Gray wolf moved
from Euroasia to America
about 100.000 years ago, it
surely had to compete for food
with his distant cousin. How-
ever as the Gray wolf was able
to survive the last glaciation,
the Canis dirus became extinct;
more likely because it was un-
able to adapt to the fast climate
changes that the glaciation
caused. We know that they
shared the same fate as dino-
saurs. A large meteorite
crashed on the earth and
caused the sudden melting of
the ice cap, north of the Equa-
tor. This is how many species
disappeared, swallen by water
or mud while others were able
to survive the big flood.
Among these the wolf, the dog
that had favored a life apart
from the wild and its compan-
ions: the humans.
GIOVANNI PADRONE
Dog/human trainer
Author of the books
‘Whisper to your dog’
‘...And the dog chose to
meet Humans’
(in italian language) Facebook profile:
https://www.facebook.com/
giovanni.padrone?
hc_location=stream
9
Pict. 2 - Canis dirus
By Roberto Mannu - In the
year of the Lord 1795 in
Dart, at the mouth of the
River Dart in Devonshire,
England, JOHN RUSSEL was
born; he studied at Oxford
where he graduated and then
became pastor of the Angli-
can Church and vicar of
Swimbridge. Besides his
faith that led him to become
a religious man and a rever-
end, JOHN RUSSEL always
cultivated a passion for hunt-
ing, in particular fox hunt-
ing, thus all his life his pur-
pose was to get dogs suited
to hunting in a den.
This passion also led him to
become one of the largest
breeders of Fox Terrier in the
West County.
His first dog was a female
Terrier between the years
1815-1819 and, according to
10 A B O U T D O G S ( N O S I L L I E S T T H I N G S )
hystory, the dog, a type of
fox terrier, measuring 35
cm., had a rough coat, pre-
dominantly of white color
with two black spots on her
eyes and one at the base of
the tail, and it was as big as
an adult fox. It was the leg-
endary Trump, whose por-
trait was purchased by the
Prince of Wales, the future
Edward VII, and that today
one can admire it in the ar-
mory of Sandrigham. To im-
prove the dog’s hunting
characteristics, he bred his
beloved Trump (great
hunter) with the Fox Terriers
(were subsequently included
in the bloodlines Bulldogs,
later Beagles, Border Terrier,
and Lakeland Terrier) and
British Terrier.
What the reverend cared
about was the dog’s charac-
ter traits: brain, fiber, cour-
age, energy and endurance;
to him, the creation of a race
which had only homogene-
ous appearance wasn’t im-
portant ... as said, he did not
care much about the look,
but it was the ability to do
the job he cared about.
At that time hunters traveled
long distances to get from
one place to another and
moved on horseback, there
were no trucks to transport
the packs of hounds, and
John Russel wanted to create
a dog smaller than the usual
Fox Hounds and / or Fox
Terriers usually used for fox
hunting, a dog that could be
carried in the saddlebag on
the horse, tough and tena-
cious and able to follow
John Emms (19.th century): a chestnut
hunter with a collie and jack russell
Reverend John ‘Jack’ Russell
Bangalore (India) - 1910
A Hunter with his Jack Russell Terrier
11
hunters on foot when cover-
ing vast territories rich in
burrows where foxes, badg-
ers and other game would
hide, and able to get them
out of their den.
Therefore two kinds pre-
vailed, very similar except
for some differences in their
proportions (height and
length): the highest and
shortest type in the trunk is
known today as the Parson
Jack Russell Terrier (which
means Anglican Shepherd)
suited to run behind horses
in hunting, the shorter one
and a more elongated in the
trunk (called a short leg)
Jack Russell Terrier bears
the diminutive of John.
The Reverend John Russell
alias "Jack" died in 1883,
but his work of selection has
come down to us retaining
the physical characteristics
and traits that have earned
him so much fame in his
country.
The J.R.T. was officially
recognized only in 2000
thanks to the Australians and
dog trainers and today they
are officially standard hold-
ers of the breed, whereas in
1990 the Parson J.R.T. was
declared as a distinct breed,
so today we have two sepa-
rate and distinct breeds
separated by two standard.
The fact that the J.R.T. has
been recognized only re-
cently, makes it difficult to
be formally recognized by a
non expert. Only with time
and thanks to the selection
of expert breeders and/or
fans that the J.R.T.’s charac-
teristics will become more
homogeneous.
The JRT is strictly white (so
as not to be confused with
the fox) with brown spots
(dark and/or fair) and/or
black spots that usually oc-
cur more on the head than
on other parts of the body.
The J.R.T. the three colors
(tricolor) is considered by
many as the most valuable;
measure at the withers be-
tween 10 and 12 inches (25-
30 cm.) as the Official F.C.I.
Standard (Federation Ci-
nologique International) No.
345/08.06.2001
Some European countries
still tend to breed a taller
J.R.T., hence the numerous
diversity and lack of homo-
geneity in the various dogs
in the blood lines and in the
geographical origin and/or
breeding kennels of differ-
ent J.R.T.
Roberto Mannu – Albascura
Breeding Kennel, E.N.C.I. -
F.C.I. recognized
A modern Jack Russell Terrier:
Tabarrino Indicatore Brooksby
from Albascura Breeding Kennel
The last Golden Globe Dog Actor:
Uggie from ‘The Artist’ (2012)
12
By Marcello Messina - In
the 90s, when I began spe-
cializing in education and
training, the question asked
most frequently among col-
leagues was how to obtain
compeptitive results during
official trials. Today among
colleagues, the most fre-
quesnt question we have is,
if we use a collar or harness,
to understand if you are
“gentilista” (if you have a
kind approach to training) or
coercive.
This week I had the honor,
luck to meet by chance or
deliberately some new col-
leagues. I promised a friend
to keep quiet, because tired
of arguing and speaking up
my mind, then yesterday
while waiting for the ring of
honor at a race, one of the
jurors, and says that " there
are many trainers who only
do damage and come pu with
nonsensical statements. "
Ugh: you are so right!
Now the problem with many
educators is that they they
have nothing to learn from
dogs as they assume they al-
ready know them very well. I
took me years to understand
the ethogram surly must ap-
pear more stupid than these
individuals that in the course
of a few hours (looking at a
few slides on communica-
tion) pretend to understand
the dog’s behavior, or think
that can judge you whether
you use a bib or not. When
educators ask me if I use a
collar or a harness, I always
answer : "It makes no differ-
ence to me, it depends on the
dog and the owner ." Follow-
ing this answer, I receive a
suspicious look, they are
probabily assuming I don’t
understand anything about
dogs.
And so they all feel entitled
to provide you with their
NON SCIENTIFICALLY
PROVED fairy tale SOLD
BY PSEUDO RESEARCH
ABOUT HARNESS (one
word is enough for the wise)
that the collar causes physi-
cal damage and does not let
you communicate properly
with the dog. However the
harness can cause its dam-
ages too (see the grey-
hounds) and does not let you
communicate well with the
dog either, because it’s im-
portant for the dog to be free
when in training: every time
I say this, I receive bad
looks. Then I add to my an-
swer "I work with the dog
off the leash, as soon as the
dog is responsive, I use ei-
ther a collar or a bib, de-
pending on the dog’s re-
sponse “. The answer to this
is usually a snort and a non-
sense kind of expression.
The problem is that some
educators must understand
that the question is not
whether using a harness or a
collar, but weather choosing
ignorance or competence,
since a lot of educators turly
believe they know more than
they actually do. Last week I
had a chance to meet:
1st . EPISODE - ETHO-
GRAM AND KEEPING
THE DOG ON A LEASH
(LESS IMPORTANT THAN
CHOOSING EITHER A
COLLAR OR A HAR-
NESS).
A girl in my class, presented
herself as a second level dog
instructor (it is hard to estab-
lish how these levels are de-
termined, they would appear
to me be like a robbery) ,
while I was practicing my
behaviour training, I ex-
plained to my student that
the girl may be a 2nd level
instructor but to me she can-
not understand either her
own dog or other people’s
dog (as she risked her dog to
be biten a couple of time)
and cannot handle her on a
leash. Yes 90% OF TRAIN-
ERS DOES NOT KNOW
HOW TO PUT A COLLAR
ON A DOG AND DOES
NOT KNOW HOW TO
HANDLE A DOG ON A
LEASH .
HOW CAN YOU CALL
13
YOURSELF AN IN-
STRUCTOR IF YOU DO
NOT EVEN KNOW THE
BASICS? They probabily
think that holding a dog on a
leash is not that difficult,
and that all you have to do is
putting a harness or a collar
and you’re done. Unfortu-
nately it is not that simple,
so be aware of those who
define themselves trainers
and ask more than 50.00
Euro per lesson.)
Episode 2 ( I'M BETTER ...
IN TALKING STUPID)
I was at a friends’ house and
I find myself speaking to the
best trainer ever (she did not
know about my profession),
she started braggin to me
about how, in just 6 lessons,
she had been able to solve a
problem of severe aggres-
sion, that no one else could
have figured out. I became
very curious and asked her
how she did it, and she men-
tioned through SOCIALI-
SATION CLASSES .
I work with real aggressive
dogs and as she explained
the case, my understanding
was that she had to deal with
a grumpy dog. During our
conversation she revealed to
me that the dog was 6
months old, used to growl to
his peers but he never bit
anybody off the leash. By
experience I know that an
aggressive dog that bites the
family members and every-
one else in sight cannot be
trained in 6 lessons. SO THIS
WAS NOT THE CASE OF A SE-
VERE AGGRESSIVE DOG.
3rd . EPISODE (ALL
DOGS ARE THE SAME :
BASING A DOG’S TEM-
PER ON THE BREED IS
“OLD SCHOOL”)
A couple requested my help
for their 3 year-old bull ter-
rier that does not get along
with other males. He is de-
scribed as hyperactive and
an educator had suggested
castration. But before mak-
ing such an intervention
they wanted another opin-
ion. So I invited them in my
school and when I met the
do I saw A TYPICAL
BULL TERRIER.
In the end I conclude that
the dog is perfectly normal,
well-balanced, that he is not
supposed to get along with
everyone (as is the case with
other dogs). I recommend
them to do physical activity
with the dog and to let go of
mental activation, since it
was not doing enough to dis-
charge his energy. After 3
days I get a text message
that says that I had done a
miracle to whish I answered:
" no miracle , I just asked
you to lead a healthy and
normal routine suiting a bull
terrier and not a Pekinese ."
4th . EPISODE AND LAST
ONE FOR THE WEEK
( THE DOG QUALITIES
OF CHARACTER, TEM-
PERAMENT BY NOW
OUT OF FASHION, ARE
NOT PART THE COURSE
STUDY ANYMORE).
I still remember the 90s and
how important it was to
know the temperament of a
specific breed to train a dog
properly. Days ago I was
talking about GERMAN
SHEPHERDs, with an edu-
cator and breeder who loved
this breed.
Looking at her dog, accord-
ing to her aggressive, I told
her that he was acting as a
typical working German
Shepherd, and that if I were
her I would further develop
those kind of qualities. As I
was mentioning utility and
defense, she objected that
shw was not looking for a
dangerous dog. UTILITIES
AND DEFENSE DOGS
ARE NOT DANGEROUS.
CONCLUSION :
We have now MORE
TEACHERS THAN DOGS,
whose level of ignorance is
beyond words. I ask all my
colleagues and dog lovers to
do something about this be-
fore it gets worst.
MARCELLO MESSINA Dog trainer, expert in
behavioral problems
and social skills
www.marcellomessina.com
14 A B O U T D O G S ( N O S I L L I E S T T H I N G S )
BOXER AND CANE CORSO
breeder
MOB. 348-8029763
By Debora Segna - Anyone, who has an em-
pathic approach to living with dogs, knows
that these animals have feelings, a rich emo-
tional life and a complex communication sys-
tem, different from ours. Unfortunately not
everyone seems to be aware of this.
Although very often we, human beings, have
the arrogance to think that kindness, patience,
tolerance, understanding and common sense,
are characteristics that belong only to are kind,
the reality seems to be a little different.
We describe human beings as more sentient and evolved animal than any other living thing
on our planet, but I often wonder, compared to what are we more evolved?
Surely we can build skyscrapers, talk, and develop mathematical formulas but we are cer-
tainly not able to tear meat with our teeth, fly, breathe underwater or run as fast as a chee-
tah, and most of the time our patience and tolerance has limits by far lower than that of a
non-human or animal. We can have some furious arguments even for trivial things, we can
fight or even worse kill each other for a misunderstanding . How many times have you wit-
nessed an animal fight or kill over trivial things? Most of the time an animal before you en-
gaging into a fight (more or less) violent uses a wide range of signals (calming signals) to
show his restrain.
Until a few years ago many scientists were quite skeptical about the fact that animals were
able to feel emotions, but thanks to the studies of many famous ethologists, including pro-
fessor Mark Bekoff, and also thanks to the interest shown by scholars from other disciplines
(biology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, theology), there has been a revolution in
thinking about this topic, that eventually lead to the akcnowledgement that animals may
have a very significant and profound emotional life. The strongest evidence is that all mam-
mals share the same brain structure, called the limbic system that controls emotions.
Charles Darwin (1872/1998) supported the idea of evolutionary continuity, and affirmed
that differences between species are to be found in the degree of differences rather than in
the kind.
Marc Bekoff describes non-human creatures as individuals with a rich personality, with a
mind generating to emotions, sentient beings with complex emotional lives, able of living
empathic relationships.
16 A B O U T D O G S ( N O S I L L I E S T T H I N G S )
17
In the dog world will there are still so many misunderstandings based on wrong assump-
tions about the communication and emotions in animals. Every day, unaware dog owners
reinforce bad behavior in animals, with their wrong attitudes.
But how important is it to know the language
dogs? How does our four-legged friend communi-
cate? First of all that we need to understand that
dogs do not know our language, dogs are visual
animals, which communicate through body sig-
nals, and our every gesture for him corresponds to
a very specific message. Dogs learn by associat-
ing our words and our gestures and so we must
not feel frustrated if sometimes their behavior
does not meet our expectations, a gesture that has
a specific meaning to us may not have the same
meaning for our dogs.
Before assuming that our dog is doing something
wrong our animals should have the humility to
identify ourselves with our companion and con-
sider things from his point of view too.
When I am out with my dog, I sometimes see people who have wrong attitudes towards
their dogs. For example, there are owners who, when they encounter an other dog, drag
him/her away by pulling on the leash, sometimes almost hanging their dog, or even picking
up the dog in their arms, despite the fact that their animal is showing very explicitly a pro-
pensity to wanting to play or just relate with the other dog. Other times I have even seen a
puppy being punished (whipped with the leash) just because "according to the owner" he
was being too impetuous during play. In a situation like this a dog may wrongly learn the
other dog may be a threat. This may cause fear or aggression towards others and fear to-
wards his master. Also pay great attention to the leash, do not tug, or communicate tension
through the leash, you will tell the dog that there may be an imminent danger.
To find out if your dog shows a predisposition to the game or peaceful interaction you will
see the following body postures, such as well erect ears, very soft tail wagging, relaxed
body, bows, jumps and so on. In some cases high peach bark invitations to play. Obviously
the desire to relate must be met by the other dog too. Learning to recognize our dogs’ inten-
tions is very important in order to prevent unpleasant situations or behavioral problems.
On the other hand dog owners should never push shy dogs for play or interaction, when
signs of fear such such as rigid posture of the body, ears back, tail down, or when calming
signals like yawn, lick on the nose, front paw raised, turned head etc are present. What dog
owners want does not necessarely correspond to the dog’s intentions and forcing interac-
tions and play may be counterproductive. Our attitudes greatly influence the emotional life
18 A B O U T D O G S ( N O S I L L I E S T T H I N G S )
of our dogs because we are the onse who handle them. Observing their communication and
learning to respect their space, may help us prevent many unpleasant situations. Dogs like
humans have their personal space and their comfort zone, which separate them and protect
them from the rest of the world. These may vary according to their emotional state, who and
what dog they are interacting with and the environment in which they are. The study of ges-
tures, behaviors, space and distance within a verbal and non-verbal communication, is
called proxemics and it is so important in animals as it is for humans.
When you hold your dog on a leash observe the behav-
ior carefully and try to grasp the messages he/she sends
when you are approaching an other dog. If you can fig-
ure out what the dog is communicating and do not
force (as it often happens) encounters with other dogs
(or people), he/she will learn to trust you and you will
experience moments of calm. Remember that our hu-
man rules are not their rules, bending their will to ours
will not results into any positive outcome. Finally, try
to underst and and controle your emotions, because our
dogs are like sponges and learn many behaviors by os-
mosis, the both negative and the positive ones. Main-
taining a calm attitude will truly help your pet to relate
in the proper manner. In the management of a dog, as
indeed in many other situations in life, the ability, to
look at things from a different perspective, is really crucial.
Proxemics (by Fabrizio Gianmatteo)
19
by Giovanni Padrone - Many novice dog lovers
often find themselves in
trouble because their dogs
do not look at them in the
eyes. This is an action that
is required in some canine
activities and sports such
as obedience or utilities
and defense. But eye con-
tact can be useful in every-
day life. Indeed, in this
case it is desirable. So ,
how can we enable this be-
havior in our dog? There
are essentially two ways:
conditioning and working
on relations.
CONDITIONING. Setting
aside that part of the condi-
tioning that constitutes cru-
elty to the dog ( unfortu-
nately, this behavior can
also be obtained by using
the ' positive punishment
positive ' and ' negative re-
inforcement ' ), we can
definitely work on the '
positive reinforcement re-
warding the dog (and not
only with the help of food )
every time we make eye
contact. Basically, even the
game of hiding a treat in
your hand by placing the
hand between your eyes
and then looking at the dog
is part of conditioning.
Pros : the dog, in exchange
for a reward, learns after
just two or three times that,
watching you in the eyes,
is a required behavior.
Cons: the case of condi-
tioning is a mechanical
learning process and it is
not directly connected with
what I consider essential in
a relationship between dog
and owner: their emotional
bond. It is , therefore, a
method that can establish a
“cold” relationship be-
tween dog and owner.
Moreover, from my per-
spective there this kind of
training lacks of team
work, however it is better
than the use of coercive
methods .
BOND. A dog is capable of
making eye contact during
his puppyhood if you com-
mit to an equal bond, as
any action that ensures the
animal as ocial bond, is
seen as gratifying. Affec-
tion is therefore the best
gift to give to your dog as a
way to build social ties .
Consider that a dog willing
to make eye contact with
you, is also a dog that has
trust in you. . Whether you
define yourself “leader“ or
“partner”, it does not mat-
ter. Maybe for him/her you
are his “big brother” or his
“big sister” to play with
whenever possible.
Moreover, if we look at the
social behavior of the wild
cousins of the dog, like
wolves, wild dogs and
dholes, members of the
same pack often look at
each other during social in-
teraction. The Indian
dholes, for example, when
they are not hunting, spend
most of their time playing
by making eye contact.
Same thing can be said
about wolves and wild
dogs. Even though these
two species use different
20 A B O U T D O G S ( N O S I L L I E S T T H I N G S )
behaviors to reinforce so-
cial ties, like for example
when sharing a meal. If we
look at feral dogs or stray
animals, we can see that the
members of a family or a
pack often use the gaze as a
behavior that serves to
strengthen their relation-
ship .
And if we look at pets, they
do not share different hab-
its, and the first sign of a
social contact is to make
eye contact. So why not do-
ing the same with our pets?
It will be the first step to es-
tablish good grounds for
bonding during daily ac-
tions or during a work
situation (such as preparing
your own canine compan-
ion to face obedience com-
petition) and to eliminate
any artificial or complicated
implementation. My dogs
and I are constantly making
eye contact weather they
are searching for approval,
if we are cuddling, walking
or “working”. The pros:
working in this fashion will
strengthen the relationship
itself. Cons: none, or perhaps
it is an approach that re-
quires a little more time if
you choose to adopt an adult
dog.
In conclusion, what I always
say is, have faith in your
dog’s mental and social abil-
ity: he/she will always meet
your expectations.
Giovanni Padrone
Dog/human trainer
Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/
giovanni.padrone?hc_location=stream
21
by Gianluca Gherghi - A-
mong the “things” that I do,
the one I love the most are
the “Puppy Classes”, from
three to five months old. I
think that when dealing with
puppies, one has a big re-
sponsibility, as during that
time the temper of a puppy
can be shaped and directed
at best. The worst scenario
is not being able to recog-
nize those personality traits
typical of the puppy and
standardize the training. My
first puppy classes, that go
back to twenty years ago,
were limited to the training
of the basic commands like
sitting and laying down and
walking on a leash. That
was it! The expectations
were a minimum of per-
formance on the dog part,
and the constant repetition
of the practice. In retrospect
they were really boring!
During the years ahaead I
worked extensively with
veterinarians in an education
process aimed at anticipat-
ing the age in which a
puppy can be trained, which
is as soon as he/she sets paw
in the new house.
Thanks to Gwen Bailey’s
first stage in Italy, the first
Puppy classes of ten years
ago were totally different
from the ones of the previ-
ous decade. Her training
classes provided us with an
approach puppy-trainer that
was not based on perform-
ance anymore but on rela-
tion. Instead of focusing on
how well the puppy would
obbey the commands, her
training favored how well
the puppy, during that stage,
interacted with the sur-
rounding environment:
dogs, people and objects.
This approach inspired me
to create a dog park as a
training field within a train-
ing center. Puppies were al-
lowed to roam around freely
and to interact with other
puppies, adult dogs of dif-
ferent breed and size and
people. This situation gave
the owner a chance to ob-
serve and to learn how to
supervise the dog off a
leash. The training was ob-
viously supervised by an ex-
pert for the duration of the
interaction.
This dual experience was
more harmonious for both
the dog and the owner. Sub-
jects of discussion were fo-
cused not on how well dogs
executed commands but on
what kind of experience
dogs and owner were shar-
ing. The dog was part of the
subjective experiences of
the owner now.
In the last five years further
developments have broad-
ened the field of training by
allowing in owners who do
not have a dog yet but who
are planning on getting one.
This participation reduces to
50% potential problems that
owners may encounter in
the first six, seven months
of the dog’s life.
Presently the puppy training
classes sum up this twenty
year of experience, in which
socialization and interaction
with outer environment has
to change this kind of men-
tality).
As the years went by, up to
our days, dog breeds have
increased in number to in-
clude the most common:
from Border collies, retriev-
ers to hounds like bretons
and pointers used as com-
panions; a broad range of
colors, sizes and tempera-
ments. We also witnessed a
spike among muts and cock-
tail dogs. One beautiful
thing that I would like to
mention here is that in the
presence of puppies that
share the same breed, at first
they will mingle with all
dogs but then will gather up
with the same breed.
One last consideration is on
the evolution of the puppies
and their relation to their
breed. If in the past a spe-
cific breed was glorified for
its peculiar characteristics
(guarding qualities, sense of
smell, caution or playful-
ness), puppy nowdays are
valued more as companions.
PS: how to choose an effec-
tive course? If the trainer in
charge says “let’s try to put
them together…” Run
Away!!!!!
In order for a trainer to put
different breeds together, he/
she must be very skilled
other wise it could turn into
a potential dangerous situa-
tion; vets know about it!
If the trainer allows puppies
to play around training
tools…RUN!!!! He/she is
not aware of the problems
created by such a choice.
If the course favors only the
practical side and requires
the use of a leash. RUN!!!!!
GIANLUCA GHERGHI
Consultant for improvement
in the dog performance
Friends with tail Center
OSIMO -AN- Italy
been implemented with the
traditional training. Further-
more due to the owners’ de-
mand classes on theory are
offered to those interested in
learning dogs’ behaviour.
So far I talked about the evo-
lution of the “Puppy Class”
and increased interest of
owner to understand and
manage their dogs’ behav-
iour, however puppies also
have had a change during
these years.
Twenty years ago the most
common breeds were chal-
lenging and limited to
Schnauzer, Doberman, Rott-
weiler, German Shepards,
Dogue de Bordeaux, Boxers
and Maremmano. I remem-
ber the first time a Labrador
arrived at the dog park, he
was badly harrassed by other
dogs who confused his play-
ful energy for submission.
The same breeds could be
found in the “Puppy Class”
where their owners expected
strict obedience. During so-
cialization if their puppies
growled showing domi-
nance, they felt very proud
and took it as a sign of mas-
culinity ( I had to fight hard
22 A B O U T D O G S ( N O S I L L I E S T T H I N G S )
23
24 A B O U T D O G S ( N O S I L L I E S T T H I N G S )
by Giovanni Padrone - The
leash is the oldest tool used
by men to control the dog.
Already in the ancient rock
art of Bhimbethka (13.000
y.a.) and of Akakus (Libia,
12.000 y.a.) we can see dogs
kept on a leash and a collar
by their human companions.
More recently we discovered
art from 6000 years ago by
the ancient Egypt depicting
greyhounds wearing a collar
and a leash; furthermore
leather collars decorated with
fine depictions were found in
Egyptian tombs. About a
thousand years later, the As-
syrians depicted large size
dogs (probably molossoids)
wearing metal or a kind of
rigid material collars. Greek
and Roman art and sculptures
show dogs with collars; in
ancient Rome collars with
studs and outer spikes to pro-
tect the dog’s neck and throat
during a battle were found.
“Armed collars” were also
used in the Middle Age to
protect the dogs guarding
herds and flocks, whereas the
aristocracy decorated the col-
lars with jewels and precious
metals. In Europe with the
rise of the middle class,
leather collars became popu-
lar because cheaper. During
the Sixteenth century the col-
lar with padlock is intro-
duced. Since then to present,
very little has changed, be-
sides the choice of sinthetic
fabrics and plastic materials.
Also choke collars or choke
chain, the first patent for the
slip collar go back to 1890
(Ae. F. Nuttall, US patent
n.426137, 22 April 1890, that
had already patented the in-
vention in England on May 9
1889), even though it was al-
ready being used by English
breeders already by the half
of the 19th century. Gradually
different versions, among
others one with inner spikes,
but also one created in 1995
with the intent to prevent any
dogs from harm, especially
large size dogs (Christopher
E. Beauchamp, US patent n.
5.546.213, October 10, 1995:
slip collar
Also known as CHOKE COL-
LAR (collar strangle) or
Choke chain (choke chain)
the patent of the first SLIP
COLLAR (COLLAR SHIFT)
dates back to 1890 (Ae. F.
Nuttall, U.S. patent no.
426137 of April 22, 1890,
who had already patented the
invention in England May 9,
1889), even though it had al-
ready been used by some
English breeders since the
mid-ninenteen century. Sub-
sequently several versions
were introduced, including
one with inner spikes, but
also in 1995 with the clear
intent to not create in any
way physical damage to the
d og ( Ch r i s t op h er E .
Beauchamp, U.S. patent no.
5,456,213 of October 10
1995: semi-slip or semi-
choke collar ). The original
intent was to keep better con-
trol over the dog, especially
large breeds. However, incor-
rect use of these collars could
cause serious damage to the
dog like asphyxiation. To
avoid such danger that the
first bib was patented by
George Huff in 1924 (U.S.
patent 1508601 of September
16, 1924) and later on per-
fected by George W. Phil-
BHIMBETHKA (INDIA)
13.000 years B.P.
AKAKUS (LIBIA)
12.000 years B.P.
brick (U.S. patent no.
1,685,435 of September 25,
1928).
In 1984 (U.S. patent no.
4,483,275 of November 20,
1984), the patent of the first
halter for dogs was created
with the clear intention to
teach the dog to walk on a
leash-conduct ("... So THAT
the trainer, rather than Merely
polling against the mass of
the animal, can turn ITS head
in the direction he wishes to
Which the animal to move ...
"or" ... so that the trainer,
rather than just stand in front
of the mass of the animal, can
turn its head in the direction
in which he wishes the ani-
mal to move ... ").
THE DEBATE ON INJURY
To be fair it must be said that
any restriction tools used im-
properly can cause severe
damage to the dog, whether it
be a regular collar, a slip col-
lar, a halter or even a bib. Of
course some of these may
more easily lead to an injury,
but also a jerk to a normal
fixed collar or a harness how-
ever may cause, if not the
same, serious damage. I have
witnessed a child use a har-
ness like a yo-yo on a small
dog. I promptly reported the
incidents to the police, as the
parents of this child, appeared
to be amused watching the
abuse. Complaint was never
more appropriate given the
physical damage the poor lit-
tle dog had to endure.
As stated above, being aware
of my physical strength, I
personally have never used a
sliding collar or halter on one
of my dogs (or even on those
of my clients) being always
cautious not to cause any
harm inadvertently due to a
sudden movement. I train
dogs off leash first and then I
will introduce a regular collar
band together with the leash.
I do not tipically use a har-
ness, unless I run into a diffi-
cult dog, only then I may
temporarily use a bib as a re-
habilitative tool. (among the
many hundreds of dogs I
have worked with, only once
I had to opt out for this solu-
tion).
The bad reputation slip col-
lars have, comes from the in-
appropriate use that trainers
do of such collars. Some
trainers lack the basic respect
for the physical and psycho-
logical integrity of the dog;
every now and then I find
myself rehabilitating victims
of these “circus trainers” who
will also use electric collars
(the most unethical and un-
civilized training tools). At
the same time I must
akcnowledge professionals
who use the same criterion
for years, they never abused
their dogs and have always
treated them with the utmost
respect. So it all comes down
to common sense. Of course,
the variety of different
schoosl of thoughts in the
dog world, in Italy, doesn’t
help clarify what the best tool
or training options are. Nor
do educational TV programs,
more interested in the “show”
rather than reality (and often
blatantly lie about reality).
I hope that the spirit of col-
laboration born between
some of us trainers who work
as professionals, will help to
properly educate the public
and train dogs. In fact al-
though our approaches may
differ, we are all in agree-
ment that the welfare of the
dog comes first. My wish is
that we can all make an im-
pact and give a major boost
to the clarity of dog training
and let time take care of all
those who, for business or for
arrogance, take advantage of
the ignorance of people in the
subject matter misinforming
the public and causing seri-
ous damage to people's dogs.
GIOVANNI PADRONE
Dog/human trainer Facebook profile:
https://www.facebook.com/
giovanni.padrone?
25
Egipttian Hunter with
sloughi - 2.300 B.C.
by Cristina Pederzani VMD - I was not sure. I
wanted you in my life
when my brother asked
me to handpick you from
a litter. I had in my head
the idea of an English
Setter and he was pro-
posing a Golden Re-
triever puppy .
"Will see ", he said.
So, I drove for a couple
of hours to a remote
farmhouse, entirely sur-
rounded by fields, in the
countryside of Cremona.
I felt the need of having
a dog because I had just
moved into a new house,
leaving our dear Roy to
my parents, an old Setter.
Farmers were mowing
hay, and May was ex-
ploding in all its Spring
fervor, with its bright
green in contrast with a
clear and dazzling tur-
quoise sky. I enhale
deeply the air of rebirth
as the winter had finally
collapsed behind me.
"This is the right time for
a puppy " - I thought -
"we will have the whole
summer to enjoy our-
selves together."
As I was waiting in an
elegant garden for the ar-
rival of the puppies, I felt
immersed in this over-
whelming triumph of
visual and olfactory sen-
sations. Everything be-
came clear to me when I
saw the door of a garage
tumbling out at super-
sonic speed a group of
animated yellow corn
small creatures that were
scattering in every direc-
tion like crazy bullets.
They were so full of en-
ergy that everything else
became muffled around
me: insects are froze and
the birds fell silent for a
moment. When the litter
of Golden made his de-
but in the garden, it was
as if the rest of the world
was looking. So it was
for me too. I, who al-
ways express any kind of
emotion I feel, became
speechless.
Their fledgling beauty,
covered with a blond
woolly hair similar to
ripe wheat, the podgy
and still insecure paws, a
sweet gaze that seemed
to read my heart, and
their fervent curiosity to
discover, to know, to try.
Of course I became al-
most immediately the
target of this mad rush,
because I represented "
what else was in the gar-
den". As I bent down on
my knees, even those
puppies who had taken
another direction tempo-
rarily turned running to-
wards me, or rather,
rolled towards me. I so
craved the phsycal con-
tact with them and do
what my soul was crying
from the bottom of mu
heart to touch them , em-
brace them and kiss
them. It was pure joy.
My body spoke, since
my voice was stuck in
my throat. Emotions
were overwhelming and
I was speechles.
And those little rascals
jumped and played on
my legs, licking my face
and scratching me with
their brand new claws.
They were indistinguish-
able from one another. I
was in a state of ecstasy,
a kind of nirvana where
27
there is no need for
meditation; and that’s the
kind of effect that dogs
have on me.
"There is no experience
more beautiful, I wish I
could have them all, I
knew it was going to be a
really difficult choice "
Well it turned out instead
it was not. Because when
I got up, the little rascals
dressed in yellow rushed
back towards their
mother who in the mean-
time had come out, over-
whelming her with all
the strength of their
young spirit. All of them,
except one . Ther was a
puppy still at my feet,
wagging his tail compul-
sively. The pup got up on
its legs to be picked up. I
accepted the request. We
looked at each other for a
long, ecstatic moment .
" What is this pup’s
name? - I asked Anna ,
owner of the parents and
the litter.
" They do not have the
name yet, the one you
are holding, would ap-
pear to be one of the fe-
males. She has the redest
hair. " -
" A true rascal " -
I checked the sex and it
was a female, a beautiful,
soft dark blond girl, with
eyes as bright as smart
and wise. I held her
closer to me. I felt my
soul melting: I kissed
and smelled this puppy
in the spring breeze and
something inside had
opened a door of the un-
conscious and had told
me that SHE WAS THE
ONE.
" It 's her " - I said.
" Would you like to give
a better look at the oth-
ers? –
But "others " no longer
existed. My heart, at that
moment, was totally in-
extricably hers. I kept on
holding her in my arms. I
felt like a hard core that
enhances inside, sud-
denly becoming incon-
sistent, and leaving open
a passage that begins to
exude emotions that
chase each other in an
increasingly whirling, to
create a single, gigantic
overfolw. A medicine for
the soul.
" It 's her, I have no
doubt" -
" Well, how would you
like to call her? " -
I did not answer, because
I noticed that the names
that I had come up with
up to that moment did not
not suit her. His eyes
sparkled once again into
mine.
" I have not decided yet "
–
I looked around. My gaze
fell on a small bush of li-
lac flowers with delicate
and intense purple
streaks, that was near the
fence of the garden. They
had made their appear-
ance just after that harsh
winter. At that time I was
studying Homeopathy and
Phytotherapy and I was
quite prepared on the na-
ture of what I was watch-
ing .
" MALVA SYLVES-
TRIS . " -
" I beg your pardon? " -
"That flower is ..... Malva.
They are delicate flowers,
a fragile gift of Spring.
But beneath this frailty, it
hides a strong heart and
many virtues. Malva was
called " the remedy for all
illness " in the language
of flowers it symbolizes a
mother's love and peace.
28
Its flavor is sweet, and
it’s decoction is used as a
soother and a moisturizer
for the body and the
spirit. A soother for the
soul. " -
We named her Malva.
Because you were a deli-
cate flower. A fragile
flower. And holding you
aiganst me gave me calm
and serenity. When I in-
formed my partner in life
that I had chosen the
name for her, we were in
complete agreement be-
cause he, a wine enthusi-
ast and expert sommelier
found good in her name.
Malva, is the diminutive
of Malvasia!!!
Now, after seven years, I
am fully convinced that
it was a sign of fate I had
met you. You are a won-
derful spring flower, a
sweet and strong soul at
the same time. You have
gifted me with uncondi-
tional security and tran-
quillity in all these years,
loving me like no human
being could have done.
When I had nothing
around me, you were
there. You were there and
never left me, wiped the
tears away before they
gushed from my eyes,
you stayed by my side in
sickness, becoming your-
self sick rather than
abandon me. Because no
one could separate you
from me. You welcomed
me with joy when I was
angry, tired, listless, and
you have welcomed me
without asking anything
in return.
And even now, as I allow
myself these creativing
moments, you are sleep-
ing at my feet; every
now and then you look at
me, we look at each
other, we say to each
other that we need one
another, that you are
complete when I am by
your side. And you
know, you can feel that
it's the same for me. This
part of the journey, we
lived it in fullness and
joy, and when we experi-
enced unhappiness we
have overcome it to-
gether once again . I will
return to you all the love
that, sometimes without
thinking, I denied you.
I will repay all the sweet-
ness you will need, when
your life, in old age, will
take a more difficult turn.
You taught me to face
everything with simplic-
ity but with intensity. I'll
be by your side when
you will ask me for help.
Malva, I think that was
your name from the start,
since before your very
were born, when you
were still a little star in
the sky.
Someone had decided it
before us.
Someone gave us a clue
through nature. I think
sometimes the flash of a
moment is able to com-
municate, by instinct, a
great truth: that flower,
in that place , at that
time, was the mirror of
your soul.
Sweet, beautiful Malva.
CRISTINA PEDERZANI
Veterinary doctor homeo-
path
Teacher of alternative me-
dicine
in instructors courses
And SIUA Dog trainer
29
I started Early -- Took my Dog
by Emily Dickinson
32
33
Our staff (educators, trainers, and
professional dog breeders) are present in
Ovada (AL), Sermide (MN), Castellazzo
Novara (NO), Parma, Ravenna, Ancona,
Velletri and San Marco in Lamis (FG).
Piemonte: OVADA -AL- cell. 347-5760185
Castellazzo Nov.se -NO- cell. 339-7397499
Lombardia cell. 348-8029763
Emilia Romagna PARMA 346-6964342
RAVENNA cell. 338-1841201
Marche: cell. 338-3787447
Lazio: cell. 338-6523430
Puglia: cell. 328-5972631
Email: [email protected]
About dogs, is the brainchild of four cynolo-
gists (Marcello Messina, Roberto Mannu,
Gianluca Gherghi and Giovanni Padrone),
they have combined their minds and expe-
riences to create a point of reference for an-
yone who lives with his dog and requires cor-
rect informations to improve their living ar-
rangements. 'About dogs (no silliest things)', because we
are tired of the total disinformation, tired of
anyone does marketing on the ignorance of
the people, tired of the urban legends.
THE FOUNDERS
An information magazine created by
C I N O F I L I S T A N C H I
We are our dogs...
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Try to be a good person as your dog think you are. For this and many other reasons do not mistreat or abandon your best friend. Anyone who abuses or abandons a dog
is not a good person.