Animals Unfolded

Here’s a follow up to an idea that I posted to Facebook in March.  We all know how vital the notion of having the most helpful and awesome tools are to interacting effectively, efficiently and safely with the pets in our life. The same is true for thinking about the economy of it all. Stuff is expensive.  I frequently keep commercially available baby food pouches on hand and use (upon family’s consent) as a tool with pets to provide a distraction from unpleasant things during vet visits. They’re also useful when traditional treats (reinforcers) aren’t enough I need to employ a high value reinforcer to get the behaviors I want and need from a dog or a cat, and my hands need to stay clean.  Reusable baby food pouches are a great option that is consistent with a set of strategies that encompass the Fear Free philosophy , and they meet the requirement of being affordable while being able to deliver whatever tasty, puréed/slurried food reinforcer a pet deems to be one that is...

I often come into a family’s life at a time that’s fraught with fear of the known and unknown, sadness, murky territory. Did I mention tension?  That kind of strain is so pervasive in the area of the fourth life stage and end-of-life. And when it involves our pets, it can be very complicated. No matter if there is one human involved, or   multiple members of a family, the tension is expected. It’s an understandably scary time. In my years working with families finding themselves walking in what some have initially characterized as quicksand, bearing witness to words being tossed like the harshest of barbs is par for the course.  Recalling a stern warning from the instructor at the helm of the professional end-of-life doula training that I took part in years ago, I thought,  ah... I recognize that. “You should not be tolerating verbal abuse in the course of your work...”  And the instructor is absolutely correct: as a professional, as a human being, I need not in...

Over the past few days, here in Southeast Michigan, we've been hearing murmurings of a rare winter storm event -- Bombogenesis -- that will evidently matierialize later this weekend. It seems important to highlight the inherent challenges this weather event can pose to sharing life with pets, along with some ideas to keep everyone safe. Bring your outdoor pets inside. Check for breaches in your yard fencing and inspect the latches on your fence gates before letting your pets loose in the backyard. Keep the deadbolts on your home's doors locked to guard against the extreme wind blowing the doors open, allowing pets to escape. The noise from the wind can trigger a sense of unease with some pets. Consider playing background noise like talk radio or soothing music to buffer anything going on outdoors. Synthetic pheromone products like Feliway for cats and Adaptil for dogs can help promote a sense of calm. During times of noisy, turbulent weather, pets have a higher inci...

“Bumble has been behaving oddly the past few weeks, and I’ve been concerned about that, given that she’s so young and has been healthy. She’s been urinating in the house, and at times seems so touchy. You know her pretty well -- any ideas??” This was an email that I got a few weeks ago, and the question, well, it’s not all that unusual. I decided to call Bumble’s human, rather than email back, since it seemed like the best way to get to a solution. We chatted for a bit, talking about what was going on in her family’s life, and then I asked some more questions that ranged from if there were any changes in the dog’s appetite, her water intake, bowel movements, any disinterest in her usual favored things or activities, apprehension with other pets -- any small detail. A couple of things had accompanied the inappropriate elimination, including some sleep changes and being withdrawn at times. She even snapped at the vet staff -- something that was very uncharacteristic of her, a...

Health care has been a hot topic in the recent election, and it's no wonder: the cost has risen along with the advances that have been made in medical treatment. Those of us who share life with pets know that the same holds true in veterinary medicine. While the basic medical care and preventative services are fairly affordable, treatment for other things like chronic conditions, surgeries, alternative treatments and care by a veterinary specialist cost more and for some families, they can be out of reach.  Pet health insurance can help defer  the financial burden of medical care. As someone who did not take advantage of that option as it had gained popularity during the latter part of my pet's lives, I admit that I wish I had. I had put away extra money for their care and was able to manage paying for four hospitalizations—which included two surgeries—as well as some alternative treatment to complement the traditional treatment plans to address their needs. If I hadn't,...

Before too long, we’ll be relishing longer days, and warmer temperatures  -- but first we’ll be adjusting our clocks. This coming weekend, we’ll be setting our timepieces forward for daylight savings time (DST). Though that task doesn’t seem challenging, we’ll be slogging through the first few days of having lost that hour of sleep. So tough, right?  For many households, it’s not just the biped members of the family that will need to adjust: our pets will right there along with us, and that can throw a wrench into things. Despite the fact that pets are not on a circadian rhythm as we are (though cats are crepescular), they are very much in tune to our schedules and habits, no matter what those are. Though mine is very much a household without canines for now, I had to laugh every year during those first few days after daylight savings time when Gretchen -- who was always the kind of dog that was all too happy to sleep in -- would raise her head and give the loo...

Having lots of hands-on experience with exotic birds, I can tell you they're not only a lot of fun to spend time with, but require a lot of your time and diligence, just like any other pet. Whether you're talking about parrots, cockatoos, macaws – even parakeets – being able to keep track of how they're feeling and cleaning up after them easily is a must. (Yes, they're all messier than you'd think!) As a caregiver, this is especially important. Having that well in hand enables me to spend more time with them doing equally important things, like creating foraging toys for them, preparing fresh meals and interacting. Enclosures vary from bird to bird, and that has a lot to do with affordability, and the size of the animal. One thing that they all have in common is that there is some sort of tray on the bottom to catch droppings and of course the food that invariably makes its way down, which is covered with some sort of substrate.  There are many cho...

The sensory systems of animals play a crucial role in the way that each animal interacts, whether that is intraspecifically (as in locating a mate or fighting over food) or interspecifically, where animals of different species might compete for resources, like light, or if they are engaged in a predator-prey interaction. The latter is a good example of how the limitations of sensory systems work within the construct of different species: having the ability to track fast-moving objects like prey, or avoid being an unwitting target becomes essential. Sensory limitations and spacial acuity in animals have been studied before, but the temporal resolution at which the information that an animal perceives hasn't garnered as much scrutiny. The way that animals process information over fine time scales is basic to how they survive in their habitat. Researchers from the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and Universities of Edinburg and St. Andrews set out t...

Exotic birds are interesting, intelligent creatures and are no different than other species of captive pets in that they gain pleasure from eating. It's not hard to get them to eat by and large, though some birds not exposed to a varied diet from a tender age can be quite fussy. Much like their exotic mammalian counterparts, they have preferences when it comes to food, and care needs the taken with their diet to ensure that it's balanced. Too much of one thing and not enough of another (including exercise) can lead to dietary deficiencies and obesity, which in turn can lead to illnesses like heart disease . Fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts and some seeds are beneficial to maintain not only physical health, but when they are offered in ways that enable birds to forage, they gain the benefits derived from that activity. ( Click here for more on creating edible foraging toys for birds.) Omelets are a great way to include a bird's favorite grains, legumes, seeds, fruit...

Play is something that we often forget about participating in as we age. We usually are reminded of how good it feels to partake in it when we have children, or for a lot of us, when we have pets. With that in mind, it's helpful to turn the tables and be mindful of how beneficial it is for our pets. As ethologists have learned from discoveries in their research, play isn't just a fun thing to do — it's vital. You see, as humans, during the process of play we learn, grow, think, reason, step outside of our comfort zone and acquire new skills in the process. We know from research that's been done that this is the case with animals, too. Learn more about how play is integral in brain development and enhancement by clicking here . And, as Jaak Panksepp, Ph.D. — an author and researcher — indicates, depriving young animals of play puts them at a disadvantage: it affects the maturation of the brain. His research showed evidence that the simple act of play increase...