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Cats Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home Training & Grooming

Nail Trims Don’t Have to Be Scary. How to Keep Them Fear Free for Both of You

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Reading Time: < 1 minutes Learn seven stress-free ways to set yourself and your pets up for success with at-home nail care.

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Dogs Fears & Anxieties Training & Grooming

Monster Alert! Helping Your Dog Overcome Fear of the Vacuum Cleaner

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Reading Time: 3 minutes “The monster must DIE!” At least, that’s what I imagined the Chow mix was thinking as she launched herself at the vacuum cleaner, growling and snapping as if she were taking on a zombie horde. I cued the owner to shut off the machine. “You’re right,” I nodded. “She hates the vacuum cleaner.” Now that […]

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Cats Fears & Anxieties Life at Home Travel & Safety

Ways to Make Your Cat’s Move to a New Home Safe and Stress-Free

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Reading Time: 4 minutes When I was a young woman, people who lived on our street moved away. But about a week after they drove off in a moving truck, neighbors discovered they’d left behind their pregnant cat – who promptly gave birth to a litter of kittens. It made me furious that someone would abandon a cat so […]

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Fears & Anxieties Senior Pets

The Last Spring: A Dog’s Life

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Reading Time: 4 minutes I called Story my 100-day dog, her nickname in the final 365 days of her life. By the time she was 12 years old, my black Labrador retriever displayed signs of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome, and the medication to treat it came in 100-dose bottles. I agreed to a one-bottle trial. As her dementia worsened, […]

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Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home

Why Does My Dog Act Out When I Am on the Phone?

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Reading Time: 3 minutes I was playing fetch with my dog Ziggy one day and he was doing so well retrieving the rubber duck I would throw for him that I decided to video part of his workout and send it to a friend so he could teach his dog what I was teaching Ziggy. I took out my […]

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Activities & Enrichment Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home

How to Stave Off Canine Cabin Fever This Winter

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Reading Time: 3 minutes If you have a puppy or adult dog with lots of energy, you know how much work it is to keep your pet entertained. And you’ve probably noticed how your dog’s stress level—and yours—goes up when he’s not getting enough exercise. High-energy dogs can develop behavior problems if they don’t get enough exercise and stimulation. […]

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Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home Training & Grooming

Relax on Cue: How to Help Your Dog Chill

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Reading Time: 3 minutes As a certified yoga instructor as well as a veterinary behavior technician, I have found many similarities between yoga in humans and relaxation cues in our pets. In humans, yoga has been shown to decrease stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and regulate the fight or flight response. Animals do not have […]

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Cats Dogs Fears & Anxieties Holidays Life at Home Other

How to Avoid Holiday Stress in Pets

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Reading Time: 3 minutes The most wonderful time of the year is finally here. The holidays bring festive decorations, bustling preparations, celebrations … and too often, stress. While we worry about how to get everything done or how to adjust our plans to the challenges of the past year, we can’t forget to care for our beloved pets. The […]

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Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home Training & Grooming

Teach Your Dog That Crates Are Great

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Reading Time: 3 minutes The destruction was everywhere. Shredded furniture. Bent window blinds. Gnawed baseboards. Scattered throughout the house were shreds of random papers, from magazines to bills. The area rugs reeked of urine. As I took all this in, the distraught woman pointed at her leather couch, which featured a giant, ragged hole in the once-plump cushion. “He […]

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Cats Fears & Anxieties Life at Home New Pets Shelters & Fostering

Feral to Friendly-ish: Cats Coming in From the Cold

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Reading Time: 4 minutes A major conundrum of the cat world is the profusion of feral cats. Robin Olson, president of Kitten Associates in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, recently trapped the most beautiful tabby-marked Siamese kitten in her yard. Dubbed Silas Buttonwood, he will be vetted, neutered, fostered, and placed in a loving home. He is proving to be a […]