Homemade Cookies

 If you are using canned product, cut up some bite-sized pieces and bake in your microwave for approximately 2 ½ -3 minutes. For a conventional oven, bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes or until desired texture.

If you are feeding the dry form, grind the kibbles into a flour type consistency using a blender and mix with enough water to form dough. Shape into “cookies” and bake them on a cookie sheet in the oven for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until crispy.

Oregano may be added to enhance the palatability. All homemade treats need to be stored in the refrigerator no longer than 5-7 days to maintain their freshness and prevent spoilage.

As you know, it is very important for your pets to stay strictly on the prescribed food and this will allow them to feel special and spoiled!

These homemade treats should not exceed 10% of your pets’ total daily intake, as baking the treats does alter the nutritional characteristics of the food. 

SEPARATION ANXIETY IN DOGS

Dr Julie Schell  BSc(Hons), DVM, CVA, CVCHM, CVC

Bow Bottom Veterinary Hospital

www.bowbottomvet.com 

Dogs are very social animals, and they prefer to spend time with their beloved owners, or other dogs rather than time alone.  They like to play, they like to interact and communicate with others. Sleeping is also an important activity for them, however if they are left alone all day after already having slept for hours during the night, it gets boring for them to have to sleep all day as well.

Many dogs are left at home alone most of the day, some of them inside small kennels.  If they are under exercised, they may quickly become bored.  Be sure to exercise your pet as much as possible before and after you get home.  Ensure that your pet has urinated and defecated outside or in their litterbox before confining them.

Play the radio or television for your pet when you are away.  This background noise is often soothing to pets.  There are even cat sitter and dog sitter DVDs available. Also, provide safe chew toys for your dog- you can fill rubber dog toys (such as Kong toys) with healthy foods like carrot, apple, almond butter, canned plain pumpkin, and also give them safe veterinary recommended rawhide or vegetable chews and toys.  Often, many dogs love chewing vegetables such as carrot, cucumber, cauliflower, watermelon with the rind, cantaloupe and green peas, and zucchini.  You can leave raw or cooked vegetables for them to chew when you are away.

Also, work on training your pet to be able to live in a small room rather than a kennel. With time, pets are often able to be trusted to have free reign of their home when you are away, especially if they have lots of toys and chews to use.  There are excellent interactive dog and cat puzzles that help keep your pet’s occupied.  If your pet stays calm, clean and comfortable, then they will most likely sleep while you are away.

Environmental enrichment is an important part of treating separation anxiety.  Fortunately, there are many ways to help decrease stress and improve comfort, joy and play time for your dog while you’re away at work.  These include bringing your dog to a quality pet day care.  Bringing your pet every day that you are out of the house for long periods of time would be optimal.  If that is not possible, bring him or her at least once or twice weekly.  A good quality pet day care centre will enrich your dog’s life by helping to socialize him or her towards other people, exercising him to help maintain optimal body condition, and will provide love and interaction to your pet.  Also, dogs often really enjoy the car rides with their owners to and from the day care.  Many dogs recognize where they are going as soon as they are in the car and they anticipate joy, which is also helpful to their emotional balance.   We offer pet day care here at Bow Bottom Veterinary hospital- come on by for a tour.  Many of our patients love their time with us and look forward to coming- many clients tell us that their pets know the route and start wagging their tails when they know they are on their way to us.

Professional, licensed and bonded dog walkers are also available in Calgary.  They are hired to pick up your dog during the day and take him or her on a walk to provide an excellent form of exercise and entertainment.  Interview several to determine which ones suit your pet’s needs best.

Some dogs need to have even more help in decreasing their anxiety- the use of TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) herbs and acupuncture are very powerful.  Essential oil therapy is very effective, and if your veterinarian is trained in the use of essential oils, they can prescribe oils and oil blends to help calm your pet and keep them balanced.  Essential oils are applied topically, diffused into the environment aromatherapically via oil diffusers, and sometimes added to the food of the pet.  Your veterinarian may also prescribe natural relaxants such as products with calming milk proteins such as BioCalm or Xylkene.

It is great to try these more natural therapies first.

If those are not helping, then Western medicines are needed, such as Clomicalm (clomipramine tablets). It is vital that behaviour modification programs such as working on training protocols to help relax your pet, and desensitize him or her towards fearful environment, sounds, or other stimuli.  There are board certified veterinary behaviourists that are very helpful and may need to work with you, your pet, and your regular veterinarian to help with solutions.

Whatever you do, do not give up on your pet.  There are many ways to help pets with separation anxiety.   The first step is to contact your veterinarian.

For more information check out www.bowbottomvet.com

Protect your Pets from the Dangers of Hunting Season

Bow Bottom Veterinary Hospital

www.bowbottomvet.com

Dr Julie Schell  BSc(Hons), DVM, CVA, CVCHM, CVC 

The beauties of nature during the changing season from fall to winter can be marred by the dangers of hunting season.   It is important to be aware that currently in the province of Alberta, hunting season including moose, elk, and deer is allowed in municipal districts such as Rocky View and it begins in the fall and extends all the way into December.  Rocky View includes suburban areas such as Bearspaw, Springbank, Balzac, Indus, Bragg Creek, Elbow Valley, Bottrel, Madden, Cochrane Lake, Kathyrn, Keoma, Delacor, Dalroy, Conrich, Langdon, and Dalemead.  These areas are inhabited by many people, and homes are often very close together, on small parcels of land.  There are many dogs and cats that live in these areas.  The government allows shooting to occur as long as it is done 200 yards (0.05 acres) or more away from occupied buildings.

Unfortunately, dogs may find bits of carcases left in forests or fields.  This can include the legs and organ meats of the carcass.  Dogs, with their keen sense of smell, are able to detect these items from long distances.  They will eat or at least grab these carcass pieces in their mouths.  Dangers include bacterial infection with dangerous bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella.  Many illnesses and even death can occur due to pancreatitis.

The carcass may also have pieces of bullet fragments.  If ingested, this bullet shrapnel may act as a foreign body and block gastrointestinal areas. If chemicals such as lead or zinc are in the bullet, metal poisoning can occur leading to grave illnesses that may be difficult to diagnose and treat.

People will also offer dogs organ meats of the carcass.  It is important to note that several species of animals such as deer, moose, elk, and mice harbor deadly parasites such as Echinococcus tapeworms, and are intermediate hosts.  Dogs, wolves, coyotes are definitive hosts, and if they ingest the meat of deer, moose, elk, mice, they can become infected and shed the parasite eggs into their environment during defecation.   Humans can then become infected through this cycle.  These parasites will lodge in the brain, liver, spleen and other organs of humans, who are considered incidental hosts, rendering them with serious health concerns such as brain damage.  It is best to not feed your dogs meat from wild animals, especially the liver and other organ meats.  If you are home-cooking recipes for your pet, ensure that the meats are cooked thoroughly to help kill the bacteria and parasites or do not feed that meat at all.  Dogs are the definitive hosts of Echinococcus, and they will shed the eggs in their feces that will infect other humans and animals.   Thus, monthly deworming is vital for all dogs, even dogs who do not hunt and do not leave the city.   This is because many animals will be in contact with contaminated fecal material from infected dogs, including mice, and deer.  If a city dog then eats a mouse or other animal that is infected, they can become carriers and shedders of the Echinococcus and through their feces transfer it to their human owners.

Not only are pets susceptible to the parasites and bacterias in wildlife meats, but they are often not used to eating such rich, foreign food substances and they can develop deadly illnesses such as pancreatitis.   Eating raw or cooked bones and antlers can often chip your pet’s teeth to the point of requiring root canal or extraction.  Bones and antlers can also cause intestinal lesions and indigestion and even death from foreign body entrapments or choke.

Aside from bacterial related gastrointestinal infections and parasites, there are other dangers.  Some dog owners believe that just because their dog’s breed has been used for hunting purposes that they will naturally have the ability to hunt.  It is important to note that hunting dogs require intense training with the skills of professional handlers before it is safe for them to take part in the hunt.   Many dogs bred for hunting may not enjoy it, and may have fears of swimming.   If your dog truly does not enjoy swimming and hiking through the wilderness you should choose other activities that they do enjoy such as skijoring, agility, and indoor play sessions.

Many dogs are paralyzed with fear by the alarming, loud sound of a gunshot.  The dangers of gunshots include deafness.  Dogs also can be hit by stray bullets.  Bright colored jackets and collar lights for dogs will help people differentiate between dog and wildlife, and will also help people find their dogs in the wilderness.  Life jackets for swimming dogs help prevent drowning.

Protect your pets as much as possible by keeping them near your house and on leash during hunting season.   If you own an acreage, you can post signs that read “No Hunting and No Trespassing” so people will know not to shoot on your land.

If your dog is venturing into areas where wild life inhabits, it is vital that they are protected from the disease and pestilence they will be exposed to such as rabies virus, distemper viruses, ticks, mosquitoes, gastrointestinal parasites and bacterias.   Your pet must be protected from these viruses via vaccinations.  Deworming and tick and flea control is vital.

If you are in a coyote rich area, there are ways to also protect your dog from these attacks. This new vest is an excellent way to protect dogs from the dangers of coyote attacks, and is great for pets who go to offleash parks or hiking spots where coyotes frequent :https://www.coyotevest.com/

For more information on hunting bylaws, and for ways to help improve safety during hunting season, contact Fish and Wildlife at http://srd.alberta.ca/FishWildlife/FishingHuntingTrapping/AlbertaRegulations/Default.aspx

For more information on protecting your pet, contact us at welcome@bowbottomvet.com or
403 278-1984 and check out www.bowbottomvet.com

Overnight Care for Hospitalized Pets

Dr Julie Schell  BSc(Hons), DVM, CVA, CVCHM, CVC

BOW BOTTOM VETERINARY HOSPITAL

www.bowbottomvet.com

         Some of you may have seen a segment aired on CBC’s “Then National” on September 16, 2013.  Or, you may have read a recent article was posted by CBC:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/dog-paralyzed-after-vet-leaves-it-unattended-1.1746512

                As a prestigious AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) certified veterinary hospital, we at Bow Bottom Veterinary Hospital closely assess each patient’s needs.  This helps us determine the care and treatments that they need to recover, heal and decrease their pain.  Since we are not an emergency, overnight hospital, we transfer sick pets to one of the two board-certified overnight and critical care centres for observation.    These centres are called CARE Centre and Western Veterinary Specialist Centre.   They have a team of highly trained veterinarians, animal health technologists and veterinary office assistants who will look after our patient’s needs overnight.  The next day, if the pet is healthy enough, he or she may either be discharged to go home, or may be transferred back to us, or may stay the remainder of the day and possibly evening at the emergency centre.

We follow strict AAHA guidelines:   https://www.aahanet.org/Accreditation/WhatAreStandards.aspx

We also adhere to the the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association guidelines:  http://www.canadianveterinarians.net/documents/understanding-overnight-hospitalization#.UjdhNsZzE3k

Rest assured that our patients are triaged closely and assessed multiple times throughout the day to help determine which pets need emergency critical care throughout the night versus which pets are able to go home.  Our dedicated team works hard to get our patients cured, pain-free and home as soon as possible because often being at home improves the speed of healing even faster.

Your pets are truly our passion.  We respect them, cherish them, and love them like our own.  We want them to have the best recovery possible.   If you have any questions, please contact us at 403-278-1984 or email us at welcome@bowbottomvet.com.  Thank you very much!

NON-PROFESSIONAL DENTAL SCALING

Dr Julie Schell  BSc(Hons), DVM, CVA, CVCHM, CVC

Bow Bottom Veterinary Hospital

www.bowbottomvet.com

Dental disease in pets is very common, and fortunately with proper veterinary care it can be identified, treated and even prevented.   The proper treatment includes professional veterinary dental examination which must be done under anesthesia to do it properly and thoroughly, dental radiographs, dental nerve blocks, surgical extractions, pain control medications, professional dental cleaning, scaling, polishing, and fluoride treatment.   Root Canal procedures, bonding and composite restoration procedures, or surgical extraction with proper pain control and techniques are the only way to treat some of the severe damage and disease.  Your veterinarian will prescribe proper pain control medication, antibiotics, probiotics, and healthy, safe home care products such as Healthy Mouth and Oxyfresh Pet Gel.

Some pet owners have been recently propositioned and solicited by several “non-professional dental scaling” companies from British Columbia that come to various dog grooming parlors in Calgary, as well as other Canadian cities.  These companies performing their dangerous procedures also label techniques as “anesthesia-free dentistry” .  However, their procedures are unsafe and inhumane and I do not feel that any animals should have to endure these unsafe procedures.

The dangers and trauma induced by non-veterinary, non-anesthesia dental scaling are severe and plentiful.  It results in damage to dental structures, incomplete cleaning of teeth, and missed dental disease.  It is traumatic and painful to the pet and not helpful.   Dental disease processes develop underneath the gum line, and proper dental procedures require radiographs and trained veterinary dental examination in order to determine the severity and course of best treatment for the pet.  From a chiropractic standpoint, “non-professional dental scaling” causes harmful stress on the pet’s spine and extremities as their heads and bodies are held in place by the non-professional’s legs as evidenced in many videos:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWLazsWuXQE  Animals are often pretzeled in between the person’s legs in order to hold them still.  This is definitely traumatic and dangerous and potentially life-threatening to pets, especially if their chests or necks are held tightly and constricted.  Also, debris such as tartar and loose teeth can be released by the scaling procedures, and can be swallowed causing choking of the patient and aspiration pneumonia.   Pets may bite down on the dental instruments used, resulting in trauma to their teeth, gums, palate and tongue.

It is also unsafe for the person performing ultrasonic scaling on an awake patient, as their fingers and faces are a high risk of becoming bitten.  When an animal bites a human, not only does the human get injured but the animal’s jaw and teeth can also become damaged.

Also, often, infected, mobile teeth that need to be extracted are given “non-professional ultrasonic treatment” which is very painful.  An excellent video discussing the dangers associated with non-anesthesia, non-professional dental scaling should be observed:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvzaUlDUAhU

Non-professional dental scaling is not recommended by me, my colleagues, the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association as well as board certified veterinary dentists.   It is dangerous and results in much more harm than any good.  An excellent article by Dr Fraser Hale, a board certified veterinary dentists is present on:  http://www.toothvet.ca/PDFfiles/Anesthesia-free.pdf

Veterinary dentistry should only be performed only by educated, trained veterinary professionals.  The American Animal Hospital Association has published guidelines to optimize the safety, effectiveness and ethics and is listed here:   https://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/Dental_Guidelines.pdf

We proudly follow these guidelines, providing high levels of veterinary care.

Tooth care is very important in pets.  However, your veterinarian and veterinary team are the most well trained people to help your pets optimally.  Before allowing any dangerous types of procedures by non-veterinary companies on your pet, discuss proper dental health with us.

Here is a great article written by Dr Karen Overall, a board-certified Veterinary Behaviorist

B-14 PROTOCOL FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF A NEW PET TO OTHER HOUSEHOLD PETS

 

When you first bring home a new pet, expect a period of transition and adjustment for the other pets in the household.  You may find that some pets hide from the new addition, whereas others might try to push it around.  Sometimes the original pets will start behaviors designed to get your attention including barking, pawing, stealing items, or pushing the new addition out of the way and jumping on you.  All of these can be normal and are not worrisome if they change within a week or two.  If the animals in the household do not revert to normal behavior within a short time or if they become aggressive, a problem exists that will not go away on its own.  The sooner you seek help from a qualified specialist, the better.

Before introducing any new pet, make sure it is healthy, has up-to-day vaccinations and that test results for fecal parasites are negative.  It is particularly important that all new cats are checked for their viral titer (feline immunodeficiency virus [FIV], feline leukemia virus [FeLV]) status.  Cats with positive results should not be brought into a negative household.

You can make the transition easier for new pets by using gradual introductions.  The new pet should be kept separate from the other pets whenever they are not closely supervised. This advice may be extreme, but it is designed to ensure that no injuries occur and that the social system of the original pets is not suddenly fragmented.  The original pet(s) should have access to the same areas of the house as previously.  IF the dog was crated, the crate can still be used.  IF access was restricted to the first floor, this pattern should continue.  The new pet should be placed in a neutral area (den, finished basement, brightly lit bathroom) with toys, a blanket, water, a litter box if the new pet is a cat, and anything else that it might need.  It is important that the new pet not be placed in an area that is considered highly desirable by the other pets.  Areas of high value usually include places where the people spend a lot of time with the pets (bedrooms) or where the pets choose to stay when they are alone (around food dishes or on window sills that are good perch sites).  If your dog is always crated, you can accustom the dog quickly to a new dog by crating the new dog across the room where it can be seen by the original one.  As the dogs become more accustomed to each other, their crates can be moved gradually closer together until they are side by side.

Be sure that the area in which you are confining the new pet is “pet-proof.” This means that toilet seats should be down, electric cords should be tied up and put away, sockets should be protected with child guards and any valuable or fragile items should be moved.  New pets will explore, and that exploration should not endanger them.  If the new pet is a very young puppy or kitten, you may wish to crate it for its own protection (see handout on “Protocol for Basic Manners: Training and Housebreaking for New Dogs and Puppies”).  Crates do not afford total protection from willful and determined claws and teeth of an uncrated animal, but they do greatly minimize the risk of damage.

Whenever any animal is isolated for any reason it is critical that the animal receive a lot of social attention whenever possible.  This is especially true for new pets.  When you come home greet the original pets (make all the dogs sit first) and let them out, if this is your normal routine.  Do not rush- when people are stressed and rush they may either facilitate undesirable interactions between the pets or not be as attentive to cues about impeding problems as they otherwise would.  Introduce the new pet gradually.  First, spend some time alone with the new pet.  They bring the new pet outside on a leash or harness and let the other pets explore him or her.  If you anticipate problems, the other animals also can be on leashes or harnesses.  If you have too many animals to adequately monitor under these circumstances, the new pet can be placed in a crate or cage in the center of a room and the other pets can explore the caged pet.

The best time to perform gradual introductions is when the animals are calm.  Start by petting the original pets and telling them that it is “okay” only if it is truly okay; do not reward hissing, growling, or biting.  When you tell a p-et it is “okay” when it is upset, you are not calming the anima- you are rewarding the inappropriate behavior.  If the animals in the household are calm and either ignore each other or act friendly despite the new addition, you can feed them within sight of the new pet.  This distance should be close enough that they can easily see and watch each other, but not so close that they become upset.  Once you find this distance you can move their food dishes closer together by an inch a day until they are side by side.  If you ever have an aggressive encounter, back off from that distance and return to the last distance where neither pet reacted.  Leave the dishes there for a few days and then gradually start to move them again.  Feeding and petting the animals in each other’s presence teaches them that good things happen when they are together and calm.  For this to be successful, neither side can react violently.  If a pet does react this way, banish that animal to a neutral zone immediately and try again when it is calm. If it again reacts violently, banish the pet for the rest of the day or evening and try later in the day or during the next morning.

Some aggressive and undesirable interactions are not violent but are still not conductive to the development of a good relationship between the pets.  You can learn to watch for subtle behaviors that can signal potential problems, should the recipient of those behaviors not be able to change the course of the interaction.  In dogs these behaviors include piloerection (hair lifting on scruff, neck, or back), staring, snarling, stalking, side-by-side posturing with growling or lip lifting, and pinning the other animal by grabbing its neck.  Cats are masters or subtle threats, and their biggest nonvocal threats include a direct stare and an elevation of the rump and the base of the talk with or without piloerection.  Hissing, snarling, and pouncing are also threats but are less intimidating to many animals than the display just described.  If you believe that the new pet either is losing the contest or is terrified, or is becoming so aggressive that it might injure the original pet, separate the animals.  Do not put your hands or other body parts between the animals.  This is the single most common way in which people are injured by pets.  Use cardboard, brooms, loud noises (whistles, foghorns), or water pistols to separate the animals.  If you can identify the aggressor, banish that animal to neutral turf.  If you cannot identify one aggressor, banish every animal to different pieces of neutral turf.

If the new pet is sitting in close proximity to the other pets and everything seems to be going well, tell all the animals that they are good and give them all small food treats and petting, if they like to be petted.  This works best if you have two people so one can hold the new pet while the other deals with the other animals.  If you are working with two people, switch roles so that the new pet does not associate its rewards with only one person.  This can still be accomplished with one person by using leashes, harnesses, and crates.  Leashes can be tied to furniture or doorknobs that are at a distance that will allow the pets to sniff each other and react, but not so close as to permit them to lunge at and injure one another.  Never leave a tied pet unsupervised even for a minute; it could strangle and die.

The entire time that you are doing this exercise- and it could take hours or weeks- make sure that each pet has 5 to 10 minutes alone with you each day when all you do is pay attention to that pet.  This attention could be grooming, playing with a toy, or just petting and massage.  Make sure that he pet is happy and relaxed at these times.  If you know in advance that you are getting a new pet, you may want to establish these periods of individual attention in advance of the new arrival.  If these periods follow a regular schedule, the pets will learn to anticipate them.  It may decrease their anxiety about the new addition because they can rely on them.

Once you are able to get the pets to react to each other in a positive manner or not to react at all when restrained, remove the restraints.  Be vigilant and keep a water pistol, foghorn, air canister, or whistle with you to interrupt any dangerous situations.  If the animals are all behaving well, remember to reward them with praise and treats.

Once you have done the above, you are ready to let the animals out of your sight.  Put a bell on the new animal by sewing a bell it its collar so that you always know where it is.  This will allow you to spy on any potentially problematic interactions and to interrupt them before they create problems.  During this period when you are beginning to provide the pets with free access, remember to provide additional water dishes, litter boxes, beds, and toys so that you minimize competition an the potential for aggressive interaction.

The keys to success are patience and observation.  It is critical that the animals are not inadvertently encouraged to become hostile ore nervous in each other’s presence by well-meant but misplaced reassurance for inappropriate behaviors.  Expect that the social system may shift.  The dog that you always thought of as the “boss dog’ may not only be relegated to a lower position, but may also prefer that.  Let the animals set their own pace.  In many cases the pets never become close companions but are reasonably content leading separate lives under the same roof.  This is far more preferable to frank aggression.  Do not push the animals too hard or push for relationships they clearly do not want; this could backfire and you could undo most of the good behavior that you had achieved.

If your pets have lived in the same household but have begun to have some problems with interaction, the previously mentioned protocol can also help them (for more detailed information for dogs, see “Protocol for Dogs with Interdog Aggression”).  The pet that is the victim of the aggressive behavior should be fed, walked, and given attention before the aggressor.  This reinforces its right to some valued status.  If confinement of one pet becomes necessary, confine the aggressor in a neutral or lower quality room.  Do not confine the aggressor where it would rather spend time; this only convinces the animal that the contest is meritorious.  When you reintroduce the pets, do so gradually as described previously.  Move from introductions under controlled circumstances to ones in which the animals are being monitored from a distance.  Let their behaviors tell you when you are ready to progress.  Put a bell on the collar of the aggressor.  At the first sign of any aggressive behavior, and definitely within 30 t0 60 seconds of the onset of the behavioral progression, startle the aggressor with a foghorn, air canister, or water pistol. This means that you should not wait to startle the cat until it has pounced on the kitten, but that you startle tit as soon as it stares at the kitten.  Timing is everything.  The startle must be sufficient that the behavior is aborted but not so profound that the animal becomes terrified.  At that time reassure the victim, and after all animals have been calmed, engage them both in behaviors that are incompatible with aggression (i.e., feeding and petting).  IF the aggression persists, banish the aggressor until it is calm, and then try again.  If the aggression continues, banish the aggressor until later in the day or the next morning.

If the aggression – either between new pets or pets already in the household – continues, you can try a behavioral modification technique called “flooding”.  Done incorrectly this can be very traumatic and damaging.  Consider consulting a behavioral specialist to see if this is necessary.  It can be a wonderful last resort.  In flooding, one animal is kept confined or otherwise restrained while it is reacting inappropriately in the presence of the other animal.  It is kept in that restrained or confined situation until the level of the inappropriate reaction diminishes by at least 50%.  Obviously, you could not keep an animal on a leash for days without respite, but an aggressive animal can be crated for an extended period with food, water, toys, and litter box, if necessary, and a blanket while the other animal is either locked in a room with it or placed in a similar cage facing the aggressor.  If one animal is loose, you should realize that it could injure the caged animal or be injured by sticking its paws through the crate.  If the animals become more aggressive and upset, flooding does not work and is counterproductive and should be stopped.  Usually the effect is a positive one, and the crated aggressor realizes that the other animal also has a right to share the house. This technique is a last resort and should not be attempted without qualified advice.

Finally, pharmacological intervention may succeed where other therapies have failed.  There are many newer anxiolytics available which, when used correctly and prescribe by qualified individuals, may be useful adjuvants to behavioral and environmental modification. In very extreme cases of interanimal aggression in which all other therapies, including pharmacological, have failed, the best, kindest, and safest solute may be to place one of the animals in a new home.

 

Checklist for Introducing a New Pet to Other Household Pets

 

    1. Separate the pets when they are unsupervised.

    2. Crate one or more of the pets.

    3. Pet-proof the home.

    4. Gradually introduce the pets using food and rewards.

    5. Introduce the pets during quiet times by using leashes and harnesses.

    6. Use water pistols, air canisters, foghorns, or whistles to interrupt any aggression.

    7. Be familiar with the physical signs of impending aggression and know how to safely interrupt such behavior.

    8. Put a bell on the new animal when you are ready to introduce it to the household unsupervised.

    9. Flooding?

    10. New home?