http://www.petcon.org The Pet - Human Connection Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:18:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Saving animals from euthanasia is one of the prime purposes of a non-profit organization called Best Friends, located in Utah. They actually build no-kill shelters, and want to bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets. What a wonderful purpose! And their care and devotion doesn’t stop with ... http://www.petcon.org/2010/03/06/no-kill-shelters/ How can one improve the pet human relationship ? There are some creative developments in this area. New and exciting ways to interact with your dog may include agility training, disc handling competition, dog sledding and this one, which I find really interesting: canine freestyle. Ever heard of it? It involves ... http://www.petcon.org/2010/02/07/improving-the-pet-and-human-relationship/ Bearded dragons are native to Australia. Now the most popular pet beardies are from the inland of Australia. I think they are beautiful reptiles; although there are color variations, I still think the sandy-colored ones are the most attractive. These lizards live about seven years, which is a fairly decent lifespan ... http://www.petcon.org/2010/02/03/bearded-dragons-as-pets/ I still think it’s a poor idea to give someone a pet for Christmas. Here are the possible problems: •    The recipient doesn’t really want an animal •    The recipient does not have the capacity to take care of a pet •    The possibility of the recipient having insufficient funds to care for ... http://www.petcon.org/2009/12/03/what-about-a-pet-for-christmas/ Are you one of those crazy pet owners who present their favorite non-human companions with gifts for the holidays? No? Well, that is surprising, because I think most pet owners, whether they admit to it or not, shower their darlings with presents every Christmas or Hanukah. I don’t find a ... http://www.petcon.org/2009/11/22/pet-gifts/ I’ve always been interested in the possibility of communicating with our animal companions in a way that doesn’t involve the voice or hand signals. Many people think this is balderdash, but I have experienced it a few times. I had a cat that was especially susceptible to this kind of thing. ... http://www.petcon.org/2009/10/05/pets-and-telepathy/ Recently I was at a friend’s house when right in the middle of dinner, their cat brought a rat in through the cat door! “Oh Charlie!” This, apparently, is not an unusual occurrence. Pat explained to me that Charlie was the best hunter of all their cats, even though he’d been ... http://www.petcon.org/2009/09/23/is-your-cat-a-hunter/ For me, the idea of “dumb animal” is a degrading way to think of your four legged companion. (Or two legged, in the case of a bird!) Animals are sentient in their own way, and the more we grant them that awareness, the more you will find it exhibited. Think of ... http://www.petcon.org/2009/08/20/dogs-and-cats-can-learn/ Do your dogs or cats head under your bed when they hear thunder? Loud sounds can be scary, especially for animals that have a very sensitive hearing sense. What sounds like thunder to us, may very sound like an explosion in the next room to your dog. I was thinking about ... http://www.petcon.org/2009/08/04/pets-and-thunder/ You’ve heard people say that “The reason dogs get aggressive goes back to the way they are raised.” But what things specifically cause this sort of behavior? According to this report from Science Daily , there are quite a few contributing factors, not all of which are what are normally considered ... http://www.petcon.org/2009/07/10/aggression-in-dogs%e2%80%94what-causes-it/