Blog posts tagged with 'stress'

By Dr. Pamela Fisher, DVM

Now that spring has sprung, it is important to recognize the stresses that our cats and dogs may encounter and be proactive!

Warmer weather means more animal and humanactivity outside.  Cats have a very large range of hearing, even more acute than dogs or humans.  They can distinguish sounds much higher in pitch than dogs can, and are about equal in terms of low pitch noises.  Cats can also detect tiny variances in sound.  In nature, this allows them to detect the size of a potential predator.

Cats often feel stray and roaming cats are invading their territory.  They can show their stresses by misbehaving, urine marking, or aggression towards their housemates.   It is important to provide plenty of exercise enrichment, such as climbers, scratching posts, and puzzles, to help reduce stress.   Try to keep strays away, and contact your local Trap, Neuter, and Return group to help with outside cat population control if needed.

Territorial issues may arise with the activity outside as well.  Dogs are very alert to territory encroachments.  This could lead to increased barking if dogs feel like their area is being threatened outside. 

Often dogs enjoy eating new spring grasses to help their bodies detox and adjust to the season change.  Studies hypothesize this is an inherited tendency from their wild ancestors. Check your pet’s diet to make sure they are eating a healthy balanced grain free food/treats with minimal carbohydrates (and no added sugars).  

Adding some fresh vegetables and perhaps a little organic dandelion greens to their diet may be helpful. It is also important to be aware of toxic exposures as the seasons start to change. These could include lawn organic or chemical treatments, compost, garbage, cleaning chemicals, etc.  If your pet gets into any of these or has digestive upset contact your veterinarian. Be sure to give them a few sprays of Calm My Digestion for several weeks to help ease their stomach and digestive tract. This will also help with their adjustment during the warmer weather.

There are many great solutions to help ease your pet’s mind during these potentially stressful times. 

For indoor cats, Calm My Cat spray and Calm My Pet Music are both excellent for distracting your cat from the disturbing noises outside so they can relax.  Make sure to use on all cats in the household.

For your dogs who are reactive to things going on right outside your yard, try Calm My Dog and Calm My Stress to help them be more at ease.  Inside, add Calm My Pet Music as well to help them relax and avoid being distracted by noises and spring thunderstorms.

By Dr. Pamela Fisher, DVM

With spring coming to a close and summer right around the corner, it is important to be ready for thunderstorms and how your pets will react. 

One great way to prepare your pet for thunderstorms is to play the sounds for your pet in a controlled manner.  Either record some sounds of thunder yourself, or you could easily find some sounds online to reenact the situation for your pet.  While playing these sounds, on a low level, always below fear threshold, feed your pet treats so they associate positive events with the sound of thunderstorms.  Every few days increase sound slowly, desensitizing by associating positive rewards with calm behavior. Also, when practicing, make sure they have a safe place to go during the sounds (crate, playpen, etc.).

Calm My Stress is made for specific intense stress situations such as thunderstorms. Even during the practice sounds, use Calm My Stress before you start, during and after your desensitization training in order to give them a sense of balance and calming.

During an actual thunderstorm, it is best to allow your pet to go into their safe space.  Calming therapeutic Calm My Pet Music in the background can greatly benefit pets during the training sessions and real events. You do not need to drown out the sounds of the thunderstorm, but just having that music playing will provide therapeutic benefits.  Also, use Calm My Stress, before, during, and after the storm.

For more information on how to deal with thunderstorms or other specific stresses, feel free to reach out to us through our contact form. 

By Dr. Pamela Fisher, DVM

The hustle and bustle of holiday season can be stressful for pets. Not only do pets have their own anxiety, but they can easily pick up on their owner's stresses as well.  

Here are some tips to help your pets stay calm and enjoy the holidays!

1.      Keep your pets on a regular feeding and exercise schedule.
2.      Make sure your pets get plenty of outside exercise. Explore different parks and outdoor areas.
3.      Avoid feeding them human snacks and foods.  These can cause upset stomach (and pancreatitis).
4.      Give pets a job when expecting visitors.  Some examples of this could be a treat filled toy or puzzle, safe space, or ask to sit and reward with treats. Can also throw some treats to make a fun game when people arrive. **Do not use treats or filled toy with multiple dogs in the house.
5.      Put pets in a room or crate and give them a treat filled toy to work on.
6.      Keep holiday decorations and foods out of reach. Avoid scented products & candles.
7.      Play Calm My Pet Therapeutic Music which includes specific tones and frequencies, to provide added calm health benefits while you are home or away.
8.      Use fast acting Calm My Pet sprays before, during, and after visitors arrive. These calming sprays also help pets when away from home, boarded at kennels, or at doggie day care.

Animals deserve to be calm, even though our lives may be hectic and stressful. Calm My Pet’s mission is to calm and promote well-being of pets through therapeutic music and organic calming sprays.

Calm My Pet products can help you and your pets enjoy the busy holidays!

I created the Calm My Pet line to help support the nonprofit Rescue Animal Mp3 Project, which donates calming music to animal shelters, sanctuaries, and rescues. A portion of all Calm My Pet purchases is donated to continue calming shelter animals with therapeutic music.