Train yourself first, in learning what your body language is communicating to your pets and also what their body language is telling you. This is truly one of the most important things that you can do for your pet.

Question: HELP!! My 9 and half week old lab puppy is pretty good at night in her crate, but during the day, she barks, digs, salivates for the entire time. When I let her out she comes out crying and follows me everywhere crying. I find this extremely upsetting and I’m ready to give her back. Will she get used to it eventually by continuing to put her in her crate? When the crate is open she goes in on her own to sleep and play but the second you close the door, all hell breaks loose. I have tried

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Stefanie Kotschwar, a licensed veterinary technician at Lynwood Animal Hospital, Nepean, Ontario, Canada. Her practice has a strong emphasis in exotic pet care, and makes providing a Low Stress Handling® care experience a top priority.  Stefanie has been selected to present Low Stress Handling® in small mammals at ExoticsCon this fall. Dr Foote: Stefanie, I see that you have various degrees.  Tell me about your journey into veterinary care for exotic pets.  Originally from Austria, I grew up in Colombia. As a young adult I moved to Guelph and earned my degrees in nutrition and zoology.

It is April, and thunderstorms are upon us here in the Midwest.  Many dogs are fearful of thunderstorms.  It is the most common subtype of noise phobias in dogs.  The behavioral response may vary from mild pacing or panting up to escape behaviors such as digging repetitively at the door,  trembling severely, or injuring teeth and nails to get out of confinement.  Triggers for the fear include falling barometric pressure, wind, rain, cloud cover,  and thunder (1) Many of these triggers are present hours before the storm develops.  When the thunder and lightening occur, often the dog escalates into full

Have you ever been in a new city or location or situation and uncertain of where to go and the person who’s supposed to be guiding you keeps getting you mixed up? “This way,” they say as they walk forward slowly but while scanning the signs to the right and left. And then, “Wait no… this way.” And then, “Oops. I meant the other way instead.” If you have, I’m sure you remember the stress and frustration. Now ask yourself, do the dogs I walk at the veterinary hospital or shelter get mixed signals, too? Am I conveying an air

As the discipline of reducing stress during veterinary care grows, it helps to have a place where you can find resources.  In this post, I have gathered the handouts, blog articles, book chapters, and on-line course content descriptions in one place to help you provide a better care experience for your patients. At my practice, Okaw Veterinary Clinic, I found that hanging a framed copy of both the dog and cat body language posters helped me and my staff recognize brewing fear and aggression before it escalated. The posters are available to purchase in packs of 100, which make great