Cat Sitter or Cattery?
This article provides a guide for feline behavior professionals to help their clients decide on the best care option for their cats when they’re away from home. Pet owners often worry about leaving their animals in care while they take a well-earned break. As a cat behavior consultant, I am often asked for advice on what’s best for a client’s cat and, as many of these cats are known to me because they have had a current or previous behavior issue that we’ve been managing, the decision is not always… Continued
Stuck in the Mud
By Lara Joseph Mini, pocket and teacup are all adjectives used to describe pigs and are specifically designed to impart a certain image to any potential pet pig owner. What might one think of when one hears the word “mini?” ‘Something weighing under five pounds’ might come to mind, or ‘something that fits into a purse.’ While both considerations might be correct, when referencing a pig, they will only be accurate for about two months. What happens then, when the pig gets bigger than five pounds? Along with these misleading… Continued
Happy Holidays…for Dogs too!
It can be so easy in all the madness and mayhem to overlook our dogs’ needs over the holiday period. Certainly, I always have an influx of inquiries at the beginning of a new year because a dog’s behavior has regressed in some way. Of course, we can’t expect ourselves to be ‘on it’ 100% of the time, every single second of the day – especially over periods like the holiday season. That’s only natural. But at the same time, there are things that we can do, small and easy… Continued
PPG Advocacy Panel: Making Education More Accessible
By Susan Nilson The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) Advocacy Panel was launched in August and has already held its first three sessions, where the panel discussed How To Best Advocate for Positive Reinforcement Methods, How to Reach and Work with Your Local Veterinarians, Your PPG Advocacy Panel at Work! Advocating to Let Dogs be Dogs, Cats be Cats, Equids Be Equids, and “Being Nicer” While Advocating (links to all podcasts and videos below). Panel members to date include Beth Adelman, Kristi Benson, Dr. Laura Donaldson, Dr. Eduardo Fernandez, Dr. Robert… Continued
The Bigger Picture
By Morag Heirs Within my day to day life as a canine professional, I am regularly asked for advice on cases where standard training approaches seem to be failing. In some of these cases, deafness or visual impairment is also part of the picture. The case* I will talk about here illustrates a situation where deafness is just a single component in the jigsaw puzzle of any dog’s behavior, rather than the main explanatory variable. * Note: All names and any identifying details have been altered. Case Study: Shep the… Continued
Thinking Outside the Shelter
By Melissa Taylor Like many shelters, my shelter, Friends For Life Animal Shelter in Houston, Texas, relies heavily on volunteers to meet the needs of program animals. In 2019, our volunteers donated 21,046 hours – enough to replace 10 full-time employees. Every day, these generous individuals spend shifts walking dogs, playing with cats, and cleaning kennels, but they also devote much of their time to behavior-related duties. Behavioral services for companion animals can be so resource intensive that shelter administrators may consider in-house behavior programs to be a luxury rather… Continued
Dog Parks: The Good, the Bad, and the Reality
By Rachel Brix The Experimental Dog Park at Ohlone Park in Berkley, California, which is generally acknowledged as the first leash-free American dog park, was created in 1979. Since then dogs parks have grown exponentially in popularity. According to the most recent report issued by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) (2019), dog parks “are among the fastest growing park amenities in the combined parks systems of the 100 largest US cities. There are currently 810 dedicated dog parks in the 100 largest cities, an increase of 37 over last… Continued
Examining Bird vs. Human Expectations
By Sheila S. Blanchette Anthropomorphism is quite a mouthful of a word, defined by Lexico (2021) as “the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.” Anthropomorphism is commonly seen in our day-to-day lives through social media, television, cartoons, movies, and also, maybe, when we are talking to our own animals. In the United States, one such example is Smokey Bear, “a campaign and advertising icon of the U.S. Forest Service.” (Wikipedia, 2021). Smokey is an upright black bear dressed in human clothing, including a hat,… Continued
First Impressions
By Yvette Van Veen Fourteen years ago, a series of serendipitous events led me toward a career working with feral and roaming dogs. At that time, free-roaming dogs were not a common discussion topic and the prevailing notion was that these animals were not capable or fit to become pet dogs. The majority of the dogs I initially came into contact with came from rural areas of Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Over time, they also included dogs from Taiwan, Romania, Mexico and Africa. While research existed on how feral… Continued
Building a Feline Behavior Volunteer Program…from Scratch
By Melissa Taylor and Alese Zeman There’s no way we at Friends For Life Animal Shelter can handle all of Houston, Texas’s feline behavior needs, but sometimes it seems like there’s no avoiding it. Not a single day goes by that we aren’t called by a desperate adopter, completely at their wits’ end. What’s even more alarming is knowing that the ones who reach out are just the tip of the iceberg: only a fraction of pet caregivers tend to contact behavior professionals, even though doing so reduces the risk… Continued
Slipping and Sliding
By Diane Garrod It is no fun for a dog who is scared of walking on shiny floors. Slipping and sliding and being worried or afraid every step of the way can diminish confidence. Yet one can find countless videos on YouTube of people amused at their elderly dog having a hard time walking on a slippery floor, or at dogs of all ages sliding across shiny floors. In reality, it is no laughing matter. Dogs afraid of shiny floors could, in fact, be crying out for help. For example,… Continued
Defying the Stereotype
By Dee Goings When people think of a Rottweiler, they often think, unfortunately, of a large hulking mass on a choke chain or shock collar. My girl, Ripley, could not be more different. She came to me from a family who had purchased her from a working dog breeder and had her flown out to them. At 12 weeks, when she started teething, they gave her a dustpan to chew on. She then started using the owner as a chew toy and so they called me. At the age of… Continued
Switched Off?…Time to Switch Back In
How often do you feel you really connect with your dog? I mean really? Do you feel that you understand how she feels? Do you recognize that things have changed? For example, maybe healthwise your dog is not quite as fit as she used to be and doesn’t want to walk as far. Maybe she is experiencing some pain in her muscles or joints. Maybe something else is going on. Is she less social with other dogs or people as she used to be? Is friction occurring in situations where… Continued
It’s Not Them – It’s You
By Andrea Carne Aggression in cats. It’s a sensitive and difficult issue for many cat owners and one that can lead to relinquishment or even euthanasia – particularly when the behavior is directed towards the humans of the household. In such situations, in my experience at least, the blame is often placed directly on the cat itself. I have lost count of the number of owners who have contacted me about their cat’s aggressive behavior, saying the cat is “wired wrong” (or called them various names which aren’t fit for… Continued
Great Expectations
By Rachel Brix Depending on the area you are looking in, there may be a variety of boarding facilities to choose from, so it can be a daunting task to try to figure out which one is the best place for your dog to stay. Budget is, of course, always a consideration, but beyond that how do you choose? In my experience, there are a number of factors to think about, and also some red flags to look out for. Personality: Selecting a boarding facility should be as much about… Continued
The Physical Effects of Harmful Training Devices
By Niki Tudge and Susan Nilson* In addition to the potential psychological effects of using training devices that cause pain or evoke fear, there is also the issue of possible physical damage to consider. We present here a variety of perspectives offered by veterinarians, canine research scientists, a professional dog trainer, and an engineer: Thyroid Gland “The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ just in front of the larynx and trachea, and the mandibular salivary glands are found on the side of the face just below the ears. Thus, they… Continued
Is Love Enough?
By June Pennell I would love to be able to say that love is enough to help a troubled dog. Indeed, perhaps it is enough for a dog without any behavior issues or a troubled background. Perhaps. But although the idea that you can help a dog (in this case, one who is reactive towards other dogs or strangers) purely by showing him that he is loved may be an attractive one, is it actually possible? I would say, “probably not.” So many of us (me included) would like our… Continued
A Life without Pets
By Fiona De Rosa and Fiona Warton As the aging population of the western world increases, more people are finding themselves moving from their own homes and into aged care accommodations. This can mean that companion animals get left behind, with the new living arrangements unable to accommodate pets. At this time of life, it can be especially distressing for older people to leave not only their community and social networks, but their companion animals too. It is undoubtedly a less than ideal scenario, given that research shows companion animals… Continued
Stimulation for Psittacines
By Amy Martin Physical and mental stimulation is vital to every species on the planet. Squid, poison dart frogs, pigs, rats, cats, tortoises, spiders, jaguars, sheep, dogs, ferrets, parrots, you name it, they all need daily stimulation. Enrichment is a fundamental component of responsible, preventative companion parrot care. But how can we ensure the parrots we care for are getting enough? Vital For Well-Being Studies have shown that when animals are provided with a stimulating environment, they are less stressed, live longer and are better able to develop problem-solving skills,… Continued
The Problem with “Furry Little Humans”
By Andrea Carne Let’s open this discussion with the whole cats vs. dogs “thing.” Honestly, why do we continue to debate this ongoing battle of the species? Social media is filled with cartoons and memes depicting the supposedly obvious differences and, while I can enjoy the funny side as much as anyone else, there is a serious side to the argument when it comes to actual research. Case in point: A new study by Chijiiwa et al. (2021) on cat behavior has already gained a lot of press this year,… Continued
Case Study: From Reactive to Relaxed
By Dr. Sheryl L. Walker Of all my years studying animal behavior and consulting with individual clients and animal shelters, there was one case in particular that stood out, partly because it featured two incredibly dedicated guardians. Ironically, it was also one of my most complex cases. It was a case of canine anxiety- and pain-induced dog-directed aggression involving a young neutered male named Gerhardt who had approximately six bite events between August 2009 and November 2012, beginning when he was approximately 7 months old. The environmental trigger, initially, seemed… Continued
Stress-Free Car Travel with Your Dog
Just recently I’ve helped several owners with dogs who’ve developed real aversions to car travel. Definitely this hasn’t been helped by not going places in the car during lockdown. Maybe these dogs haven’t set foot in the car at all but now they’re expected to just jump right in. But what if they are not comfortable to do so? What can we do to set our dogs up for easy, trouble free car travel? Happy car experiences should be part of the ‘habituation collage’ you put together as a new… Continued
Empowerment for a Better Quality of Life
By Miki Saito When looking after a blind dog, it is vital to know his abilities as well as his challenges so we do not limit his world any more than necessary. Blind dogs still need to explore and achieve things on their own. All we have to do is set up their environment differently and approach training in a new way to ensure their safety. We need to consider the potential frustration, confusion and fear caused by the loss of vision. With this in mind we need to help… Continued
Playing It Safe
By Andrea Carne “Play with your cat more – and give him a meaty diet…” I wouldn’t be surprised if variations on this kind of advice has been given by vets and cat behavior consultants over the eons. And indeed, in addition to being supportive of feline well-being in general, a new study suggests it could also reduce hunting behavior and, perhaps more importantly for many cat guardians, reduce the number of prey animals brought home as unwanted “gifts.” The study, conducted by Martina Cecchetti and colleagues from the University… Continued
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