REIGNING CATS AND DOGS. Creating a harmonious multi-species household take more than luck.
You’ve no doubt heard the phrase "fighting like cats and dogs." As well-known as the saying is, it’s also an often inaccurate one. Millions of dog-lovers share their hearts and homes with feline family members with nary a scratch between the species. On the other paw, stories of dogs killing cats are fact, not fiction, and many unfortunate Rowdy Rovers have suffered ulcerated corneas, scratched nose leathers and infected puncture wounds from Tough Tiggers who decided that "fight" was a better strategy than "flight." What determines the difference between Fido and Fluffy amicably sharing the sofa and one or both ending up at the emergency clinic – or worse?
The Gift of Growling. Why you should never punish a dog for growling.
My clients always appear a bit stunned at first when I tell them their dog’s growl is a good thing. In fact, a growl is something to be greatly treasured. These are my aggression consult clients, who are in my office in desperation, as a last resort, hoping to find some magic pill that will turn their biting dog into a safe companion. They are often dismayed and alarmed to discover that the paradigm many of us grew up with – punish your dog harshly at the first sign of aggression, has only contributed to and exacerbated the serious and dangerous behavior problem that has led them to my door.
Shock Collars: Great Positive Training Tool or Devil Incarnate?
The chasm between those who abhor the electronic/shock collars as an abusive dog training tool and those who support and promote it as an exceptionally effective and humane training tool is so huge it will probably never be bridged. In the middle of that canyon are those who believe that the collar can be an effective training tool for very limited circumstances in the hands of skilled professionals, and those who prefer not to use them but feel compelled to educate clients who insist on using them on how to use them properly.
