Categories
Cats Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home Other

Are You the Cause of Your Pet’s Stress?

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not only people who suffer from stress; our pets most certainly do, too. The question is, could you unknowingly be the cause of some of your pet’s anxiety? Everyday noises and events that humans take for granted, for instance, can cause pets to be fearful and anxious. And because pets, like people, react differently […]

Categories
Activities & Enrichment Cats Life at Home

Choice: What It Means for Cats

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes Our cats rarely get to choose for themselves when it comes to the really important stuff. We decide what the cats will eat, where, and when. We pick the litter box and determine where to put it and what litter to use. We select all the cat furniture, from the scratching posts and pads to […]

Categories
Cats Dogs Fears & Anxieties Other Veterinary Care

Take the Panic Out of Handling a Pet Emergency

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes Lisa Lippman, DVM, knows the value of always acquiring knowledge. That may explain why in addition to her skills in house call medicine, general practice, and emergency veterinary medicine, she made the decision to complete a two-day course to become a pet first aid/CPR instructor. Her reason is simple: “In a veterinary clinic, medicines and […]

Categories
Cats Fears & Anxieties Life at Home

Stressed? You Might Be Stressing Your Cat as Well

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes We all know about studies showing that sharing life with a pet has beneficial effects on human health. Even a few minutes of petting a cat or dog can lower blood pressure and release mood-enhancing endorphins. A University of Minnesota study found that cat companionship may reduce the risk of heart attack for people by […]

Categories
Activities & Enrichment Dogs Life at Home Training & Grooming

Does Your Dog Want to be a Therapy Dog?

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes Making therapy visits can be great enrichment for the right dog and make you feel good about giving back to the community. But it’s important that therapy pets love their work, and for some dogs it may be too stressful. If you’re considering getting into this, make sure your dog will be an enthusiastic partner. […]

Categories
Cats Dogs Fears & Anxieties Other Veterinary Care

When Vets Take Pets “To the Back”

Article

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 […]

Categories
Activities & Enrichment Dogs Fears & Anxieties New Pets Training & Grooming

Fear, stress, and puppy brain development: what to know

Article

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 […]

Categories
Cats Dogs Fears & Anxieties Veterinary Care

Relieve Your Pet’s Stress-Related Diarrhea

Article

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 […]

Categories
Activities & Enrichment Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home Training & Grooming

When “Fine” Isn’t

Article

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 […]

Categories
Activities & Enrichment Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home Training & Grooming Travel & Safety

New Dog Anthem: I Love My Automobile

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes If your dog is terrified of riding in the car, it doesn’t have to be that way. With careful planning and patient training, you can teach him to relax and enjoy the ride. Here are my favorite tactics for building canine confidence in the car. Riding in the car. Isn’t that something that all dogs […]