Featured Articles
Outdoor Cats
The first time you own a cat, you must decide on several things. You must decide what food will keep it healthy and what toys will keep it happy. Then you must decide what veterinary clinic will take care of …
Taking your dog on vacation
You might treat your dog like part of the family, but sometimes you can’t bring it everywhere with you. For example, you don’t think twice about leaving it at home or in the car while you’re grocery shopping. But when …
Calming Signals from Dogs
Calming signals are a natural way for your dog to communicate. They are used among dogs as well as most other animal species as a conflict solving method when faced with unpleasant things such as aggression, stress and fear, or …
Basic Learning Theory and Dogs
Before taking on the rewarding task of training your pet, it might be a good idea to learn about how dogs (and any other animal, including ourselves) actually learn. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are two terms you may have come across. They are two of the most important concepts governing learning.
Classical conditioning was made famous by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov and his dogs. Perhaps you have heard of the experiments he conducted, which eventually got the dogs salivating and drooling simply at the sound of a ringing bell, because they were expecting food. How classical conditioning works is that a neutral stimulus, such as a bell, is paired with giving food. Eventually, after a number of pairings the animal mentally associates the bell with the food.
Seizures or Convulsions in Animals
What is a seizure?
A condition where neurons in the cerebral cortex of the brain fire with an uncontrollable but synchronous fashion that never occurs during normal behavior. It’s kind of like a mini electrical shock occurring in a localized …
Adopting Adult Cats & Dogs
Getting a new pet is never a quick or easy decision. How do you know what pet is right for you? First you must figure out what your options are. There are purebreds, strays, rescues, puppies, kittens, and adults. That’s …
Torn Cruciate Ligaments in Dogs
Scenario 1: You’re out for a walk with your young large-breed dog. To use an example, we will say it’s a one year old Rottweiler. Your dog is very active, gets lots of exercise, and loves going for long runs …
Toxic Foods and Household Items
Common toxic foods and other household products for pets
We all know what’s poisonous for adults and children, and most of those same things are also toxic for our pets. Dogs, cats and other domestic animals however are also susceptible …
