Why Prong Collars Hurt
Prong collars, also called pinch collars, are metal chain collars for dogs that include links of prongs whose ends press into the dog’s neck. When a dog pulls on leash, moves out of position, or is “corrected” with a quick snap of the leash, force is exerted on the dog’s neck through the points of contact of the prongs. Force is also exerted in these situations when the dog is wearing a flat collar. A correction applied to a dog on a flat collar can also be uncomfortable or… Continued
Halloween Hazards for Pets
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. A bag full of treats and scary costumes make me happy, but these things can be a real terror for some pets. Hazards come in two flavors: environmental and edibles. I once trained a Dachshund puppy named Sparky* and he was a happy little guy, until he entered adolescence and a developmental fear stage. Then he became alarmed at every person passing by his home. He often stood guard at the window waiting for scary things to bark at. For Sparky, environmental things… Continued
An Open Letter To Pet Owners About The Pet Professional Guild’s Shock-Free Coalition
According to the American Pet Products Association (2017), 68 percent of Americans return home to a pet (or pets) each day. An estimated 48 percent of US residents are dog owners while 38 percent share their home with a cat (or cats). In spite of this, for many people, more time is spent planning the family vacation than on bringing a pet into the home. Compounded by the fact that many of us not only work full time and raise children, we are also swamped with family commitments and countless… Continued
How Cats Play
By Beth Adelman Playing with your cat is not just fun and games. Play relieves boredom and stress, and can even help control behavior problems. In fact, a wide variety of feline behavior problems, from aggression to destructiveness to self-mutilation to inappropriate elimination to obsessive chewing, can be helped or managed by adding regular interactive play to a cat’s day. All Play Is Hunting The most important thing to remember is that for cats, play is always a form of hunting. Real prey is clever enough to make the hunt… Continued
Pet Professional Guild launches Shock-Free Coalition to end use of electric shock as training tool for pets
Initiative calls for the worldwide elimination of shock devices in animal training, care, management, and behavior modification; seeks consumer transparency for pet owners seeking professional advice The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has launched the Shock-Free Coalition, a global advocacy campaign which aims to end the practice of using electric shock to train, manage, and care for pets, build a strong and broad movement committed to eliminating shock devices from the supply chain, and create transparency on the methods used for consumers seeking professional advice on pet behavior or training issues.… Continued
Ping Pong Recalls
When I ask new puppy owners ‘what are the most important objectives for you and your new pup?’ you can bet that right at the very top of that list is ‘I want to be able to let my dog off lead and for her to come back when called!’ I think that’s pretty reasonable – most of us have at some time experienced those palpitations when you’re calling and calling AND calling and there’s no response – isn’t that the best relief when that little head pops up? So, what… Continued
Professional Training and Pet Sitting
As a professional dog trainer and behavior consultant I developed a working relationship with hundreds of families over the years, and many pet owners have asked for my recommendation when they needed a pet sitter or dog walker. This often arose when there was a planned vacation, a wedding or an unplanned absence from home. Some folks did not want to board their pets and for others that simply was not an option, as many of my dog clients are anxious or fearful of strangers. It was always difficult to… Continued
Pain Underlying
By Dr. Lynn Bahr Most people who work professionally with cats know what stoic creatures they are and how well they can hide their pain. There are many different theories as to why this is. Until relatively recently, it was thought cats did not experience pain at all, based purely on the fact that they tend not to show it. Some people — including some feline professionals — even still believe this, despite significant advances to the contrary. It is an astounding reality that, in the year 2017, we still… Continued
“Naughty” Dog Or Normal Dog?
I’ve lost count as to how many times I’ve heard that Fido is ‘really naughty,’ ‘he’s doing it deliberately,’ ‘he’s trying to spite me,’ or, if an owner has more than one dog, ‘they’re trying to gang up on me!’ But are these labels in any way helpful? Let’s consider this for a moment. Ask yourself ‘Why?’ before reacting The number one point I would like all dog owners to consider when their dog is not responding in the way they would like their dog to respond is ask a simple question… Continued
Having a Bit More Fun with Our Dogs
When I got my first dog as a child no one in the family knew much about dogs, puppy preschool classes were unheard of and the average dog just somehow became part of the family. My father mainly got the dog because I probably pestered him for too long. He was a Dalmatian called Lord, he was not very well trained but loved to run and he ran a lot. He spent a lot of time with us children, he went on holidays, barked at people coming to the house… Continued
Labels and Limitations…..
By Kamal Fernandez Do you have a nickname for your dog? I mean, an endearing title or word that describes or captures who they are? This can often be a positive thing… all of my dogs, have a ‘second name’, that I often use to reference them… Sugar is ‘shu-shu’….. Punch is ‘P dog’… ‘Super’ aka suppy, dupey do, or do-do…. thriller… Girlie whirl…. you get the drift…. It’s so easy to label your dog with a phrase, word or characterisation… but what does it actually mean? Whenever I deliver… Continued
A Good Start in Life
By Francine Miller Thankfully, more people are now aware that puppies need early socialization to have the best shot at being behaviorally healthy, but there are still many that are sketchy on the details of the process. Very few people are aware that kittens also undergo a sensitive period, and that socialization during their early weeks can greatly influence their temperament. Bateson (1979) defined a sensitive period as an age range during which particular events are especially likely to have long-term effects on individual development. A sensitive period may best… Continued
Dog Car Safety: Help – An Escapee!
Recently, my nephew and I saw a dog running down a busy main road. She was very lucky as between us we managed to redirect her down an alleyway away from all the traffic and eventually I got her to come near enough to me so that I could take hold of her collar. She was obviously very frightened and stressed. A scared dog may well bite so my approach was very slow, low, friendly and unthreatening in order to gain some trust and not put either of us… Continued
A Lesson in Tolerance
By Susan Nilson An estimated 40 – 75 percent of all cats that present with behavioral symptoms have some kind of elimination disorder, making it the most commonly reported feline behavior problem of all (Overall, 1997) and the most common reason cats are abandoned or surrendered to shelters. In this particular case, nine-year-old Ruby had started urinating around the house for no apparent reason. Ruby was an indoor spayed female domestic short-hair who lived in a four-cat household comprising her male sibling and two much younger cats, one male and… Continued
Body Language – Your Dog’s Native Tongue
By Susan Claire, CPDT-KA If you own a dog, then you teach English as a second language. A dog’s native tongue is body language. Yet, dogs adapt and learn our English words with remarkable ability. There are many emotions that we share with our canine friends, and some that we project onto them. It’s in our best interest to learn about how our dogs really think and feel and learn. If you insist your dog learn your language, then it’s only fair you make the effort to learn his. This… Continued
Dog Park Etiquette
If I had $1 for every time an owner told me how irate they were about something that had happened in the park when they were walking their dog – well, you know the rest! So what are the unspoken rules about how us dog owners should conduct ourselves, what’s expected of us, what’s frowned upon, what constitutes unruly canine behaviour and how can we prevent it in the first place? That’s a whole load of questions for one blog but let’s start at the end and work back! What’s… Continued
What Is the Purpose of a Real Dog?
Labeling normal dog behaviors like barking, digging, jumping up, chasing, growling and others as problems is something my colleagues and I have started seeing more often in our classes and consultations. However, typical puppy behaviors can include mouthing, housesoiling, not wanting to be alone, eating everything in sight, running away, rolling in smelly stuff, chasing moving objects, growling, smelling other dogs’ rear ends or biting and mouthing. These are all natural behaviors, but sometimes a new owner may simply not have fully realized what having a puppy entails. Indeed, our expectations may be high as we… Continued
Leave It: Not Just for Dead Men Anymore
The other day I was pondering the trend of talking about teaching “self-control” and “impulse control” in our dogs. I got to thinking about “leave it,” both the term and the behavior. I realized a couple things. First, the term “leave it” doesn’t pass the dead-man test. (I’ll get to that below.) Second, the behavior “leave it” is not just one, but several behaviors. Third, I realized that this combination of problems could present some difficulties when training. What is your dog actually doing when she successfully “leaves it”? You know what that means:… Continued
Choke Collar Pathology
Recently I persuaded a local pet supply store owner to sell me all his choke collars (at cost) and refrain from restocking them, in return for recommendations for safe body harnesses such as Perfect Fit and Balance. He was persuaded by data I presented to him about the pathology of choke collars. “I never knew they hurt dogs, and only carried them because people asked for them.” I never knew either, years ago when I went to a trainer seeking help with my Labrador, Jake. She told me to use… Continued
A Change of Lifestyle
By Marilyn Krieger According to a study by the Humane Society of the United States, based on data collected from 600 veterinarians, two out of three veterinarians recommend keeping cats indoors, citing vehicles and transmittable diseases as the two greatest potential dangers (HSUS Veterinarian Study, June 2001). Many cats enjoy napping in the yard or chasing insects. Many more are “street cats” who patrol the neighborhood, coming home only when it is time for dinner. Cats who are allowed to go outside face risks of being stolen, contracting parasites and… Continued
Dog Food Safety Recalls
Pet food safety is a big deal to me, and to my dogs. As my dog’s best advocate I want to know what is in the bag and whether it will harm my dogs. I would like to believe I can depend upon news media to inform me of safety recalls in pet food and training treats so I can keep my pets safe, but that seems to be a false belief. In the past couple of months I learned of about eight safety recalls, including products which killed pets.… Continued
What To Do If You Find a Lost Pet
What To Do If You Find a Lost Dog or Cat Have you ever been out and about and found a lost dog or cat? I’m sure if you have, your heart started to race thinking about how you would feel if your pet was lost. I just can’t imagine what I would do if Dexter the dog got out of the house and was missing. My heart would break and I know I would be beside myself. So, what do you do if you find a lost dog or… Continued
Thinking Outside the (Litter) Box
By Marilyn Krieger Litter box avoidance is one of the most common reasons cats are surrendered to shelters and euthanized. It is so sad and so unnecessary. Although the problem is hard to live with, it is also one of the easiest to solve. Some of the solutions are simple — others are more involved. Male and female cats of all ages can develop litter box challenges. There is always a legitimate reason for cats to avoid using their litter boxes. They are not bad cats, nor are they misbehaving.… Continued
Letting Go of Puppyhood Things …
When should a dog stop sleeping in a crate? Most people, when faced with this question, will think about whether the dog can be trusted in the house unsupervised: Will she sleep through the night? Can I leave her alone without worrying that she’ll chew on things? Does she know that she’s not allowed on the sofa (and does she follow that rule)? Some think about convenience: The crate is big, unattractive, in the way. It’s got to go. Or they think about convenience: I like being able to crate… Continued
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