Staff Newspaper Column
Critter Corner
Teaching and Using the Cue, ‘Touch’
Dear Critter Corner: I would like to teach my pup the cue ‘Touch’ for coming to me. Can you offer me some guidance on the best way to teach it so that it is successful? This is one of my favorite cues to use for so many things. Using it in place of the recall is...
Volunteering at Your Local Animal Shelter
Dear Critter Corner: My family has recently lost our long-time family pet and really misses having a four-legged friend brightening up our home. Unfortunately, we are not quite ready to commit to adopting a new dog currently but would like to be able to help the...
Prepping for a Cat Sitter
Dear Critter Corner: I’m heading out of town for an extended trip to see family. It’s the first time I’ll be leaving my cat for more than a week. Any tips for when I leave her? First come up with a daily routine and emergency list that you can provide whoever will be...
Adopting a Second Pet
Dear Critter Corner: My husband and I have been thinking about adopting another pet for our family, but don't know where to start! We both work from home and have back-to-back meetings during the majority of the day however we should not have any issues taking a new...
Keeping cat from going stir-crazy
Dear Critter Corner: When the weather’s warmer and nicer outside, I let my cat Tigre out into his catio where he can watch birds and squirrels, and jump from perch to perch. With the rainy and colder weather, Tigre hasn’t had as much time in the catio and I worry...
Petsitters
Dear Critter Corner: I’m planning a few short and long trips this spring to visit friends and family and am wondering what options are there to care for my cat Sophia while I’m gone? There’s a quite a few different options available for your cat while you’re gone,...
Socializing new puppy
Dear Critter Corner: We are so excited; our family just got our first puppy but we could really use some guidance. We keep hearing about how important it is to socialize him now, but we are not really sure how to do this. This is such an important part of your puppies...
Spring Cleaning cat’s stuff
Dear Critter Corner: I’ve had quite a few cats over the years and have collected a lot of cat stuff. I plan on spring cleaning for the upcoming new year and didn’t want to just throw away these items as some are new that my cats didn’t use. Do you have any...
Memorable dog adoptions in 2022
Dear Critter Corner: Since we are nearing the end of the year, I was hoping to hear about some of the most memorable adoptions for the year? We have had so many, here are a few that stick out to me because of their time at our shelter. Bernard – This ball of energy...
Training cats with treats
Dear Critter Corner: I’m training my cat to follow a few basic commands like “come” and “sit”. When he does the command correctly, I give him a treat as a reward. But lately I’ve noticed that his stomach seems to be upset with all of the treats. What should I do?...