Tag Archives: dog behavior

Introducing Pets to Newborns, Pt. 1

I am currently babysitting the newborn of a friend until the baby is old enough to go to daycare. The baby will only be at my house for six days, but this is a good opportunity to begin training my dog in how to behave around infants once the time comes for me to have a baby of my own. My dog behaved better than I feared when my friend arrived with her newborn. Our previous experiences with Chihiro at the houses of friends with babies indicated that she might constantly try licking the baby’s face, something she does with … Continue reading →

Chihiro’s Infection

A popular topic at the pets blog is pet health; examples of various maladies your pets might contract, and what to do if that happens. Unfortunately for me, last week I made my second trip to the vet in a month. But that’s fortunate for you, because it gives me more pet health insights to share. This time, we’re not sure what Chihiro’s original problem was. Maybe she had a bug bite. Maybe she had a scratch on her nose as a result from her playtimes with the cat. We noticed a bump on her nose in the middle of … Continue reading →

Moose’s Love Affair with the UPS Man

This love story probably won’t hit the big screen any time soon: dog meets delivery driver. But it’s a love affair I get to watch on a regular basis. My dog Moose loves everyone. He’d happily get into an open car door, wander off with strangers… it doesn’t matter who. He loves everyone. It’s really very sweet. (My other dog, Lally, is much more timid around strangers.) But Moose has a few special people in his life, people he just goes NUTS for. My dad is one of them. The UPS man is another. Our local UPS driver seems to … Continue reading →

Can Pets Sense Our Emotions?

I’ve always believed that animals are sensitive to emotions — in their owners, in new people they meet, maybe even in other animals. But if you try to go looking for proof, you get a whole lot of anecdotal evidence. I am pretty sure that my dogs recognize tone of voice — and that is often related to emotion. They know the difference between my play voice and my serious voice (the one that says “go in the house now, we’re done fooling around and trying to find cats in the landscaping!”) For the record, they listen better to the … Continue reading →

Moose vs. the Patio Door

My dog Moose learned a new trick this week… one nobody taught him. I’ll start by saying that Moose doesn’t seem to be the smartest dog out there. When I first adopted him in January 2004, he was a handful. He didn’t answer to his name, he didn’t really know any commands, and he had very few boundaries. But over the years together, I’ve learned that Moose can be very clever when he wants to be. I already knew he could open doors — on more than one occasion, he’s managed to push the handle down on the bathroom door … Continue reading →

Spring Fever: Moose’s Version

My shepherd mix Moose is handling the change of seasons very differently from my boxer mix Lally. Lally welcomed spring with an allergy attack of massive proportions. She’s been to the vet three times, taken steroids, antihistamines, and antibiotics (plus three different kinds of skin cream) to clear things up and is FINALLY getting back to normal. For Moose, spring has been more of an emotional change. Moose isn’t the most active dog out there. My roommates and I sometimes call him “Speed Bumpy” because he’s often found sprawled and snoring. He is a dog of comfort. But the warmer … Continue reading →

Pets Behaving Badly: Food

What’s the most outrageous thing your pet has done? That’s the question I posed to one of my online pet communities. The responses I’ve gotten have been too funny to not share! A lot of the stories dealt with food snatching — those treats that our four-legged friends just can’t resist! Marci from Michigan talked about her dog Bishop’s crazy cravings: My significant other and I have a very large African Cichlid aquarium in our bedroom. Well, one night after we went to bed, Bishop grabbed a large brand new can of fishy flakes off the dresser. He ate the … Continue reading →

Moose is Full of Mischief!

I guess even dogs can get a wild hair now and then. My dog Moose (a German shepherd mix) has been full of mischief lately! It started a few nights ago. The dogs and I went to bed around ten (our usual bedtime, give or take an hour or so) after one last quick trip outside for piddles. Around 1:30 in the morning, something drags me out of slumber. Fwee! Fwee! This is the noise Moose makes when he wants attention; it’s a pathetic cross between a whine and a whistle. Moose only has the one “distress” noise, so I … Continue reading →

Dogs and Cats Living Together: the Advantage of Height

Little by little, my dogs and my roommates’ cats are getting used to each other. The dogs are mostly polite when the door to the cats’ room is open — they don’t bark or whine TOO much, unless I’m in with the cats. One of my roommates found an online forum for cat lovers, and asked for advice about introducing cats to dogs. She got one piece of advice that I think is really valuable: give the cats the advantage of height. Think of it this way: the cats weigh between ten and twenty pounds. The dogs weigh five to … Continue reading →

The Dogs vs. the Laser Pointer

My new roommates just picked up a new laser pointer for playing with their cats. Let the hilarity ensue! The two cats are pretty entertaining when the laser pointer is out. They chase the spot around the room, stare at it in horror when the red dot is on a paw, and go skittering into the bathroom (and onto the tile) at full speed in pursuit. Since it was such fun and great exercise for the kitties, we decided to try it on my dogs Moose and Lally. My roommate M. was in control of the laser pointer; I sat … Continue reading →