Raising Your Paws- Your resource for dog & cat pet parents

You and your cats share some of the same core emotions. One of them is called SEEKING which is “the basic impulse to search, investigate and make sense of the environment” A combination of positive emotions – enthusiasm, wanting something really good, looking forward to getting something really good, and curiosity are all involved in this emotional system in the brain.

SEEKING emotions feel good and make us and other animals feel happy.  A key to your cat’s overall mental well-being is to activate this positive emotion in them as much as possible. I’ll explain three of the best ways to do this for a cat.

Then, a tip from a dog trainer, Emily Stoddard, owner and founder of the Canine Sports Dog Training Company in Chicago, Illinois. The answer to the question, what to do when walking your dog and you come upon another dog you don’t know. Should the dogs meet or not?

Plus, how old is your dog in human years?

This July, 2020, a study of Labrador Retrievers that revealed a brand new more accurate way to figure out your dog’s age compared to human years was published. It blows the old linear comparison of the 1-7 years ratio out of the water for good.  It even updates some of the more realistic thinking of the past years that placed a one-year old dog as being closer to a 15-year-old than a seven-year-old.

But now, there is an actual formula based on scientific research that gives us a graph that can be used to match up the age of your dog with the comparable human age.  You’ll be surprised to hear how old a one-year old dog is in human years.

You’ll find the graph on the companion blog (#77) for this episode at www.raisingyourpaws.com.

By rating and reviewing this podcast, you can help support the show. Just click the easy new button on our website, labeled, “Rate this podcast”, on the homepage of raisingyourpaws.com. We’d love to get your feedback.

 

Additional Resources for this show.

Source for the story on SEEKING –“Animals Make Us Human” by Temple Grandin.

Emily Stoddard’s website - Canine Sports Dog Training.

Source for the story about figuring dogs ages in human years  “How Old is Your Dog In Human Years? By Heather Buschman, Phd.

Do you wonder if your pet has a happy life overall? You can increase their happiness and mental well-being by addressing the core emotions that both you and your pets share. This means understanding the emotions and creating an environment where your pet’s positive emotions, SEEKING and PLAY get activated as much as possible and the negative ones, FEAR, RAGE and GRIEF, don’t get activated any more than necessary. Through this guideline, your dogs and cats will be much happier and you’ll see fewer behavior problems. In this episode, I’ll tell you about the first positive emotion, SEEKING – how you experience it, and then offer some tips to activate it in your dog.

Then, are you dealing with some serious behavior problems with your dog or cat? Not sure what to do or if you need to call in some help?  There are specialists that work with severe behavior issues. Who are they, what do they do and where do you find them?  My guest Dr. Kelly Ballantyne, a board-certified Veterinary Behaviorist and leader of the company, Insight Animal Behavior Services will answer these questions.

 

Additional Resources for the show.

Source for the story about the positive emotion, SEEKING – “Animals Make Us Human” by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson.

Dr. Kelly Ballantyne’s website – Insight Animal Behavior Services.

How to find a Vet Behaviorist:

The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists.

European Board of Veterinary Specialization

First, Dan Hughes, a former secret service agent for the United States was reporting to work at one of

the towers on 9-11, 2001 when it collapsed. Listen to his story about his experience and survival and

how that led him to want to work with dogs. He is currently the co-owner of Dogs for Defense, a

company of detection dogs that sniff out drugs and bombs.

Then, there were numerous search and rescue dog teams that worked at the World Trade Center on 9-

11. I’ll share a few of the stories of these dog heroes.

 

Additional Resources for the Episode.

Dogs for Defense Website.

Source for stories about the search and rescue dogs: Dog Heroes of September, 11th: A Tribute to

America’s Search and Rescue dogs, by Nona Kilgore Bauer.

To see photos of Dan Hughes and the search and recovery dogs spoken about in the podcast, visit

https://raisingyourpaws.com/

Do you wonder if your pet is happy, overall? There is something you can do to increase their mental welfare and make sure their emotional needs are being met. The key has to do with what you and your pet has in common - the core emotion systems in the brain. I’ll tell you about 5 of the 7 core emotions we share with our dogs and cats and then the guideline to follow.

See the companion blog for episode 74 that lists all seven core emotions at www.raisingyourpaws.com.

Is your dog or cat afraid of thunderstorms, fireworks or other very loud noises? Do you watch your pet suffer and wish there was something more you could do to help them?  My guest today is Dr. Karolina Westlund, of Animal Behavior Consulting and the author of the blog, Dogs and fireworks (30+ proven techniques to eliminate noise phobia,). We talk about why animals become afraid in the first place and what to do to help your pet, based on the latest research and current best practices.

Additional Resources for the Show.

One of the sources for the story about the core emotions – “Animals Make Us Human” by Temple Grandin.

Dr. Karolina Westlund’s website.

Blog’s mentioned on the show:

 

Blog - Dogs and fireworks (30+ proven techniques to eliminate noise phobia)

This is a “Best of Podcast” replay show of pillar episode 2.

Get ready to re-count the age of your dog or cat. There is new more accurate information about how to figure out your pet’s age in human years. I’ll explain the new method.

Then, there are some basic truths about how your dog sees its world that will help you understand a lot of its behavior.  Jean Donaldson, one of the world’s leading dog trainers, founder of the Academy for Dog Trainers, and author of the book, “The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding the Relationship between Humans and Domestic Dogs” shares some of her top 10 list of what we know about canines and how we can help to meet their needs.

Next, you can switch your pet’s food if you need or want to, without it causing major stool issues.  I’ll tell you the two things you can do to make it easier.

And, finally, are you having problems with a cat that is not using its litterbox? If you have multiple cats at home, and there is no medical problem, the issue could be solved by this need-to-know, practical solution.

 

Additional Resources for this Show.

See the charts to figure out your pets age on the blog for this episode.

Jean Donaldson’s website: Academy for Dog Trainers.

How to order Jean Donaldson’s book The Culture Clash

Read about games you can play to burn off your dog’s predatory energy on the blog for this episode.

This is a “Best of Podcast” replay show of pillar episode 2.

Get ready to re-count the age of your dog or cat. There is new more accurate information about how to figure out your pet’s age in human years. I’ll explain the new method.

Then, there are some basic truths about how your dog sees its world that will help you understand a lot of its behavior.  Jean Donaldson, one of the world’s leading dog trainers, founder of the Academy for Dog Trainers, and author of the book, “The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding the Relationship between Humans and Domestic Dogs” shares some of her top 10 list of what we know about canines and how we can help to meet their needs.

Next, you can switch your pet’s food if you need or want to, without it causing major stool issues.  I’ll tell you the two things you can do to make it easier.

And, finally, are you having problems with a cat that is not using its litterbox? If you have multiple cats at home, and there is no medical problem, the issue could be solved by this need-to-know, practical solution.

 

Additional Resources for this Show.

See the charts to figure out your pets age on the blog for this episode.

Jean Donaldson’s website: Academy for Dog Trainers.

How to order Jean Donaldson’s book The Culture Clash

Read about games you can play to burn off your dog’s predatory energy on the blog for this episode.

When your pet is ill or injured, don’t you wish they could tell you with words how they are feeling? Would be nice, but what we have, is how they react and behave. When sick, dogs and cats in general, react very differently from one another. I’ll explain how and why.

Michael Birnbaum, my artist friend, returns to tell another story from his childhood about his first dog and their encounter with fire.  The story is entitled, “Trouble with Matches.”

Why is it, that multiple cats living in a household, often don’t get along – either avoiding each other or fighting a lot? There is a major factor that you may be oblivious to, but is highly important to your cat. I’ll tell you about this and then, from the book, Cat Sense by John Bradshaw, I’ll share a list of subtle indicators you can watch for, to understand if the cats actually do or do not get along.

Visit our newly re-designed website, www.raisingyourpaws.com. where you can easily choose and listen to any of the episodes with their full show notes and also find our companion blogs. These expand on the show topics, offer additional tips and solutions for happy living with your pets and offer videos and vlogs for your enjoyment. Also, you can leave a comment about each podcast episode or blog post.

Additional Resources for the Show.

Source for the story about pets coping with illness: “ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems in your CAT-DOG household,” by Amy Shojai.

Storyteller, Michael Birnbaum’s Website. (Artist and Color Design Stylist) Transformed By Color.

 

Source for the story about cats getting along or not. “Cat Sense” by John Bradshaw. (https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Sense-Feline-Science-Better/dp/0465064965/ref=sr_1_2?crid=MI4R4B4NHEUO&dchild=1&keywords=cat+sense&qid=1595881993&sprefix=cat+sense%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-2)

Have you ever seen your cat get itself into a dangerous physical situation, that you’re sure is going to kill it, but somehow, they make it out okay? There is the myth that cats have 9 lives, because what else explains the perilous things they do, like leaping madly into the air or falling hundreds of feet and still live to meow again. The obvious conclusion is that they must have more than one life to live. (Just kidding.)  In this episode, I’ll delve into what it is about cats that has resulted in the worldwide saying that “cats have multiple lives.”

 

Have you recently adopted a dog or are thinking about it? Bringing home this new companion is very exciting and fun, yet also, especially if this is your first time adopting a pet, can be challenging as you get used to one another and the dog learns the rules of the home.  My guest, Steve Frost, lead behavioral trainer with “A Sound Beginning,” a dog training program created specifically for the newly adopted dog, talks about what to do to minimize the stress the canine may feel transitioning to their new home and how to build a good relationship of trust for you and your dog as well as the pets already residing in the home.

 

Do you have a terrier or know someone who does? Notice they bark a lot?  It is not a casual happenstance that a Westie or Yorkshire may  make a lot more noise than some other breeds. Why do they tend to yap so much? This has not always been the case. The breed originally did not bark as much as it generally does today. I’ll tell you their story.

 

Additional Resources for the Show.

A Sound Beginning Website.

How to order the book with the music CD, “Adopting a Dog? Start off right with A Sound Beginning” by Julie Dorsey-Oskerka, Patricia Rattray and Rebecca Cann.

A Sound Beginning’s phone number - 630-776-8197

Resource for the story about why Terriers bark so much – “How to Speak Dog” by Stanley Coren.

Do you get annoyed at times when your dog is whining? Making you feel uncomfortable is one of the purposes of this high-pitched vocalization. I know that sounds crazy but once you know more about the mechanics and reasons dog’s whine, you’ll understand and respect the sound more.

When out walking your dog on its leash, are there times your dog starts acting very upset - barking and lunging - when it sees or encounters an unfamiliar dog? This behavior can be triggered by the very fact that your dog is attached to a leash. What is leash reactivity and what can be done to help a dog that is experiencing this? Find out, in part 2 of my conversation with dog trainer, Emily Stoddard, the owner of the Canine Sports Dog Training in Chicago, Illinois.

Finally, in this feline behavior fun facts feature, hear the answers to why cats roll over in front of you and how cats kiss each other.

 

Additional Resources for the Show.

Source for the story about dog’s whines – “How to Speak Dog” by Stanley Coren. (https://www.amazon.com/How-Speak-Dog-Mastering-Communication/dp/074320297X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=112PF6213EM7H&dchild=1&keywords=how+to+speak+dog+stanley+coren&qid=1593460272&sprefix=how+to+speak+dog%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-2)

Canine Dog Sports Training Company. Emily Stoddard’s Website. (https://mycaninesports.com/)

Canine Dog Sports Training on Facebook. (https://www.facebook.com/caninesports)

Source for the story about cat behaviors – “How to Speak Cat” by Aline Alexander Newman and Gary Weitzman. D.V.M. (https://www.amazon.com/How-Speak-Cat-Decoding-Language/dp/1426318634/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2P3393E5CGH26&dchild=1&keywords=how+to+speak+cat+a+guide+to+decoding+cat+language&qid=1593460322&sprefix=how+to+speak+cat%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1)

Does your cat get easily bored with its toys?  At first being very excited to play but then after a short while, not so much?

In this episode, I’ll tell you about a research project a cat behavior scientist from England, conducted, to find out why cats are famous for getting quickly bored with their toys - even if you put them away in the closet overnight.

Turns out there are four mechanisms at work when cats are hunting live animals that also apply to keeping interest in fake prey- their toys. I’ll explain the four to give you the guidelines you need to help your cats stay engaged in play.

Next, when out walking your dog, are there times that it starts barking and pulling and lunging at other dogs? Looking aggressive and reacting all crazy? You wonder, what just happened and why is my dog acting this way? Dogs can become what is known as reactive to other dogs. What is this, how does it happen and what can you do to help your dog stay calm? Get the answers to these questions when I talk to dog trainer, Emily Stoddard, owner and founder of the Canine Sports Dog Training Company in Chicago, Illinois, who specializes in dog behavior issues.

Plus, I’ll tell you a story about your dog’s intelligence, how they pay attention to you and the affect it has on how well they follow your commands. An added bonus, there is a built-in fun, experiment you can try at home with your dog.

Additional Resources for the Show.

Source for story about cats and toys: Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Cat, by John Bradshaw.

Emily Stoddard’s website : Canine Dog Sports Training.

Canine Dog Sports Training on Facebook.

Source for the story about the dog experiment: The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods.

Find the steps to follow for the down/stay command – sight experiment with your dog at www.raisingyourpaws.com.