We like to compare our pets ages to ours - wondering how old they would be in human years. Forget the old information - every one year of your dog or cats life, is equivlent to 7 of ours. That is very outdated. Currently, the newer estimate for cats is at one year,...
Raising Your Paws
How to Increase Your Dog’s Happiness. (Blog #76)
Get them SEEKING more. This is one of the core emotion systems in your dogs brain. In your's as well by the way. The SEEKING system is a combination of emotions - wanting, looking, curiosity. Overall, it makes us and our dogs feel happy. In this week's episode of...
Do You Know about the Dogs that Helped on 9-11? (Blog #75)
As I'm writing this blog, on Sept. 8, 2020, it is startling to me to think that the events of Sept. 11, 2001 were 19 years ago. In recalling and paying respect to all those that lost their lives and the people and canines, that worked to save and recover others, on...
What Core Emotions Do I Share With My Pets? (Blog #74)
You, dogs and cats (and other mammals for that matter) have the same core emotion systems in our brains. These systems reside in the lower parts of the brain and evoke feelings whose basic, most elemental purpose is to tell us when something is good for our survival...
Figure Out Your Pet’s Age in Human Years -The New Way. (Blog #73)
You’ve heard that for every 1 year of your pet’s life, it counts as 7 human years, right? Well, there's new thinking in this regard that lets you be a bit more accurate. Our pets mature quicker than we do during their early years, so a dog and cat's first year is...
How To Know If Your Cats Consider Themselves Friends (Blog #72)
There are tell-tale signs that your multiple cats will exhibit that let you know if they consider themselves friends or enemies. Of course, it may be obvious to you that two of your cats are getting along. They play nicely, may groom each other and often will sleep...
How to Adjust To and Train An Adopted Pet. (Blog #71)
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.
What Is Leash Reactivity? (Blog #70)
Dogs can act differently towards other animals and/or people when they are attached to a leash or restrained in some way. Does your dog, who normally and peacefully greets other dogs running free at the dog park, start barking and jumping and lunging aggressively at...
What To Do So Your Dog Will Listen To You. (Blog #69)
Want to improve the odds that your dog will listen to and follow your cues? Look into it's eyes. This is what two researchers from the University of Vienna, discovered when they conducted an experiment to find out how dogs decide when it is safest to disobey their...
How Your Cat Could Go Along on a Bike Ride. (Blog #68)
How can cats possibly go along with you when you go hiking, biking, kayaking or even simply to the beach? We are used to dogs always accompanying us in our adventures, but we rarely if ever conceive of the notion that cats can do these things as well. And for many...
Do You Have a Story to Tell About Your Pet? (Blog #67)
One of your pet's stories could be heard on the Raising Your Paws Podcast. I've started a new feature on the show - telling true, funny, scary, crazy or heartwarming stories about dogs and cats from pet parents and owners like you. And you just might have the...
Cats Doing Dog Agility? (Blog #66)
Nonsense you might say! If you are a dog owner who believes that dogs are THE rock stars of agility and would not deign to think that a feline could ever be as good or proficient as a canine or there be any point in the first place, for cats participating in the...
What Rocket, NutriSource’s Childrens Hospital Health Care Dog, Did When He Knew A Child Was In Desperate Need. (Blog #65)
Rocket, a Golden Retriever, that works in the M Health Fairview Masonic Children's hospital in Minnesota, due to the generous funding of the program by NutriSource Pet Foods, has skills that go way beyond what therapy dogs do. In this week's episode of the Raising...
A Dog With A Very Unusual Job Description (Blog #64)
NutriSource Pet foods, the company that presents the Raising Your Paws podcast, financially helped the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital add a new full time employee to their staff – a full time facility dog named Rocket.
Worried about your pets and Covid-19? Here Are Reassurances. (Blog #63)
Having access to and getting accurate information is so important right now, to help deal with all the questions you might have regarding Covid-19, yourself, and your pets. There are many sources of good, factual information appearing on the web, to calm your fears...
Blindness Didn’t Stop This Dog from Doing What He Loved. (Blog #62)
Never lose faith in what your dog can do and overcome. This is what Frank Moe, a sled dog musher learned about one of his Alaskan Husky's, named Indy, who was a racing sled dog who lost both of his eyes. Listen to the story of how Indy became blind and yet found his...
Do Dogs Really Smile?
Do you think your dog naturally smiles at you? I've seen what looks like a grin on Rosy's face (my Shetland Sheepdog/German Shepherd mix). See what I mean in the photo below?Rosy looking like she is having a good dream. But most likely, it's just the way she is lying...