When Your Dog Thinks He Works For The FBI

I nearly spit out my coffee when she said it.  The new client calling wanted to know why her dog thinks he works for the FBI.  Once I choked down my laugh and the sip of coffee, I asked her to give me a few more details so I could determine how best to help her.  She shared that she is recently divorced, no kids, just her and her four year old, male, shepherd mix.  According to her, the dog was always suspicious of her husband of two years; she indicated he was right to be and she should have listened to the dog sooner. This woman had me hooked.  There was no way I wasn't going to work with her:  A sense of humor AND an amazing dog?  My ideal client for sure. Here's why she was reaching out for help.

No matter who comes to visit, this dog stands in the doorway and gives them a full visual inspection.  She can easily call him back from the door, which he will do, and then follow that by promptly sticking his nose in the person's crotch or goose them from behind as they walk past him. As if that wasn't bad enough, she said, he'll position himself in such a way that he appears to be eavesdropping on every conversation, "in a very judgy way." Plus, he follows guests to the bathroom and then walks them back out. She said that while most of her friends and family were used to her dog doing these things and simply refer to him as "quirky," she was worried about new people she'd like to date and how they would perceive him. 

As I told her, there's been so much great research on how dogs perceive the people they encounter around their owners.  One of my most favorite studies looked at how dogs treat people they perceive as unreliable or not nice.  For the study, they had dogs present while their owners struggled with a basic task like opening a jar.  There was a second person present who did not engage the dog, nor help the struggling owner in any way.  When these same dogs were offered food by the person who had not helped their owner with the task, they didn't take the food.  In a second study, test subject dogs observed a person (not their owner) pointing at different containers; some contained food, others did not.  While the dogs all followed the pointed finger initially, those dogs who were deceived by the person to approach an empty container, stopped trusting those people and their finger points. The dogs felt betrayed and the people betraying them were not considered trustworthy. The moral of these stories:  Your dog knows the people in your life worth trusting.  When I shared this research with the client, she started laughing because it turns out her ex-husband used to laugh at her when she struggled to open one of their kitchen drawers that was perennially getting jammed. And you know what else he did?  He used to pretend to throw the dog's ball and then laughed when the dog ran off, unable to find it.  Her dog had been conducting his own experiments and this man epically failed the trust tests!

For the owners of those dogs conducting the front door sniff test, this isn't a bad thing.  Dogs are quickly grabbing (no pun intended) as much information as they can on the person entering their home.  They are gaining information on the person from a health perspective, as well as taking notes on where they've been and who they've been with.  This is why many dogs more readily trust someone entering their home who smells like other dogs.  Clearly if other dogs like this person and remained in close proximity to this person, they must be trustworthy.

We've talked about it before, but it bears repeating.  Dogs and humans have been co-evolving for over 30,000 years.  They've been at our sides that entire time, keeping our campsites and homes safe, identifying threats, showing us who to trust and who to avoid.  All we need to do is listen to them.  Maybe the FBI could take a few lessons from dogs.  Just sayin'.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

I've described Ozzie as choosy more than once.  He likes who he likes and is indifferent to most everyone else.  He'll give everyone who enters my house a sniff, he'll accept a quick pat from most, and that's about it.  When Ozzie decides he really likes someone new, it's worth noting.  When a new friend came to dinner and Ozzie chose to hop up on the couch with him, with that same grin on his face you see in the photo above, I knew that person was trustworthy.  Ozzie has never steered me wrong. Ozzie is clearly a senior agent with the FBI.

Attachment Theory: The Canine Edition

Since the 1930's, researchers have been actively studying and quantifying attachment in children.  Since the late 1980's, those studies have tended to focus more on how those early childhood bonds shape lifelong behavior patterns and overall health and well-being, with an emphasis on secure attachment versus insecure attachment.  Beginning in the 1960's, researchers began to take a bigger interest in attachment theory as it relates to our canine companions.  Studying attachment in dogs really took off in the last twenty years and continues to be explored as humans build more complex relationships with their dogs, often with those dogs serving as child-substitutes for folks not pursuing traditional parental roles.  

Let's begin with one of the early studies.  In 1998, a group of researchers in Budapest looked at 51 dogs and their owners, putting them through the paces of a test normally run on parents and babies.  Basically, there are three individuals in the testing room, the dog, the dog's owner, and a stranger.  Researchers measured what happened when the owner left the room and the stranger stayed. Did you guess that the dogs behaved just as the babies had in the human studies? If you did, you'd be correct! All of the dogs, regardless of breed, age, or sex, showed distress when their humans left them behind and anxiety about being alone in a strange environment.  They all sought comfort from the stranger as well in the absence of their owner.

Fast forward to 2015 and a study in Japan.  Researchers measured oxytocin levels in dogs and their owners after they looked at each other for varying lengths of time. For reference, oxytocin is often referred to as the love hormone because it increases with social bonding and emotional attachment. What did the researchers find?  They found that mutual eye contact between dogs and their owners triggers an increase in oxytocin in both the dogs and their people.  This mirrors the research done on mothers and infants showing a surge in oxytocin when they gazed at each other. By comparison, hand-raised wolves in the study did not show this same boost in oxytocin from the mutual gaze, leading the researchers to conclude that dogs developed this trait through the domestication process and their co-evolution with humans.

Beginning in 2012, and continuing on through today, Gregory Berns at Emory University, has been studying dog brains using MRI technology.  So much great research has come out of his work including the study that found that when dogs were exposed to five different smells on a piece of gauze while in the scanner (their own scent, the scent of another dog in their household, an unfamiliar dog, an unfamiliar human, and a familiar human from their household), all the smells lit up the dog's olfactory bulb equally, but the brain's pleasure and rewards center (the caudate nucleus) lit up the most when the dog was exposed to the smell of the familiar human. This once again demonstrates that strong attachment and emotional bond between dogs and their people even at the level of the brain. 

Finally, in 2024, a research team in Finland found that dogs and their humans mirrored each other's heart rate variability when at rest.  Most interesting was the fact that the longer the dogs and people had lived together, the stronger was their physiological bond.  And for those owners who reported being anxious or worried in general, their dogs had a greater heart rate variability, just like their people did.

Clearly the results are in:  We are incredibly attached to our dogs and they are just as attached to us, as if you dog lovers didn't know that already, right? But now, you can prove it to those naysayers telling you "it's just a dog."  Nope, our dogs are family.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

The expression of a dog who is thoroughly attached to her owner.  Zelly and my daughter are incredibly attached to one another, and it shows.  Their bond is unbreakable and unmistakable.  

There were no treats involved, just an owner looking into the eyes of her dog.  

And that dog looking right back into her soul.

We All Love Rave Reviews

Did you love the Scholastic Book Fair when you were a kid?  It was absolutely one of my favorite things every Fall when I was in elementary school.  My kids loved the book fair too, so I always volunteered to work several shifts during the week the Scholastic Book Fair was on their school campus.  I also was a library volunteer at their elementary school and I did so many library reading buddies visits with both Cooper and Desi.  I used to bring a couple of my favorite picture books with me on every library visit we did. Can you tell I love books and reading?  My love of picture books is one of the reasons I chose to write my first children's book, "The Dog Who Loved Eggplant" . Well, that and my love of collies, of course.

Years ago, the most common way a newly published book got promoted was by having a publisher push them out in front of booksellers at bookseller events and through trade publications, read mostly again by booksellers. With the explosion of social media platforms, it has become much more commonplace for authors to self-promote their books straight to consumers.  Sure, we still solicit help from booksellers to get our books into the hands of the appropriate audience, but for the most part, authors do the promotion on their own.  Social media is such a great way to exercise your creativity and explore how you want people to see you and your creations.  We've heard from so many of you regarding how much you love the videos, photos, and behind the scenes footage Jenny Cabriales (the amazing illustrator for our book) and I have spread out across many social media platforms.  You'll continue to see fun, engaging, and rewarding posts from us promoting our book as we approach the holiday season.  Which brings me to a really important piece of the process, and a part that requires your help!

Several of you have sent me notes telling me that your book arrived and you love it!  This makes my heart soar!  What would make me even more delighted would be if you could share a photo of yourself, your dogs, your kids, or even your grandkids enjoying the book.  Just remember to tag both Jenny and me in your photos when you post them.  One more favor to ask as well:  Can you take a moment to go to the book's page on Barnes & Noble online and leave a review?  If you scroll down past the book information, you'll see where you can leave a quick review.  These reviews help to push Henley's literary debut up in the algorithm, helping more people find our whimsical book.

Jenny and I are working hard to get those bookplates so we can sign your books.  Several of you asked for Henley's signature as well, so he's working on perfecting his pawprint. Of course, we'd love to see you at the book signing events we do, but we realize not everyone can make it to those, so the bookplates will be the way to make sure your copy of the book gets that extra touch.  You can message us through social media or you can send me an email with your mailing address, k9freud@gmail.com, and I'll make sure you get a bookplate when they are signed and ready to go out.

We've got some other fun surprises in store for you as well, so be sure you are following Jenny and me on your favorite social media platforms.  You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and even BlueSky.  Just search for JennyCabCreates (Jenny Cabriales) or K9Freud (Julie Bond) and you'll find us.  And we'll be waiting for those photos and reviews!

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Henley has begun practicing his pawprint on paper 

so he'll be ready to sign books and bookplates soon!

Henley Has Big News!

Last week, I posted a teaser on social media about my first children's book, "The Dog Who Loved Eggplant." I'm excited to announce that it's now available to purchase! The book is the first of many (I hope!) featuring Henley and his escapades.  Anyone who knows him, knows what a character he is:  Smart as a whip, loves to turn on the charm, and delights in an audience.  He's had so many health struggles in his three short years of life, that I'm delighted and relieved that he's still here to worm his way into the hearts of even more dog lovers.

Any of you that are owned by smooth collies know how unique they truly are.  They are lovable and biddable, just like their rough counterparts, but they are, well, different.  I love that we get stopped on the street and people want to know what breed of dog he is, as they tell him how beautiful he is.  The best part?  Henley always sits and stares at the person asking, without being asked, ever hopeful that they may want to pet him as well.  Told you, he's charming!

For this first book, I really wanted to introduce him to the world as he was when he was an adolescent:  A curious and bold young dog, who enjoyed no place more so than my garden where he hunted squirrels, chased bugs, and snacked his way through my home-grown vegetables. The story practically wrote itself!  I knew the tough part was going to be finding the perfect illustrator to bring the book to life.  Enter Jenny Cabriales.

I had known Jenny for a couple of years since discovering her on Instagram. I loved her artwork, her sense of humor, and her adorable rough collie, Nigel, the inspiration for much of her early art.  When she opened her shop on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/JennyCabCo?ref=shop_sugg_market), I was a frequent buyer, decorating my office with her art, wearing her designs, and sending her adorable coffee mugs to all my collie-loving friends.  I figured she was too busy to illustrate my book, but it was worth asking her.  As my dad used to say, "The answer is always a no if you are too chicken to ask in the first place."  So, I asked, and she said yes!  I had my illustrator, and someone who knows collies and loves them the way I do.  What happened next was nothing short of magical.

Jenny began working on the illustrations for the book, and when I saw them, I couldn't believe my eyes.  She had not only captured the story I was trying to convey, but she had captured Henley.  His lanky build, long legs and tiny feet, pricked ears, and derpy grin were all looking back at me through her drawings.  It was like she'd been right there as I wrote the book.  When I asked her how she'd been able to do that, she told me, rather matter-of-factly, that she felt like she knew him from my photos and videos on Instagram.  This made me even happier!  Henley was making friends coast to coast!

Because Jenny is on the east coast and I'm here in California, it's unlikely that we'll be able to do book signing and reading events together, but we'll sure try.  Our hope is to divide and conquer, so to speak, with each of us helping to share the book with our favorite booksellers, librarians, teachers, parents, friends, and collie lovers in our respective areas.  We both hope to travel and promote the book as well, so if your library, school, or indie bookstore would like to host an event, please let us know.  You can visit the book's official website, https://thedogwholovedeggplant.com/, and let us know who you are, where you are, and what type of visit you'd like. If you are in the Washington DC area near Jenny or close to me here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we'd love to hear from you. Depending on the location, Nigel or Henley might be able to join us!  Both Henley and Nigel intend to sign books too, so do keep that in mind. Of course, Jenny and I will sign books as well, but pretty sure folks just want collie signatures and that's a-ok with us.  As anyone who lives with a collie will tell you, it's all about them anyway!

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

"The Dog Who Loved Eggplant" is now available to order from Barnes & Noble online. Here's the link

We can't wait for you to meet Henley on the page!

Ozzie is clearly excited about his little brother's book debut too!