Halloween is scary enough without having to worry about the safety and wellness of your pet. The Humane Society of Missouri wants you and your pets to have an exciting holiday, no matter your plans and submits the following tips to remind pet owners of the small things they can do to prevent any mishaps and ensure everyone is having …
No Dope for Dogs: Cannabis Toxicity in Pets & How to Avoid It
By Dr. Nicole Fulcher, Director, Animal Medical Center of Mid-America You’ve probably seen the funny videos on social media. A dog, high off second-hand smoke, starring into space in their owner’s hazy living room. Maybe the pup is off-balance stumbling a bit when it walks. While this may appear to be harmless fun, comparable to giving a cat catnip, the …
Cat Behavior and Training — Neutering and Behavior
Most male animals that are kept for companionship, work, or food production (stallions, dogs, tomcats, bulls, rams and boars) are neutered (castrated) unless they are intended to be used as breeding stock. This is a common practice to prevent unacceptable sexual behavior, reduce aggressiveness, and prevent accidental or indiscriminate breeding. The intact male (tomcat) is likely to roam, fight with …
Behavior Counseling — Compulsive, Stereotypic and Displacement Disorders
What is a displacement behavior? Displacement behaviors are usually normal behaviors that are performed at an inappropriate time, appearing out of context for the occasion. Displacement behaviors arise from situations of either conflict or frustration. Conflict refers to the situation in which an animal is motivated to perform two or more competing behaviors (e.g., approach or withdraw, greeting but fear …
Behavior Management Products
What products are available to help prevent undesirable behavior? There are numerous products on the market that have been designed to help prevent undesirable behavior in pets. Leashes, harnesses, and head halters are needed to keep pets under control, especially when outdoors. A crate, cage or X-pen provides a safe comfortable home for the dog when the owners are not …
Behavior Problems — Getting Started
Why might my pet have behavior problems? Jumping up, pulling and lunging, digging, garbage raiding, stealing, chewing, barking, house soiling, and even some forms of aggression such as possessiveness and territorial guarding may all be normal for a dog or cat, but are unacceptable behaviors to most owners. Treatment of these problems will focus on environmental management and behavior modification, …
Why Punishment Should be Avoided
What is punishment? Punishment is any intervention intended to decrease the occurrence of an action or behavior. Commonly utilized punishments against dogs and cats include throwing items at them, yanking on a choke collar, or a prong collar, intimidation with a finger, electric shock devices and physical corrections such as lifting, kneeing, pushing, jabbing or pinning. Punishment is not synonymous …
AVSAB Position Statement — The Use of Punishment for Behavior Modification in Animals
AVSAB’s position is that punishment (e.g. choke chains, pinch collars, and electronic collars) should not be used as a first-line or early-use treatment for behavior problems. This is due to the potential adverse effects which include but are not limited to: inhibition of learning, increased fear-related and aggressive behaviors, and injury to animals and people interacting with animals. AVSAB recommends …
Using Reinforcement and Rewards to Train Your Pet
The best way to train your pet is through the proper use of positive reinforcement and rewards while simultaneously avoiding punishment. The goal of training is to “learn” the proper task and/or behavior. First, you must be able to get the pet to perform the desired behavior reliably. Then, add a cue or command prior to the behavior, so that …
Behavior Management — Enrichment and Activity Toys
Why use activity toys? Dogs are natural scavengers and hunters so the use of food based activity toys is natural and stimulating. Activity toys have a variety of uses in behavior modification programs. Activity toys are useful to redirect an energetic puppy, provide stimulating challenges for a senior pet or provide a more desirable behavior for a dog with separation …
