Subscriber Archive
Fufu, the assertive and overconfident baby dog, arrived woefully unprepared for life in his new home. He was just 7 weeks old when he confused his new pet parents, Melissa and Jeremy, with 4 legged fuzzy playmates. He started nipping and rough-housing and treating them like his buds on day one. Showing a lack of proper respect for his leaders was a serious mistake on his part but, gee, he just didn’t know any better. A bit more home-schooling in the fine art of social graces with humans would have made a difference. In an ideal world Fufu would have stayed with his mother and littermates until he was 12-14 weeks old. But, like too many canine toddlers, this little guy’s early social education ended too soon. This was not a fatal mistake but with misinformed pet parents he might have been punished instead of getting the coaching he needed…
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Facebook Live Do your pets crack under holiday pressure? You can ask me anything or just listen in during my Facebook Live event, called “Pet Angst: Naughty or Nice?” at 6 PM on Wednesday, December 19. Go to Facebook.com/drjeffnichol. Invite your friends. Together we’ll reach peace on earth. Taking a puppy into your life is a little like adopting a toddler. They’re fun and smiley a lot of the time but then they nip and mouth your hands and chew up your stuff. I know these things; I’ve raised children and dogs. You have to take action. You’re the boss. Let there be no doubt – you are the big banana, the head honcho, the top dog. I get it. So what do you do? Fufu (ah, yes, that is his real name) was just 7 weeks old when he made his grand entry into the home of Melissa and…
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You’re invited to my Facebook Live event called Holiday Worries for Jangled Pets. I’ll share valuable methods for keeping pets peaceful and avoiding hazards on Wednesday, December 19 at 6 PM MDT. You’ll have lots of time to ask me questions. Go to facebook.com/drjeffnichol JP would scratch and bite his person anytime she tried to pick him up. During one of his earlier lives he’d been thrown out the window of a moving car. And he got badly injured. JP didn’t trust anybody after that. My job was to help him get past his fear of human hands.
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Jack was a 2 year old female dog, a Heinz 57. This kid was as sweet as they come, adapting pretty well to her second family except for one really annoying problem. When her folks walked in the door she displayed her feelings by rolling onto her side, raising one rear leg, and draining her bladder. It happened because a dreaded involuntary stab of panic that triggered her neurologic system to go into free-fall. It’s easy to make the wrong move. No one intentionally tries to worsen their dog’s behavior but applying the wrong treatment usually results in bigger problems. Jack could only improve if she was set-up for success by people who modeled canine leadership.
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Do you have a great dog who is everything you’ve ever wanted in man’s or woman’s best friend – except for one really annoying problem? Some dogs wag when greeting their people, others may jump around and bark but your dog flops on her side and dribbles, and I don’t mean with a basketball. It can get worse – much worse. A submissive peer with a furry tail quickly creates modern splatter art by flinging yellow droplets onto the walls, your shoes, legs, and if you’re leaning over to pet the kid, maybe even on your face. Are we having fun yet? Oh you’ve tried everything but this odious habit only seems to worsen. Let’s start with a real dog and her flummoxed folks. Jack was a 2 year old female dog (I know, wrong name for a girl), a Heinz 57. This kid was as sweet as they come,…
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Prior to JP’s stretch in animal control, where his new person Esther found him, this feline waif had already been through two homes. This good lady wanted to learn how she could give her new kitty the love he needed. He just wouldn’t let her touch him. Esther knew that being touched appropriately as a child would have brought her comfort and security. In some ways it can actually be easier to overcome our human challenges while caring for a wounded nonhuman.
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Do you know anybody whose adult life could have been easier and a whole lot happier if they’d been treated better as a child? Not only do I know people like that, I’m one of them. In my work I’m fortunate to meet pets and humans with broken and battered pasts. We are not alone. Esther was a 70 year old single lady when she brought her shiny new 5 month old kitten JP to see me. Actually, I sort of made that up. This little guy was plenty good looking but his emotional state was rather tattered. Prior to his stretch in animal control where Esther found him this feline waif had already been through two homes. Like most cats in shelters his crimes had been behavioral. JP was known to be pushy and assertive in his play with other cats. It seemed that he had few friends in…
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Dogs are man’s and woman’s best friends but there are differences. Unlike most of us they walk on all 4s and they’re somewhat hairier. But like us they’re genetically programmed to look after each other. My dog, Miss America is always on duty. When things go wrong in an animal’s brain it can be difficult to parse apart the details and figure out the cause. Fear is often involved in canine aggression. Anxiety, that waiting for the other shoe to drop can set a good dog up to fail. Effective treatment requires kindness. Pets are excellent models for exercising our kindness because they never grow tired of us and they’ll never leave. When we make mistakes they forgive and they give us a second chance. They won’t grind an axe and they won’t rat you out.
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As Lily headed toward the bedroom she glanced at her cat as a way of getting a read on his mood. She loved Omar but he could be impetuous. At times he was a sweetheart but he could bite – hard. His history included violent reactions when his person brushed him.
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