Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 3 minutes 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. […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes 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 […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes With so much unknown about the novel coronavirus, are assurances about our pets’ safety reliable? And are they a risk to us? Here’s what we know today. A second dog in Hong Kong has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. His owner was diagnosed with the disease, and the German Shepherd is in quarantine along […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes 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 […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes There’s a lot of fear swirling around the novel coronavirus – what it might do to us, and what it might do to our pets. My heart broke when I heard about dogs being abandoned or killed in parts of China. Then panicked friends started texting me about a dog testing “weak positive” for COVID-19 […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes Global Pet Expo, the largest pet trade show in the United States, sets the stage for all the fun, functional, and innovative products debuting that promote the wellbeing of pets and help enhance that wonderful human-animal bond. Here are our picks of the top new cat and dog items you’ll be seeing soon. Cat Fun […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Of my two cats, Ivan is chattier with an extensive vocal repertoire. He gives a friendly “mrrp” for a greeting or invitation to play, “me-owt” when he’s at the sliding door asking to go out, and a raspy, bordering on obnoxious, “mrne-ow” when insisting on more treats. Should I ignore his appeals he yells, “ME-NOW!” […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Our cats are sensory creatures, but we often overlook their acute sense of smell. Using scent to enrich their environment offers inexpensive, effective, and fun ways to keep your cats happy, stress free, and healthy. Why Enrichment Matters An outdoor cat can chase butterflies, climb and claw trees, munch grass and mark territory, stalk critters, […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Even those of us who love dogs don’t love the sound of constant barking. One effective way to get dogs to bark their heads off is to leave them outside in a yard alone. Maybe you have a neighbor who does this, but maybe you even do it yourself, because you think your dog loves […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When my husband and I adopted our first puppy, we had no idea how much trouble the little scamp would get into. After he’d been bitten by two different dogs annoyed with his puppy antics, we invested in pet insurance to help cover Rio’s medical bills. “You’re smart to do this before he develops pre-existing […]