Getting help for your pet We offer several free options to help regardless of your pet’s behavior! Frequently Asked Questions
Introducing Your New Cat to Your Other Pets It’s important to have realistic expectations when introducing a new pet to a resident pet. Some cats are more social than other cats. For example, an eight-year-old cat that has never been around other animals may never learn to share her territory (and her people) with other pets in the…
Introducing House Rabbits Before attempting an introduction, the rabbits must be spayed and neutered and you should wait for a full two weeks after the surgery before proceeding with the introduction. This delay both ensures proper healing and gives the hormones a chance to dissipate. This delay is especially important with a newly…
How to Interact Safely with Dogs Dogs are complex animals that may display a variety of different behaviors in any given situation. Any dog–from your best friend at home to the stray dog on the street–will react differently, and possibly unexpectedly, to people, places and other animals. Animal behavior can shift from moment to moment, so…
Housetraining a Puppy Housetraining a puppy requires time, vigilance, patience and commitment. By following the procedures outlined below, you can minimize house soiling incidents, but virtually every puppy will have an accident in the house (more likely several). This is part of raising a puppy and should be expected. The more consistent you…
Happy Feet If you own an equine–whether it’s a horse, donkey, pony or mini–chances are good that you’ll need to have its feet maintained on a regular schedule. Equines’ hooves are continually growing, and unless they’re walking 20 miles a day or more on rough terrain, the hooves will have to be…
Handling “Spooky” situations by Brent Winston, equine trainer As winter began and the busy part of riding season came to an end, a lot of folks started calling Harmony to recap their rides or ask for advice on issues that had come up for their horses over the summer. One of most common…
Getting Started with the Clicker The easiest way to start clicker training is to teach your dog to hand target. During this process your dog will learn that the click sound ALWAYS means a treat is coming, and he’ll learn that offering a specific behavior earns a click/treat. This will become the foundation for teaching…
Fearful and Excitement Urination Does your dog pee when they are excited or scared? We explore the reasons for fearful and excitement urination, why some dogs urinate when they have big emotions, and what steps you can take to help reduce the frequency of fear, excitement, and submissive urination accidents.
The Barking Dog Barking is the result of either anxiety or your dog being pre-genetically deposed to barking, like hounds. If you own a breed that is known to bark, then work on teaching your dog the “quiet” command (see below), provide plenty of outlets, and provide toys to keep them busy. Anxiety-related…
Establish Your Personal Space Horses, donkeys and mules are very big animals. This may seem like an obvious fact, but it’s crucial to keep it in mind any time we interact with or train horses. Every day I get to work with these awesome creatures and teach folks how to act around them. More…
The Canine Escape Artist Escaping is a serious problem for both you and your dog, as it can have tragic consequences. If your dog is running loose, he is in danger of being hit by a car, being injured in a fight with another dog, or being hurt in a number of other ways.
The Fearful Cat When cats feel threatened, they usually respond in three ways to the object, person, or situation they perceive as a threat: fight, flee, or freeze. Some cats become so frightened they lose control of their bladder or bowels and eliminate right where they are. Each cat has his/her preferred way…
Enriching Your Dog’s Life Your dog is a living, breathing animal that relies on you for almost literally everything (food, water, shelter, play time, potty breaks…). Taking care of your dog’s physical and mental enrichment is part of being a dog owner. Dogs that get enough mental and physical exercise are going to be…
The Fearful Dog Dogs can be afraid of a lot of different things. A frightened dog might also do a lot of different things when it’s afraid. Scared dogs might freeze, or try to run away, to calm down the scary thing, or to scare away the scary thing. Scared dogs might do…
Understanding Aggressive Behavior in Dogs Aggression means intent to do harm. The word aggression however can refer to a range of behaviors from barking and growling, snarling and snapping, to biting and attacking. Threats of aggression are one-way dogs have of communicating and are often displayed as a means of avoiding outright aggression. However, a…
Understanding Cat Aggression Towards People Cat owners sometimes have difficulty understanding why their cats, who seem to be friendly and content one minute, may suddenly bite and scratch them the next. Aggressive behaviors are part of the normal behavioral patterns of almost any animal species. Cat bites are seldom reported, but may occur more frequently…
