Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 4 minutes More than 30 years ago, I said to my husband, “Someday I’d like a gray kitty – a Russian Blue.” Armed with an issue of Cat Fancy, he found a breeder in New Jersey and we traveled two-plus hours to pick up Ashley, my first Russian Blue. Thus began a love affair that continues to […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s a sad fact that roughly six million dogs and a similar number of cats are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States, according to the Animal Cancer Foundation. No animal lover wants to hear the dreaded “C” word, but many of us have or will. Colorado resident Britton Slagle knows the pain […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes What is the most critical period of your puppy’s life? It’s not her first snowfall, the day you met, or the first time she sits when you ask her to. It’s the time between roughly 3 and 14 weeks known as the “socialization period.” Pet owners often ask what’s so important about this time. They […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes Capybaras were almost unknown in the United States a few years ago. Now the world’s largest rodents star in memes about how chill and friendly they are. There’s even a Tumblr of Animals Sitting on Capybaras. And if you’ve ever seen a photo of a pet capybara sitting on a sofa, there’s a good chance […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes June is both the ASPCA’s Adopt a Shelter Cat Month and the American Humane Association’s Adopt a Cat Month. Either way, it’s a very special month for cats. Cats definitely need adopting. According to the ASPCA, about 3.2 million cats enter shelters annually. However, only about half are adopted. While some are euthanized for medical […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Picture this. You work in an open-plan office, but you simply don’t get along with the person in the desk alongside yours. Or someone in the office insists on wearing perfume that gives you a headache. Once you leave that office environment and go home, it’s fine, but the tension starts up again the next […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Dr. Jane Goodall hadn’t heard about Fear Free, but the idea resonates with her. Considering animal emotions is something she once fought for. It’s hard to think of Goodall as a controversial figure, but when she first began her observational notes on chimpanzee behavior at Gombe National Park in Tanzania in the early 1960s, she […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes There may be nothing on earth cuter than two cats cuddled up in the same cat bed. But while those particular cats may be willing to share a bed, that doesn’t mean they’re okay about sharing everything. Cats don’t actually share well. The reasons for that have as much to do with territory as they […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Everyone knows dogs love to sniff, but we tend to think of it as a distraction, that walks should be for exercise, not wasting time dawdling and sniffing. But exercising an animal’s mind is important too, and a substantial part of the dog brain is devoted to smells. A study–“Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not only people who suffer from stress; our pets most certainly do, too. The question is, could you unknowingly be the cause of some of your pet’s anxiety? Everyday noises and events that humans take for granted, for instance, can cause pets to be fearful and anxious. And because pets, like people, react differently […]