Road to the “Peaceable Kingdom”

by lennearbNo Comments
This post tells a personal story. In subsequent posts, I will address some of the details of introducing new pets and dealing with conflicts. A lot of people ask me how long it will take to reconcile their new or newly conflicting pets, especially their cats or their dog and cats. People would really like a timeline, a “drop-dead” date by which they will no longer have to engage in the complicated ballet of managing multiple pets who do not get along, must be kept separated, requiring two separate routines and extensive demands on people’s time. People would also like to know when they can expect to see progress, and how much they can expect to see, what it will look like, and so on. I call this process—the process of moving from managing multiple pets who are in major or minor conflict to one in which everything is running smoothly in an integrated household—the road to the “Peaceable Kingdom” (a phrase...
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THUMP! – A reminder travel safely

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We had attended two weddings 600 miles apart in less than 24 hours—driving through the night to make it to the second one on time. People said we were crazy, but we didn’t feel we could let down the friends and family that were counting on us. In the end, the trip had been successful, and the car was packed for the trip home. There had been some light rain, but the road conditions were fine, and we expected an uneventful drive. Certainly, we didn’t think anything of having to stop behind several other cars to wait for another vehicle to turn left. That is, until I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the yellow Jeep coming up behind us. It was braking, but not fast enough to stop on the slightly slippery road. Thump! We both jerked forward in our seatbelts, glanced at each other, and pulled to the side of the road. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad,...
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Life of the Party: 5 Tips for a Safe and Successful Party – With Pets!

by lennearb1 Comment
Christmas has come and gone. Stockings have been opened and family have departed, but with New Year's Eve fast approaching, party season is far from over. Whether you are planning to entertain for or in the New Year, here are a few tips to help you host a successful gathering. 1. Consider individual needs. Not everyone is a party animal. You may have your heart set on a free-for-all with children and dogs running gleefully around the backyard (ok, maybe not in Maryland for New Year's), but unless you select your guest list carefully, that just isn't going to be in everyone's best interest. The needs of human and animal guests need to be carefully considered. If you want to let all your friends bring their dogs, are all the dogs likely to get along? Do you have enough room to separate them if you need to, either because they don't get along, or because some are overwhelmed by the number...
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Trouble on Easy Street

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This post briefly sets the stage for why we should take time to train our cats. It is the first in our cat-training focused series. I don't know anyone who would argue with the statement that cats love sunbeam. Yesterday morning, I found my cat, Nefertiti, lounging on the bathroom rug right in the path of a morning sunbeam. However, most cats are looking for a lot more out of life than 20 years or so of moving from sunbeam to sunbeam - unfortunately, that is all that is expected of many of them. While there is not a lot of detailed evidence about the exact evolution of cats, most scientists seem to agree that cats evolved to live with people primarily as vermin hunters with a side of companionship. This is in distinct contrast to dogs, who evolved as co-hunters and protectors as well as companions and were subsequently selectively bred for a variety of tasks, including herding, tracking, retrieving, as...
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