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 […]
Coronavirus and Pets: It’s Safe to Keep Your Dog
Health
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 […]
What’s New in Pet Play, Care: Global Pet Expo Report
Exercise & Enrichment, Travel & Safety
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 […]
Masters of Meow: Feline Vocalizations
Behavior
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!” […]
Smell of Success: Scent Enrichment for Cats
Exercise & Enrichment
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, […]
Dogs in Yards: Are They Happy?
Exercise & Enrichment
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 […]
Surprising Things Pet Insurance Covers: What You Might Not Know
Health, Kittens & Puppies, Travel & Safety, Vet Visits
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 […]
