Feline Behavior Unmasked: Emesis in Cats – Common but Not Normal
By Dr. Liz Bales Q: I have 2 cats. One throws up constantly. She has thicker fur (she a tortie) than the other. I try to brush her as often as I can but she’s not a huge fan. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! A: This is such an important and misunderstood topic. We can help a lot of cats and the people who love them with this information. Most cat parents deal with cat vomit. Vomit is so common in the regular life with cats that we have… Continued
The Five Freedoms and Shirley
I had planned to write about a different topic today, but life often gets in the way of our plans — such as having to euthanize one of my pets yesterday. She was just shy of 15 years and that is very old, for sheep. Her name was Shirley and she has a story to tell. My wife and I first met Shirley in the spring of 2006 at a lambing event on a nearby farm. There must have been 100 sheep with scores of their babies, all available for… Continued
Jumping…A Perfectly Incompatible Solution!
As an animal behavior consultant, one of the most frequently asked questions I hear is, ‘How do I stop my dog from jumping up?’ Now there are, of course, multiple reasons why dogs may jump up – excitement, learned responses to given contexts, continued reinforcement (whether intended or not), or anxiety, to name a few. The first point I would make is that identification of the causes of jumping is paramount – what is the dog thinking and feeling in a given situation that drives the behavior? What is his… Continued
Guess What – That Dog Video Is Probably Fake!
By Eileen Anderson Many of us are beguiled by videos where dogs appear to be doing something very human or beyond what we usually consider to be their intelligence level, and some creators of dog videos exploit this tendency to get clicks. They make it appear that the dog is doing something he is not, or attribute some pretend, human-centric motivation or interest. And there are people who are willing to alter videos or create mashups so one of these things appears to be happening. Innocent Misrepresentation of Dogs Some… Continued
Feline Behavior Unmasked: Kitten Socialization
By Francine Miller Q: Should I socialize my kitten? I’ve heard that this is important for puppies, but is it important for kittens too? A: Yes! Although very few people are aware of how important this is, the socialization period is the time when all primary social bonds are formed and constitutes the single most important period during the cat’s life. During this phase, striking behavioral changes occur because of growth and experience. Socialization can occur between a kitten and humans, or between a kitten and its “natural enemies,” such… Continued
Feline Behavior Unmasked: Why Cats Paw at Water
By Tabitha Kucera Q: Why does my cat paw at the water in her bowl prior to drinking it? A: Pawing at, playing with or even splashing in a water dish is not as strange for cats as you might think. There are multiple reasons that may be motivating your cat to do this. Cats’ whiskers are very sensitive because they are filled with sensory collecting nerves that collect information about objects, vibrations, and wind currents around the cat. Some cats may become uncomfortable when their whiskers are regularly being squished… Continued
Icy Conditions Put People and Pets at Risk
My childhood winters were cold and snowy and I do not remember any freezing rain when I walked to school or played outside. Climate change has since warmed our region and I now find myself having to deal with winter rain, often creating unsafe icy conditions. That makes daily animal care far riskier. For one month last winter in southern Wisconsin (USA) we had intermittent light snow and freezing rain. My barnyard, driveway and the trails upon which I walked my dogs became dangerously slick. Just walking 100 yards up… Continued
3 Reasons a Little Dog Might Not Lie Down on Cue
By Eileen Anderson When I first started training dogs, things that didn’t work were a mystery to me. Why couldn’t I reward Summer with chasing squirrels like everybody said I could? Why couldn’t I find that slot in the layout of her teeth where the experienced trainers said she should hold the dumbbell? And why, oh why, could I not teach Cricket to lie down on cue? At first, I saw everything through the lens of disobedience: my dogs were wrong when things didn’t work out. As I learned more… Continued
Feline Behavior Unmasked: Nighttime Wakefulness
By Paula Garber Q: Why does my cat wake me up in the middle of the night? Is it because cats are nocturnal? A: Cats are actually crepuscular, which means they tend to be most active at dawn and dusk when the animals they prey upon (e.g., rodents and birds) are most active. This activity pattern often doesn’t match the owner’s schedule of getting up, going to work all day, and then coming home to relax and unwind. Many cats adjust their activity patterns to those of their owners, but… Continued
The Top Ten New Simple Solutions to Help You and Your Dog in the New Year
Helping Pet Dog Guardians Get It Right! Did you know that good management is an essential part of any training or behavioral change plan? In fact, management is an important part of your dog’s life, in the same way that it’s important to manage your children’s environment. If your dog is behaving in a way you do not like, then limit his opportunity to practice the unwanted behavior. Management strategies can be put in place while you learn how to teach your dog new and more appropriate behaviors. Here are… Continued
A Little Doggy “Me Time” this Holiday Season!
Okay, you’ve unwrapped the pressies, eaten the turkey, spent time with the family, watched endless hours of TV….what next? If you’ve got the luxury of some time off, why not use the festive period to spend a little more time with your dog, building relationships or even future planning? 1 – Walks for you and your dog only – Take some time to enjoy each other’s company – no phones, no headphones – nothing! Just you and your dog! Watch what your dog does on walks, how he interacts with other… Continued
The Problem with Shock
By Angelica Steinker It isn’t that shock collar training doesn’t work, because it does. The question is at what price? Some extremely skilled trainers may be able to offset some of the problems shock collars can cause. However, shock collars are for sale at almost every pet store making them readily accessible to the general public. A shock collar can potentially lead to very serious problems. There are a multitude of other powerful training options including obedience, behavior management, and positive reinforcement. Malfunction The first potential problem is that the… Continued
Opinion: Puppies Are Poor Christmas Gifts
It may be tempting for parents to get a puppy for their kids as a special Christmas gift. We have probably all seen TV programs and holiday movies where that scene played out joyfully on screen. And there was always a happy ending. But Christmas puppies do not always have happy endings. Modern families seem busier than ever. Often, both parents work full time, the kids are away at school during the day and are being transported to and from athletic and social activities on weeknights and weekends. That leaves… Continued
Living and Working with Deaf Dogs
By Morag Heirs Our canine companions are remarkably adaptable and, based on current thinking, this ability has allowed them to take advantage of the rubbish dumps created by primitive humans and shaped the transformation from wolf-like ancestor through to domesticated dog. I often feel that their talent at interpreting our sometimes hurried and chaotic verbal language is nothing short of miraculous! In some ways then, the deaf or partially-deafened dog has an advantage over the hearing dog. Born with restricted senses, these dogs not only are largely oblivious to our… Continued
“I Will Never Use the Shock Collar Again!”
By Eileen Anderson This is a story from a client of one of my professional trainer friends. Let’s call my friend “Phoebe.” My friend had met the client for some coaching for her young, exuberant dog, Raven. But it was a very long distance for the client to come. My friend received this email after she hadn’t heard from the client in a while. Some details were altered for privacy, but I’ve left the email essentially as the client wrote it because she tells the story so eloquently. I am… Continued
Perfect Dog? What You Put In Is What You Get Out
So many times people say to me – your dog must be perfectly behaved right? Well…yes, he responds very well to what I ask him to do in various situations, but it doesn’t ‘just happen.’ It’s not something that miraculously occurs – it takes work. Unfortunately, sometimes owners enter the world of ‘dogdom’ with the expectation that a ‘perfect family pet’ is generated within the realms of a six-week puppy starter course. During this initial period, puppies are entering a rapid stage of physical, mental and social growth and learning.… Continued
They Call Him Rocket Man
Dog trainers enjoy the privileged opportunity of influencing the life and welfare of other people’s pets. With that comes great responsibility to only use methods and equipment which are modern and effective, while promoting a positive relationship as the dog becomes a full member of the family. In short, we must do everything which is in the best interest of the welfare of the pet and their family. On February 7th of 2016 I began a journey with a Welsh Terrier named Rocket, but everyone calls him Rocket Man. Rocket… Continued
The Miracle Mutt
By Gail Radtke Changing your career in your 40s is nerve-wracking at the best of times but I was lucky enough to have a very special friend to inspire and guide me towards following my passion. That special someone was Lanie, a Shar-Pei-Chow-Malamute-shepherd-mix girl who completely changed my life. Up until 2007 I had had a rewarding career at British Columbia Provincial Corrections in the Greater Vancouver area as a Correctional Supervisor and Instructor but then a car accident left me with injuries that would change my ability to carry… Continued
The Power of the Clicker
By Donna Savoie Dickens’ family purchased him from a breeder when he was five months old. The breeder did not allow the family to see the entire litter nor the dam and sire before they took him, but brought him up a flight of stairs and simply told the family, “I pick this pup for you.” The family was slightly upset by the interaction and the inability to view the entire litter or meet the dam and sire, but Dickens ran right over to them and snuggled and won them… Continued
When Food Toys “Fail”
By Eileen Anderson How many of us have heard about food-toy failures from our friends and clients? “I tried the Kong with my puppy, but she didn’t like it,” or, “My dog is not smart enough for those puzzle toys!” There is an ever-increasing variety of food toys for dogs and other animals on the market. There are toys of differing complexity. There are toys that demand problem solving and toys that necessitate complex motor skills. Dog owners are fortunate to have more and more choices to enrich their dogs’… Continued
On the Danger of Dog Collars
By Karolina Westlund Ph.D. of PPG corporate partner Illis Animal Behaviour Consulting There’s a debate raging in Sweden about whether choke collars are potentially dangerous to dogs. Pros and cons of choke collars? Photo: Elf, Wikipedia Several influential dog coaches on TV use and recommend them, other experienced dog professionals argue against them. It’s currently causing all kinds of shock waves to ripple across social media, which inspired me for a blog post. I’m not a dog owner – I’ve never owned a dog. I’m guessing that in some people’s eyes, this… Continued
All Hallows and…..All Positive
By Anna Bradley October 31 (and the following week up until November 5 here in the United Kingdom) might be exciting, colourful and full of fun and entertainment, particularly for youngsters, but for pets and pet parents it can be a stressful time. The issue has been compounded in recent years, no thanks to the easy availability of fireworks and sparklers, in the UK at least, which has meant that the former are frequently released both before and after this particular period and at erratic and unpredictable times of the… Continued
Encounter with a Poisonous Toad: How Positive Cues and Scent Games Saved the Day
In the early morning hours of a wet April in 2015, I found myself rushing my gorgeous Staffordshire bull terrier Jambo to the emergency vet. As a result of what happened on that stormy night, I shared our experience and the information that my veterinarian subsequently shared with me in a BARKS blog titled How Force-Free Training Helped Save My Dog’s Life! Here is a quick recap of what occurred: After a particularly bad thunderstorm had finally dissipated, I decided to take my two dogs out for a bathroom break… Continued
A Miniature Puppet Master
By Bob McMillan I’d heard about dogs like Bentley—manipulative, ready to take over the house and quite likely the entire block, a mastermind who bends all other dogs to his will. Bentley was my first chance to observe a Svengali of the dog world in his native habitat, which in this case was in my lap in my own home, looking up at me with huge, sincere, moist brown eyes. The little guy really had me, until a better lap came along and I watched him work his mojo on… Continued
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