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Latest Behavior Articles
How Good Are You at Assessing Your Animal’s Emotional State?
By Karolina Westlund Ph.D. of PPG corporate partner Illis Animal Behaviour Consulting
I recently did a little experiment on Facebook.
First, my friends and followers helped me name the company’s new mascot, and they also told me what species he was.
Apparently, he’s a racado ...
What Makes a Cat a Cat?
By Dr. Liz Bales
What is the essence of a cat? When we understand what motivates a cat’s behavior, we understand what to expect from a cat — as a human companion and a companion to other cats in our homes. With this information, we can rethink the criteria for a minimally satisfactory ...
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My Dogs Do Know Sit! A Hint for Training the Sit Stay
Turns out my dogs do know sit.
About two years ago, I wrote a post called, “My Dogs Don’t Know Sit!”. I described how my dogs couldn’t hold a sit stay when I stood still right in front of them. I analyzed the problem, and my conclusion was ...
Halloween Hazards for Pets
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. A bag full of treats and scary costumes make me happy, but these things can be a real terror for some pets. Hazards come in two flavors: environmental and edibles.
I once trained a Dachshund ...
An Open Letter To Pet Owners About The Pet Professional Guild’s Shock-Free Coalition
According to the American Pet Products Association (2017), 68 percent of Americans return home to a pet (or pets) each day. An estimated 48 percent of US residents are dog owners while 38 percent share their home with a cat (or cats). In spite ...
Just Say No to Saying “NO!”
It’s almost a reflex. There goes Rover, in hot pursuit of the cat, or gnawing on the sofa, or slurping at your dinner plate, or barking threats at squirrels...and we just need it to STOP, so we shout “NO!”
Then one of several things happens: ...
How Cats Play
By Beth Adelman
Playing with your cat is not just fun and games. Play relieves boredom and stress, and can even help control behavior problems. In fact, a wide variety of feline behavior problems, from aggression to destructiveness to ...
Ping Pong Recalls
When I ask new puppy owners 'what are the most important objectives for you and your new pup?' you can bet that right at the very top of that list is 'I want to be able to let my dog off lead and for her to come back when called!' I think ...
Front Door Freakout
If you come to my house, brace yourself.
You walk up the stairs, ring the doorbell. Suddenly...the shrieking of a hundred banshees? Maybe an exorcism in progress? Or fiery-eyed, froth-mawed Cerberus guarding the gates of Hades?
Nope. It’s ...
Pain Underlying
By Dr. Lynn Bahr
Most people who work professionally with cats know what stoic creatures they are and how well they can hide their pain. There are many different theories as to why this is. Until relatively recently, it was thought cats did ...