5 Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their Cats

By: Sam Kabbel, CPDT-KA, President, Pet Behavior Solutions http://www.petbehaviorsolutions.com/

1. Placing the litter box, food, and water in the same location. We wouldn’t want the bathroom to be incorporated into the kitchen and neither do our cats. Cats are fastidious animals and generally prefer to eliminate far from where they eat and drink. If they must be located in the same room, be sure they are on opposite sides of the room.

2. Having multiple boxes lined up next to each other when there are multiple cats. Cats prefer to have a couple options for eliminating especially when there is more than one cat in the household. Most cats are private when they go to the bathroom. They are also quite vulnerable to ambushes (playful or not) while they are busy in the litter box. When boxes are all lined up like urinals in a public restroom, they aren’t able to be private or feel safe. It is better to have boxes in different locations within the same room or different rooms altogether.

3. Introducing a new cat into the household too quickly. Cats need time to acclimate to another cat. Very few cats readily accept a new cat without some adjustment. It is best to keep the new cat in a spare room with all the necessary kitty amenities for a day or two. Then wedge the door open about 2 inches with a rubber door stop to encourage limited interaction. Once the cats are interested in each other without acting as if they will fight, then they can have brief time together as long as they are supervised. Once they can be peaceful with each other where no one is a bully and no one is traumatized, they can be allowed together unsupervised. This whole process can take from a few days to a few months.

4. Not cleaning the litter box often enough. This sounds so obvious, but it is the most common thing we see that contributes to litter box problems. When using scoopable litter, the boxes should be scooped daily or twice daily depending on the number of cats in your household. Again, cats are fastidious animals and want a clean area in which to eliminate. Be sure to keep the box itself clean as well since used litter sticks to the bottom and sides of the box. The box retains odors even when the litter is scooped. The box should be cleaned periodically before adding additional litter.

5. Not giving your cat vertical access. Cats like to climb high, hide in “hidey” holes, play fort behind things, jump out from under things, etc. Cats should have a cat tree or cat condo to provide for those needs. If you do not provide appropriate places for your cats to climb and hide, they will create their own. This may include your curtains, piano, counters, shelves of knick knacks, etc. The more outlets cats have, the easier it will be to retain your precious belongings!

5 Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their Dogs

By Sam Kabbel, CPDT-KA, Pet Behavior Solutions (http://www.petbehaviorsolutions.com/)

1. Not training your dog. Dogs need training and boundaries in order to be polite and well-behaved. Be clear on how you want your dog to behave and the household rules. Think of these common training issues: jumping up to greet people, getting on furniture, stealing food from counters, unruly when walking on a leash, not coming when called, bolting out doors, etc. These are common problems that can be addressed with training and behavior modification. You don’t have to be frustrated with your dog!

2. Giving your dog too much freedom. A dog’s freedom should be proportionate to his behavior. Common issues that can arise when a dog has too much freedom include eliminating indoors, marking, chewing, stealing, digging, etc. If your dog is doing these things when you aren’t around to consequence or train him, he has too much freedom. While confinement or restriction alone won’t alleviate these issues entirely, it will make the treatment program work much more quickly and effectively.

3. Not understanding your dog’s personality and preferences. Dogs, like people, have preferences. Not all dogs like other dogs, or children, or strangers. Some dogs are environmentally focused by breed and instinct and will therefore be limited in the attention or command compliance they give you while they are engaged in their interests. Training may be limited by their breed, personalities, preferences, experiences, etc.

4. Not giving your dog adequate exercise or outlets for enrichment. Dogs were not intended to live a sedentary life in the confines of our homes. Like us, they can get cabin fever and become restless when they haven’t had an outlet or exercise. Restlessness usually manifests itself in nuisance behavior problems such as digging, chewing, barking, pestering, and other unruly behaviors. Dogs need to get exercise as well as negotiate things and problem solve. In other words, they need to think as well as work out. Adequate enrichment and exercise decreases or eliminates many behavior problems.

5. Giving your dog everything he wants at will. In our crazy, hectic lives, we generally try to do things to make dog ownership easier on our schedules. We have tons of toys available, give them dog doors, and have food available for them at all times. While this makes it much easier for us and convenient for our dogs, it isn’t the best situation. Dogs should learn to do something to get something as a part of their training. They should learn to do what we ask in exchange for a desired resource. Dogs that never have to ask for anything can be difficult to train. While they can learn to sit for treats, if the training isn’t incorporated into their routine, it will have little impact. Dogs should learn to sit or down in order to get access to or freedom from things. They should learn to sit and down for dinner, doors to open, access to certain furniture if allowed, access to certain rooms, etc. If your dog is asked to sit before being allowed outside and he doesn’t sit, then the door doesn’t open which is a consequence for not complying. Dogs that have all of their resources freely available at all times don’t need to do something to get something and therefore will likely not be as well trained.

If you avoid these common mistakes it will lead to a much more balanced relationship between you and your dog!

Help! I think my Dog has separation anxiety!!

Written by: Sam Kabbel, CPDT-KA, President, Pet Behavior Solutions

Newly adopted pets may be more prone to adjustment issues in their new home. Often times newly adopted dogs attach quickly to their humans as their source of security while they are negotiating the environment and learning the routine. With most dogs, they adjust quite readily but in some cases, they can become anxious and inconsolable when their owners leave. This article is designed to help you identify whether or not your dog may have separation anxiety. It will give you some general guidelines to help your dog adjust and tolerate being separated from you.

What is Separation Anxiety?

Separation anxiety describes dogs that are overly attached or dependent on family members. They become extremely anxious and show distress behaviors of vocalization, destruction, house-soiling, or inactivity when separated from the owners. Most dogs with separation anxiety try to remain close to their owners and become increasingly anxious the greater the separation. They may follow the owners from room to room and begin to display signs of anxiety as soon as the owners prepare to leave. Some of these dogs crave a great deal of physical contact and attention from their owners and can be demanding. During departures or separations they may begin to salivate or pant profusely, vocalize, eliminate, refuse to eat, become destructive, or become quiet and withdrawn. Most often these behaviors occur within about 30 minutes of the owner’s departure. While typically the behavior occurs each and every time the owner leaves, it can only happen on selected departures, such as work-day departures, or when the owner leaves again after coming home from work.

Many dogs enjoy chewing and engage in the behavior when they have nothing better to keep them occupied. House-soiling may be due to medical problems, leaving the dog alone for longer than he can control his bladder, or inadequate house-training. Vocalization may be due to territorial intrusion by strangers or other animals and can be a rewarded behavior if the dog receives any form of attention when he vocalizes or rewarded by the stimulus leaving. Some dogs will attempt to escape or become extremely anxious when confined, so that destructiveness or house-soiling when a dog is locked up in a crate, basement, or laundry room, may be due to confinement or barrier anxiety and associated attempts at escape. In addition, noise phobias such as a thunderstorm that passes through during the owner’s absence, may lead to marked destructiveness, house-soiling, salivation, and vocalization.

What can I do immediately to prevent damage?

This is an extremely difficult question. The goal of treatment is to reduce your dog's level of anxiety by training him to feel comfortable in your absence. This can be a long intensive process. Yet, most owners will need to deal with the damage or vocalization immediately. During initial retraining it may be best to hire a dog sitter, take the dog to work, find a friend to care for the dog for the day, board the dog for the day, or arrange to take some time off from work to retrain the dog. Crate training or dog proofing techniques may work especially for those dogs that already have an area where they are used to being confined. Crates should be used with caution however with dogs that have separation anxiety and/or also have barrier frustrations because they can severely injure themselves attempting to get out of a crate.

What should be done prior to departures?

Before any lengthy departure, provide a vigorous session of play and exercise. This not only helps to reduce some of the dog’s energy and tire him out, but also provides a period of attention. A brief training session can also be a productive way to further interact and “work” with your dog. For the final 15-30 minutes prior to departure, the dog should be ignored. The key is to avoid as many of the departure signals as possible, so that the dog’s anxiety doesn’t heighten, even before the owner leaves. Brushing teeth, changing into work clothes, or collecting keys, purse, or briefcase are all routines that might be able to be performed out of sight of the dog. As you depart, the dog should be kept busy and occupied, and preferably out of sight, so that there is little or no anxiety. Giving favored treats and food for departure times (and taking them away when you are at home) can help keep the dog distracted and perhaps “enjoying himself” while you leave. Dogs that are highly stimulated by food may become so intensively occupied in a peanut butter or dog food stuffed dog toy, a new chew bone, or some frozen dog treats, that they may not even notice you leave. Be certain that the distraction devices last as long as possible so that the dog continues to occupy his time until you are “long gone”. Frozen treats placed in the dog’s food bowl, toys that are tightly stuffed with goodies, toys that are designed to require manipulation and work to obtain the food reward, toys that can maintain lengthy chewing, and timed feeders that open throughout the day are a few suggestions. Naturally, food will not be effective for dogs that will not eat when the owner is preparing to leave. If you have multiple dogs, you should take caution about competitive situations with food and treats.

What should I do when I come home?

At homecomings, ignore your dog until he calms and settles down. Take this time to get changed, check your e-mail or read your mail. When he has calmed from his initial reaction, then you may calmly greet him. Exuberant greetings or any type of punishment for misbehavior will only serve to heighten the dog’s anxiety surrounding homecomings.

None of this is helping, what should I do?

Sometimes, a dog’s anxiety is so severe that none of these things work. If this is the case, you should contact Pet Behavior Solutions or another behavior expert, or your veterinarian. You will likely need a systematic protocol to desensitize your dog to departures and separation from you. These protocols will contain exercises designed to teach your dog to relax and accept longer periods of separation from you. These protocols should be specifically designed for your family, environment, routine, and your dog. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all. I can be reached at sam@petbehaviorsolutions.com or at 602-324-8948.