Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s important for dogs to get daily exercise. In fact, many of us get dogs to help ensure that we get more exercise. But life gets in the way, and sometimes walking the dog falls low on the priority list. We get it. Walking a dog can be a big commitment, especially if you have […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When I was a little girl, we’d open the door in the morning and let the dog out. When he got hungry, he’d come home, hoping it was dinner time. In between, he played with his dog friends, hunted for crabs in the lagoons the jetties made on the beach, napped on someone’s porch or […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes You have an adorable new puppy or just adopted a sweetheart of a dog from a shelter or rescue group. You can’t wait to spoil him or her rotten, right? Loving on a new pup is mandatory, sure, but it’s also important to provide him with a structured environment from day one. Setting clear expectations […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s conventional wisdom among dog trainers that a handler’s anxiety “travels down the leash” to influence the dog. To be honest, this had always sounded like some kind of woo-woo mystical nonsense to me. When I got my current extremely reactive Pug, the trainer I was working with – who I respected for being pretty […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Kids and pets go together like peanut butter and jelly. I should know. Our Pugs were my daughter Reagan’s best friends from the time she was born. Her canine “brothers” were there to greet her when we brought her home from the hospital, and it was no surprise that Reagan’s first word was a bark! […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes The human-animal bond is stronger than ever. In fact, research has found that spending time with our dogs makes us healthier.1-4 But more importantly, we enjoy being with our dogs. We like to take our dogs with us whenever possible: to the park, visiting friends and family, or on a family camping trip. The number […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes Pets are so much part of our families that it’s easy to forget they’re different from us in many ways. To give them a good life, sometimes we need to get outside our human heads and understand what’s important to another species with different senses, needs, and instincts. Zookeepers are experts at this, and we […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Earlier this year, my 15-year-old cat, Ivan, had a behavioral upheaval that required several veterinary visits, tests, medication, and weekly follow-up calls to his veterinary team. Because Ivan’s condition required tweaking until we found just-the-right remedy, I felt like a nuisance until my trusted veterinarian gave me the highest compliment. She said I am a […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes Many pets are petrified of fireworks. And no wonder: no one tells our best friends that these incredibly loud and sudden and unexplained bangs are supposed to be a celebration, not an attack. For dogs and cats, becoming startled at sudden loud sounds can be a protective response. Who knows what could be making that […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes This is Sophie. She’s a very good girl, but has been itching constantly. While her family, the Fosters, have enjoyed extra time at home together recently, Sophie’s scratching, chewing, and biting her skin is driving everyone crazy! And she’s not alone. Allergic skin disease is one of the most common reasons that pets need veterinary […]