Category: Behaviour

How to Socialize Fido During a Pandemic

3/30/2020

During this time of global uncertainty, there are parts of our lives that have been put to the back burner. If you have (or will soon have) a new puppy at home, it is imperative to keep up their socialization during these times of isolation. A puppy's critical (or social) period ranges from around 3 weeks to 3 months of age. This is the time when puppies can readily accept new things or people and still feel safe.

When a dog lacks this crucial socialization, multiple behaviour problems can arise, such as fear, anxiety and aggression.

With the following advice I hope that you can start your puppy off on the right foot. Please share this blog with as many puppy owners as you know!

First and foremost, click HERE and download the puppy socialization checklist from Dr. Sophia Yin's website. Near the end of the blog you can click on the link to download the puppy socialization checklist. It gives a good outline of all the different things puppies need to socialize to, and one can tweak these during isolation.

There are plenty of ways to expose your puppy to new things without coming into contact with other people. For example, you could allow two dogs to play while respecting the social distancing rules in your area. An adult well mannered dog could meet your puppy, provided the humans stay distanced apart.

You could walk your puppy around a shelter or other fenced in area where there are dogs in a yard or other confined areas. Allowing them to greet through the fence would be beneficial as long as the other dog(s) are showing playful behaviours. If your puppy seems nervous around certain dogs barking and lunging, give some distance, then have your pup sit and look at you and take some food. If he doesn't eat the food, gain more distance and sit and feed again until he is eating.

Using a gentle leader can help you keep your puppy's head where you need it to be, looking up at you while sitting.

Having stuffed or fake dogs to play around can also help. Play videos of other dogs barking and have your puppy eat a meal near the computer or screen the videos are coming from. This can help your puppy associate other dogs with eating yummy food.

However, socialization is not just getting your puppy used to meeting other dogs or strange people, it is EVERYTHING in this dog's world. This is easy to do from home without anyone around (you might have lots of free time right now anyway!). Again, refer to Dr. Sophia Yin's checklist.

Lastly, this is the time for puppies to learn that they can't greet everyone. I always find that people are shocked when they hear this from me. It is good for puppies to see people and not interact with them ALL the time. Teach your pup from a distance while walking down the street, to sit and look up at you while another person is passing by. Impulse control is undervalued these days and if not properly managed could lead to reactivity between dogs or people.

With everything going on in the world, making sure your puppy is well socialized can seem small. However, this time will pass and when it does, you will feel good knowing that you provided your newest family member with skills that will carry it through its entire life.

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Decoding Your Cat

5/6/2019

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Cats can sometimes seem like aliens from another planet! For those of us who share our homes with these strange creatures, it can seem impossible to understand them. They do however have some common, universal behaviours that can be decoded and I am here to help you decipher them!

Differentiating between happy and angry cats is usually pretty easy. A tail straight up in the air and ears perked forward means a happy kitty. Purring, while often indicating joy for our feline friends can also be a sign of stress so should be taken with a grain of salt. When cats are really angry or stressed, they can react by biting, scratching and hissing. But what about all of those in between emotions? Once we can recognize what they’re feeling, can we predict what they’ll do? Lets explore…

Check out this poster for some common behaviours and body postures that cats exhibit

So why does your cat enjoy and even seek petting one minute then bite or scratch you when you oblige? A cat’s body language is much more subtle than our own when they are trying to express their emotions. When your cat “suddenly” reacts negatively to petting, she has usually given you signs that you weren’t doing it quite to her liking, they were just very subtle.

Some of these signs include flicking of the tail, skin twitching, tongue flicking, and ear flattening. If she didn’t want to be petted anymore and just ran away, that would be a very clear sign that she was unhappy, but cats are usually much more cryptic. However, if she stuck around then that might mean she still wants contact, just in a different way.

Many cats have “no-touch” zones on their bodies and will react strongly if these are trespassed upon. For example, my cat loves to be scratched around his face and head, but hates to have his belly touched (this is a common “no-touch” area for cats). When cats groom each other, they tend to focus on the head and neck, so it makes sense these areas are where petting is more acceptable.

To better understand, or decode, your cat, I think we need to understand their basic needs. A primary need for cats is the need to hunt. You can help reduce stress in your cat’s life by instituting daily play sessions that mimic hunting.

Have him chase a toy off and on for 15 minutes, then reward him with “prey” at the end by giving treats or a meal. Some cats respond better to a laser pointer than to toys, just make sure to reward the end of the session with food. *Some cats can begin to develop obsessive behaviours and will look for the laser even after play has ended. If this happens with your cat, don’t use the lasers to play.*

There are many cat toys available to help with simulated hunting. I like the No Bowl feeding system, but there are many options out there. If your cat doesn’t play easily, don’t give up! Continue to try different toys, you can even get some great ideas for DIY cat toys on websites like Pinterest.
While cats may not be as easy to read as our canine companions, they make a lovely addition to most households. Understanding what they are feeling and thinking can go a long way to making sure that everyone is getting the most out of the relationship.

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