Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 2 minutes If your dog is fearful of storms with thunder, lightning, hail, or high winds, you’re not alone. There are no statistics on the numbers of pets with storm phobia–or to give the fear its scientific name, astraphobia–but it’s likely that the prevalence of this type of noise sensitivity in dogs is 20 percent or higher, […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When I was a little girl, my cat Pretzel made it clear that she was not a fan of car rides. Luckily, my mom had a brilliant idea. “Let’s put your sweatshirt inside her carrier instead of that blanket,” she suggested. “It’s soft and smells like you. I bet she’ll find it comforting.” It helped […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes I just got a new kitten, and she jumps all over the kitchen countertops and the dinner table. This is dangerous for her and annoying for me, so she has to learn some boundaries. Friends keep telling me to squirt her with a water bottle, but I know that doesn’t work. Why does everyone else […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes This month we’ve watched lava flows from Hawaii’s Mt. Kilauea destroy homes and cars. Last month, two tornadoes hit Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the same day. Even if volcanoes don’t erupt down the street from your house and you don’t live in Tornado Alley, natural disasters and emergencies occur somewhere every day. And part of […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Kids and cats go together like mac ’n’ cheese. Cats offer warm companionship for children and the life-long value of compassion for sentient, living beings. In children, cats have a built-in playmate and attention-giver. What can be a special relationship takes work to build, though, to ensure that cats and children enjoy a stress-free experience […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Not long ago, a woman contacted me about her dog. He was an accomplished trash can raider and recently had surgery to remove several foreign objects from his intestinal tract. “I guess it’s time for him to be trained,” she said. This idea that training is something that happens to the dog is not unusual. […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes A good friend of mine is afraid of spiders. She’s not so afraid that she’s going to burn her house down if one is inside, but as she says, perhaps she’ll just scorch the house a bit. Her fear is not incapacitating, but it is overwhelming enough that she must do something about the spider […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Moving from San Diego to Dallas a few years ago, I bravely left my being-single comfort zone and joined an online dating service. My biggest concern wasn’t if I would find the person of my dreams, but rather, how dating would emotionally impact my dogs, Kona and Cleo, and my cat, Casey. Seriously. And, I’m […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Last week I picked up my RV, Astrid (yes, I named my RV!) from the storage spot and brought her home. Once the dogs realized she was home, they sat at the front door nicely, with only smiling faces and wildly wagging tails betraying their excitement. They’re experienced road dogs; Bones, five years old, has […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you have pets, party planning takes on a whole new meaning, and not necessarily in a good way. Many dogs and cats are spooked by the presence of strangers noisily enjoying themselves in the living room. Similarly, they don’t share any enthusiasm for backyard barbecuing or raucous swimming parties with children shrieking and splashing […]