Find me at Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital, on Vetster.com and at BetterBondBehavior.com
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Living with multiple cats can be rewarding, but it also comes with challenges, such as intercat tension. Recognizing and addressing this tension is crucial for maintaining the health and happiness of your cats. What is Intercat Tension? Intercat tension refers to social tension between cats and is
A clinical trial for separation anxiety. Read for more info.
Animal Behavior Wellness Center is looking for dogs to enroll in a clinical trial investigating an oral behavioral support supplement in dogs with separation anxiety Please share!
Does your dog tremble, vocalize, pant excessively, or become destructive when you leave the house? Has your dog been diagnosed with separation anxiety? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, please contact us about enrollment in our double-blinded, placebo controlled, fully funded clinical study. This is a completely remote study, so you don’t have to worry about bringing your dog into the clinic. During the 30 day study, your dog will receive either a placebo or an oral behavioral support supplement. When you leave home (for example, to go to work) your dog will be evaluated via a 20 minute video, using a provided web cam.
Your participation is confidential, and you will be compensated for your time. At the conclusion of the study, regardless of the test group to which you’re assigned, you will also receive 3 FREE months of a nutritional behavioral support supplement.
Scan the QR code or visit https://www.abwellnesscenter.com/clinical-behavior-trial for more information. Thank you for helping to promote the behavioral wellness of our best friends.
Animal Behavior Wellness Center
Treatment. Training. Compassion.
11230 Waples Mill Road
Suite 125A
Fairfax, VA USA 22030
888.438.0788 ext.1
If you struggle with nail trimming your dog, consider training them to do it themselves!!
30,000 years of living alongside dogs and refining breeds to meet our needs.
10,000 years of cats tolerating us for food 🤣🐾🐾❤️
Yup!
Literally Me!
❤️❤️
😂😂
Fireworks are SCARY! This can help.
Last Call 🚨
Capitalize on our Buy with Prime option on site, just in time for 4th of July! Get your ThunderShirt products now before fireworks kick off 🎆
Please start planning now
A little bit of non behavior advice for Summer!
Is it true that if we use cold water on heat stroke pets they will go into shock?
One of the most common things we still hear is that we can only use tepid water on a pet with heat stroke, incase they get some complications like hypothermic overshoot, peripheral vasoconstriction hindering a cooling response, and cardiogenic shock...
We have heard not to use cold water in case it causes shock... this rarely happens!
But guess what? In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study.
You should:
💧Get someone to call the local veterinary practice and tell them you're going to travel down with a heat stroke patient
💧Pour, hose or if possible immerse the pet in very cold water (this should obviously be done under constant supervision, ensuring the head is fully above water and immersion should not be attempted if the animal is too large, or you are unable to do so without hurting yourself)
💧NB: If using a hose pipe, make sure it has run through until cold, as they can often contain water that is extremely hot in the tubing initially
💧Do not drape in towels and leave them in situ. Keep the cold water flowing.
💧Move to a cool, shaded area
💧Prepare to transport to vets in a cold, air conditioned car
In studies they found that:
🌅International consensus from sports medicine organisations supports treating EHS with early rapid cooling by immersing the casualty in cold water.
🌅Ice-water immersion has been shown to be highly effective in exertional heat stroke, with a zero fatality rate in large case series of younger, fit patients.
🌅Hyperthermic individuals were cooled twice as fast by Cold Water Immersion as by passive recovery.
🌅No complications occurred during the treatment of three older patients with severe heat stroke were treated with cold‐water immersion.
🌅Cold water immersion (CWI) is the preferred cooling modality in EHS guidelines and the optimal method applicable to UK Service Personnel
🌅Studies suggest using either ice-water or cold-water immersion
The best intervention is PREVENTION, but if you find yourself with an animal with heat stroke, using cold water either by pouring, hosing or ideally (if safe) immersion then this may help reduce their temperature to safe levels while you transport to a veterinary practice.
Read more below:
https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cool-icy-cold-or-tepid
The Ten Myths of Canine Behavior
Myth #10: My dog growled at me. I need to punish the growl.
One of the most important behaviors to reinforce rather than punish in dogs is growling. Growling serves as information, signaling that a dog feels uncomfortable in a situation. It is not an act of aggression but a form of communication, and for that, we should be grateful. We can address growling constructively by identifying and avoiding the actions that triggered it. Punishing a growl risk suppressing this warning signal, potentially leading to a bite without any preceding warning.
Not all animals like or even understand that you're hugging them out of affection. Offer cats (and dogs) affection in the ways they prefer. In the animal world, hugging is often viewed as restraint.
Ready for another body language quiz? Does this dog want to be pet?
BARRIERS TO LEARNING – WHY SOME DOGS STRUGGLE TO LEARN
“My dog is stubborn, doesn’t listen to me, a slow learner, not the smartest, tries to be in control, will only do it at home, will only behave sometimes, is uncontrollable……” – these are comments that are often heard.
Just like us, dogs need the right kind of conditions to either be able to learn something new or to bring about a change in behaviour.
Dogs are not robots that can be programmed by a set of specific inputs that guarantee consistent results. They are individual, sentient beings that need to be understood.
If we’re feeling stressed, anxious, tired, over excited, too distracted, not feeling well, have no motivation etc. we will find it really difficult, if not impossible to learn something new, change our behaviour or change a habit. The same applies to dogs.
A dog’s emotional state, the surrounding environment, motivation, age (pups, adolescents, seniors) or any health issues all have a significant impact on their ability to learn.
If your dog is having a hard time learning something, look at these factors and see if there is a reason that may be preventing progress.
Maybe your dog is just having an “off” day, just like we do.
Try again tomorrow or next week and set your dog up for success by having realistic expectations.
Learning or changing behaviour takes time, patience, consistency, understanding and the right conditions.
A fun news article!
Who do you turn to when it’s your pet’s behavior, not its physiology, that’s tugging on your last leash?
What a kitten ❤️❤️❤️
Dr. Feeney is in absolute cat heaven with Princess Peach - a 12 week old Maine c**n kitten who came in today for her kitten wellness exam. Look. At. That. FACE!!! She purred like a motorboat ❤️❤️❤️🐾🐾🐾
A fun article that I’m quoted in!!
From plush toys to puzzles, these top-rated puppy toys are the No.1 picks for pet parents who want to bond with their new dog.
Everyone who is thinking of getting dogs should read this because you need to understand this reality:
***I am a 21st century dog.***
-I'm a Malinois.
Overskilled among dogs, I excel in all disciplines and I'm always ready to work: I NEED to work.
But nowadays I get asked to chill on the couch all day everyday.
-I am an Akita Inu.
My ancestors were selected for fighting bears.
Today I get asked to be tolerant and I get scolded for my reactivity when another approaches me.
-I am a Beagle.
When I chase my prey, I raise my voice so the hunters could follow.
Today they put an electric collar on me to shut up, and you make me come back to you - no running - with a snap of your fingers.
-I am a Yorkshire Terrier.
I was a terrifying rat hunter in English mines.
Today they think I can't use my legs and they always hold me in their arms.
-I'm a Labrador Retriever.
My vision of happiness is a dive into a pond to bring back the duck he shot to my master.
Today you forget I'm a walking, running, swimming dog; as a result I'm fat, made to stay indoors, and to babysit.
-I am a Jack Russell.
I can take on a fox, a mean badger, and a rat bigger than me in his den.
Today I get scolded for my character and high energy, and forced to turn into a quiet living room dog.
-I am a Siberian Husky.
Experienced the great, wide open spaces of Northern Europe, where I could drag sleds for long distances at impressive speeds.
Today I only have the walls of the house or small garden as a horizon, and the holes I dig in the ground just to release energy and frustration, trying to stay sane.
-I am a border collie
I was made to work hours a day in partnershipwith my master, and I am an unmistakable artist of working with the herd.
Today they are mad at me because, for lack of sheep, I try to check bikes, cars, children in the house and everything in motion.
I am ...
I am a 21st century dog.
I'm pretty, I'm alert, I'm obedient, I stay in a bag...but I'm also an individual who, from centuries of training, needs to express my instincts, and I am *not* suited for the sedentary life you'd want me to lead.
Spending eight hours a day alone in the house or in the garden - with no work and no one to play or run with, seeing you for a short time in the evening when you get home, and only getting a small toilet walk will make me deeply unhappy.
I'll express it by barking all day, turning your yard into a minefield, doing my needs indoors, being unmanageable the rare times I'll find myself outside, and sometimes spending my days sunk, sad, lonely, and depressed, on my pillow.
You may think that I should be happy to be able to enjoy all this comfort while you go to work, but actually I’ll be exhausted and frustrated, because this is absolutely NOT what I'm meant to do, or what I need to be doing.
If you love me, if you've always dreamed of me, if my beautiful blue eyes or my athletic look make you want me, but you can't give me a real dog's life, a life that's really worth living according to my breed, and if you can't offer me the job that my genes are asking, DO NOT buy or adopt me!
If you like the way I look but aren't willing to accept my temperament, gifts, and traits derived from long genetic selection, and you think you can change them with only your good will, then DO NOT BUY OR ADOPT ME.
I’m a dog from the 21st century, yes, but deep inside me, the one who fought, the one who hunted, the one who pulled sleds, the one who guided and protected a herd still lives within.
So think **very** carefully before you choose your dog. And think about getting two, rather than one, so I won't be so very lonely waiting for you all day. Eight or ten hours is just a workday to you, but it's an eternity for me to be alone.
Like David Attenborough Fans for more:
Clicker training can make positive reinforcement more efficient. After being associated with a reward, a clicker becomes a conditioned reinforcer for dogs.
MANAGING MULTIPLES
Having multiple dogs is challenging and time consuming.
This picture is of my 4 Schnauzers sleeping contentedly and peacefully together, albeit having their separate beds and space.
Pictures can be deceiving though, and this is certainly not always how it is.
Dogs don’t get to choose their housemates. We expect them to just get along with any other dog we choose to add to our home and are frustrated and stressed when this sometimes isn’t the case.
Just like people sharing a home, dogs certainly don’t always get along – at some time, there will be conflict and sometimes this can become a serious problem.
Different personalities, different needs, energy levels, ages, conflicts over resources, spaces, people, entrances, exits, health issues etc. are just some of the things that can lead to issues.
The importance of learning, recognizing and taking note of body language is so important, especially when caring for multiple dogs.
When we ignore the “whispers” of body language or simply don’t understand or notice, the whispers may soon become shouts or screams and we have missed an opportunity to manage and diffuse a situation.
Over time, sometimes just seeing the other dog becomes the trigger where initially it was only the specific circumstance or situation.
Prevention is always better than trying to “fix” a problem.
Being proactive instead of reactive is so important in managing multiple dogs.
Here’s a fun article about cats that I’m quoted in!!!
Please read and share ❤️🐾🐾
Here’s why cats knead, plus what it means when a cat makes biscuits on you, according to experts. Spoiler alert: It’s a good thing!
Dr. Feeney is a certified Feline Friendly veterinarian!
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A great alternative to nail trimming!
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Spent some time volunteering at Somerset Regional Animal Hospital this week. I love my local shelter!!
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Since graduating from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1994, I have practiced veterinary medicine as a general practitioner, an emergency clinician at a 24-hour facility, and as the Chief Medical Officer of a large inner city animal shelter. I’m currently practicing at a four doctor small animal practice in Northern New Jersey. I’m Fear Free Certified and a Gold Standard Feline Friendly veterinarian. Check out the veterinary medicine articles I have written on my website JCFeeney.com.
