So how are dogs changing the way they smell? Are we talking about pheromones? If so then your nose is a lot more sensitive than mine! My dogs seem to smile and wag their tails when they're happy and growl when they're mad and wimper when they're sad. They communicate a lot with other less obvious audible and visual body language too. As far as smells go...... um no... cept one of them passes a lot of gas, but I'm pretty sure thats from my son sneaking her his breakfast ever morning rather than her moods. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I don't know if it's pheromones, but there are glands in various places. But yes, there are other communication clues they use too, that are probably easier to read. But this is just one more you can use to help get to know your dog.

Humans have co-evolved with dogs for a very long time, some theories put it at over 100,000 years, and it may have been our advantage over the neanderthals. So we already have a pretty good instict for reading dog body language. But it's not all obvious, and I learned a lot from this book:

Dog Language: An Encyclopedia of Canine Behavior

Fergus's fur smells like, of all things, Fritos corn chips. I kid you not. I wonder what he is trying to tell me?

Vince

This is very useful. If I am able to differentiate between a problem requiring a vet visit and one that doesn't, then this course would be well worth it. Thanks again.

Regards, Vince

I can say I'm certainly glad I did. Our vet is less than five minutes away, but when our cat slashed the dog under her eye during one of their confrontations, that vet was closed.

My wife had to find an open vet, I was on my way to work, stuck in standstill traffic as usual, and was not near any exits.

Everything turned out alright, except that the dog and cat have decided to dislike each other, so we must keep them separated. A jealous 9-year-old, 14-pound cat will out-fight a 15-year-old, 7-pound toy poodle with bad teeth every time.

-- Craig

The book is available from MOSBY at 1-800-667-2968 or www.mosby-ml.com ISBN # 1-57857-000-X.
The ARC stock # is 657100 www.redcross.org/hss
Pet First Aid by Mammato

That's the one we have. Looks like a good reference, too.