Separation Anxiety: When Your Dog Has a Panic Attack If Left Alone
Broken teeth. Ripped paw pads. Bloody slashes on the chest and head. Roger the terrier mix hadn’t been in a fight. He’d been left alone. His pet parents had adopted him just a month ago from a local rescue group. They noticed he had become increasingly distressed when left alone for short periods, but due…
Read MoreWhy Is My Dog Urinating in the House?
Pee happens. You may be surprised, baffled or even a bit frustrated upon discovering a piddle on your new living room rug or a wet yellow spot on your bedroom sheets. However, from your doggo’s point of view, these are not liquid “accidents.” These acts are committed for valid – and sometimes – uncontrollable reasons. …
Read MoreDoes My Pet Need a Multivitamin?
Who doesn’t remember chomping down on a chalky orange- or grape-flavored Fred or Wilma Flintstone vitamin or soft, sugary gummy vitamins? For mothers concerned about fast-food diets and picky eaters who turn up their noses at vegetables, handing out candylike multivitamins feels like insurance that their kids get vital nutrients for growth and health, no…
Read MoreWhy Is My Dog Panting?
There’s doggy breath and then there’s doggy breathing. You know to alert your veterinarian if your dog’s breath starts to smell foul, but how much attention do you pay to how your dog breathes? Noting and reporting any changes in how your dog breathes and yes, pants, promptly to your veterinarian may help detect a…
Read MoreCat Talk 101: How to Understand What Felines Are Saying
It’s 8:26 a.m. There is movement on the bed and a very polite “meow” accompanied by a gentle prod with a paw. “Are you awake?” Ziggy, my feline alarm clock, has arrived. No response brings a couple more “meows” and some more insistent prodding. Next, he walks above my head across the pillow and rattles…
Read MoreHow Nutrition and Diet Can Help Treat – and Prevent – Pet Medical Issues
A Corgi named Miakoda hadn’t even reached her first birthday when she started exhibiting concerning medical symptoms: lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea. She also became reactive to other animals, according to her mom, Sarah Benson. “I didn’t know why,” Benson recalled. “It just seemed like for a while she was always sick.” An internal medicine specialist…
Read MoreWinter Is Coming: How to Care for Community Cats
Life is hard for cats on their own, but winter months are especially harsh on feline denizens of society’s underbelly, whether in cities and towns or sparsely populated areas. They suffer the cold and can experience hypothermia leading to illness and death just like humans. Community cat caregivers say providing shelter for cats living rough…
Read MorePuppy Dog Eyes
When dogs look into our eyes, it’s a gift. Making eye contact with humans or with other animals is not a common behavior—it can be seen as an act of aggression between dogs—but when our dogs feel relaxed in our presence, or when they want to communicate something to us—“Look what I found!”—they gaze at…
Read MoreThe Talkative Canine
You read about dogs who bark to let their owners know the house is filling with carbon monoxide. Four-legged heroes! You thank your dog for barking when someone walks onto your property. But what about the dog who barks non-stop when you prepare his food? Or one who barks for 30 minutes when you have…
Read MoreWhy Is My Dog Shaking?
What’s causing your dog to shake, be rattled, and maybe even drool? Is your dog trying to channel his inner Elvis Presley? Maybe. Maybe not. Body shakes in dogs occur for a wide gamut of medical, behavioral, and even genetic reasons. Some are easy to identify, such as shivering due being outside when the weather…
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