Dog Training & Care

People often ask when to start puppy training, and training a kitten or cat training is no different. Pets can learn at any age. January is “Train Your Dog Month” so it’s a great time to revisit clicker training. Clicker training pets offers a great way to teach pets to learn, think, and please you. Pets—and people—will repeat behaviors that reward them and naturally avoid behaviors that offer no benefit. Owners don’t have to be master dog trainers to use this technique, and dogs and cats learn quickly how to behave. You can even trick train cats! Read on to learn how.

Each year, rather than making New Year resolutions, I plan for goals—and hope that the journey along the way proves equally rewarding. Rather than say, “lose weight” I instead want to strive for good health. This year, I made some changes and they’re starting to pay off. For 2023, I plan to continue that trend, concentrating on what gives me and my family joy, letting go of past angst, and challenging myself to grab for that next shiny object.

I have new books planned, at least one and maybe two thrillers for 2023. Perhaps another nonfiction book, too. And I just finished a fun and exhilarating run performing in WHITE CHRISTMAS at the local theater and also had the first experience of playing bass (on keyboard) in the Rocky Horror show band. Many things remain outside human control, but if you don’t DARE to try something new, you never know what might be possible. I’m looking for new possibilities for 2023, building on the joys of the past with hope for the future.

I treasure my resilient family—my husband, y’all know as “M,” my brothers and their families, including a delightful great nephew and great niece, and my young-at-heart 95-year-old artist father. He still struggles with losing Mom—we all do, but him especially. Now we more often remember with smiles of the happy memories.

We have high hopes for 2023—and the hope shines strong in part because of the special pets of our past, our present, and sometimes the surprise pets that show up when you need them most.

It’s also become a tradition to take stock of the past year from a pets’-eye-view, and the year to come. Throughout the challenges, our pets keep us laughing even through tears. Look for the surprise blessings that bring joy despite the heartache. So here are New Year Pet Goals from Karma-Kat, Shadow-Pup, and a couple from the spirits of Bravo-Dawg, Magical-Dawg, and Seren-Kitty, with commentary by Amy.

Did you adopt a new pet over the holidays? New puppy introduction to pets — in my case, dog to cat and puppy to dog introductions — is one kind of dog school that everyday dog obedience classes may not teach. While dog to dog introductions are a bit easier in some ways, puppy to cat introductions work very well when both pets are supervised. Puppy school starts in your home with basic dog training. When it involves a smaller pet like a resident cat, safety is also an issue.

On Sunday, May 31, 2020, a stray puppy showed up at our house. We didn’t plan on a new pet, especially since Bravo-Dawg developed major health challenges. As it turned out, Bravo adopted the new baby as his very own comfort-pup. Here’s how to introduce pups to adult dogs so they become fast friends.