In our eagerness to help the feline newcomer feel at home, especially when we have “Tom and Jerry” already owning our place, many of us inadvertently create an atmosphere of tension, and defensive or hostile reactions. We may end up prolonging the adjustment period for our newly-refined social circle, and in some cases even dooming the new placement attempt to failure.

It’s a simple case of too much interaction or integration too soon. Let me simplify. The best advice that can be given to a new adoptive family, with one or more pampered tabbies at home, is to isolate the new-kid-on-the-block to his/her own room. That room is complete with food, water, litter pan and toys. This “less is more” approach is also beneficial to a new single cat, easily overwhelmed by what I like to call the “whole house is beyond me” syndrome.
 
Back to the kitty pack — beginning on day one, the scent glands of the resident cats (along the sides of the head) should be rubbed with your fingers. Those scents should then be massaged over the body of our “apartment” dweller. Conversely, we reverse the procedure, beginning with the new kitty. Though infrequent, it can happen that one of the cats has a defensive (fearful) reaction to the cross-scenting process. If this occurs, wait 48 hours before
 starting again.
 
Another suggestion is to place one drop of cologne on the back of the necks of all the household inhabitants. Our goal is to have the same familiar smells. Our cross-scenting is a precursor to our visual introductions. A successful transition typically takes seven to 10 days. Even if the cat is scheduled for eventual indoor/outdoor activity, this initial protocol should be in place before moving on to step two, in our next column.

Feel free to call us with any questions at 518-828-6044, or visit our website at www.cghs.org. Stop down and see us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday and Sunday. The food bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours. All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $65 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs.
 
 *** 
Charlene Marchand is the chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted by email at cghsaaron@gmail.com.

were bold or sharp, whose owners needed a trainer comfortable with and knowledgeable about training an assertive dog. We’ve also addressed fearful, anxious, and phobia-driven dogs, many of whom could be improved with correct counter-conditioning programs and appropriate pharmacology. Others needed pragmatic, humane assessment to evaluate their quality of life (or lack of). Without a doubt, dog obedience and good management can be sufficient to deal with a number of reasons (be they ever so poor) for surrender, but my concentration for this printing will be on barking. It is with great concern that our legislators may be ready to inappropriately invade the sanctity of a pet-owner-veterinarian relationship, by outlawing the bark-softening surgery option for phobic and neurotic compulsive barkers. For longer than I can remember, clients came through my training room doors with canines other trainers had considered incorrigible with their incessant barking. Most of these individuals were on their third, fourth, fifth, and in one case, a terrier’s sixth home.
                    
Frustrated owners had progressively pursued positive reinforcement training, citronella and other kinds of no-bark collars, electronic collars, combinations of psychoactive drugs, doggie daycare, etc. The list in many of these cases, as well as the frustrations, were endless. When presented with an extensive and comprehensive scenario, after providing a counter-conditioning protocol that I’ve found to be reasonably effective, I recommended a veterinary consultation for a number of these clients. These canines were at risk for euthanasia, or a return to a rescue or shelter with another placement failure notch in their belt. All the families to whom I am referencing chose a surgical alternative. Bark softening surgery is a relatively simple procedure, with few complications statistically. Every dog, I repeat, every dog who was taken to surgery remained in their now forever home. One family who came to me from Rochester, whose new rescue was on his sixth and last home, had a consultation with a local vet practice, and stayed here for the procedure before returning home. One family sent to me from downstate was being evicted from their townhouse with a lovely German Shepherd Dog. They are now living happily ever after in that townhouse, with a successful surgical alternative behind them.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Kennel Club (AKC) have supported the bark softening surgery as a humane solution to a very common, frustrating, and difficult behavior pattern to correct. Contact your state representatives immediately, telling them that appropriate veterinary procedures should never be subject to what has been referred to as “arbitrary” government regulation. The Assembly bill A1204-2013 has passed the Assembly and is now pending in the Senate Agriculture Committee as bill S2271-2013. We cannot allow our government officials to interfere in the sacrosanct health care decisions between our veterinarians and ourselves. This is a right and a freedom that must be protected at all costs. If not, the losers will be many of our companion animals. The Senators on the Agriculture Committee: P. Ritchie (Chair), P. Gallivan, T. Gipson, V. Montgomery, T. O’Mara, M. Ranzenhofer, J. Serrano, J. Seward, C. Tkaczyk, D. Valesky, and C. Young. Tell them you oppose bill S2271-2013. The domino effect of these types of undereducated legislative decisions is and will prove to be extremely perilous.

Feel free to call us with any questions at 518-828-6044, or visit our website at www.cghs.org. Stop down and see us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday and Sunday. The food bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours. All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $65 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs.

 ***
Charlene Marchand is the chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be
contacted by email at cghsaaron@gmail.com.

During the time-out, the barking, spinning, screeching, whining dog is ignored. As soon as there is a second of silence, the all-knowing pack leader appears with a “Quiet Good,” a “Quiet Yes,” or other appropriate positive signal, and the good life returns to normal, a.k.a. Sounds of Silence.  I find that time-outs are being overly and inappropriately used for long duration control by owners who have not put the time in to positively train their four-legged “kids,” or who have not met their dog’s energy requirements for that day, i.e. more exercise, exercise, exercise!

Though lack of appropriate, positive reinforcement and timely consequence behavior training is at the core of just about every behavior problem, our 2013 dogs universally suffer from a consistent lack of sufficient exercise. Our predatory companions are hardwired to keep moving to seek sustenance for those long months ahead. You all need to get moving WITH them! Speak with someone knowledgeable about aerobic dog conditioning. Housebound? Train your dog to take it to the treadmill.  Don’t forget that some dogs survive on negative attention. It’s just about all they get in some households. Remember that negative attention to your dog is better than no attention, and some undesirable behaviors will persist as a result of this mishandling and incorrect attempt at dog control.

Feel free to call us with any questions at (518) 828-6044, or visit our website at www.cghs.org. Stop down and see us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday and Sunday. The Food Bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours. All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $65 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs.

 ***
Charlene Marchand is the Chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted by e-mail at cghsaaron@gmail.com.