Foster secure attachment in pets, as this helps them learn self-regulation, making them better able to cope with new or stressful exposures without becoming overly anxious or fearful.
Avoid weaning puppies too early (e.g., before 8 weeks), as this may predispose them to insecure attachment and hinder their ability to self-regulate later in life.
To foster highly social cats, handle young kittens (2-8 weeks old) for at least an hour a day, engaging in interaction and play; less than 15 minutes a day will result in more aloof but not fearful cats.
Engage dogs in “nose work” (finding specific scents in an area) to promote their natural sniffing behavior, as it helps regulate arousal, calming anxious dogs and energizing depressed ones, leading to positive emotional states.
Understand your dog’s breed-specific predatory sequence behaviors (e.g., sniffing, pointing, chasing, grabbing, killing, eating) and provide outlets for these innate drives to offer them a good life.
Provide opportunities for pets to express their natural food-getting behaviors, rather than simply serving food on a plate, as suppressing these drives can lead to problem behaviors.
Instead of serving food in a bowl, use scatter feeding or food puzzles (like snuffle mats) to make animals work for their food, extending feeding time and engaging their natural foraging behaviors.
Perform a “consent test” before petting: scratch for a few seconds in a preferred spot, then remove your hand and observe if the animal reinitiates contact or moves away, to ensure they appreciate the interaction.
When interacting with pets, maintain a calm and relaxed emotional state yourself, as this sends subtle cues that can co-regulate and help relax the animal.
Avoid fast patting or quick petting, especially with horses, as many animals find this aversive and may work to avoid it, even if humans use it as a reward.
Pay attention to individual animals’ preferences for petting locations; they may even move to show you which body part they want scratched once they understand this communication.
When introducing new pets (especially cats), do so gradually: start by exchanging scents, then allow them to hear, then see, and finally allow physical contact, to reduce aggression risk.
If you have multiple cats, feed them in separate locations to reduce heightened arousal and conflict, as cats are solitary hunters and prefer to eat alone.
Do not place a cat’s litter box next to its food, as cats naturally avoid eliminating close to where they eat, and this setup can lead to problems.
If an indoor cat urinates outside the litter box, map the locations: if at windows or doors, it may be territorial marking; if elsewhere, it could indicate pain or litter box aversion.
Avoid hugging animals you like, especially new ones, as many animals perceive this primate behavior as restraint and find it scary.
Reframe dog training away from human-dog dominance concepts (e.g., dog walking behind you) and instead focus on learning systems that influence behavior.
Discuss alternatives like vasectomies or chemical castration with a veterinarian, and evaluate the procedure’s timing based on breed, gender, and age, due to potential behavioral and health impacts.
Observe the direction of a dog’s predominant tail wag: a wag to the dog’s left side is associated with negative emotional states, while a wag to the dog’s right side is associated with positive emotional states.
Observe which eye a cat uses to look at a stimulus: left eye forward often indicates fear, while right eye forward often indicates attraction.
Provide toys or objects that allow dogs to express their breed-specific predatory drives, such as giving poodles something to “rip apart” (post-kill ripping behavior).
For dogs that tend to chase wildlife, train them to stay in the early parts of the predatory sequence (sniffing, pointing, eyeing) and reinforce these behaviors to prevent unwanted chasing.
Carefully consider your lifestyle (e.g., city apartment vs. farm) and choose a dog breed that is best suited to adapt to that specific environment and activity level.
Avoid early weaning and single housing for horses, and provide opportunities for prolonged foraging (up to 16 hours a day) to prevent problem behavior and better match their natural drives.