How to Teach a Dog to Speak
Want to have a conversation with your dog? Teaching your dog to speak is an easy and self-rewarding behavior that most dogs master quickly. You won’t need a lot of supplies or equipment. The only supplies needed are: Lots of small pieces of treats your dog is excited about A clicker or a marker word like “Yes” that your dog knows Teaching your dog to speak through capturing Teaching your dog to speak is easiest when using a methodology called capturing. This means that we are going to be marking and rewarding behaviors...
How to Teach Your Dog to Roll Over
How to teach your dog to roll over is just one of many fun simple tricks to teach your dog. Before you begin, keep in mind that your training sessions should be short and fun. This dog trick is deceptively strenuous and when you have your dog roll over, he will be using muscles he may not use frequently, so be thoughtful of how many repetitions you do. If your dog has a history of back injuries, talk with your veterinarian before beginning to teach this dog trick to find out if it is appropriate for your dog. Before you teach your dog to roll...
Animals Saved From Cruel Hunting Operations Have Found Peace At Sanctuary
A group of herd animals roam free in the pastures at Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas, but their lives were not always this peaceful. The ranch has 50 acres of land to wander, with trees, water and tall grass to hide in. They live in herds, which makes them feel more comfortable and secure. Photo: YouTube/The Humane Society of the United States Caregivers at the ranch make sure the animals always have everything they need, but they give them their space and don’t try to pet or tame them. They want them to live like wild animals...
Neglected Cat Who Lived In Filth Has Found The Perfect Family
Miles Finch is a beautiful cat living his best life, so looking at him, you’d never know that he endured a cruel past. Sadly, Miles came from an alleged cruelty case in Muncie, Indiana. Photo: YouTube/The Humane Society of the United States Jessica Johnson, senior director of the Animal Rescue Team for the Humane Society of the United States, saw many cats in situations like Miles’, but she knew he was special. In the fall of 2021, Johnson’s husband had come from a rescue that the team did where Miles was. Photo: YouTube/The...
“Aggressive” Assateague Island Wild Horse Finds Refuge At Sanctuary In Texas
Over 1 million people visit Assateague Island National Seashore every year for a chance to see some of the wild horses who call the area home. However, due to humans not following the rules one stallion had to be relocated. Signs are posted telling people to NOT feed, touch, or interact with the wild horses. However, they continue to be blatantly ignored by some, putting the wild horses and people in harm’s way. Oftentimes, the horse pays the ultimate price or must be removed from the only home they have ever known. The stallion...
Do dogs and toddlers mix?
The short answer is yes, but when dogs and toddlers spend time together, it’s vitally important to make safety a top priority. Dogs and toddlers can be great pals. Some canines are naturally easy-going around young children — but others are afraid or even anxious, especially if the youngsters are active and noisy (and most are!). So it’s important to consider the safety of both dogs and toddlers when they’re in the same vicinity, especially when family and friends are visiting and your dog might already be a bit...
An Arctic Fox Enjoys His Senior Days in a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Arctic Fox Daily is a wildlife rescue center that serves as a fox sanctuary and wildlife rehabilitation. One of the foxes living under their care is Archie. According to Kimberly, Archie was dropped off to a dog shelter in Colorado. He is a senior fox at eight years old and completely blind. After being taken at a dog shelter in Colorado, Archie was transferred to a fox rescue center in Minnesota. Archie wasn’t happy about his stay in the previous centers until he arrived at Kimberly’s fox sanctuary. Photo: Youtube/GeoBeats...
The Monday and Friday National Calls are merging and we need your input
Beginning in July, we will combine Monday’s Shelter and Rescue Support call with Friday’s Animal Welfare Leadership Roundup call. These collaborative calls have been so invaluable to many, and they’re about to get even better. These calls will give your organization space to interact with other subject matter experts, review groundbreaking research, discuss operational challenges, and more. We’re all leaders in this space and know we work best when we have folks from all levels, backgrounds and experiences at the...
10 Dog Breeds that Are Good with Babies and Kids
Having both dogs and babies at home may seem like tough work. Both require constant care and attention — you’ll always find yourself between chores. Sometimes, dogs might feel insecure and threatened when a new baby arrives in the family. This usually happens when a couple starts to have a family after enjoying their married life with just them and their fur baby for a few years. Dogs might even feel depressed with the sudden changes happening around the household. Photo: Pixabay/StephenCh Before the baby arrives, you should...
Australia Can Still Save 47 Fauna Species from Extinction with Minimum Conservation Efforts
“We have no excuses for not saving these species. We know which species they are, where they occur and what threatens them,” said Prof John Woinarski, one of the co-authors of a recent study that shows how minimal conservation efforts can save at least 47 out of the 63 vertebrate animals that will go extinct in 20 years’ time. The scientists have identified the Australian animals that are likely to be gone forever within two decades, which include those species that can still be saved if only the Albanese government would...
Young Dog’s Family Didn’t Want Him Anymore, So They Dropped Him At Vet To Be Euthanized
Egbert was just two years old when his owners sent him to a vet to be euthanized during the COVID lockdown. Thankfully, instead of going through with it, the vet decided to contact Sidewalk Specials, an animal rescue, for help. Photo: YouTube/Sidewalk Specials Egbert had mange, anemia and tick bite fever, among other issues, but remained a very sweet little pup. He was lonely and depressed, and had no idea why his family didn’t want him. Thanks to generous donors, Sidewalk Specials was able to raise enough money to pay for...
How Often Should I Take My Dog to the Vet?
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We’ve all heard this, but how does it pertain to dogs? Do you often ask yourself, “How often should I take my dog to the vet?” An annual checkup for your dog is a necessary part of being a pet parent and taking our beloved dogs to the vet routinely identifies issues quicker. It’s easy to not think about taking your dog to the veterinarian when he is healthy, but do it. That baseline will make it easier for the vet to see changes in your dog. For example, maybe your dog...
Why Do Dogs Lick You?
Some people love it. Some people hate it. But we all wonder, “Why do dogs lick?” Understanding dog body language helps you decipher what it means when dogs lick, and, more specifically, why your dog is licking you at that moment. Perhaps the most obvious reason why dogs lick you is to get salt or even food crumbs off. You’ve probably noticed your dog seems more eager to lick you if you are sweaty. That’s because they like the salt in the sweat. Dogs also love to lick a hand or face just after you’ve finished...
Texas Is Top State For Shelter Pet Deaths, Two Years Running
Facing an overwhelming shelter pet population, and in many cases turning to euthanasia as a solution, Texas is the top U.S. state for animal shelter deaths for the second year in a row. A report from the animal welfare organization Best Friends Animal Society shows that Texas ranked second for shelter deaths in 2019 but reclaimed the top spot in 2020 and 2021. Best Friends created the report using data from more than 4,000 brick and mortar shelters, state and local coalitions, government websites, and FOIA requests. Texas is the top U.S....
7 Fascinating Facts About Polydactyl Cats
Polydactyl cats are simply cats with extra toes. The name comes from the Greek word for “many fingers”. The extra toes have led to multiple nicknames like “mitten cats”, “boxing cats”, “snowshoe cats”, “thumb cats”, “Hemingway cats”, and the list goes on. No matter what name you call them their paws are a little different and by different, I mean adorable. A typical cat has 18 total toes on their front and back paws, five on each front paw and four on the backs. However,...
Creating a Healthier World for Our Pets
Meet 14-year-old entrepreneur Ava Dorsey, whose dream to make healthy pet treats has grown into a USDA-certified organic baked treat company called Ava’s Pet Palace. Ava started her business out of her love and passion for animals, as well as wanting to spend more time with her pets, including the family dog, Rock. She noticed that a lot of the treats Rock ate had some unhealthy ingredients — not to mention a very long ingredient list. To solve this problem, she started developing treat recipes that were completely organic and...
Wain is the Oldest Wombat in Captivity Says Guinness World Records
Japan and everybody else around the world celebrate Guinness World Records’ announcement about Wain’s being the oldest wombat in captivity ever! At 32 years old, Wain is still in good health despite his age being equivalent to 100 years in humans. Photo: Instagram Video/Guinness World Records “Although he was seen by a vet in the past a couple of times, he never got sick in the past few years,” the Satsukiyama Zoo told Guinness World Records in a statement. “We don’t know why this is, but this nature-filled...
Maddie’s Weekly Roundup: Pet support services, National Call update and more!
Happy Monday! Below is a brief roundup of resources added over the past week. Implement pet support services with this free courseLooking to add more pet support services for your community? Maddie’s® University’s free, self-paced course, Pet Support Services, is for you! By offering pet support services, you will help keep pets with their families and out of your shelter. Pet Support Services programs are not hard to implement; you can start by retraining your current… Learn More The Best Friends National...
Rescue Mink is So Fond of Swimming and Diving for His Toys at His Own Pool in His New Forever Home
Nico, that is this mink’s name. He, fortunately, escaped from a mink farm and was found by a Good Samaritan. He came into Megan’s life and the two became the best buddies. Photo: YouTube/The Dodo According to Megan, she strived to win Nico’s trust first by sitting and talking with him along with a toy monkey. Then, she started to pet him and Nico responded positively to her touch. From then on, Nico would always wait for her to come home from work so they could play together. They have their own funny version of tug-of-war,...
Girl Rescues an Elusive Calf with Cleverness and Loving Patience
How much time are you willing to spend to catch and rescue an escaped animal which does not even belong to your farm? This girl spent more than two months just to rescue a cow that escaped from a local meat farm when it was three months old. Photo: YouTube/The Dodo It was her boss who first noticed the calf, mixing with their horses. The girl received a picture of it and thought of ways to capture the calf and turn it over to a sanctuary where it could receive proper care. This calf really needed help because even if it mixed with their...
