Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 3 minutes A good grounding in nail anatomy is one of the secrets to a nail trim that doesn’t cause your dog to run away in fear and you to stress out over giving it. Understanding exactly how and where to trim helps to ensure that you don’t “quick” your dog, a painful experience that typically leads […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes My grandfather and his dog, Trimmer, a Redbone Coonhound, went about their daily routine of feeding the cows. When they didn’t come home at their normal time, my uncle and a neighbor went to look for them. They found my grandfather slumped against an old oak tree where he had collapsed from a fatal heart […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes You’ve brought home your new car, loaded it with the things you normally carry, and you’re ready to go for a drive with your dog riding shotgun (safely secured, of course). But when you invite him to jump in, he puts on the brakes. Your faithful canine companion knew your old car. This car is […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes From a pet’s perspective, ear handling and care can be unsettling and downright scary unless it’s conducted in a way that allows the pet to feel safe and comfortable. Why do pets fear ear cleaning and care? For an animal with fear, anxiety, or stress (FAS), ear care may seem threatening, especially if sensitive ear […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes The photo on social media shows a box of young kittens. The text says, “Kittens abandoned. Fosters needed.” You look up the rescue group and find they are local to you. Fingers poised over the keyboard, you ask yourself, should I foster? Having fostered kittens for a number of years, I’ve faced this scenario more […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes A cat, when startled by the sound of a backfiring car, dashes toward a hiding spot, running as fast as she can. A small dog, backed into a corner, snarls, showing his teeth and his willingness to protect himself. A kitten, hearing a vacuum cleaner for the first time, freezes in place. A cat or […]
Reading Time: < 1 minutes Download this infographic that’s packed with tips on how to make your Halloween Fear Free for both you and your pet.
Reading Time: 3 minutes Fear and stress play important roles in the ability to function, for humans and dogs. Fear, for instance, helps to protect from danger. Stress aids in reacting to and learning from threats and improves memory. Too much fear, stress and anxiety isn’t healthy, though. Excess stress and anxiety affect the immune system, negatively influencing both […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Communication is key to any relationship, and conflicts arise when we misunderstand a message. We can usually decipher a person’s emotional disposition by expression and body language, but cats are mysterious and wear a poker face so their emotions aren’t as easily read. Most humans aren’t adept at reading a cat’s normal behavior when dealing […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s a saying often repeated by dog trainers to their students, “The leash transmits all of your emotions straight to your dog.” Whether you are worried, afraid, nervous, or confident, your dog will feel that. There’s much more to this, of course, because your dog or cat knows you so well they can sense and […]