Fear Free Happy Homes
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: 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 A new study casts doubt on a mainstay of teaching dogs to stay home alone. Here’s what it found. Everyone’s heard the advice: ignore your dog when leaving the house and returning. The claim is that long goodbyes and excited reunions might cause separation anxiety, but if you don’t make a fuss, the dog will […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes The dog brain is very different from that of wild dogs, so that in some ways puppies are born ready to fit into the human world. But the puppy brain still has a lot of developing to do after birth, and understanding that process is important to raising confident, well-adjusted dogs. It’s now generally believed […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Who doesn’t love being told a story? Dogs and cats are no different. Here’s how shelter reading plans can improve pets’ chances of adoption. Imagine you are housed in a shelter, suffering loud noises from other anxious animals and smelling scents that definitely aren’t from a home. You enjoy little social interaction and are confined […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes A mantra for cat caretakers: You can’t scoop the litter box too often. While there’s a litany of tips for successful litter box training, if the box isn’t scooped often, the prettiest setup is useless. Cats have extremely sensitive noses, and while they find comfort in familiar scents, a box full of urine clumps and […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not unusual for pets to suffer stress-related diarrhea, especially when it comes to car rides or veterinary visits. Here’s how you can help relieve the causes. With a dog or cat who tends toward an anxious outlook on life, visiting the veterinarian can be a big stress. One of the most obvious signs of […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Socialization can go wrong when people don’t recognize a puppy’s signs of fear. Here’s what to look for and how to avoid problems. “We don’t understand where this aggression came from,” the woman said, tears in her eyes. “We took her everywhere as a puppy like you’re supposed to do. She went with us to […]