Training

There are medical as well as behavioral reasons why cats chew, lick, or eat non-food objects. A kitten, just like a baby, will take everything into her mouth just out of curiosity. It is thought, though not scientifically proven, that an adult cat who persists on chewing and eating a non-food item may be lacking certain nutrients in her diet.

We all know to childproof our homes to keep young children safe, but what about "pet proofing" our homes too? Many edible and non-edible dangers for your pet may exist in or around your home. Knowing about these dangers can help you make your home a safer place for your pet.

Behavior is the way an animal acts. An animal's action or response to a stimulus is a behavior. Walking, swimming, flying, eating, blinking, and breathing are all examples of behavior. Animals behave in specific ways for four primary reasons. Animal behaviors are primarily strategies for survival. Animal training is the act of teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli.

Cats are intelligent, sensitive animals who are completely dependent on their human caregivers. These qualities make them very trainable. In fact, cats have been trained to do certain "tricks" in television commercials and movies. Cats are trained to help the hearing impaired by responding to smoke alarms, doorbells, and telephones. I know of a blind person who is using a cat as a guide in her home. The cat meows a warning just before the person is about to bump into something. Cats can even be taught to use the toilet. Now, if we could only get them to flush it!

Actions such as "alpha rolls" and "scruff shakes" have no basis when studying wolf or dog behavior. They only lead to creating unnecessary fear on our dog's part toward us, fear that ultimately can lead to aggression because the frightened dog knows of no other way to protect itself other than using its teeth.

No two dogs, or two human handlers, are alike. You should treat every dog and every handler as an individual. Here is a list of commonly used training tools. These tools help each dog, and each handler has a positive, successful training experience promoting the human-canine bond.

Cats love to jump. You would too, it you were a cat! They also like high places where they can view their territory from relative security. Cats are naturally curious, and there are a lot of interesting things on counter tops, including food. A one-time discovery of a food tidbit will become a powerful reinforcer for dozens of future explorations.

First, it is important to understand the difference between spraying (urine marking) and indiscriminate urination. A cat who is not using the litter box, who is urinating outside of the box, is usually motivated by a different set of circumstances. Urination of this kind is found in the form of a puddle on a horizontal surface. A cat who is spraying will usually urine-mark a vertical surface. This cat's urine will be running down a door or the side of a chair.

Selecting the right dog trainer is important. Here are ten questions you should ask any potential dog training professional before hiring them. These questions focus on the positive reinforcement training method, and include a guide to identifying stress in your pet.

You have chosen to include a wonderful friend and companion in your family, a cat. Now, you must accept that a cat has an innate need to use its claws to scratch. Cats will scratch for three reasons. In this article we will cover these reasons, as well as some possible solutions.