Is Your Cat A Decorator?

Ms. Claudia's paws

Cats make excellent home decorators.  At least, they think they do.  The problem with their style of decorating is too much fringe.  If they had their way, every piece of furniture in your home would be covered in ripped strands of fabric from their sharp little claws.   I can't tell you how often I've pushed a sofa into a corner or added one too many throws to a chair to cover up kitty's recent decorating job.  I've tried all the methods you can think of to stop her clawing sessions:  spray bottle, sticky strips,  yelling and screaming (doesn't work.  do not try.) and sour apple spray.  Most of these were met with haughty looks of annoyance and silent snickering behind lethal paws.  Well, I've finally found something that works and though I'm not into product endorsement (I am not receiving compensation in any way for this post), I thought I needed to share this with you because it has cut down on my frustration significantly.   The product is called Soft Paws and they are basically plastic claw covers.   You put them on and within a month or two they fall off naturally as your cat sheds layers of her claws.  When you order the kit, they supply you with the plastic tips and glue.  The trick here is getting kitty to let you hold her paws long enough to apply them. To overcome this hurdle, start touching your cat's paws when petting her.  Just a little bit everyday.  Eventually, she'll get used to it.  To apply the covers, you trim the very tip of her claws, put a drop of glue inside the plastic tip, flex one of kitty's digits, then put on the tip and hold for about 15 seconds.  It dries very quickly.  After you finish applying them all, you'll want to monitor her for about 15 minutes to make sure she doesn't try and pull them off.  She'll still go through the motion of clawing but won't be able to tear anything.  Every once in a while she'll pull one off during a claw grooming session, so you just replace the missing one. They come in a variety of colors.  The picture above shows Ms. Claudia wearing the pink and blue combo pack.  If you'd like to order some for your little rascal, go to  www.softpaws.com  

Lastly, whatever method you end up using to save your furniture, never declaw your cat.  Declawing is severely detrimental to your cat's body and mind. 

Human Foods You Should NOT Feed Your Pet

 

How can you resist that face?  I mean, he looks so hungry and there you are with your full plate of steaming hot delicious food.  It's the holidays and he should have a treat too! You're torturing him!  Well, just so you know, dogs always look hungry.  It's a survival mechanism that began long ago when wolves first crept around our campfires.  They learned to be cute to get our scraps.  We're suckers for sure.  Now, grab a hold of your pity and steady your resolve because those left-overs are bad for Fido and you won't be doing him any favors.  The problem with most people food is the manner in which it is cooked.  Chicken, for instance, is fine as long as it's not covered in spices, salt, and oil.  Since almost all of our food is seasoned, it's just safer not to give table scraps to your pet.  I've compiled a list here of foods that are big no-no's for dogs and cats.  The afflictions that these foods cause range from vomiting and diarrhea to kidney damage, toxicity, and death.  To have a safe holiday and not spend it at the vet's office, this is what you should avoid:

1. Chocolate, Tea, Coffee, and anything with caffeine.
2. Citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruit)
3. Raw garlic
4. Grapes, Raisins
5. Hops - That's beer to you and me.
6. Macadamia Nuts
7. Onions, onions, onions!
8. Pepper
9. Blackberries
10. Salt
11. Avocado
12. Spices - Most are harmful so just stay away from them all.
13. Spinach
14. Raw yeast dough
15. Bones - Buy the ones from the pet store and don't give ones from your table.  They are too small and can cause choking and stomach perforation.
16. Fat trimmings- This is a favorite scrap of many people but it can actually cause pancreatitis.
17. Mushrooms
18. Raw eggs
19. Vitamins containing Iron
20. Dairy - It's not toxic but don't give it to your pup or kitty on a regular basis.

Setting Ground Rules

One of the things that I encourage all of my clients to do is to teach their dog commands.  From "sit" and "stay" to "rollover", "crawl" and "jump."  Some view commands as not letting dogs be dogs.  Some think that we are inhibiting their natural state.  This simply isn't so.  In the wild, the dog pack leader can control his pack with a simple look.  When we bring dogs into our homes and then let them run free, we are upsetting the natural order because dogs are missing the structure provided in the pack.  Can you imagine our society without any rules whatsoever? To replace this lost structure, we need to teach our dogs things like not jumping on the sofa until invited,  to sit and wait until we allow them to move to the food bowl,  or to not jump on visitors.  These things teach Fido that you are the pack leader and they also engage his brain.  It's very important to engage your dog in mental stimulation every single day.  This will help him stay emotionally stable.  He will have less behavioral problems in the long run.  We have a tendency to start some new rule and then get lazy.  Then our dogs break the rule and trying to train them over again becomes much much harder.  They know we'll probably give up and so they wait us out.  Consistency is the key. 

Here are a few tips for successful training:

1. Teach only one new command per week.   Start with "sit", use it every day, and build from there.

2. Speak in a firm, conversational voice.  Yelling is no good.  It just causes anxiety.  Besides, do you really want to yell at your dog to get him to comply all the time?

3. Stand up straight but remain relaxed when teaching commands. 

4. Assume your dog is going to do it right and limit your frustration.  This is a fun activity.  If you are frustrated, your dog can hear, smell, and see it.  Dogs will not follow a frustrated leader.  Take a few breaths and start over.

5. Use treats and praise.  Eventually, you will only need to use praise but in the beginning this will help get your dog's attention.  Show him the treats in your hand before you start.

6.  Make sure your dog completely performs the task, wait a beat, and then reward. 

7.  Don't continue to repeat the command.  Say it once while making eye contact and wait 10 seconds.  If he doesn't respond, then say it again.

8.  Do not reward anxious energy from your dog.  For example, if your dog sits on command but then wags his tail rapidly while seated and kind of wobbles from side to side, then don't reward him.  He is not really listening to you.  He is focused on that treat!  Wait until he calms down and then reward.

9.  Train before meal time.  If your dog is hungry then he will be more focused on you and your handful of treats.

10.  End each training session with lots of love and continue using those commands throughout each day.  If you don't happen to have a treat handy, then a scratch behind the ear and a "good boy" goes a long way.

Happy Training!

The Story of Buddy

I came by my love of animals naturally. No one in my family has ever been able to say "no" to an animal in need. This story is not about me though. It's about my mother and a dog named Buddy. I don't have a picture to show you so just know that he was a big, fluffy, cream and white mutt with the sweetest brown eyes you've ever seen.
One crisp morning in 1987 as my mom was taking the freeway to work with her friend, Gretchen, she noticed a car on the shoulder of the fast lane. As they passed by, she looked into the rearview mirror just in time to see two big golden brown eyes staring back at her. Quickly, she pulled over onto the shoulder and ran back to the car. There she found a big, fluffy, cream and white dog laying underneath the front of it. He had wounds on his hip and scrapes on his elbows. As she approached, the dog didn't growl or bark as stray animals will do when wounded. He simply raised his head to gaze at her. She crouched down to get a better look and noticed that his left front paw was stuck inside the bottom of the engine and he began thrashing to get it free. This must have happened on the impact somehow. There was no driver in the car and she couldn't see anyone on foot nearby. She motioned to Gretchen and asked her to take the car and go find a vet. Then, without another thought, crawled underneath the car in her white uniform to get a better look. She felt around but couldn't figure out a way to remove the paw so she began to gently pet the dog and talk to him. At least, she could comfort him. Every few minutes he would start to panic and every few minutes she would say "It's okay, buddy. We are going to get you out of this."
She waited and waited. Her hip was growing numb from laying on the pavement and her arm was completely asleep from cradling the dog's head. Then she heard a truck pull up behind the car. Finally, help had arrived. A man made his way to her and asked her about the dog. He was from Animal Control and upon hearing of the situation told my mother that he was going to have to remove the dog's leg and then "take him away." My mother wrapped her body around the dog, looked at the man and said " You are not TAKING this dog." The man, irritated, walked away for a few minutes and then returned to try to coax her into moving. My mother turned away from the man and said "Well, then you'll have to take me too." The dog, now quiet, was going into shock and she wrapped herself more tightly around him to keep him warm. Again the man approached, this time threatening her with legal action. Again, she turned the man away. The Animal Control officer went back to his car and waited. More minutes ticked by. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. Another car pulled up and she heard the short whistle of a police siren. She thought "This is it. I'm going to have to give him up." Two policemen approached and again she relayed dog's condition and Gretchen's impending arrival with a veterinarian. The police stepped back to talk more privately. She couldn't hear what was being said over the cars roaring by next to her. Then, one of the policemen came forward and knelt down. "Ma'am, I have two dogs at home. I'm an animal lover too. We'll try to find a way to get him out safely." As the policeman and his partner were discussing the situation, Mom continued to talk and sing to the dog. At this point she couldn't tell which parts of her were numb and which were normal. She just knew she was aching all over. Just when she thought she couldn't bear it anymore, all of a sudden, unceremoniously, the dog gently removed his own paw out of the engine. She yelled to the policeman "He's out! He's out!" By petting and soothing him, he relaxed enough to free himself. She carefully picked up the dog and attempted to stand but immediately her legs buckled. She had been under the car for two hours. The policeman grabbed her by the arm. "Let's just stand here a moment until you get your balance. His partner, anxious to get all of them off the freeway , stopped traffic and then took her other arm. They held onto her and she held onto the dog as they crossed the four lanes of traffic. On the other side, Gretchen was waiting with the car. "I couldn't get a vet to come here but they are waiting for us to take him in." Mom and Gretchen rushed the dog to the vet where he was admitted straight away as promised. After a couple of days at the vet and many many stitches, we picked the dog up and brought him to my grandparents to live. Buddy, as he came to be known, stayed there for the rest of his natural life and we would go visit him on weekends. He was a friendly dog and loved everyone he met but there was always a very special bond between him and my mom.

Transference of Energy

Ever have one of those mornings where everything seems to go awry? You wake up late because you forgot to set the alarm. The coffee maker explodes. You can't find your keys, etc. The day progresses and hopefully you've worked your way through the madness. Then, when you arrive home, you find your dog sitting in a pile of fabric that was once your favorite pair of shoes. Well, I can't explain why your coffee maker exploded or why it is that you can't seem to remember to set your alarm (shame on you! how old are you again?) but I can explain why Rover decided to have a leathery lunch. Dogs aren't the mind readers we want them to be but they do pick up on moods. They do it by reading your body language, by smelling you, and listening to the quality of your voice. You can't hide very much from them in the way of emotions because that is the only way they know how to communicate with you. If you are anxious, frantic, angry, sick, or nervously excited, your dog interprets this as unstable energy. He thinks "My owner is anxious so there must be a reason to be anxious and the worst part is....I don't even know what the threat is!" You left in a frenzy this morning and now he's home alone in the same mood. You eventually work out your anxiety but you are his whole world and he's home alone and filled to the brim with anxiety. He's gotta release that bad energy and what better way then by chewing on something. This is one thing that dogs have over us humans. We tend to bottle things up and "deal with it." They know they have to let it out. The worst thing we can do for our pets is to anticipate their bad behavior. If every time a guest knocks on your door you think "Oh, I hope Misha doesn't jump on them too much this time" then Misha is definitely going to jump all over your guests. Your dog can sense your nervous thoughts however fleeting they may be. We can't be on point all the time but we can remember to counter negative thoughts with calm and positive ones. If you are in a situation in which your dog usually acts out, then take your time and relax first. Don't proceed until you feel you are in control of the situation. Stop around the corner before you get to the yard that has the rabid German Shepherd and do some deep breathing and if you must anticipate, then anticipate Rover walking easily by without so much as a raised ear in the other dogs' direction.

The Importance of the Walk

Yes, it's important to take your dog out to relieve himself. In fact, every 5 or 6 hours during the day your puppy HAS to go. The walk is far more important than that, however. Unlike us, the dog's most powerful sense is smell. Up to 40% of their brain activity is designated for discovering and interpreting scents. Just look at the above illustration at the nasal cavity. It's gigantic! Whereas humans can only detect the most prominent smell in a room, your dog can simultaneously smell the furniture, your shampoo, what you had for lunch, what's in the garbage can, that cat that rubbed against your leg 4 hours ago, and the mud on the bottom of your shoe. When you take fido for a walk, it's like a smorgasbord for his brain. Every patch of grass is exciting to him. I would imagine it's akin to reading a good book or seeing a movie. Then he gets the added bonus of meeting other canines on the walk. Oh boy, how great is that!?! A dog's second most prominent sense is hearing. He can hear 4 times farther than you and more pitches. Trapped in your home all day, your dog gets bored. Same scents. Same sounds. Boredom leads to anxiety which leads to unwanted behaviors (i.e. ripping up shoes, compulsive grooming, excessive barking, etc) and your dog becomes unbalanced and unhappy. He needs to burn off that excess energy and pull in some new experience to his consciousness. The walk is also an opportunity for bonding with your dog. In the dog world, they don't sit around and bark at each other to relate. They move as a pack. There is something that I like to call "the zone" that happens on a long walk. Your dog gets in rhythm with your steps and both of you are silent and you begin to feel like you are moving as one unit. When I'm working with dogs, I notice a shift in their willingness to learn after we've had a walk "in the zone". This state of being is heaven to your pup. You are part of his pack. You are bonding with him. Remember, dogs interpret humans talking as excitement so silence really is key. Your being relaxed and walking with him is more positive reinforcement than you could ever imagine. You are taking him out of our artificial world of computers, t.v., loud noises, etc and bringing him back to his true habitat. The walk is also one of the best ways to establish yourself as the pack leader. The pack leader always walks in front so make sure Fifi isn't walking you. Good discipline on the walk will make all of his unwanted behaviors in the home easier to control as well. I think I could go on for days about this topic but the best way to sum it up is that dogs need to walk like fish need to swim.

Little Devils

Have you ever seen a Chihuahua shake? Ever see a Maltese growl and lunge? It's pretty common. It's natural for us to see these behaviors as cute. Something so small growling and even biting our pant leg is quite funny. The real story behind this behavior is not so cute and we, as humans, are usually the cause. A hundred pound Rottweiler's aggression is just the same as six pound Shih Tzu's but it comes in a smaller package so it's seen as adorable. Both dogs are equally unbalanced and it's torturous for them to spend a great deal of time in a tense or angry state. Little dogs are more quickly controlled so it's easier to ignore and stifle bad behaviors rather than dealing them. After all, you can just pick them up! And that's the beginning of the problem. Dogs don't want to be picked up. We may think they do but that's because we've actually trained them that way. When you continually pick up a dog, it feels powerless and develops anxiety and low self-esteem. How would you feel if you were going about your business and someone just came by and snatched you up about 20 times a day? This is why Chihuahua's shake. They are scared of everything they come into contact with because they lack confidence. I have seem some well-balanced ones but it is very rare. And I can't count how many aggressive little dogs I've come into contact with. The owners just laugh and call them "spunky" or "feisty" and then complain about them barking or biting visitors and peeing on the floor. The cure for these bad behaviors is to set boundaries with your dog and establish yourself as the pack leader. In the wild, dogs run in packs with a very clear leader who runs the show. If you aren't running the show in your home, then guess who is? The first thing you can do is not allow your little one to jump in your lap every time he feels like it. You can also train him to stay away from the door when visitors arrive. There are 1,000 ways to set limits for your pup but some people feel bad about doing this with a little dog. Just remember that you are doing it for him. He knows that a strong pack leader sets the rules but also protects him. Since aggression is predominantly the result of fear, your dog won't bother trying to "protect" his home or his family because he knows that this is your job. It will put him at ease. No more pressure! He will have a happier and healthier life because of it.