Animals Unfolded

Flickr photo by Anders.Bachmann This is been a year of change for a lot of people in my social circle who share life with animal companions. For most of them, they knew that the inevitable was coming: an aged pet gracefully navigating twilight time, with the accompanying bumps along the way. For others, death came unexpectedly or early. None of us who share their life with a pet is immune to seeing them through their final transition. As one client remarked a few days ago when I shared that Bruiser, our 13-year-old Labrador was recently diagnosed with metastatic cancer, "...it never seems right that our dearest loved ones live for so short of time." The fact that we all grieve the loss of our animal companions is evident. But there's more to the equation. In my experience as a caregiver of varying species of animals, I know that the dynamics among the non-human members of a family change noticeably when a pet dies — or throughout the process of navigatin...

Flickr photo by normack Scams of all kinds are all too common, and it seems that those behind them become more crafty and heartless as the days go by. Those involving pets for financial gain — two in particular — are a growing problem. One that you may have heard of by way of the media in recent months, dog flipping, is harrowing not only for the humans who own the dogs, but the animals themselves. No acrobatics involved Dog flipping — essentially when one person finds a lost pet, or worse, steals them — and sells them for a profit (or at least attempts to). The practice can also affect unsuspecting people who has unknowingly acquired a dog who has been flipped. With avenues like Craigslist available, it's quite easy for flippers to move the dogs quickly. Ads posted on sites like this by the dog's “owner” (the flipper) often cite that they can no longer afford to keep the pet, or that they're moving, or any other heartfelt plea that might elicit a lot ...

Flickr photo by genista When I'm on a meet and greet with a new family, there are always a lot of specifics when it comes to taking care of dogs, cats, exotic birds — and even some amphibians. Along the way, it's not been uncommon at the end of the visit for client to say "Oh, I forgot about the goldfish . Could you give them a little food each day? They're my son's — he won them at the carnival last year and they're still plugging along, believe it it not." I usually make good notes on a clients file if this is the case, and ask more questions. I usually hear a quick chuckle at that notion, but I know all too well feeding fish a specific amount of food is crucial. Overfeeding is never a good idea; too much food can contaminate the water, as well as create a higher output of waste. And being flippant as to whether they have enough food, well to me, that's just cruel. It's my philosophy that caring for a goldfish is as important as prop...

Flickr photo by 23am Dogs learn valuable skills throughout their lifetimes. Some of these learned skills are the result of experiential learning through interaction with other animals, while others are learned by living amongst humans. In the latter case, that's a combination of the simple day-to-day exchanges that we have (picking up on cues that we silently give; this is part of socialization), as well as the more obvious training that we initiate. Training is important for a lot of reasons: it designates clear limits and boundaries, expectations and offers an enhanced way for dog and human to establish communication in this very human world. Think of it this way: we as the responsible humans understand all-too-well the unpredictability that daily life can bring, and it's up to us to teach and reinforce specific, simple commands that are incorporated into training to help them navigate any situation that might avail itself. Likely, the most valuable command — ...

Flickr photo by EraPhernalia Village “I can’t believe that as someone who knows as much as you do about the pet food industry, that you don’t feed a homemade diet,” an acquaintance of mine asserted a few months ago. “Doing otherwise is so risky…” I think it’s safe to say that the topic of the diet of companion animals evokes a lot of emotion in pet owners. It’s no surprise, really. Although the pet food industry was branching and embracing a holistic, natural approach a few years ago, the largest pet food recall in history surely propelled the movement to consider what pets are eating everyday a bit more closely. Then, a far-reaching recall involving Diamond Pet Foods seemed to be the tipping point for a lot of people. It’s one thing for quality control tests to occasionally find salmonella contamination in a batch of food, but as many of you have noted in your emails and phone calls to me, for one company to overlook such huge lapses in the safety and quality during p...

Gretchen, around 8-10 weeks of age. Training had by that time already started. Ideas in dog training and understanding canine behavior have certainly come a long way in the past 15 years or so. My Gretchen is almost as old, and I have to say that I wasn't comfortable with every aspect of some of the popular methods that were around back then when she was a puppy. No, let me rephrase that: I wasn't comfortable with most of them. Those were the days before puppy classes and hiring the expertise of a professional dog trainer were the norm, I should note. But being totally engaged with the prospect of unfolding what would become an adult dog who was able to think independently and control herself with a fair amount of finesse in our very-human world was paramount. "Doing the hard work now will pay off for a lifetime," was my mantra. But the lack of what I felt were good resources in dog training back then did get me thinking about what I knew in my gut: forging good ...

Flickr photo by greencolander What was once thought to be strictly a compulsive disorder in dogs could very well be easily explained, and the problem quickly resolved. Excessive licking of surfaces , or ELS, is something that I hear families mention when I'm meeting their pet for the first time, as I inquire if there are any health issues or behaviors that I ought to be aware of.  Dogs who engage in ELS will lick the bare floor, carpeting, furniture, walls -- just about anything. Often thought of as a behavioral problem, a lot of times, the behavior doesn't meet any resolution and can potentially result in a life-threatening intestinal blockage that requires surgery in a small number of cases as hair and fibers may be ingested. Researchers now believe that ELS could simply be a clue that something else is up. A study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior details the outcome of two groups of dogs — 19 presenting with ELS and 10 healthy canines as the co...