Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sharing living space with our dog friends is a natural extension of pets being an integral part of the family. But what doesn’t feel natural is walking across the carpet and feeling your feet squishing into a pile of poo or your socks soaking up moisture from a puddle of urine on the floor. Likewise, […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Humans and animals share many things, including unpleasantness such as acute and chronic pain. As anyone who has experienced pain knows, life can be pretty miserable if the pain isn’t controlled. Normal activities such as sleeping, eating, and moving can be difficult for people and animals in pain. Pain also affects health and can cause […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes Many an owner of a newly adopted kitten has become concerned when the new family member is found hiding under the sofa rather than coming out to play. This is especially true if the kitten seemed bold, social, and playful at the shelter, foster’s home, or the home where she was born. The Causes of […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you’ve ever had a urinary tract infection, you know how distressing the signs can be. It hurts, and you feel the urgency to urinate but can release only a few dribbles. Cats can also have urinary signs, although infections are less common than in humans. The discomfort of LUTS, as veterinarians call lower urinary […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes Independence Day is an exciting holiday for humans, but it can be a stressful one for dogs. The loud noises and bright flashes from fireworks can frighten them so severely that they run away, ending up lost or in shelters. Fortunately, you can take precautions to help your dog be less fearful as well as […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Can fear, anxiety, and stress be stealing precious heartbeats from your beloved pet at home? That’s the theory being studied by Dr. Robert Hamlin, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM. His work is examining the idea that stress, especially when it triggers the body’s fight or flee “sympathetic storm” mechanism, not only affects the quality of your […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Have you ever felt you are about to die? I mean that literally, like you’ve been held up at gunpoint or held out a window by your suspenders 30 stories up? I’ve suggested for years that too many of our pets at the veterinary clinic feel like they are being held up at gunpoint or are […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes When your dog meets you at the door, head low with ears slicked back and eyes averted, is that a canine apology? Does your dog look guilty? The behaviors certainly mimic what humans associate with feeling shame or apology. Whether or not this accurately reflects the dog’s true feelings is open to debate. Not all […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cats can make great pets when we learn what each one needs to thrive, and then meet these needs. When we do, we have cats who are friendly, active, and safe. That makes them the great “low maintenance” companions we enjoy. But when things go wrong, fear, anxiety, and stress can be the result in […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Is your sofa arm shredded? Is the toilet paper off the roll and sprinkled like confetti on the bathroom floor? Are the items on your coffee table splattered across your living room floor? Ahem, your indoor cat is desperately trying to get your attention…and desperately trying to battle boredom. While studies show that indoor cats […]