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Posts Tagged ‘music’

There are quite a few things that can create anxiety in you animals at home but there are some things that you can do to minimize your dog’s anxiety tendencies.
Here are a few do things.

Do:

Exercise the heck out of her. Really wear her out: the longer you expect to be away, the more exercise she should get before you leave.

For example, if you are leaving for work in the morning, she will probably be by herself for at least four hours; and, if you have got a dog-walker to take her out mid-day instead of coming back yourself, she will not see you as the person she really cares about – for at least nine hours.

So she needs a good, vigorous walk (fifteen to twenty minutes is the absolute minimum here!) before you walk out that door. More is even better.

Distract her from her boredom, loneliness, and anxiety by giving her an attractive alternative to pining, pacing, and whining. All dogs love to chew and why not play on this predisposition?

Get a couple of marrowbones from the butcher, bake them in the oven for 20 minutes (so they go nice and hard and crunchy and so she can not smear marrow all over your furniture), slice them up into chunks of a few inches long, and give her one about 15 minutes before you leave.

It will keep her happy and occupied, and will act as a smokescreen for your departure.

When you leave, put the radio on to a soothing station: classical music is ideal, but any station featuring lots of talk shows is also ideal. Keep the volume quite low, and it will calm her down a bit and give her the feeling that she has got company.

If at all possible, supply her with a view: if she can see the world going by, that’s the next best thing to being out and about in it.

Acclimatize her to your leaving. Taking things nice and slowly, practice getting ready to go jingle your keys about, put on your coat, and open the door. Then without leaving sit back down and do not go anywhere.

Do this until she is not reacting any more. When there is no reaction, give her a treat and lavish praise for being so brave. Next, practice actually walking out the door (and returning immediately), again doing this until there is no reaction.

Gradually work up and gradually being the operative word here until you are able to leave the house with no signs of stress from her.

Do not:

Act overtly sympathetic when she is crying. Although it sounds very cold-hearted, trying to soothe and comfort your dog by patting her and cooing over her is actually one of the worst things you can do: that is essentially validating her concern.

Make sure she can not tell that you feel sorry for her: do not ever say, it is OK, good girl when she is upset!

If you are interested in getting a more detailed look at how to deal with your dogs separation anxiety, you might like to check out a recommended book which might help you with your dog’s problems.

This book is a great learning tool for anyone who wants to learn how to deal constructively with their dogs problem behaviors.

As a mater of fact, all of the common behavioral problems are dealt with in detail in this book, and there is a great section on obedience commands and tricks too.

Catnip cat toys are a great gift for any of your feline friends. Which types of toy should be acquired for kitty? A catnip mouse always ranks highly. Felines enjoy stalking and chasing down victims as prey, and catnip mice are an ideal combination of hunting and the love of catnip.

Plasticized catnip mice are wonderful for knocking across hard surfaces since they go flying easily so your feline friend can pursue the mouse with predatorial intent. These are inexpensive and it’s easy to buy a bag of several of them for a few bucks. Bigger, more real catnip mice also exist, ideally suited for more intent wrestling and rabbit kicking your little friend will enjoy. Often the bigger ones will have come with bells on, as it were, sewn to or in the interior of the toy such that your hunter will love the scent and the musical jingling breaking the silence of the night you’ve become so attached to.

Are there more catnip cat toys out there? Beyond catnip mice exist several more infused delights. To be sure, several types of toys can be refilled via a pouch that you just place more catnip in. If you buy bulk catnip then you can keep them fresh a long time. Certain types of catnip cat toys are simply containers for catnip. It might look like an ordinary cloth bag, or possibly more artistically rendered items like food your feline might recognize. Keep in mind a refillable toy will be enjoyable for longer, as catnip is more potent when fresh, thus having more value.

Another popular catnip cat toy aremscented balls for chasing around. Much like the small catnip mice, these are best suited to a smooth floor, since they will have enhanced rollability and your little friend will enjoy attacking them, thus getting more exercise.

Some catnip items can hung over doorframes or mounted to walls, so on occasion of their attack by your crazy cat, they bounce to and fro, and cats will assume that these are worth a fight, and therefore more necessary to attack!

Keep in mind that for sanitation and hygiene concerns, usually catnip cat toys are non-returnable as they may have been licked and drooled on. Catnip doesn’t go in them by accident, of course! As noted previously, a multitude of choices do exist, though of course any are always fun!