By the Tail Animal Care

10/09/2025

09/25/2025

Help lead to less stressful vet visits! Cornell researchers at the Duffield Institute for Animal Behavior are conducting a survey to help inform veterinarians and dog owners about fear, anxiety, and stress in dogs during veterinary hospital and clinic visits.

For some dogs, veterinarians may choose to prescribe medications that reduce fear around veterinary visits. This study hopes to gather information about dogs who have or have not taken anti-anxiety medications prior to veterinary visits.

We encourage anyone who has taken their dog to a veterinary clinic to participate in this 5–10-minute survey for this research purposes. Data collected will help inform best practices for clinicians, pet owners and their dogs.

Click the link below to take the survey.
https://hubs.ly/Q03K5zxM0

For more information, please contact the investigators Rachel Lines ([email protected]) or Dr. Sun A. Kim ([email protected]).
The Duffield Institute for Animal Behavior builds on Cornell’s expertise to better understand animal behavior and improve the lives of pets and people who share their lives with them.

09/25/2025

GUIDELINES FROM THE ACVB (AMERICAN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY BEHAVIORISTS) ON CHOOSING A DOG TRAINER

If the trainer you are considering using falls into any of these categories, you should pick another trainer.

• If the equipment recommended for basic obedience includes or is focused on choke collars, prong collars, or shock collars.

• Trainers who ban head collars of any kind may rely unduly on force.

• If the trainer instructs you to manage your dog’s behaviors by pinching toes, kneeing the dog in the chest or abdomen, hitting the dog, forcibly holding the dog down against their will, constantly yelling at the dog, frequently yanking the collar constantly, or using prong, choke, pinch or shock collars or electronic stimulation.

• If the trainer believes most or all training is about encouraging the person to be “alpha” and teaching the dog to “submit”.

• If the trainer explains that most dog behavior, for example jumping on people, occurs because the dog is trying to be “dominant”.

• If a trainer recommends “alpha rolls”, “scruffing”, “helicoptering”, “choking” or any other painful or physical methods as a means of “training” or modifying behavior.

The ACVB recommends selecting a trainer with certification from an organization that espouses scientifically based, humane training techniques, such as CPDT, IAABC, or KPA.

The ACVB recommends asking about the trainer’s education and training. Ideally they recommend choosing a trainer who has at a minimum taken classes in animal behavior, learning theory, and psychology. The ACVB recommends asking about records of continuing education, course syllabi, and a reading list.

Read the full guideline here:https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.dacvb.org/resource/resmgr/docs/How-to-select-a-trainer-vet.pdf

09/14/2025

So many of us have dealt with end-of-life (EOL) care. For me, like the author, I find no comfort in the rainbow bridge. But so many people do. And EOL care is always changing.

The way bodies are handled. We rarely take them home nowadays, they’re typically cremated. Aquamation is becoming popular in some states. We now have paw and nose prints, hair clippings, toe nail clippings, and photos pre and post-death, along with other momentos and memories we keep.

Now you can send your beloved’s ashes to an Etsy artist and have them made into jewelry, ornaments, or other decorative items to memorialize your relationship with them.

Theres a growing trend of pre and post-death professional photos. Surrounded by flowers. In their favorite spots to visit. With their favorite toys.

More and more people are choosing at-home EOL care.

It’s ever-changing. It’s more and more personalized.

“So if you’re like me and don’t find comfort in the idea of Heaven, maybe you’ll find comfort in quantum entanglement.

When two particles become entangled, they remain linked. Change one, and the other reacts instantly. Across galaxies. Across time. Einstein disapprovingly called the theory “spooky action at a distance.” Today, we call it what it is: proven physics.

So if two electrons can be forever altered by a moment of contact, how could I not be altered by a lifetime with my dog?”

What ways have you honored your relationship with a loved one?

What do you wish your veterinary team would do differently?

What brings you comfort?

For anyone who doesn't find comfort in the idea of heaven or the rainbow bridge, maybe you'll find comfort in theoretical physics.

09/04/2025

Little Benedict Asher, Benny, was picked up on the side of the road a few week… Barbara Henderson needs your support for Help Benny Heal: Support His Recovery

09/03/2025

This is something you can do at home.

09/01/2025

HOW TO SELECT A DOG TRAINER (Recommendations of the ACVB)

The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB) has published recommendations for how to select a dog trainer.

In addition to advising dog owners to select a trainer who uses modern, force-free methods and non-aversive tools and techniques, the organization advises selecting a trainer "with a certification from an organization that espouses scientifically based, humane training techniques, such as CPDT [Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers], IAABC [International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants] or KPA [Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior].

Additionally, they recommend asking about the trainer’s education and training. "Ideally you want someone who, at a minimum, has taken classes in animal behavior, learning theory, and psychology."

Canine Connection's owner/trainer, Cindy Ludwig, is a graduate of the prestigious Karen Pryor Academy, the only dog trainer education program mentioned by the ACVB. But, there are other dog trainer education programs that are good, including Pat Miller's Peaceable Paws program and the Academy for Dog Trainers, led by Jean Donaldson.

Dog owners should read and familiarize themselves with these recommendations to be informed consumers.

Read the full statement here:https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.dacvb.org/resource/resmgr/docs/How-to-select-a-trainer-vet.pdf

08/11/2025

This is a super common toxicity we see in the ER.

08/09/2025

Looking to adopt a pet? Join us this Saturday at Nissan of Bradenton!

We’re partnering with Nissan of Bradenton for a special pet adoption event featuring adoptable animals from Manatee County Animal Welfare.

📍 1611 Cortez Rd W, Bradenton, FL 34207
🕛 Saturday, August 9 from 12 PM to 3 PM

What to expect:
• Adoptable pets from our shelter
• Food truck bites
• Exclusive car deals from Nissan of Bradenton

Come out, support local shelter pets, and maybe even meet your new best friend. 🐾

08/08/2025

Today we honour not just our feline friends — but the proud tradition of radical cats and their revolutionary companions. 🐈🚩 Throughout history, some of the fiercest fighters for justice and socialism were never alone in their struggle. They shared their homes —and sometimes their most intimate thoughts — with cats.

Rosa Luxemburg adored her cats 🐾 and wrote tenderly about them from prison. Vladimir Lenin had a beloved cat named Vaska roaming his estate. Fidel Castro, famously surrounded by felines, was rarely photographed without one nearby. And Angela Davis, the iconic radical and Marxist philosopher, has long been a devoted cat lover.

🌹 Whether prowling through reading rooms, pacing revolutions from behind the curtains, or napping next to draft manuscripts — cats have always been comrades in
their own right.

So today, we celebrate the revolutionary spirit of cats everywhere.

Because there’s no socialism without feline liberation — and no feline liberation without socialism. ✊