Tag: pets

Loki

March 13, 2025

We have been getting quite a bit of activity on our feeders over the last month.  When the snow came and the temps dropped, there was a scarcity of natural seeds, and the birds flocked to the feeders.  Now the temps are warming up and the birds are getting frisky and need to replenish their energy.  I also have a group of about ten common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) that quickly wipe out the feeders.  I have been filling the feeders every morning and finding them completely empty the next day.  I have also noticed the birds are getting more familiar with having the dogs around while they are feeding.  It used to be they would scatter when I let the kids out, but now they tend to either stay or at least do not stray too far.  Several days ago, we were visited by a small American gold finch (Spinus tristis) who refused to move.  Loki ran out of the house and the bird continued to sit on the feeder.  Loki became fascinated and stood looking at the bird for at least a minute.  Even after running away, Loki repeatedly returned to look at the bird, giving it full attention.    

When I looked online, I found (if you do not have a gold finch handy) there are four ways to teach your dog to pay attention.  This is focused on the reward-based method, and since Loki is already food-oriented these should work well.  The method begins by establishing a clear “Watch Me” cue.  This is done by beginning to hold the treat by your face and letting your dog sniff them.  Then slowly move the treats away and reward them the moment they refocus on your face.  Vocal clues like “watch me” or “look at me” are added to positive reinforcement like “Yes” or by using a clicker.  The key is consistency.  Distractions should be added gradually.  Once your dog focuses on you in a quiet environment you can add distractions like toys or other people.  Another technique is to teach your dog that good things happen when they regularly make eye contact.  Here again treats and toys are used as a reward.  Finally, learn to understand tension seeking behaviors and teach them alternative behaviors like sitting to say hello, or fetching a toy to get your attention.

Loki displays several attention-seeking behaviors that can be overpowering.  We have worked on his jumping when we enter the house, and he is getting better.  Loki will also sidle into you or try to get on your chair when you sit down.   These actions could stem from anxiety, lack of exercise or stimulation, a change in routine, or even a natural tendency for companionship.  Dogs can experience anxiety and stress just like humans, and this can trigger clingy behavior as they seek reassurance.  A dog who is not getting enough physical and mental stimulation may resort to these attention-seeking behaviors to release pent-up energy or boredom.  Separation anxiety happens when they anticipate or experience your departure.  Dogs crave attention and affection, and needy behavior may be a way to get more interaction.  Dogs are social animals that need companionship.  A dog who does not get enough social interaction may become more needy in their attempts to bond with their humans.  I think for Loki the behavior comes from a desire for attention.  Loki and Zena sometimes get into pushing matches to force the other dog away and command the attention of both Melissa and me. 

THOUGHTS: Knowing the needy behavior Loki exhibited was a desire for attention means we need to provide more.  When Loki gets on the chair, we tell him to get down but then reward the good behavior by petting and talking to him.  When Loki and Zena get into pushing matches to get close and force the other away, we try to love both, or Melissa will call one to her so they both get full attention.  Attention theory was developed to account for how humans learned based on rewards (approval) for their response.  Everyone requires attention and if they do not get enough, they will act out to receive it.  It seems negative attention is better than none.  Like Loki, society needs to provide positive attention for children and adults.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

Cute

December 26, 2024

It is the end of the year and that means the internet is barraging us with stories of “The Best” and “The Worst” of everything from sports (Pommel Horse Guy) to music (Gabriela Ortiz, “Kauyumari”) to food (Sour Patch Oreos) . . . (ad nauseum). One story that caught my attention was about the animals that filled 2024 with sadness, intrigue, and delight. Sadness came with the tragic end of Flaco, the escaped Eurasian eagle owl who appeared to die in a building collision in February. Our intriguing was piqued by the Governor boasting of killing her misbehaving dog and a presidential nominee who deposited a dead bear cub in Central Park and cut the head off a dead whale found of the beach. The delight was the previously mentioned slippery potato named after a pork meatball (Moo Deng) who rocked the internet and drove cosmetic influencers for several months. Then there was Terrance the octopus who had been identified as male until “he” laid 50 fertilized eggs. The online audience watched the heroic efforts to keep the fragile hatchlings alive, even as there is only about 1% chance of survival for the hatchling to grow to .4 inches (10 mm) in the wild. It seemed what held media interest best was stories of cute baby animals learning to survive in the world.

When I looked online, I found there are two ways (of course) to answer why we find baby animals so cute. The proximate answer requires you to single out the features of animals that make them cute versus ugly, and often merge them into a general explanation. Why are baby ducks cute and baby parrots ugly? A proximate answer might involve fur, size of the head or the eyes, length of the limbs, all of which help us define cute. The ultimate answer is perhaps an evolutionary one. Is there an evolutionary reason why we find some features attractive and others repugnant? Answering these sorts of questions is the foundation of evolutionary psychology, and while the answers may be elusive (or even beyond our grasp), we still like to think about them. The reasons we find animals cute or ugly come from criteria that have evolved to help us evaluate members of our own species. Baby animals are cute because natural selection has given babies of some species traits that remind us of a human infant.

Some of these ideas could be tested to determine whether there is a commonality between features we see as ugly or cute in animals and compare them with similar features in humans. Regardless, it is important to remember things are not innately ugly or cute. Features humans find ugly may be exactly what attracts the female to the male of another species. As Darwin recognized, our tastes may be no less evolved than our brains or our bodies. For humans, there is no reason for why the signs of age make someone innately less attractive than the freshness of youth. It may be that our standards of beauty have evolved to reflect candidates for mates and older people are seen as less attractive because they are near or past the age of reproduction. This is a preference that could have been instilled in our ancestors by natural selection. Still, beauty in nature is not innate but evolved and our biology co-evolves with our tastes. Only in animal breeding is this reversed, where human desires allow us to sculpt the features and appearance regardless of the environment.

THOUGHTS: There are some babies (animals and humans) that are so ugly that they are cute. In Planet of the Apes, astronaut George Taylor is preparing to leave and thanks the chimpanzees who help him escape. He overcomes his repulsion and turns to Doctor Zira (female) saying, “Doctor, I’d like to kiss you goodbye.” Zira responds, “All right, but you’re so damned ugly.” Humans need to look beyond the traits that make one superficially cute and find the inner beauty that is only revealed when we get to know each other. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.