National Veterinary Hospital held three workshops for pet owners to teach them how to understand the body language of animals.
National Veterinary Hospital executive manager Chen Tao-chieh (陳道杰) said that people often complain about how their pets are loud or not house-broken.
The courses address these issues, Chen said, adding that National Veterinary Hospital looks forward to holding more.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
Pet trainer Kuo Hsin-ni (郭欣妮) said some owners scold their pets when they return home to find they have urinated or defecated in the house, and some people say the animals express contrition.
However, Kuo said that behavior such as not looking at the owner, flicking of the tongue or sniffing the ground are “displacement behaviors.”
They are not acts of contrition, but tell us that the pet is nervous, which probably indicate that it does not even know why it is in trouble, Kuo said.
Many owners are unfamiliar with these behaviors and often approach their pets at the wrong time, yielding bad results or an angry animal, Kuo said.
A workshop attendee said that he had taken in strays, but they are hostile when he approaches them.
Using some of the techniques he learned at the workshop, he said his pets are now more accepting of him.
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