How Cats Hear, See, and Feel
Behavior
In a previous post I talked about how cats’ very different senses mean they do not experience the world the same way we do. That is certainly true for a cat’s superior sense of hearing. Cats can hear a mouse squeaking underground or a cockroach scurrying inside the wall. Their amazing ears enable them to […]
Cabin Fever: Keep Kids and Pets Happy in Isolation
Exercise & Enrichment
Got bored kids, dogs, and cats at home because of the quarantine? To the rescue are two new books by Fear Free contributor Arden Moore, herself a Fear Free certified professional. She has written “A Kid’s Guide To Cats” and “A Kid’s Guide To Dogs” (Storey Publishing, ebook, $9.99, paperback, $14.95). Both are filled with […]
How to Teach Your Dog to Love Swimming
Kittens & Puppies, Training, Travel & Safety
Before our litter of Labrador retriever puppies went to their new homes, they learned to swim. Some would live at lake homes, others on the beach, and one went to canoe enthusiasts, so it was important to teach them not to be afraid of water. Even if your dog is an adult or senior or […]
Mindfulness Tools Help With Grief
Relationships
Losing beloved cats, whether death is sudden or gradual, is a big deal. Even though I’ve been through at least 15 of these passings, my human mind can’t wrap my head around my companion’s absence. How can a being who means so much be gone? How can that bond be suddenly severed? How can we […]
Scents and Scentsability: Feline Senses of Smell and Taste
Behavior
The way our cats experience the world is different from the way we experience it, because their senses are tuned differently. We know a lot about feline senses, but all that knowledge gives only tantalizing clues to how they perceive their world. We can’t know what it feels like to be a cat. Still, these […]
Canine Separation Anxiety: Home Alone! An Anxious and Fearful Time for Some Dogs
Behavior, Fears & Anxieties
What is Canine Separation Anxiety? Have you ever come home to find your dog has redecorated your house, chewed on the windowsill, or urinated/defecated on the floor? Or perhaps your neighbor runs out to greet you and tells you your dog has been barking incessantly ever since you left. If so, your dog could have […]
Quash Quarantine Qualms: Brain Games to the Rescue
Exercise & Enrichment
Are you and your dogs stuck at home hiding out from the coronavirus? They’re probably wondering why they’re not getting as many walks or car rides to different places. Changes in their routine can be stressful. You can help to reduce their stress—and yours—with some mental activities that are perfect not just when a pandemic […]
Declawing Changes Are Good for Cats
Behavior
After fits and starts, the momentum to ban declawing of cats is building, supported by veterinary hospitals and associations, and legislation that has been passed in cities and states. Most recently, Banfield, VCA, and BluePearl veterinary hospitals, a chain of nearly 2,000 clinics owned by Mars Inc., will no longer declaw cats as elective surgery. […]
Learning Theory 101: Modern Training Techniques
Behavior, Training
If you’re a fan of Animal Planet, National Geographic, or other cable and or streaming networks, you’ve probably seen one of the many animal training programs these stations broadcast. Methods used by the featured trainers range from positive reinforcement, such as using food and treats to strengthen a behavior, to aversive techniques such as positive […]
COVID-19 and Pets: What to Know
Health
So far, with more than 446,000 identified cases worldwide of COVID-19 (a figure that’s rapidly rising)– and an unknown number who have been infected but have not had any symptoms or minimal symptoms – only one companion animal has been found to have the virus, and even that incident is unclear. On February 28 a […]
