Else Verbeek

Associate Professor in animal welfare.
Provides evidence-based courses and support for dog professionals.
Dog behavioural therapy.
Science communicator.

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

Silly mood today... too many meetings 😀!

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

Source: https://t.co/WqiZIXEfjH

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

Many dogs struggle with meeting new people. Yet, the average dog meets between 2 and 5 strangers every single day.

So how can we make introductions with strangers a little easier?

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

Mimicking the dog's movements and maintaining a 1-meter distance can be a safer and more effective way to build trust compared to direct physical contact. This "walking dance" can foster friendship within just 15 minutes!

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

Neither do we need to prevent all negative experiences.

I think it's the balance between negative and positive experiences over the long-term that determines welfare.

When the balance tips towards the positive side, we have given our dogs a life worth living

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

Respecting and nurturing a dog's internal desires is just as important as setting boundaries for their well-being.

Often, we’re so focused on training our dogs to be well behaved citizens in our human world.

#dogtraining #dogbehaviour

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

The process of achieving a goal makes dogs feel good, be it retrieving a favourite toy, socialising or learning something new.

However does this mean that we need to let dogs do everything they want? No, only within safe boundaries.

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

It is important to provide your dog with a range of behaviours that they want to engage in. If we restrict them too much, there may not be sufficient weight on our positive side of the balance.

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

Realistically, we can’t avoid all stress and fear, so how do we deal with them?

We can consider welfare in the short-term (minutes or hours), but also in the long-term (weeks or even months).

Then we can look at the balance of positive and negative experiences.

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

We can take into account a range of different welfare measures: body language and facial expressions, health and whether they are able to express happy doggy behaviours regularly.

Now we can make up the balance of positive vs negative welfare over a longer period of time.

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

Interesting paper!

[Christian Nawroth @GoatsThatStare]

Animal welfare research is fascinating, ethical, and useful—but how can it be more rigorous?

https://t.co/cK0v67L9gy

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

New paper published!

��� Fresh silage reduced the occurrence of gastric lesions in the stomach mucosa but did not affect the number of skin lesions.

✅ Feeding fresh silage can improve pig welfare.

https://t.co/I5VJYIuUQu
#animalscience #animalwelfare

[Else Verbeek @ElseVerbeek]

@roosvonk Ik verbaas me nog steeds waarom zoveel mensen dit niet weten? Dit is standaard in alle landen, ook in NL.

Er zijn inmiddels alternatieven waar de kalfjes wel bij de moeder mogen blijven, of een pleegmoeder krijgen.

Maar voor havermelk hoeven helemaal geen koeien te lijden!