Archive for the Uncategorized Category

Companion Animal Learning, Stress, and the Immune Response Sometimes after successfully implementing the changes that eliminate their animal’s problem behavior, my clients comment that doing so ranked among the most difficult but most fulfilling work they’ve ever done. And no doubt their animals felt the same way. One possible reason why mental changes may strike [...]

Behavioral Contranyms Have no idea what contranyms, the subject of this week’s podcast, are? Here are three hints to help you:  All of these words share a special property. More likely than not you’re familiar with such words, but didn’t realize they rated a special name. Some non-behavioral examples include second-guess, impregnate, and secrete. Now that you [...]

The Bird Wars When I read the studies regarding the effects of free-roaming cats  and the far fewer and less publicized studies regarding the effects of artificial bird food supplies, i.e. feeders, on the wild bird population, I see so many variables it makes my brain ache. Once again what we need is someone with [...]

  Reprising FRATT for the New Year Throughout December I gave a lot of thought to what I wanted to write in the first commentary of 2013. Ultimately I decided to resurrect a commentary I wrote back in 2008. And, no, I didn’t do this because I succumbed to a holiday-cheer induced writer’s block. Or [...]

  Processed Food for Thought In mid-August I was part of a group of journalists and bloggers invited to visit the Hills Pet Food facilities in Topeka and Emporia, Kansas. Unless some of the other members of the group have access to a wondrously effective Fountain of Youth, I was most likely the oldest person [...]

  That Restless Time of Year When late summer in the northern hemisphere rolls around, do you find you feel restless and even out of sorts for no reason? Does your cat seem edgier and your dog more watchful and whiney? In the old days, if you mentioned this to a human medical or behavioral [...]

I’ve known for years that I have bears wandering through if not actually living on my property.  Once a young black bear veered off toward my place after loping down the road beside my car for a while as I was driving home from the dump. Other times, I watched them destroy bird feeders less [...]

who has responded to these podcasts and blogs. Of all the net-related activities that get foiled by my dial-up, this one is especially slow. That’s saying a lot considering how slow everything else is! But I do want you all to know that I greatly appreciate your comments and read every one of them. and [...]

A Peck of Trouble: Farm Animals in Suburbia A few weeks ago I read an article in the local paper touting the value of home-grown food that incomprehensibly segued into a tirade about laws that prohibit the keeping of chickens and other farm animals in suburbia. That surprised me because keeping farm animals in more [...]

Apparently the cybergods think play is an important subject too, because this link just showed up in a veterinary news service I receive. Enjoy. Play. Smile.