Keeping our pets safe is something we should be continually aware of, not just when we get a new puppy or kitten! Any veterinarian’s office will tell you that there’s a ton of dangerous stuff around people’s homes and yards …
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Before you decide to take on any kind of pet you need to understand that different breeds of cat are susceptible to different health issues. Even if it seems like you have a healthy cat in the beginning it is possible that they will be diagnosed with some sort of disease or health related issue as they get older.
You need to make sure that you read the label on the food that you are getting for your cat. Although it may seem strange because your cat is a pet, their nutrition is still just as important as yours is which is why you should read the ingredients so that you are aware of what is in the food you are giving your cat. You also need to pay attention to what formula of cat food that you are purchasing. They have food for adult cats, kittens, aging cats, cats on diets, and everything in between. You don’t want to be feeding your kitten the wrong kind of food.
After picking up the right food for your cat, there is a matter of where to feed your cat, when to feed your cat, and how much to feed them. If you have never owned a cat before this can be quite a tricky process to figure out all on your own. First and foremost, you need to find a place that is ideal for your cat to eat at.
Think about it from your cat’s perspective, you really wouldn’t want to eat while adults and kids are running all around you and being loud. This is why you need to find a place that is quiet and accessible for your cat to have their food and water bowl. Once you decide on a particular place, don’t keep changing it around because cats don’t always deal well with that type of change.
Keep in mind that your cat might make a bit of a mess when they are drinking and eating so it may not be wise to put the food and water in an area that is going to be ruined by the mess. You also need to make sure that you are keeping the bowls clean and changing the water out on a regular basis in order to avoid your cat getting sick.
If you are not a cat owner yet, or you are becoming one for the first time and want to be prepared for the commitment, you might find very useful the following entry: Owning A Domestic Cat 101: Important Tips, And What Supplies To Get. In this previous chapter we explain What you need to check before getting a new cat, how to deal with your new kitten, and more.
As far as when you should feed your cat, it is good to get your cat into the habit of eating at a particular time each day. Just as humans eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at certain times, so should your cat. Of course this might not be quite so easy if you are away from the house during the day, but there is a solution. If the cat is eating dry cat food you can simply put the entire day’s ration into the food bowl and your cat can eat from it throughout the day.
If you aren’t sure you want to put it all in, you can choose to be half of it in the bowl. It’s really up to you and your schedule as to what a regular and convenient feeding schedule will be, but it is wise to get a regular pattern started. Listed below will give you some ideas as to how to coordinate your feeding schedule:
You can also look on the package of cat food that you buy for what they suggest you feed your cat.
Just as there are certain things that you need to keep in mind when feeding your cat, there are also certain thing that you shouldn’t do when feeding your cat:
You shouldn’t give your cat bones; this is a good rule for any pet whether they are a cat or a dog. Chicken bones, pork bones, and fish bones are a big no because they can cause quite a bit of damage to your cats tummy and throat that could lead to a trip to the veterinarian or worse.
Again a good tip for any animal, don’t give your cat leftovers from the table. Although you think that you are doing them a favor by giving them a treat, you could be making a bigger problem when your cat begins to avoid their cat food.
Cats can’t eat two foods in particular, the first being chocolate and the second being onions. Both of these foods are considered a toxic food to your cat.
Despite what you may have seen on television or in the movies, cats do not need to drink milk. What more, if you give milk to your cat you might find yourself cleaning up after an icky mess since it can cause diarrhea.
The last tip is not to feed your cat any other animal’s food. They need the nutrients that are in their cat food and dog food won’t quite give them what they need.
As time goes on and you have your cat, you will find out what foods or pet foods your cat can tolerate.
Cats are very similar to people in many ways. Just as it is important to watch what is going into your cat’s tummy, you also need to keep an eye on how much is going into your cat’s tummy. When people eat too much food, over time they become overweight.
Cats are the same, if they become used to eating however much they want, when they want, it is a sure bet that you will have a pretty fat cat on your hands after a while. This is especially true as your cat gets older and less active. If you aren’t sure if your cat is fat or not, there are a few telling signs that you can look for that are pretty similar as to when you can tell if a person is overweight.
A double chin is always a telling sign of a weight problem. If you find that your cat has a bunch of fat underneath their chin, they might have a weight problem.
A big stomach is another sign, if their stomach is hanging, they might have a weight problem.
Another is whether or not you can feel your cat’s ribs. On a healthy cat you should be able to feel their rib cage, if you cannot feel your cat’s rib cage then your cat is definitely overweight.
Just as people think that their weight might not be a big deal, many cat owners might not feel it too distressing that their cat is a little overweight. The reality is that being overweight can cause many health problems in your cat. The more weight your cat has on their body, the more weight and pressure they have to carry around on a daily basis. This is why it is so important to pay attention to what and how much your cat is eating. If you do find that your cat is overweight you should probably speak to your veterinarian about it and look into buying a specially formulated cat food for overweight cats.
Are you still looking for the perfect feline companion for you and your family? Choosing a cat is a serious matter you need to pay attention to when you’ve taken the decision to be a proud cat owner. Different cat breeds have different needs and personality traits you must be aware of before bringing home a new kitten. Take a look at this: Owning A Domestic Cat 101: Selecting A New Cat Or Kitten. This article will help you realize what kind of cat is best for you.
Whether you have an overweight cat or not, it’s important to make sure that your cat gets the exercise they need. If your cat isn’t overweight then the exercise will help keep them active and avoid such a predicament, but if your cat is overweight then the exercise will help them to trim off a few pounds.
The great thing is that exercising with your cat doesn’t have to be a tedious activity; it can be a lot of fun. Below are a few ideas that will help you get an exercise program started with your cat:
Important Note:
Just because you like to switch your food around because something was cheaper at the store, or a new product looked better, doesn’t mean that your cat should jump around from one cat food to another. Once your cat becomes used to a certain type of food, switching to another brand because it was on sale doesn’t always agree with their stomachs.
If it happens that you want to switch your cat’s food then you need to do it slowly. Do not just decide to replace cat food A with cat food B the next day, if so you might find you have a cat with a very upset stomach. In order to switch your cat’s food without all of the digestion trouble you will need to put just a bit more into each meal, this process can take a few weeks before the switch is complete.
Dealing with a kitten is completely different than feeding a grown cat. A kitten is essentially a baby in every way and needs the right amount of nutrition in order to go from being a kitten to a healthy grown cat. Kittens are just like babies in that they need to eat right in order to have strong bones, muscles, and a nervous system. You can’t feed a kitten the same things that a full grown cat eats; they need their own special food until they are old enough to move onto the next step
It’s always smart to consult with your doctor before you start a regular feeding routine for your kitten, but you do need to recognize that because they have such high energy, they need the proper food to fuel their bodies. You will find that your kitten will nibble throughout the day because they have a smaller stomach than a full grown cat.
Just as with human babies, there are going to be times that your kitten doesn’t seem particularly interested in food such as when they are teething or have lost a baby tooth. In the same instance your kitten may eat a little more during growth spurts and such. Even when you kitten begins to look and act like an adult cat, don’t rush out and buy adult cat food, they need to stick with the kitten cat food until they are a year old because of their need for a lot of calories.
There might also come instances that you need to consult with your veterinarian about your cat’s food needs such as if your female feline becomes pregnant or if your cat has health problems that are related to what they eat.
Before you decide to take on any kind of pet you need to understand that different breeds of cat are susceptible to different health issues. Even if it seems like you have a healthy cat in the beginning it is possible that they will be diagnosed with some sort of disease or health related issue as they get older.
There are also certain that you need to do a little bit of research in order to be aware of the benefits and side effects. Also there are precautions that you can take as a cat owner in order to protect your cats health and well being.
Make sure that all harmful plants are removed from the area in which your cat lives. Some plants can be poisonous when a cat chews on them.
Cats can suffer from diabetes. Some might find it strange that humans and cats can share the same illnesses, but it is quite common for a cat to be diagnosed with diabetes. If you suspect this from your cat you should definitely call your veterinarian for further measures.
If there is anything that sparks your concern such as if you cat acts listless, has yucky stuff coming from their eyes or nose, or if they look like they aren’t eating, even though you know they are, you should trust your instincts and contact your veterinarian with your concerns.
Do not let your cat play with yarn or string. All can be fun and games until your cat swallows it and then it becomes a serious matter. If such an instance occurs you need to contact your veterinarian, but it might help to know that white petroleum jelly might help to coat the stomach so that the string or yarn can get out of your cat’s tummy with little harm.
Taking care of a pet is a serious matter, as a pet owner you must be informed of what is best for your beloved companion. In this entry you will find useful resources: The Best Homemade Pet Food According To Our Pet Food Advisor. Here you will learn about pet nutrition and homemade natural pet food.
If you aren’t sure what to expect with your cat here are a few bits of information that will help prepare you as your cat grows from a kitten to a full grown cat. Within the first month your kitten will begin getting its baby teeth. At two months old a kitten can be fully weaned from their mother who is why it is important not to purchase a kitten until they are six to eight weeks old.
Between six and twelve weeks you will need to take your kitten into the veterinarian for their vaccinations, other shots, and regular checkups to make sure the kitten is doing well. At three months you can look forward to taking your kitten to the veterinarian for their rabies shot in certain states.
After that, anywhere between three and seven months your kitten will begin to get their permanent teeth. The next step will depend largely on whether or not you have a male or female kitten. For females the time to spay is anywhere between six and eight months.
For Males you are looking to neuter them between eight to twelve months. Between four and twelve months you will need to get your kitten in for their rabies shot. Between six months and two years old, your cat will need various booster shots to keep them current with regulations and for health reasons. Once your kitten hits the twelve month mark, they stop being a kitten and become a grown cat.
Just as with humans, there are certain viruses that can attack a cat’s system if they are not properly protected. Even if your cat never goes outside, they still interact with whoever comes into your home and whatever germs that they are carrying. It is really easier to take your cat to the veterinarian for their vaccinations instead of dealing with all of the bills that come from a sick cat. Ask your doctor about any vaccinations that your cat may need and have them explain them to you if you have any concerns.
Another major decision when having a cat is the question of whether or not you are going to have your cat spayed or neutered. For those who plan on breeding their cats, this is not a major concern, but for those who don’t have any plans on breeding should strongly consider these options in order to avoid a lot of complications down the road.
Not only are you protecting your cat from contributing to a litter of kittens that weren’t exactly in the cards, but you might avoid a lot of behaviors that occur when a male or female is fertile. AWhen a male or female cat is not spayed or neutered they may demonstrate such behaviors as urination, spraying their spent, and having to deal with a female’s heat cycles.
Spaying refers to a female cat in which the cat’s reproductive organs are removed in order to eliminate any chance of having kittens. By spaying your female cat you will have a more relaxed, active, and happy cat. Neutering refers to the removal of a male cat’s reproductive organs. Again, they will not be able to reproduce but you will find that they are not as aggressive as when they are unneutered.
Part of having a cat involves keeping an eye on their general health and well being. This is why it’s important to have a good veterinarian that you can go to when you have any questions or concerns. You need to be able to ask questions and receive helpful answers; after all you need to keep in mind that your cat’s health is at stake.
After many question and answer sessions with your veterinarian as you become accustomed to your cat, you will begin to be able to decipher when something is wrong with your cat. It won’t hurt if you make it a regular habit to check out your cat for any indicators that they may have a health problem. Below are the main characteristics you need to look for:
If there is any cause for concern you should speak to your veterinarian immediately. Even if you keep your cat clean, well fed, and vaccinated there is a good chance that your cat is going to be sick at one time or another in their life. This is similar to people, no matter how hard you try, eventually you get sick.
As with people, there are things that you need to look for in your cat to recognize if they are sick or not. Below is a list of symptoms that might trigger some concern:
If any of these behaviors catch your attention you should take your cat to the veterinarian.
No matter how clean you keep your cat there is always the chance that some little parasite is going to call your cat’s body its home. If you are keeping a good eye on the health and well being of your cat, you might be able to determine when one of these pesky parasites are moving in.
Ticks or Lice: Ticks and lice can be a very annoying problem for you and your cat. In order to determine if your cat is suffering from ticks and lice; you need to check your cat’s body. You can decipher a tick because you will either see the parasite or will feel it like a bump on your cat’s skin. You can actually remove these yourself if you know what you are doing. You just have to pull the tick out with tweezers, but don’t break the body while doing so.
After the tick is removed you should clean the area with an antiseptic. Lice are much easier to remove; you might notice your cat scratching a lot and find that these pests are the cause, just use a spray or powder to send these parasites packing.
Fleas: Fleas are a common problem with cats. Again, you can find these parasites with a quick examination of your cat’s body, this can even be done while grooming your cat. Fleas are not something that you can get rid of on your own; you will need your veterinarian’s assistance for this.
You may also need to look over your cat’s environment to see if there is a particular reason they contracted the flea infestation. Make sure that after you have treated your cat that you do a thorough cleaning of your cat, wash beds, vacuum, and use other flea killing products to help clear these pests out of your home and away from your cat.
Ear Mites: Ear mites have been mentioned earlier in this book because they are quite common in cats and can lead to many other health problems. This is why it is recommended to clean your cat’s ears on a monthly basis. If your cat’s ears begin to look a bit questionable and are not pink and clean, but waxy and icky smelling, your cat might have ear mites. You should take this concern to your veterinarian and have your cat treated right away.
Mange: Mange can be transmitted by a variety of different mites, but you should be wary because this is something that humans can be affected by as well. If your cat begins to lose fur in patches, bleeds, or has issues around the ears, nose, and ears, your cat might have mange. You need to get your cat to your veterinarian right away if this is a concern for your feline friend.
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Lea-Ann Germinder With Lola
“Love Your Pet Day and all the many pet holidays were in the distant future. It was the age of the .coms (as in pets.com). Goodnewsforpets’ parent company, Germinder & Associates, managed the traditional newsroom for WVC and concurrently launched a virtual newsroom. It’s hard to believe now, but he buzz about launching websites was very much like the buzz about AI today, although the pace was not quite as fast, it was still very exciting,” says Editor + Publisher Lea-Ann Germinder.
Original Goodnewsforpets.com Logo
The 2000 site included the Cat Writers’ Association of America (CWA) as the first media partner courtesy of CWA president emeritus Amy Shojai. The Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) signed up courtesy of Mordecai Siegal. Steve Dale was the first featured columnist. Later columnists included the late legendaries Mordecai Siegal and Ranny Green. Julie Lux also contributed her talents as an editor in later years. The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, Fort Dodge Animal Health, the American Animal Hospital Association, and Addison Laboratories were featured on the site. Other exhibitors at the conference could post their news in addition to “.com” companies from the Discovery Zone.
“We’ve attended dozens of veterinary conferences since, written thousands of articles, and posted an equal number of press releases. My special favorite still is the guest column interview. Now, most of my time is focused on responsible AI research, but I have learned so much from building a website with an incredible team from scratch. In particular, I thank the incomparable Shelli Manning and Amy Davis, the team who helped launch the site with me,” said Germinder.
Today, the core mission of providing “good news” for pets remains unchanged. Some content is sponsored, some are labeled Chewy affiliate content, and some is posted as a service to the veterinary community and pet-owning public.
“Before I launched Germinder + Associates, my team and I at another agency had launched a pet dental website for the “Pets Need Dental Care, Too” campaign for Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the dental groups. The news hook at the time was we had a website. When I launched Germinder & Associates in 1998, we had several animal health clients, so it made sense to launch a website. However, I could never have imagined all the incredible experts I’ve had the honor to interview and the stories we’ve been able to share. I hope to share many more as our 25th anniversary year unfolds, “said Germinder.
Thank you to our Goodnewsforpets.com community, the sponsors and partner organizations, and our columnists and writers over the years. We share this celebratory day and year with you. #Goodnewsforpets25
Something sad and difficult is happening with Lewis: clinical sound phobia. He is suffering. Three months from the onset and diagnosis, he is doing much better with the help of medications, but we have a long way to go. I want to share, for others who are going through this or might in the future, what the recent months have been like for us.
Lewis joined my family in December 2021, and in the next few years we had many thunderstorms and at least eight noisy holidays. I live in a capital city, so we get shows with booming fireworks. Lewis didn’t show fear during these events (with one exception under unusual circumstances). He was happy to accept food after noises, though. Due to long experience with sound reactive dogs, I always deliver good snacks for fireworks and thunderclaps. But if Lewis built up some good associations from that, they weren’t enough.
On January 1, 2025, when the New Year’s fireworks started, Lewis started panting and trembling and seeking comfort. He was in extreme distress. I had no meds for him. We toughed it out with food, when he would take it, and he finally slept, exhausted. I made plans to see the vet.
About a week later, a snowstorm started that lasted a few days, a rarity here. We hadn’t been to the vet yet. Lewis has enjoyed the snow in the past. But at around 7:30 PM the first night, we were out in the yard, and a neighbor close by set off some firecrackers. This video shows the result.
Video shows Lewis standing with his paw raised, trembling, panting, startling to quiet noises, with dilated pupils and extreme tension in his facial muscles.
Lewis not only panicked at the time, but he became afraid to go into the yard, especially at night. During the duration of the snow, he wouldn’t go outside in the evening at all, so sometimes didn’t eliminate for up to 18 hours at a time. And his sound triggers quickly generalized.
I phoned the vet, and we started prescription medications as soon as the streets were clear enough that I could pick them up. I won’t describe the whole meds experience, but many of you know it can take much longer than we wish to get a med or combination that works for a dog. When you get it, it’s priceless, a game changer. But the vet and I are still working on it for Lewis. Writing this in April, he is much, much improved. But he is not his old self.
I also had him checked thoroughly for pain (Lopes Fagundes et al., 2018) by two vets. I’ll keep on top of that. It’s worth noting that he was in the age group where genetic sound phobia typically kicks in, according to Dr. Karen Overall (2013, p. 257).
We kept having bad luck. In February, the city water department excavated the next-door neighbor’s driveway. First, a jackhammer. Then an excavator scraping up pavement and dumping it, booming, into a truck. And of course the truck made backup beeping noises. A new level of trauma unlocked for Lewis. The work started every morning at 8 AM and lasted all day. This went on for four days one week, then two more the next week. Lewis would rarely go outside and was hyper-vigilant when he did so. Indoors got poisoned, too, as he associated the scary noises with being at home. When inside, he’d ask to be taken somewhere by car. He’d stand next to the cabinet where I keep his leash and harness or try to get into the garage when I went out. Or he would simply ask repeatedly to go in another room if doors were closed. I let him, but of course it didn’t help, since there’s no escaping sounds of that amplitude and frequency.
There was a sweet spot around dusk after the workers left and before the still-scary nighttime. Sometimes he’d do his only eliminating for the whole day during that time. Sometimes I had to take him to another neighborhood to get him to go.
Lewis was also terrified the next time we had a thunderstorm, and from then on. In my sound webinars, I talk from an acoustic point of view about the difficulty/impossibility of preventing dogs from hearing thunder. This has been brought home to me anew: how desperate we get, as owners, for something, anything, to block that sound. But in almost all cases, you just can’t. When a thunderclap can shake your house, it’s ludicrous to think that an insulated doghouse, a closet, or even earmuffs can make that sound inaudible. This is why owners of sound phobic and other fearful dogs are so easily exploited by companies that sell products with false promises. When we want to relieve our suffering friends; we will try anything.
I also talk about the problems with satiation when using food for ad hoc counterconditioning. This is a big problem for us. In Arkansas, we have storms that go on for hours. We recently had such a day. We knew it was coming. I had about two cups of chicken ready in bite-sized pieces. The first thunder came at 5:30 PM. I had medicated Lewis ahead of time, but he was still reacting. Not as severely as in the video above, but still upset and frightened. I gave him a piece of chicken for every thunderclap for more than 60 minutes, but after that, I had to slow down. It was just too much food.
If you have studied Pavlovian conditioning, you know that it’s important to establish a 1:1 association between the conditioned stimulus (in this case, thunder) and the unconditioned stimulus (food). The clearer the association, the better the transfer of the response you get to the originally-scary thing. But you can’t do it cleanly with thunder. There are some horrible challenges related to satiation. First, which thunderclaps “count”? You start off treating for each one, as we know we should do. Then you realize that if you continue to do that, and include the quieter ones, you will be feeding nonstop. So you try to make some acoustic threshold in your mind’s ear, and just treat for “the loud ones.” But this breaks the pairing. And is there really some magic line for the dog between scary and “OK, I’m not quite panicking” thunderclaps? Even if there is, how do we find it?
The second problem is the duration itself. I mentioned in my example that the thunder started at 5:30 PM. As of 1:30 AM the next morning, eight hours later, there hadn’t been a period of even 10 minutes when there wasn’t audible thunder. Then we had two more days of thunderstorms.
It could help if I could start to ask for a behavior and give him something to do instead of waiting for inconsistently paired food. After hours and days of storms, I was giving “consolation chicken,” since all hope of a consistent pairing was down the drain. But moving to a behavior will have to happen later; he’s too upset.
I mentioned that Lewis’ triggers generalized fast. A door slam, a twig falling on the roof, a human getting the hiccups (really!), the unexpected clink of some metal pieces in a box, the excavation, cars revving—all scare him badly. There are still few days without triggers. In the video above, you can see how sensitized he is; he twitches at least twice in response to background noises.
Lewis is already a challenge with handling and husbandry. I still trim his nails by giving him frozen peanut butter on a LickiMat and clipping as fast as I can. That’s where we are with nail trims after three years, even though I’ve taught cooperative foot handling to five other dogs. Last fall, Marge Rogers started coaching me on getting him relaxed and being handled. That was coming along nicely until the sound phobia kicked in.
The handling practice is on hiatus since he’s too sensitive for much training. But he also gets upset if I do his nails the old way, whereas before, he didn’t care for the handling but didn’t seem to mind the actual clipping.
A similar thing happened with Clara, even though she was such an easier dog than Lewis. She was relaxing through Dremeling at three years old, but then she got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. She was in pain. I made the mistake of trimming her nails during this period and it was very hard on her. Although she was always cooperative, we never got our relaxed nail trimming back again, for her whole life.
Each dog teaches me new things. I wish, for Lewis’ sake, he didn’t have to be teaching me about this.
Lewis’ condition is like Zani’s in that he is convinced that if he could leave the house (out the front, not the back), he could escape the triggers. I wish it were so! And both have/had a more severe response to their trigger sounds than Summer, who was afraid of thunder, but probably not phobic. Ad hoc counterconditioning helped Summer immensely. After Zani was stabilized on meds, structured desensitization and counterconditioning helped her to an amazing recovery. But her triggers had acoustic aspects that made them much more amenable to successful DS/CC.
Lewis has the toughest situation, with clinical phobia to thunder and fireworks that quickly generalized to many other sudden sounds and even objects associated with them. For instance, because one time some metal pieces settled in a box on the coffee table and made a “clink,” we have to be careful about cardboard boxes now.
Medications (ongoing and situational) and ad hoc counterconditioning have both helped. Lewis also profits from physical and verbal comfort. His first response when a sound scares him is to creep over to me or my partner. He often buries his head between my knees. He has access to places to hide, but isn’t interested. After his initial response, he wants to stay in sight of his humans, but not usually cuddly close. I can tell how upset he is by observing which location he chooses in the den.
I use sound masking to manage the acoustic environment. It can make such a big difference, and especially helped during the neighborhood excavation. Because of that, I figured out a trick for masking that may help some of you. I’ll publish that in a separate post.
Here’s an antidote to all the sad photos. We are still managing to have some fun during this adjustment and recovery period. I will keep you posted.
Lopes Fagundes, A. L., Hewison, L., McPeake, K. J., Zulch, H., & Mills, D. S. (2018). Noise sensitivities in dogs: an exploration of signs in dogs with and without musculoskeletal pain using qualitative content analysis. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 5, 17.
Overall, K. (2013). Manual of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Dogs and Cats. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Copyright 2025 Eileen Anderson
a Guest Post by Cat Topia
For cats, the right environment and mental engagement are crucial to staying healthy and happy. Just like humans, cats need more than food, water, and shelter—they need mental and physical enrichment to truly thrive. Without proper enrichment, cats can experience boredom, which may lead to serious health issues. Let’s explore ways owners can add extra enrichment into their lives, such as through a catio.
Enrichment for cats is more than entertainment; it’s essential to their well-being. In the wild, cats are natural hunters, driven to explore, hunt, and interact with their environment. Indoor cats, however, don’t have the same outlets to exercise these instincts, leading to potential boredom, stress, and even health issues.
Think of it like this: if you could never access the outdoors—no sun on your face, no sounds of nature, and no fresh scents of changing seasons—you’d likely feel restless, even anxious. Similarly, without engagement, your cat can become mentally and physically stifled. Providing enrichment, then, allows them the chance to engage in natural behaviors, reducing the negative effects of a restricted lifestyle and promoting both mental and physical health.
Without sufficient enrichment, cats can develop a range of behavioral issues, including:
Providing regular, engaging activities helps prevent these issues, making for a happier and healthier pet.
A catio (an enclosed, outdoor cat patio) is one of the most effective ways to provide both physical and sensory enrichment. For indoor cats, a catio offers a safe way to experience the outdoors, complete with fresh air, sunlight, and a variety of sights and smells. Here’s how a catio contributes to enrichment:
If a catio isn’t feasible, there are still plenty of ways to enrich your cat’s life:
By providing adequate enrichment, cat owners can help prevent a range of behavioral and health issues, giving their cats a happier and more balanced life. From a simple scratching post to a full catio, there are enrichment solutions for every space and budget. Remember, a well-enriched cat is a happy cat, and with some creativity, you can create a stimulating environment that keeps your feline friend active, engaged, and content.
I once read a quote about dogs that I don’t feel like trying to find right now. If I do end up finding it I’ll update this later. It was about how dog lovers must sign an invisible contract when they bring a new dog into their lives. You get insane amounts of unconditional love, snuggles, tail wags, laughter, happy days, and fun. But the price you eventually have to pay for all that is steep. I don’t have to type it. We all know what the price we pay is. I know all too well what the price we pay is, because I’ve recently paid it. I’ve been paying it. I think I paid in extra, because I started making deposits before my balance was due. Who do I talk to about a refund? I jest, of course. This post is about anticipatory grief. What is it? And what the heck does it have to do with dogs?
Probably somewhat obvious by the name, anticipatory grief, sometimes also referred to as preparatory grief, is a type of grief that is felt before a loss. Anticipating an impending loss can trigger strong emotions such as sadness, fear, anger, isolation, anxiety, or guilt. Anticipatory grief is often associated with an impending death, such as in situations where you are aware that yourself, or a loved one, is nearing the end of life. It can occur in other situations too, however. Some more common examples included feeling anticipatory grief over the impending loss of a relationship, such as a breakup or divorce, or a major life event such as a move or job change. “Regular” grief typically occurs after experiencing a loss. Anticipatory grief is grieving for a loss that has not yet occurred.
Common symptoms of anticipatory grief can include the following…
Sounds fun right (/sarcasm)? Although it’s thought that anticipatory grief can actually help some people mentally prepare for an impending loss, it’s not a pleasant experience to go through. The symptoms of anticipatory grief can be bad enough that they negatively impact a person’s everyday life.
Studies on anticipatory grief have been pretty inconclusive. For some people, it does seem to come with some benefits. Anticipating a major loss before it occurs can help some people to prepare for what is to come. It can give them time to come to terms with the loss before it happens, which can sometimes make it easier to do things such as say their goodbyes to loved ones, or make necessary preparations ahead of time. For some people, anticipatory grief can make dealing with a loss easier because they’ve had time to process things ahead of time.
For other people, anticipatory grief can be, at best, just the beginning of their grieving process. It doesn’t always adequately help people to prepare for experiencing a loss. At worst, for others, it can be the beginning stage of prolonged grief disorder. Between 7% and 10% of adults experience prolonged grief disorder, according to the American Psychiatric Association, which can cause intense, persistent, long term symptoms of grief.
Anticipatory grief can be especially hard. Oftentimes anticipatory grief ends because the normal grieving process has began. Many people will experience at least some symptoms of anticipatory grief up until the event they are preparatorily grieving for occurs.
Talking to understanding loved ones, friends, or even a therapist may help if you are experiencing anticipatory grief. If you are experiencing extreme symptoms, or symptoms that impact your physical health such as sleeplessness or lack of appetite you should talk to your doctor. Practicing mindfulness and self care can sometimes help ease symptoms. Try to maintain a healthy diet and sleep schedule, and exercise regularly if you can. Meditation or other relaxation exercises may help ease stress. Find what works for you! Everyone experiences grief in their own way, and what helps them to get through that grief may differ as well.
This is a dog blog after all. In January of this year (2024) I lost my first dog, my amazing best buddy Kitsune. After 15 years together, as you can probably imagine, dealing with his death has been hard. Kit was a live life loud kind of dog, and pretty much up until the day that he died he was making trouble. Trouble was (literally) his middle name and he 100% lived up to it! He had cancer, but it, unfortunately, took us a long time to figure out he had cancer. Who ever suspects that a dog who is barking at you for second dinner and racing around the house not only has cancer, but has advanced, terminal cancer? I certainly didn’t. Our vet didn’t either.
Despite not knowing about Kit’s cancer at the time, I experienced a lot of anticipatory grief especially throughout the last year or so of his life. I knew that Kit was getting old, and we started having to deal with more health issues with him. He was diagnosed with IVDD in 2022 so I worried a lot about him experiencing a flare up of that. He also had arthritis and a heart murmur that we had to stay on top of monitoring.
Let’s face it, health issues aside every senior dog owner knows they have a very sad day ahead of them. It’s the price we pay for all the amazing years of love and companionship our dogs give us. Caring for a beloved aging, senior dog can be a mentally exhausting experience. For me, I for sure had the symptom of “preoccupation with the terminal loved one” when it came to my anticipatory grief over Kitsune. I spent a lot of time worrying about Kit and trying to think of new ways to make his life even better. I’ll never regret doing everything I could to make every moment of his life as happy and as comfortable as possible, but I will admit that the amount of time I was spending worrying about him was causing me a lot of stress. I would cry sometimes thinking about losing him, which then made me feel frustrated. I didn’t want to spend whatever amount of time I did have left with him grieving him prematurely.
Was the anticipatory grief I experienced before losing my senior dog a good thing or a bad thing? I will say that it made me really focus a lot of attention on Kit. Because I was somewhat preoccupied with thinking about his death, I was hyper aware of how important it was to really appreciate the time I had with him. That last year or so of snuggles were extra sweet. I admit that I got quite lax when it came to any form of discipline, because how can you say no to a senior dog? Kit got all the snuggles, and walks, and (almost) all the treats that he wanted. He’d always been spoiled, but especially so in his last years of life. No regrets there.
I feel like really appreciating the time I spent with Kit, and spoiling him so much, in a small way did help me deal with his death. I knew when he died that we had given him a good life. That I didn’t take him for granted and that, other than not finding out about his cancer sooner, I didn’t have any major regrets when it came to how I cared for Kit, especially in his senior years.
But, at the same time, the anticipatory grief was hard. It was stressful and sad. In some ways, I feel like it may have been even harder than the actual grief I started dealing with after Kit died. The actual grief has been really hard, don’t get me wrong, but, for me at least, it’s not as anxiety inducing. It’s weird to feel like I’ve been grieving for a dog for so long, when he only died 3ish months ago.
I still have my Alaskan Klee Kai, Fenrir, and I know I’ll more than likely have other dogs in my life in the future. I hope I don’t experience anticipatory grief with Fenrir or any of my future dogs as strongly as I did with Kitsune. I’m confident that I can appreciate them in their senior years, the way I did with Kitsune, without the added stress of prematurely grieving them at the same time. Kit taught me so many important life lessons, one of them, sadly, being about all the hard aspects of living with, and losing, a senior dog. I’m hoping those lessons will make my next loss a bit easier to deal with, but I guess only time will tell. And hopefully it will be a very long time before I lose anyone else close to me!
In my last post I said I was going to try to stick to an every other week posting schedule here. Clearly that hasn’t been working out. I have to admit, that since losing Kit posting here has just been difficult. I’ve had some major writer’s block when it comes to writing about dogs, and writing about Kit still makes me cry. It’s still my plan to post here at least every other week eventually, but for now I’m just going to do what I can. For anyone who wants to hear from us more often, I’ve been more active on our Instagram and Facebook pages than I have here.
We are doing ok! My partner, Fenrir, and I are all really missing Kit. It just sucks so much not having him around. It feels like a big part of our little family is missing – because it is. I still have bad days, and sometimes bad weeks. But we’re ok. The weather here is finally warming up so we’ve been trying to spend a lot of time taking advantage of that. Nature therapy for the win! Everyday after work I spend time playing outside with Fenrir, and we’ve been fitting in as many spring hikes as we can find time for.
“Healing in grief is a lot like the onset of spring. It’s unreliable and fickle. One day it’s warmish and blue skies and we think, “Hey! We’re feeling better!” Then the next day -or week- it’s sleeting and gray again. But ever so slowly, we advance into better weather. We can’t rush it. We can’t control it. We can’t skip the dismal days. But we can trust that spring and then summer will come.”
– Dr.Alan Wolfelt
Have you ever experienced anticipatory grief? Did you find any techniques that really helped you to deal with it?
We’ve, unfortunately, been dealing with content scrapers stealing our articles. You shouldn’t be seeing this article on any site other than pawprintpetblog.com! If you’re reading this article on any other site, we’d love for you to take the time to contact us and let us know and, if you have the time, stop by and visit us on our official site! Thanks you.
I first learned of the “peak-end rule” when I read Daniel Kahneman’s book, Thinking, Fast and Slow. I thought it was interesting and could relate. Years later, when Clara died, the reality of it hit me.
This post reflects my state of mind immediately after I lost Clara. My perspective has widened over time and the pain has softened. I am not sinking into fixations or deep regrets. I gave her a good life. The concepts I discuss in this post are part of what helped me through my initial grief. I hope they will help others, as well.
Bucket lists. A favorite last meal. A peaceful, painless death, surrounded by loved ones.
It is natural to want the best for our beloved pets at the ends of their lives, as we have throughout them.
Yet, after losing Clara, I noticed something in myself. I had a focus, almost an obsession with her last hours, her last day, her last week. Even her last couple of years. And I have seen this focus in many others.
It has a name: the peak-end rule.
The peak-end rule is a cognitive bias that causes us, when looking back on an experience, to focus on two things: the most intense part of it and the end.
I’m not saying that these things aren’t important. But the peak-end rule can—and has been shown experimentally to—cause us to de-emphasize, even ignore long periods of pleasure and happiness. The same with long periods of moderate pain, when flanked by more extreme pain.
Here’s a scientific definition:
The peak-end rule . . . asserts that, when people retrospectively evaluate an experience (e.g., the previous workday), they rely more heavily on the episode with peak intensity and on the final (end) episode than on other episodes in the experience — Alaybek et al., 2022.
A related effect is called duration neglect.
. . . we define [duration neglect] as little or no independent effect of duration on retrospective evaluations of affective episodes. — Fredrickson & Kahneman, 1993.
This is the flip side of the peak-end rule. We devalue duration in comparison with the peak and end of an experience, even if the peak and end are very brief compared to the total experience.
Research has shown evidence for duration neglect when we recall both pleasant experiences (e.g. vacations) and unpleasant ones (medical procedures).
Here’s an article with a good discussion of both the peak-end rule and duration neglect.
The peak-end rule has been shown to apply to retrospectively assessing the happiness of a life (Kahneman, 2012, p. 387). So here I am, after Clara’s death, noticing the peak-end rule while thinking over her life.
I have all these regrets relating to “the end.” They were very intense in the days after Clara died. In retrospect, this happened to varying degrees with my other dogs as well.
I wish I had given Clara a few more potato chips on her last night on earth. I gave her one, but she wanted more. What I would have given her had I known! And I kept thinking of it on the day she died. Why just ONE damn potato chip? Luckily, Ruth was more generous, and gave her three or four cheese crackers. I asked Ruth that day, after Clara was gone, how many she gave her the night before. I wept in gratitude about those crackers.
But Clara had great food her whole life. Good nutrition to the best of my ability, but also wonderful treats, wonderful variety, very high-value foods. Homemade dog treats. People food. A grilled lean pork chop for her lessons. Fast food chicken sandwiches for training on the road and whipped cream pup cups. And since we moved here in 2018, after we eat, Ruth gives the dogs tastes of our suppers or other fun food that’s safe for them. She does this every day.
Clara has had food that other dogs might only dream of, over the duration of her whole life. And I’m fixated on that one potato chip.
Out of all my dogs, I had the most warning that Zani was reaching the end of her life. She had a probable diagnosis of lymphoma, but she was still feeling good for a few weeks. We had time for a mini-bucket list. But you know what I focused on after she passed? My timing at her euthanasia. I was too late when I offered her some ice cream.
It was a blessing that I could be there at all; it was the height of COVID, September 2020. It was also a blessing that she wasn’t scared at the vet. She walked in with the tech in her jaunty way, eager to find people to visit.
But when the moment came, we were in a rush. I wasn’t fast enough with the vanilla ice cream I had brought in a thermos. Zani looked at it, then the sedation kicked in and she fell asleep. I still think about that ice cream. Is it about me and my fantasy of her perfect passing? Mostly. I still hope that she got enough of a whiff of the ice cream to have a happy feeling on the way out.
But I have some sweet memories from Zani’s last days. There was the fun mini-trip I took with her four days before she died, many yummy meals, and the special chews that Debbie Jacobs sent us in the nick of time. Zani got to chew one on her last day, about an hour before her appointment. I am so grateful for that.
This one is not about the last moments, but the last years. I have a huge regret that I did not continue my training fun with Clara after Lewis came. He exhausted me. I wasn’t even able to do much of my own work for a long time. Luckily, Clara still had her walks. I had been walking her and my partner’s dog daily since April 2021 (then Lewis, starting in 2022). I am so grateful for that, and proud that I walked them so consistently. But Lewis dominated my time. Clara’s training games (and the trick title work) ceased abruptly. I feel guilty.
This is a reasonable regret, more than a bias. We stopped doing something she loved. But feeling extra bad about it is an example of both the peak-end rule and duration neglect. Clara has gotten more of my time and attention than any other dog. We lived for each other. That never stopped. She has been on outings and gone places the others never have. For seven years, she had two fun lessons a week with a great trainer. We usually went to a shopping mall (ice cream!) or a beautiful park for a long walk.
She got my best training self for ten years. And high value treats and much, much play. But because I stopped training with her for two years (with a few exceptions), and because it was during our last years together, I feel this guilt. If there had been a hiatus of a similar period, but in the middle of our lives together, I would have regrets, but the loss likely would not loom so large.
I stopped walking the dogs for two weeks last summer after I sprained my ankle. I hated it for them. But since it wasn’t at the end for Clara, it doesn’t horrify me to think about. She got three more months of walks after that. And it’s a blessing to me that her last one was extra sweet because it was drizzling rain. That was her favorite kind of walk.
A happy walk after a rain in May 2024
Hemangiosarcoma just snuck up, so I don’t know that I could have done anything better. But I feel awful, of course, that her last hours on this earth were painful, and she was in a foreign place. No idyllic euthanasia at home after a perfect bucket week or month. But it helps immensely that I was with her at the very end, that I was the last thing she saw before she sank into peace. And it WAS peaceful. So much better than Cricket, who fought, and Summer, for whom I wasn’t present.
Perhaps Clara was in as much pain, if I can compare, after her spay when she was a teenager. They let her come home the same day, because of her extreme fear. She was hurting. But I haven’t thought of that in years. It was not at the “end.”
Do I seem callous for comparing these things? I am not undervaluing any of her pain. Just noting that her last morning “feels” like the worst to me. But I don’t know how it felt to her. And she is gone now, leaving me to think about her life.
Another regret, and this one didn’t even affect her, only me. But it feels somehow like it affected her. I bought a GoPro, largely to get some candid shots of Clara and record the dogs on their walks. Clara reacted poorly to having a phone camera pointed at her for her whole life; I was hoping she would not do so with the GoPro. I got it about four days before she died. I didn’t know what was coming. I didn’t set it up in time.
I almost deleted this example, since it feels in really bad taste to have the privilege to buy such a camera and then whine about not getting to use it. But I include it because it’s another example of bias. Because of my ankle sprain in June, I stopped using my phone to make videos of Clara’s walks. I needed to watch my footing better. I have many videos of Clara on walks. And while there are probably other three-month gaps in that set of videos, it specifically hurts that I don’t have any for her last three months.
Kahneman talks about the “experiencing self” and the “remembering self” and their vastly different perceptions of situations and events. The remembering self is the one that values peaks and ends. The experiencing self. . . experiences. It’s the one living in the moment.
I’m thinking about my living dogs now. Lewis and my partner’s Chihuahua mix, Choo Choo. Many people who have just lost a dog will say to others, “Hug your babies today, give them treats.” Some will say to act as if every day is your pet’s last day because you never know if it might be.
I ran that last one through my mind in the present and my experiencing self said NO WAY. Give Lewis a whole bunch of potato chips? EVERY NIGHT, because it might be his last night? No. The “treat them as if every day were their last” idea doesn’t cut it in many ways. Health. Nutrition. The dangers of too much fat and salt and the harm that can come from unbridled treat food. The risks of exhaustion or injury if you focus on play or intense activities. What an interesting idea, to try to make every day a peak. Because that’s what the idea boils down to. But it was an instant No when I thought about it. Out of the question.
I spell this out because it was interesting to have my experiencing and remembering selves come smack up against each other. I was regretting Clara’s one potato chip at the same time I was refusing to do something that might prevent that regret with Lewis.
I’m surprised that there is not a lot of written discussion about this. Grief over losing a pet is becoming more recognized and affirmed by society, and resources for this type of loss are burgeoning. The peak-end rule can aid understanding of why some things can hurt so badly.
There is one significant exception to the silence on this topic related to pets’ lives. Veterinarian Mary Gardner, in Treatment and Care of the Geriatric Veterinary Patient, focuses on the peak-end rule in the context of euthanasia. After discussion of the rule, in a section titled “Endings Matter,” she advises vets on the ways they can help not only the pet but the pet’s guardians by making the euthanasia experience as calm and peaceful as possible. The book has thoughtful instructions on how to speak to the guardian about the process, the order of events, and more. She ends the section with these words:
Although our pets are a part of our stories (an important chapter), their own lives are a story. And in stories, endings matter most. So make the most out of the end and make it good — Gardner and McVety, 2017, p. 338.
I’ve related a lot of sad moments and regrets in this post. But the point behind them, and my impetus for sharing, is that knowing about the peak-end rule helped me put those things in perspective.
I understand more than ever why bucket lists can be such a good thing. Not only for the dog, but for the person. Having memories of the extra-special times near the end of our dogs’ lives can be sweet. The ones I described for Zani above were not dramatic. Many people do much more unusual things. But ours were enough out of the ordinary that the memories shine for me.
I now have a weapon against my regrets and sad memories. I’ve delineated some of my regrets above. (That is not a complete list.) I have kept the painful images and memories of Clara’s last hours private. But I’ve learned that we can honor duration, even if that doesn’t come naturally. We can remind ourselves of the thousand fun walks or trips our dogs had even if they missed one their last day.
Rather than focusing on the dramatic “peaks,” which stand out in our memory, and rather than trying to make peaks every day, we can be present and constant with our dogs and mindful of their happiness. Our experiencing selves can do that, and we can remind our remembering selves of it.
I would never ever dismiss or devalue the events near the ends of our loved ones’ lives, good or bad. But it has helped me immensely to consider the rest of Clara’s life. It was long, it was calm, it was safe, it was happy. I made it that way, and I can feel peace in that.
Copyright 2024 Eileen Anderson
Alaybek, B., Dalal, R. S., Fyffe, S., Aitken, J. A., Zhou, Y., Qu, X., Roman, A., & Baines, J. I. (2022). All’s well that ends (and peaks) well? A meta-analysis of the peak-end rule and duration neglect. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 170, 104149.
Diener, E., Wirtz, D., & Oishi, S. (2001). End effects of rated life quality: The James Dean effect. Psychological science, 12(2), 124-128.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Kahneman, D. (1993). Duration neglect in retrospective evaluations of affective episodes. Journal of personality and social psychology, 65(1), 45.
Gardner, M., & McVety, D. (Eds.). (2017). Treatment and care of the geriatric veterinary patient. John Wiley & Sons.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Müller, U. W., Witteman, C. L., Spijker, J., & Alpers, G. W. (2019). All’s bad that ends bad: there is a peak-end memory bias in anxiety. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1272.
Zenko, Z., Ekkekakis, P., & Ariely, D. (2016). Can you have your vigorous exercise and enjoy it too? Ramping intensity down increases postexercise, remembered, and forecasted pleasure. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 38(2), 149-159.
Editor’s Note: Viticus Group (formerly Western Veterinary Conference) was “the conference where it all happened” — where Goodnewsforpets.com was launched 25 years ago. We were thrilled to visit with Dr. Anthony Pease, Viticus Group’s Chief Veterinary Medical Officer, at this year’s conference in Las Vegas to not only celebrate Goodnewsforpets anniversary but also talk to Dr. Pease about the exciting news of building a second Oquendo Center-type hands-on learning center in Nashville plus the launch of a second WVC conference in 2026.
First, congratulations on this huge news. What can you tell us about the decision to launch a new learning center PLUS a national conference in Nashville?
Thank you. We have found that the Viticus Group’s Oquendo Center is the only place outside any academic institution offering a standalone hands-on training facility for the veterinary profession. Here, we can teach all the state-of-the-art techniques and things that you may not have picked up in school or never got to practice enough to feel comfortable. Some examples are fracture repair, soft tissue surgery, and all that sort of stuff.
What I’ve loved about being the chief veterinary medical officer of Viticus Group is that my whole role is to build confidence. In general, there’s so much information for veterinarians to learn. When you get out into practice, you’ve trained your whole life, and then suddenly, you’re doing that work every day and no longer in training.
We built the Oquendo Center 15 years ago when WVC needed a place to do hands-on labs during the conference, and then we expanded to an Eastern campus. We have 140,000 square feet of dedicated training facilities here in Las Vegas. We’ve kept going and use it even after the conference. We see about 5,000 veterinary professionals. We even do work with the human health side every year.
How many labs do you offer?
When we have conferences, we usually have about 30 hands-on labs, but more people wanted this type of training, so we went up to 44 hands-on labs this time. Amazingly, we have approximately 1400 people doing hands-on training over the next four days. We realized we couldn’t do enough of it, so rather than trying to build a third building in Las Vegas, we said let’s start going someplace else. Andrea Davis, Viticus Group’s CEO, and I searched, and the location selected was Nashville.
How did you arrive at Nashville as the site?
As part of our strategic plan, when we talked to the Executive Board, we discussed an East Coast expansion, and everyone was on board. That was back in 2023. In early 2024, we started traveling around. We picked out five different areas that we wanted to look at. We just fell in love with Nashville. It just made a lot of sense. It’s seven minutes from the airport. Our center’s going to be seven minutes from the airport. We said this would be great, and we could do hands-on labs, but we’re good at conferences, too. Nashville also has an excellent convention center. We started talking with them, and it probably took another six months to talk through. We don’t want to bring a little regional conference; we want to do a national conference.
How did you land on doing the Nashville conference in the fall?
Back in 2021, during Covid times, we had to move our conference because we couldn’t do our conference in February. We shifted it to September, and many people felt the timing was excellent. It was a nice time to have it towards the end of the year because people were closing out their CE, and maybe they couldn’t get away in January or February. That resonated with us, too. We decided that if we were to do a second conference, we should do it in Q3 or Q4. We decided to do the 2026 and 2027 conferences in August. The dates are August 16 to the 18th, 2026.
Goodnewsforpets.com Editor & Publisher Lea-Ann Germinder with Dr. Anthony Pease, Viticus Group Chief Veterinary Medical Officer at WVC Vegas 2025
How did you decide on the length of the new conference?
We do four days in February in Las Vegas, so we decided to start with three days. But we have our teaching facility, so we’ll probably do hands-on for four days to keep it moving. The idea is that it’s going to be a 170,000-square-foot exhibit hall. It’s going to be everything that you’re used to in Las Vegas, but we’re going to do much more interactive learning, including innovation technologies. It’s pretty exciting.
How did you arrive at the type of content you will be providing?
We want to get the instant applicable stuff for veterinary professionals, whether they are technicians, front office workers, practice managers, or owners of large or small animals. There’s something for everybody.
What was the exhibitor and sponsor feedback you received?
We contacted most of the larger companies’ CEOs and Chief Medical Officers, and they were ecstatic. I think it will be such a great time, such a good time of year for them. We want to say, look, there have been many smaller conferences that spring up, and it’s not what this is. There hasn’t been a major national conference created since NAVC created their conference [now named VMX]43 years ago. At that point, they were the Eastern Veterinary Conference and evolved. The Western Veterinary Conference will be WVC Las Vegas, and WVC Nashville.
WVC will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary. Where are you going to celebrate that centennial?
We’ve been starting work on that. It will be our hundredth year in Las Vegas, and now we will also be in Nashville to have two parties. We will do something celebrating 100 years—where we’ve been for the last hundred years and where we’re going in the next hundred years. Technology like AI, which we discussed earlier, will play a massive part as technology advances. Thinking back to 1928 and where that conference was versus what we’re learning about now, it’s all very exciting.
Thank you, Dr. Pease. We wish you a wonderful opening of the facility and conference in 2026—and we plan to be there!
To stay updated on Viticus Group expansion plans, visit viticusgroup.org and join the Alert List.
This post may contain affiliate links. We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
Having a pregnant dog welcome a new litter into the world is one of the greatest things a dog owner can experience.
If you are ready to experience all the joys of doggy pregnancy, you may be wondering: can dogs be too old to get pregnant, and how old can dogs still have puppies?
I was very surprised to discover that dogs are never too old to have puppies!
Yup, you read that right—in fact, there is no such thing as doggy menopause and female dogs go into heat during their whole lives.
However, although dogs are naturally capable of breeding and having puppies well into their senior years, that doesn’t mean that they should.
Pregnancy can be tough even for young dogs that are in their prime, but older dogs are at a much higher risk of health problems and stillborn puppies.
Whether you want a new puppy or you are a breeder thinking about retiring your dogs, it is important to consider the ages of your male and female dogs before breeding them!
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In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about responsible breeding and dog fertility.
Before I go any further into the topic of when is a dog too old to have puppies, let’s touch on the subject of when is a dog considered to be a senior in need of special care.
Knowing that your pooch is an elderly citizen will help you determine whether it is safe and appropriate for your dog to get pregnant in the first place.
Most dogs enter their senior years when they are around seven years old; however, the aging process is slightly different for small and large breed dogs.
A tiny Chihuahua, for example, is considered a senior when they reach 11 years of age. On the other hand, a giant breed such as a Great Dane is considered a senior by the time they are five years old.
The aging difference between smaller and larger breeds is mainly due to their size. Several studies have confirmed that larger breeds tend to age much faster than their smaller counterparts.
Therefore, how old is too old for a dog to have puppies is directly related to the size of that particular dog.
Unlike people, female and male dogs technically remain fertile their whole lives. However, their fertility and ability to whelp healthy puppies decrease as they get older.
Let’s see at what age dogs can have puppies, starting with male dogs.
A healthy male dog can still sire puppies until very old age. In fact, most professional breeders will retire male dogs much later than their females.
According to AKC rules, you can register a litter of puppies sired by a male dog that was no more than 12 years old at the time of mating.
In practice, most reputable breeders will retire their male dogs when they are between 10 and 12 years old.
However, just because a male dog is over 12 doesn’t mean that he is incapable of siring puppies. Older male dogs are still capable of impregnating females, but they aren’t as fertile as they once were and may need more tries to get a female dog pregnant.
Age is just one of several factors that affect the ability of a male dog to sire puppies. The age at which a male dog can have puppies also depends on the quality and quantity of its sperm.
So, many professional breeders will check the sperm count of their male dogs regularly, at least once a month, to see if they are still capable of siring litters.
Additionally, breeders will check many other things to determine whether their male dogs are too old for breeding and ready to be retired. A low conception rate is another sign that a dog is getting too old to sire puppies regularly.
This means that a male dog fails to get a female dog pregnant during ideal conditions: one mating per day and a completely healthy female.
Furthermore, a breeder may decide that the male dog is too old to sire puppies if their partner continually produces smaller litters, or if the puppies are weak and sick.
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You may be surprised to learn that female dogs don’t go through menopause and can technically get pregnant throughout their whole lives.
This can come as a big shock, especially if you think that it’s safe for your older female pooch to go off-leash and hang out with other dogs in the park.
According to the AKC rules, a dam must not be more than 12 years of age at the time of mating, if you want to register the litter. However, a lot of breed clubs, including the UK Kennel Club, set eight years as a maximum limit for breeding female dogs.
When it comes to nature’s order, female dogs can still get pregnant even if they are older than 12 and remain fertile their whole lives.
However, at this grand age, most female dogs have birthing difficulties, and serious complications are often seen during labor.
When they become pregnant, older female dogs may have trouble giving birth, and seeing stillborn puppies in a litter is unfortunately quite common.
Additionally, older dogs may have trouble producing enough milk to nurse their puppies, who often die if not bottle-fed by their human caregivers.
Due to all these risks and complications, most reputable breeders decide to retire their dams when they are around five or six years old.
To determine whether or not to retire a female dog from a breeding program, the breeders consider the same factors as for male dogs.
The breeder will compare conception rates, litter sizes, the dam’s health, complications during delivery, and the time needed for recovery.
Taking all of these criteria into account can give you a good idea of whether it is safe to continue breeding your female dog or not.
Our Golden Retriever, Raven was a breeding dog. She was retired by her breeder when she was 6 years old at which time we officially adopted her.
If you own a female dog, the most important thing to remember is that she can get pregnant at any time during her life. Although older dogs are less fertile than their younger counterparts, there is still a risk of unwanted pregnancy.
So, you will have to watch your pooch and prevent any unwanted mating or opt to have her spayed if her age and overall health don’t pose any risk for the procedure.
Now that you know that dogs can become pregnant their entire lives, talk with your vet about the best ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
QUICK RECOMMENDATION: If you have intact male and female dogs a good way to manage them when your female is in heat is with barriers like pet gates and dog crates. We use these tools to help keep our dogs separate.
If the fact that dogs can have puppies throughout their lives catches you off guard, you’ll be even more surprised to learn that most dogs reach sexual maturity while they are still puppies. You read that right: Your cute, fluffy puppy can have puppies of its own!
Once they reach sexual maturity, male dogs can mate at any time, even every day! Females, on the other hand, can mate only when they are in heat, which usually happens twice a year.
However, some dogs can go into heat up to four times a year, while others will be ready to mate once a year, depending on their size and breed.
Here’s the earliest age a dog can have puppies, starting with male dogs again.
Male dogs generally become fertile earlier than their female counterparts, usually when they are around five or six months old.
Toy and small breeds such as Chihuahuas become sexually mature earlier than large breeds. which become fertile when they are between seven and nine months old.
However, while they are technically able to impregnate a female dog, you shouldn’t allow males to mate until they are physically mature. In most cases, you should wait until your dog is at least one year old to mate him with a female.
Keep in mind that large and giant breeds need more time to fully grow, so you should wait until your pooch is 18 to 24 months old to breed him for the first time.
OUR EXPERIENCE: We’ve purchased from Labrador and Golden Retriever breeders. The breeders we’ve worked with wait until their dogs are around 2 years old and passed all their health clearances before breeding them.
If you decide to use your male dog for siring litters, you will first have to ensure that he is completely healthy and fertile. Your vet can help with that and provide health clearances that your dog is a qualified stud dog ready for breeding.
Once a male dog reaches sexual maturity, he remains fertile his entire life. However, their sperm count tends to be low during the beginning and the end of their reproductive cycle.
That’s why it’s important to wait until your puppy becomes fully grown before first breeding and avoid breeding dogs that are too old.
Unlike male dogs, who can mate literally every single day once they reach puberty, female dogs can breed only when they are in heat.
Female dogs usually reach sexual maturity when they are six months old, but smaller breeds can go into heat as early as four months of age.
Even though they are fertile and able to get pregnant, it’s not recommended to breed female dogs during their first heat cycle. As with male dogs, you should wait until your female is fully grown before attempting to mate her for the first time.
The size and breed of your dog will determine when the best time is to mate your female for the first time. Smaller breeds reach adulthood earlier than their larger counterparts and can consequently become pregnant safely much earlier.
After having their first estrus, also known as heat or season, female dogs usually go into heat every six months until they get old.
However, this time frame can vary from one dog to another and can depend on the size of the dog. Generally, smaller dogs go into heat more regularly than larger breeds and can produce more litters during their lifetime.
The heat cycle is divided into four stages: proestrus, estrus, diestrus, and anestrus. In the proestrus phase, which lasts around nine days, a female dog has a bloody vaginal discharge and attracts males, but won’t breed with them.
The estrus phase also lasts around nine days, at which time the female is fertile and will be allowed to be mounted by a male dog. In most cases, ovulation happens within the first 48 hours of the estrus phase, but this can vary greatly.
The diestrus phase lasts 60 to 90 days, during which time the dog’s reproductive system is under the control of the hormone progesterone.
This phase happens whether or not the dog has gotten pregnant, and some dogs may develop signs of false pregnancy during this stage.
Lastly, the anestrus phase is the time when a female dog can no longer become pregnant and is a period without sexual activity. In most cases, this stage lasts between three to four months.
Although some become fertile much earlier, the AKC rules don’t permit the registration of any litters from dams that are younger than eight months old at the time of the mating.
And while old female dogs can have puppies, the female’s fertility starts to drop after five years of age.
Female dogs that are too young or too old can’t handle the strain the pregnancy puts on their bodies, which often leads to birthing complications, premature labor, and stillborn puppies.
That’s why it is imperative that you don’t start breeding your dam too early or continue to do so when she gets old.
Technically, both female and male dogs can have puppies their whole lives. However, a dog’s fertility drops after the age of seven, and most female dogs can’t become pregnant quite as often as they used to.
The same happens to male dogs, and while they are still able to have puppies their fertility rate isn’t as high as it used to be.
The actual labor is also more difficult and risky for older dogs and is commonly accompanied by complications. Older dogs also may have problems producing milk and nursing their puppies.
The AKC rules don’t allow registration of any litter of a dam that is less than eight months old or more than 12 years old at the time of mating.
Additionally, any litter that is sired by a male dog that is less than seven months old or more than 12 years old at the time of mating can’t be registered with the AKC.
On the other hand, the UK Kennel Club, the VHD in Germany, and many other clubs list the maximum age limit at eight years for female dogs.
A 9-year-old dog can technically get pregnant and give birth to a litter of puppies. However, most reputable breeders won’t breed such an old female dog because of the risks associated with the pregnancy and birthing complications.
However, an older female dog can absolutely get pregnant if mounted by a fertile male during her heat cycle. To prevent any health problems and unwanted pregnancies, keep a close eye on your dog while in heat and consider spaying her.
Most dogs reach puberty and become fertile when they are six months old, although they shouldn’t have puppies until they are fully grown. Small breeds reach adulthood when they are one year old and can safely have puppies if they are done growing.
However, large and giant breeds continue growing until they are between 18 and 24 months old, and they shouldn’t have puppies until they reach adulthood.
A one-year-old Great Dane is still a puppy, and it would be bad for a growing pup to get pregnant and have to take care of a litter of newborn puppies.
Knowing how old dogs can be to have puppies is an important piece of information if you plan to breed your dog at some point in their life.
While technically dogs are fertile and can have puppies their whole lives, older female dogs are at risk of premature labor, stillborn puppies, and birthing complications.
To ensure that your dog’s pregnancy goes well, here’s what you need to remember:
While it is hard to imagine that dogs can have puppies their whole lives, you should be careful not to breed your dog when they are too young or too old.
Before breeding your pooch, talk with your vet and have your dog throughout examined.
Are you a breeder?
Have you worked with or bought a dog from a breeder?
If so, do you know how old their breeding dogs are?
Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below.
UPDATE: This post was originally published on May 10th, 2021. We periodically update blog posts with new experiences and information to keep them as relevant as possible.
Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist.
In her 1969 book On Death and Dying, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the Kübler-Ross model of grief, which outlines five stages of emotions that people go through while processing grief. The five stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. More recent research has suggested that there are actually seven stages of grief; shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance. Not everyone goes through all of the stages. Not everyone goes through all of the stages in order. Some people get through the stages of grief quickly, while others take years. There are many different types of grief, including (but not limited to) anticipatory grief, abbreviated grief, delayed grief, chronic grief, normal grief, complicated grief, inhibited grief, cumulative grief, and collective grief. It turns out that grief isn’t just one of the hardest things that people can go through, but it can be quite complicated too.
Depending on what grief model you’re using, the first stages of grief are shock and/or denial. According to BetterHealth,
…shock, and denial, is typically when emotions are most profound. The fact that you have experienced a loss may be evident, but you may still have underlying feelings of shock, disbelief, or panic as you try to deal with the situation.
During this stage, many people experience physical symptoms such as nausea or vomiting, difficulty sleeping, decreased appetite, or heart palpitations. As these physical symptoms lessen over time, feeling emotionally “numb” is also common. Some people may describe this stage as feeling as if they are watching someone else’s life on a movie screen or as if they are detached from the reality of what has happened, seeing things differently than before.
I lost my love, Kitsune, in January of this year. We shared 15+ amazing years together before he died. He was very much an important part of my life. I think about and miss him daily, and suspect that won’t change anytime soon. Did I experience the shock and/or denial stages of grief related to Kit’s death?
To be honest, before Kit passed I had already been dealing with a lot of anticipatory grief. Although I didn’t know he had cancer until it was too late, he was a senior dog. Back in 2022 he was diagnosed with IVDD. He had arthritis, chronic pancreatitis, and a heart murmur. He was happy, always so happy, but he was old. He lost his night vision. After his IVDD diagnosis, he couldn’t go up and down the stairs on his own anymore, and we had to help him get on and off the furniture. I don’t think I fully realized, until after he was gone, just how high-maintenance he had become within the last couple of years. Not that I minded any of it for a second. I’d deal with all the maintenance 1,000 times over just for a chance to feel Kit snuggled up next to me again.
What Is Anticipatory Grief And What Does It Have To Do With Dogs?
I do think I was in some denial about how grave Kitsune’s condition was during his last couple of days. He was in and out of the emergency vet while we worked towards getting a diagnosis of what was going on. I knew, deep down, where things were headed but I just kept trying to tell myself that everything was going to be okay. That we’d find something minor and easy to fix and Kit would get better again.
I remember the night before Kit’s last vet visit, I sat up with him all night intermittently having panic attacks. Yeah, that was fun (/sarcasm). It was me having the panic attacks, in case that wasn’t clear. Thankfully Kit was resting comfortably! I’ve always dealt with anxiety related issues, but it’d been awhile since I had panic attacks that bad. I think that night, when it was just me and Kit on our last night together, the reality of everything really hit me.
It’s weird when you’re dealing with an impending death, starting to go through the process of grieving while your loved one is still with you. I’m no expert, but I think I went through the first stages of grief over Kit during those last couple of days with Kit.
Not everyone understands how important pets can be in the lives of the people who love them. It can be especially hard to deal with intense grief over a beloved pet if people around you trivialize your experience. Not everyone feels the same way about pets, and that’s ok. But it’s important to remember that it is normal to intensely grieve for our furry family members. In a 2019 article for PsychCentral, John M. Grohol, Psy.D., wrote that…
Pets — or what researchers call companion animals — are most often seen today as a fellow member of the family. It is not surprising then to learn that most people grieve a pet’s passing as much, and sometimes even more, than the passing of a human friend or family member.
I know that my Kitsune was, still is, very much a beloved member of my family – my paw pack. Call me crazy, but I spend more time with my dogs than with anyone else in my life, my fiancé (who I live with) included! They are my best buddies, my little sidekicks (or am I their sidekick?), almost always by my side. I think that losing them will always be one of the hardest things I’ll have to go through. It’s really, really hard. But, as an Instagram friend recently reminded me, it wouldn’t be so hard if dogs weren’t so awesome. It’s hard because they are so special, and hold such big places in our hearts.
Unfortunately there’s no magic pill or exercise that will eliminate grief. In most cases, it just takes time. We never forget our lost loved ones, but in time we do adjust to a new normal. The shock of losing a beloved family member eventually, in time, becomes less raw, and we’re hopefully eventually better able to focus on happy memories instead of the shock and sadness of losing them.
It’s okay to allow yourself to feel however you feel. Cry if you need to. If you’re feeling numb and disconnected that’s ok, and normal, too. Don’t feel ashamed if you feel like you need to reach out for help. Talk to understanding friends, family members, or find a support group if you feel like talking about your loss will help you. Consider talking with a mental health professional or grief counselor if you feel like you need too.
Don’t forget to take care of yourself. Self care is important and can help us to better deal with stressful situations. Eat well, exercise, and try to get enough sleep. Try to engage in hobbies or other things you enjoy doing. None of these things will cure grief, unfortunately, but they can help make your days a bit brighter in the meantime.
Look at me actually sticking to somewhat of a posting schedule! As you can probably tell from this post, months later I’m still very much missing my Kitsune. It makes it hard for me to muster up the motivation to post here. I’ve been writing about loss for my last couple of posts, which I think is an important topic. Throughout my years of blogging here I’ve written about what I know, and right now, when it comes to dogs, I know grief.
For now, I think I’m going to take at least somewhat of a break from writing about it. I wanted to share that so no one thinks it’s super weird if I go from posting grief related content to suddenly switching gears. It’s not, by any means, because I’m done mourning Kitsune. I’m just not going to have any motivation to continue this blog if every time I try to work on it I get upset.
Fenrir is doing well. He’s, finally, started eating a bit better again. I’ve been spending as much time as possible exploring outside with him, which he loves. Now that the weather has finally been cooperating, we’ve been hiking a ton and even mountain climbing! I’ll try to keep sticking to our current every other week posting schedule now. You can get more recent updates by following us on social media, especially Facebook and Instagram. Oh, and our Youtube channel, which I haven’t been posting on a ton lately but I am planning on updating soon!
We’ve, unfortunately, been dealing with content scrapers stealing our articles. You shouldn’t be seeing this article on any site other than pawprintpetblog.com! If you’re reading this article on any other site, we’d love for you to take the time to contact us and let us know and, if you have the time, stop by and visit us on our official site! Thanks you.