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Resources

Training Dogs – Greeting Behavior, Jumping Up

Rather than focusing on how to stop jumping up, teach your dog to greet visitors properly.

How can I prevent my dog from jumping up on others and me? For many dogs, jumping up on people is part of their greeting routine. Often, owners have tried to discourage this behavior using methods such as squeezing the front feet, stepping on the dog’s toes, or kneeing the dog in the chest. Yet […]

Scratching Behavior in Cat

With a good understanding of cat behavior owners can usually avoid most clawing problems.

Why do cats scratch? Scratching is a normal feline behavior. Although scratching does serve to shorten and condition the claws, other important reasons why cats scratch are to mark their territory (both visibly and with the scent of the foot pads) and to stretch. Some cats may increase their territorial marking (e.g. scratching, urine marking) […]

Puppy – Socialization and Fear Prevention

The first 12 -16 weeks can be the most important time for young puppies to learn about their environment.

What is socialization? This is the period in a puppy’s life where it develops relationships with other living beings and also learns how to behave and act in new experiences. While socialization takes place throughout the first year of life, the first 12 -16 weeks seem to be the most important time for young puppies […]

Obesity in Cats – Behavioral Issues

Animals, like people, often take weeks or months to shed unwanted pounds.

My cat is overweight and I have tried putting him on different diets from the veterinarian but without success-is there anything else I can do to help him lose weight? Losing weight is often a difficult process and animals, like people, often take weeks or months to shed those unwanted pounds. Feeding a prescription weight […]

Nutrition – General Feeding Guidelines for Dogs

An appropriate amount of a well-balanced diet is vital to a dog's overall health and well-being.

Perhaps the most common question pet owners ask their veterinarian is “What should I feed my dog?” Feeding your dog an appropriate amount of a well-balanced diet is vital to its overall health and well-being. To understand how and what to feed your dog, you need to understand what the nutritional requirements of the dog […]

Nutrition – Feeding Guidelines for Cats

Feeding your cat the appropriate amount of a well balanced diet is vital to her overall health and well-being

Feeding your cat the appropriate amount of a well balanced diet is vital to the maintenance of overall health and well-being, just as eating a well balanced diet is for us. In order to understand how and what to feed cats, it is necessary to understand how the nutritional requirements of the cat have developed […]

Marking Behavior in Dogs

Leaving a scent mark with urine is a normal dog communicative behavior.

What does it mean if my dog is urinating on upright objects? Dogs “mark” by urinating on upright objects Leaving a scent mark with urine is a normal dog communicative behavior. Marking is most likely to occur on or near new or novel odors, especially the urine left by other dogs. The volume of urine […]

Kitten – Using the Litter Box

The litter box should be placed in a location that is easily accessed by the cat, yet out of the way.

Do I need to train my new kitten to use a litter box? Most cats by nature prefer to use a soil type surface for elimination. By providing a litter box with an appropriate and appealing substrate (material), few cats will need to be trained to use it. At about 30-36 days of age kittens […]

Kitten – Socialization and Fear Prevention

The first 1 to 3 months of life are critical periods in the social development of a cat.

What is socialization? Socialization is the process during which the kitten develops relationships with other living beings in its environment. What is habituation? As cats develop, there are numerous stimuli (sounds, smells, sights and events) that, when they are unfamiliar, can lead to fear and anxiety. Habituation is the process of getting used to and […]

House Soiling Synopsis in Cats

Inappropriate elimination is the most common behavioral complaint of cat owners.

House-soiling or feline inappropriate elimination, is the most common behavioral complaint of cat owners. The problem may be urine and/or stool deposited outside of the litter box, or marking behaviors. When cats urinate on vertical surfaces, it is known as spraying or marking. Usually the cat backs up to a vertical surface, raises its tail, […]

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