Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 4 minutes Making therapy visits can be great enrichment for the right dog and make you feel good about giving back to the community. But it’s important that therapy pets love their work, and for some dogs it may be too stressful. If you’re considering getting into this, make sure your dog will be an enthusiastic partner. […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When I worked as a vet tech many years ago, we didn’t routinely “take pets to the back” for treatment. Emergency visits, or pets not easily handled, were the exceptions. But more often than not, dogs and cats had their temperatures taken, vaccines administered, routine blood and stool samples procured, all while in the presence […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Even though periodontal disease is the most common disease in both cats and dogs1, many pets don’t get the dental care they need due to the fear, anxiety, and stress (FAS) they experience when going to the veterinarian. And that stress affects not only the cat or dog, but the owner, too. Two things need […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes What information does your pet sitter need to efficiently care for your home and pets? After 25 years as a pet sitter, I find it falls into two categories: pet care and “all that other stuff.” Here’s how to ensure that your pet sitter knows the most important details about your animal’s care. Meals, Meds, […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes If your pet has cognitive dysfunction—canine or feline dementia—you may have noticed that he seems to be more anxious than in the past. That’s a common side effect of the condition, but there are ways to manage it. Aging dogs and cats have problems similar to those of elderly humans, and not just physical ones: […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Fear is a powerful emotion. It takes a lot to overcome it, in dogs and cats as well as humans, but there are some techniques that can help. I am afraid of spiders. Granted, there are species of spiders than can pose some danger in certain situations, but I live in a big city with […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes At what cost do you save a life? Or is that not even the right question to ask? What motivates this story is local dog trainer, near where I live, who was recently “outed” for alleged use of aversive methods to save lives. That in itself sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? When animal control […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Does your dog wag her tail and act happy when women and children come close, but crouch down, roll over on her back, and pee whenever a dude greets her? Does she tuck her tail between her legs, pace around the room, or bark, growl, and snarl when a man shows up? If so, perhaps […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Lots of factors set millennials apart from previous generations. For starters, they like to share things like houses and apartments. They are also adopting pets as family members before considering marriage and human children. This means that several pets can find themselves co-habiting too. Here’s what to consider to ensure that individual pets get along […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Keeping a dog or cat’s mouth healthy is a key part of overall good health; after all, the mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body. Here are some ways to keep teeth clean without feeling as if it’s a chore for you and your pet. There is nothing more affectionate than big […]