Think Foie Gras for Cats with Stella & Chewy!

Stella and Chewy was started in 2003 and was inspired by a sick pup and a very good vet that recommended a “raw” diet.   Thankfully, the pup recovered and Stella & Chewy became a successful business in the pet food industry.  I like the fact that the founder of this company, Marie Moody worked with animal nutritionists to create unique recipes; I also like the fact that the food is made in a plant in Wisconsin.  I am always on the lookout for a new treat for my cats from www.chewy.com, so I decided to try Stella & Chewy’s Duck DuckGoose Dinner Morsels … think Foie Gras for cats  -- and my five absolutely love it !  Best of all, it is 20 % off from wwwchewy.com!

Duck Duck Goose is made with 100% cage free poultry with no added hormones or antibiotics.  There are no grains, artificial preservatives or color in it.  The freeze-drying process maintains vital proteins; vitamins, minerals, amino acids and natural enzymes cats need to thrive.  It is enhanced with parsley for added vitamin K, pumpkin seed that aids in digestion and probiotics that helps to keep your cat’s immune system strong.

Duck Duck Goose comes freeze dried in the form of semi –soft bite size morsels that allow pet parents to feed cats this food in one of several ways. You can feed the morsels as they are like a treat, sprinkle them over other wet or dry cat food; or you can rehydrate them by adding ½ a cup of warm water to one cup of morsels. I add a little extra water to the morsels because water is good for cats and also because my cats prefer a softer pate.  If your cat has dental problems adding extra water will make it easier for your cat to eat while ensuring good water intake.

The minute I open the bag of Duck Duck Goose Dinner Morsels, my cats come running.  They watch me with great interest when I am mixing up a batch of morsels and devour it when I put the bowl down.  They really love it!  Most of all, I think they prefer this food as a nighttime treat!   I have caught them sitting by the bag late at night waiting to get a morsel as a treat before I head upstairs to sleep apparently it is a purrfect bedtime treat and at 20% off from www.chewy.com it is a must have!

Travel Tips On October 1 at Ridgefield Playhouse

Pete the Cat LIVE!Saturday, October 1 at 11am & 2pm Ridgefield Academy Family Series Partially underwritten by Books on The Common, South Salem Animal Hospital and Noah's Ark Animal Hospital For Pete's sake – don't miss Pete the Cat! Join Jimmy and the hilarious blue cat, Pete, on a new adventure of friendship, all the way to Paris and back again in a VW bus. Pete the Cat never loses his cool. Jimmy Biddle never strays from his routine. Can cat and boy ever be friends? Fun songs and bright costumes keep the little ones engaged – this is the perfect show to introduce kids to live theater! Bring your book and Pete will sign it in the lobby after the show!

What’s Behind Our Lasting Relationships with Dogs? Researcher Seeks Help

Please welcome today's guest contributor, Karen Griffin, a PhD student at the University of Lincoln who is trying to figure what makes relationships with dogs work. Please read on, as she is hoping for your help!

Hi Mia & Julie,

I am currently working on a study to examine factors that affect successful dog relationships and placements.  I am using a new approach to do this, which involves dog owners and shelter/rescue staff assessing dogs using a set of game-like tests.

What makes some relationships work? Flickr Creative Commons

The abandonment of dogs is a problem that affects much of the world.  In the UK between 2014 and 2015, local authorities handled over 100,000 stray dogs.  In the US, the problem is even more monumental; recent estimates suggest that nearly four million dogs enter shelters nationally per year, and over one million of those are euthanized.  

These are frightening statistics, and science has taken notice in recent years, aiming to understand and help reduce this epidemic.  However, much of this research is narrow in focus and scope, by relying on the analysis of retrospective data, that’s collected by shelters when dogs are relinquished, or in the way it conceptualizes the dog-owner relationship.  In the case of the latter, the dog-human relationship is traditionally understood as a static, unchanging one (e.g. Prato-Previde et al., 2003; Marston et al., 2005).  At the same time, there are indications that our lifestyles and relationships with dogs are not fixed, but dynamic. 

Credit: Steve Benisty

This is where my PhD research steps in.  I have applied a very different approach, and have redefined the dog-owner relationship as a dynamic entity that changes over time.  Over the course of the relationship, conflict will inevitably arise, as it does in any close personal relationship, and it is the ability of one member of the party (i.e., the dog or the owner) to resolve the conflict. It is this conflict resolution that will determine if the relationship will continue and be successful or not.  The inability to resolve conflict could lead to the relationship failing and the dog being relinquished. 

So now the question is, what do we do about this?  How can we understand or predict which dogs and owners will be able to resolve conflict and thus which relationships will succeed?  My research has hypothesized that behavioural flexibility (i.e., adaptability) is central to this, so I am assessing this in both humans (i.e., long-term dog owners, dog adopters, and dog relinquishers) as well as dogs.  

Game time

This is where I need help!  I created a citizen science study that dog lovers worldwide can join.  I have developed a set of four game-like tests that assess behavioural flexibility in dogs:

• L-Shaped Food Finding Test

• Time Alone Test

• Three-Toy Test

• Pointing Test

About you
I am seeking help from people in these two groups:  

1. Long-term dog owners to participate with their own dog(s) (i.e. people who have owned their dog for at least three years)
2. Animal shelters, rescue centres, rehoming organizations to participate with dogs without a current home

Time commitment
The study should take approximately 10 minutes per test plus 10 minutes for set-up and background survey completion.  An hour should be sufficient for everything.  Please note, you do not have to complete all four tests to participate.

Study website:
http://www.thedogrehomingproject.org

Dog owners link for questionnaire and games: http://www.thedogrehomingproject.org/want-to-get-your-dog-in-on-the-fun/

Participate with a shelter or rescue dog (dog without a current home): http://www.thedogrehomingproject.org/get-involved-contribute-to-the-science/work-or-volunteer-in-an-animal-shelter-or-for-a-dog-rescue/

Please don't hesitate to contact me should you have any questions: kgriffin@lincoln.ac.uk Thank you for considering contributing to this study of what makes relationships stick!

Karen Griffin, BA, MA, MPhil

University of Lincoln

School of Life Sciences

Friday waves!

It's me, waving Happy Friday greetings to  you!

Well, let's pretend this is a happy wave, although one might think it's not :-) Have a GREAT weekend friends!!!

“Dominance” in Dog Training and Behavior, Explained

Guest post by Nancy Frensley, CPDT-KA, CAP2, CNWI, CGC Evaluator, Senior Behavior and Training Manager, Berkeley Humane


Dog trainers sometimes still talk about a dog being dominant or dominating. This terminology has affected how people behave toward their dogs and is thankfully, falling out of use. The term is common among biologists who primarily study species in wild settings. It has a use and a precise definition in that context. It describes how a specific species or sub species controls resources in a domain and it can describe population dynamics.

People sometimes excuse their dogs' rude behavior toward other dogs by saying, “He’s alpha.” And some famous trainers have recommended ways to get dogs to change their behavior by “dominating them in physical ways. These are moves that all too often get used for every behavior an owner doesn’t like such as not coming quickly enough or barking at another dog.

Dog trainers, many of whom had been military dog handlers during World War II, were quick to pick up early theories about the dog/human relationship, which were loosely based on observations of captive wild wolves and how they behaved toward each other. This led observers to the believe that “dominance” was a personality trait.

It was thought, at the time, that if we just mirrored a wolf pack with our own dogs, We could solve all behavior and training problems. Dog owners were instructed to go to the mat with their dogs and always win, no matter how exhausting it might be, and people dutifully did so, pinning mystified and frightened dogs to the ground until they gave up (or bit the owners)

Using these theories put both trainers and pet owners into conflict with the dogs they loved. The whole misguided movement resulted in the widespread use of abusive training techniques which have rapidly been replaced with dog friendly training through positive reinforcement and games. These are much more palatable to both the dogs and the people involved and gets better results in the long run.

There is a very easy way to view dominance when referring to companion dogs and their people. Dominance, in biology, is the control of and access to resources. We humans control most of our dogs’ resources and control access to just about everything our dogs want. We determine when and where the dog eliminates, what resting surfaces he can use, when and what he eats and how he greets strangers. That makes us, by default, the dominant species.

We can decide how we use this status and don’t have to do anything extra to prove that we are, indeed, the dominant species in this relationship. We can choose to be kind, to train in a dog friendly way and be gentle & compassionate while setting the boundaries needed for our dogs to live with us in a human society.

And have you noticed, nobody talks about dominating cats?


Berkeley Humane's training philosophy and testimonials are on our website, as is a list of upcoming dog training classes.

Welcome home mom!

Sometimes I express my happiness in getting my mom back home in a cute way. Sometimes I don't bother to interrupt my nap. She never knows what she will get, but that's just how we kitties roll...