The internet’s cat-scratching advice (buy a post, spray Feliway, trim nails) fails because it’s prescriptive: it hands you a fixed solution without asking what your specific cat needs. This post walks through a descriptive approach instead, using material, orientation, and location preferences to figure out what actually works. It also covers how to manage the damage while you test options, and why cats absolutely can be trained to scratch appropriately once the approach fits the individual animal instead of a generic formula. The goal isn’t a specific product — it’s a process for reading what your cat is already telling you.
Tag: cat behavior
Why Your Cat Needs a Safe Space (and How to Build One That Works)
Cats, like other sentient beings, can get anxious and/or overwhelmed by their environment and the other beings in it from time to time. And like other sentient beings, if they don’t have a way to escape that chronic stress, it can impact both their physical health and their behavioral health. When I worked with clients I used to tell them that the sustained pressure of living with chronic stress will eventually come out somehow: through explosion, implosion, sublimation, or learned helplessness.
- Explosion looks like conflict-seeking behaviors–like cats fighting each other.
- Implosion looks like self-harming behaviors–in cats, that often looks like overgrooming to the point of damaging their coat and sometimes even their skin.
- Sublimation looks like acting out in seemingly unrelated ways–like peeing in your boots.
- Learned helplessness in cats often looks like a loss of personality and behavioral diversity, just doing the bare minimum to take care of themselves and stay alive.
One of the most impactful things we can do to alleviate that chronic stress and prevent any of those kinds of harm from happening to our kitties is create a dedicated safe space just for them. Whether you’re bringing home a new cat, managing a multi-pet household, or simply supporting a shy or anxious kitty, a well thought out safe space can be the difference between a stressed out cat and one who feels confident enough to explore the world around them and genuinely enjoy their life.
At Pet Harmony, we believe in setting up environments that support the behaviors we want to see. So let’s talk about what a feline safe space looks like, why it’s so powerful, and how you can create one that meets your cat’s unique needs.
What Is a Safe Space for a Cat?
A safe space is a quiet, cozy, and low-traffic area where your cat can retreat, decompress, and feel in control of their surroundings. Think of it as your cat’s personal sanctuary—free from stressors, full of comfort, and of course full of opportunities for cats to meet their own needs.
A safe space can be a whole room – like a guest bedroom – or a designated nook—like a cozy corner with a tall cat tree and a hiding spot. The key is that your cat feels safe there, and that security often comes from choice, control, and predictability.
Why Your Cat Needs a Safe Space
Cats as a species are both predators and prey, which means they can have a tendency to be hyper-aware of their surroundings and therefore can be really sensitive to everything that’s happening around them. Changes in routine, unfamiliar guests, renovations, or even a new smell can be enough of a stressor to set them off kilter.
On top of that, interpersonal dynamics among cats or between cats and other species can be pretty subtle and hard for us to notice, but can function as significant chronic stressors for them. I had a client where the only sign of conflict between two cats was that one would give the other a hard stare when she tried to approach the litter box, water bowl, or food bowl that the first cat was guarding. That look was enough to cause major distress in the second cat that resulted in a urinary tract infection and persistent inappropriate elimination, even after the infection was resolved. I’ve also worked with multiple clients where the source of the cat’s chronic stress was a mystery until we discovered that a stray cat was marking their territory in their yard.
The take-home point is that the source of a cat’s stress isn’t always immediately obvious to us, and they will do better if they have the ability to move away from their stressors on their own. A safe space gives them the choice to step away and complete their stress response cycle.
How to Set Up a Cat-Friendly Safe Space
Let’s break this down into manageable steps so you can set your cat up for success.
1. Choose the Right Location
Pick a quiet area away from high foot traffic, loud appliances, or busy windows. If you live in a bustling household, a guest room or home office with a door that can close is ideal. If space is limited, try using a tall piece of furniture, curtain dividers, or even a modified closet. If the other pets in your home are contributing to the cat’s stress, make sure their respective safe spaces are separated from each other.
2. Add the Essentials
Here’s your feline-friendly checklist:
- Hiding spot: A box, covered bed, or carrier are usually good options to trial and eval.
- Vertical space: A cat tree, shelf, or wall-mounted perch are good, but ideally your cat’s perch will be the highest thing in the room–otherwise, you may find that your cat is just using the vertical space you gave them to access a space that you maybe didn’t want them to access.
- Litter box: In a discreet but accessible spot. Preferably with a ramp or low point of entry so they don’t have to climb a high barrier to get in and out of it.
- Food and water: Placed at a distance from the litter box.
- Toys and enrichment: Interactive toys, puzzle feeders, or a wand toy can all be good options, but if your cat doesn’t currently play with toys you may want to do a play preference test to find out what your cat enjoys. Give them things that they can use to entertain themselves without needing your involvement.
- Comfortable bedding: Something warm and soft that smells like them.
Pro tip: Let your cat choose where they feel safest within that space—observe and support their choices.
3. Make it Smell Familiar
Scent is a huge part of how cats experience security. Place a used t-shirt, blanket, or towel with your scent in the area. If you’re welcoming a new cat, you can try using synthetic feline pheromones like Feliway to help ease the transition, but if you have something of theirs from their previous home that smells like them, that would be ideal.
4. Limit Unwanted Access
Let your cat know this space is theirs. Keep dogs, kids, or other cats out, especially if your feline is stressed or new to the home. Respect their boundaries—this isn’t the place for unsolicited cuddles or surprise visits.
What a Safe Space is Not
Creating a safe space doesn’t mean isolating your cat or punishing them by locking them away. The goal is to offer choice and control, not confinement. Think of it as empowering your cat to engage with the world at their own pace. times that may mean giving them the ability to come and go from their safe space as they please. When that isn’t an option, the next best thing is to figure out your cat’s cues for requesting to go in and out of their space and facilitating their requests. If even that isn’t an option – because we’ve all got lives and we can’t be watching our pets 24/7 – keep an ear out for when your cat is asking to leave their safe space, so they never feel trapped there.
Safe Spaces and Behavior Goals
If you’re working with a behavior professional to address your cat’s distress – like reducing fear, reactivity, or inappropriate elimination – a safe space is often the foundation of your plan. Why? Because learning only happens when an animal feels safe. And just like us, cats can’t thrive if they’re constantly on edge.
If you’ve been following us for any amount of time you have almost certainly heard us say this: Behavior is communication. If your cat is hiding, hissing, or avoiding someone in your household, they may be telling you they don’t feel safe. Meeting that need is the first step toward changing their behavior and improving their physical, behavioral, and emotional health.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re welcoming a kitten or supporting a senior cat through a big life change, creating a safe space is a gift of agency and care. It tells your cat, “You’re safe here. You’re in control. You get to choose.”
And from that foundation, trust grows. Confidence builds. And your relationship with them blossoms.
Here’s to harmony,
Emily
Now What?
Need help setting up the perfect safe space for your cat—or navigating behavior challenges? Our team at Pet Harmony offers personalized, evidence-based support to help your pet thrive. Let’s make life easier for you and your feline friend.
Copyright 2025 Pet Harmony, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy
Results are not guaranteed because behavior, human, canine, or otherwise, are not guaranteeable.
Feline Enrichment for the Real World
Feline Enrichment for the Real World
-
Pet Harmony Team
- Updated: September 1, 2026
Estimated reading time: 6 mins
What is enrichment?
At Pet Harmony, we talk about enrichment all the time, but if you’re new to living with cats, or just recently joining us, we need to define enrichment. It’s more than just Kongs and toys. Enrichment, as described in episode 1 is “meeting all of an animal’s needs in order for them to be physically, behaviorally, and emotionally healthy enough to perform species-typical behaviors in safe, healthy, and appropriate ways.”
So, like canine enrichment, feline (cat) enrichment needs to be specific to them. Just because something works for a dog, doesn’t mean it will work for a cat — and just because a certain activity helps one cat, doesn’t mean it will work for another. We need to provide cat-specific enrichment to have a healthy cat. When our cat is healthy, our relationship with them is so much better.
Typical feline behavior (species-typical behavior)
Anytime I am trying to figure out what species-typical behaviors are, it is important to research the species. When we know what an animal usually does, we can give them ways to meet those needs that don’t compromise their physical, emotional, and behavioral health — or our own.
Here are some behaviors cats typically perform:
- Dig around in loose substrate in order to urinate and defecate.
- Bury or hide their urine and feces in said substrate
- Groom or “bathe” themselves
- Scratch on things
- Jump and climb
- Hang out in elevated spaces
- Hideout in small spaces
- Eat multiple small meals in a day
- Follow a hunting cycle of stalk, pounce, eat, groom, sleep
- Bat small objects with their paws, sometimes causing them to fall
Notice that I said these are some things cats typically do. Not all cats do all these things, and I also didn’t list all the things cats do. These are just some very interesting areas that can become problematic for your home if your cat doesn’t have an outlet.
How do I provide enrichment for a cat, and why does it help?
If your cat is performing a species-typical behavior in a way we don’t like, we can offer activities we do like. Even if they seem unrelated, they may still reduce stress as well as behaviors we don’t like.
Here are four easy enrichment ideas to try with your cat.
Provide multiple, desirable elevated spaces for your cats
And train them to use them.
Buy or make a tall cat tree, or install cat-friendly shelves. If they weren’t in your house, elevated spaces available to them outside are: the tops of cars, roofs of houses, fence lines, trees, and rocks. Small, three-foot-tall scratching posts with beds attached do not make good elevated spaces for cats.
Why? Access to high spaces has been proven to reduce stress-related behaviors in cats. It also gives them somewhere to run to that small children or dogs cannot reach. Providing these spaces and training your cat to use them will also make them less likely to use your furniture to get up high and knockdown cups, vases, or other valuable objects. (Be sure to provide appropriate elevated spaces in places your cat commonly goes onto undesirable surfaces — give them a spot in the kitchen where it is okay for them to watch you cook, for example.)
Simulate hunting through play
ats are ambush hunters. That means that they hide, stalk, pounce, and attack their prey. Unlike dogs, who are opportunists by nature, wild felines rely on hunting to survive. Eating dry kibble from a bowl just doesn’t cut it for most cats! Try lots of different toys to see which ones they fancy. Make the toy act like prey: sometimes it is slow, sometimes it is quick… sometimes it hides… sometimes it hops! The more it moves like a little bird or mouse, the more likely your cat is to love it. Most cats love a good teaser toy, like the ones pictured below. Or, if they are like my cats, they may also appreciate a good game of fetch! Be sure to put out meaty treats for them to eat when they finish playing. I like to use freeze-dried raw treats like PureBites. I just drop them into their bowls or on their cat tree at the end of a play session.
Why? When their little hunter instincts aren’t being used in play, they might be used on ankles, hands, and other pets in the household. Being given appropriate outlets for their hunting instincts can notably decrease aggression in cats.
Provide multiple scratching surfaces throughout the house
There are many types of scratching surfaces available for your cats. There’s cardboard, jute, and carpet, to name a few. Cats like to scratch in areas they like — in the living room, in the bedroom, etc. Try providing different types in the areas they like to scratch most. If your cat has a positive reaction to catnip, you may choose to use it to attract them to the scratchers. You can also drop a favorite treat each time a cat uses an appropriate surface. Some cats like scratching vertically, some like scratching horizontally. Try both. A common deterrent for cats using their provided scratching posts is when the post moves when they scratch it. So make sure the scratcher you’ve provided is tall enough for them to stretch and scratch, and heavy or secure enough that it won’t wobble too much.
Why? Well, scratching is a stress reliever for cats, just like chewing is for dogs. Not providing them with this outlet is likely to get your furniture and carpets ruined — or, if we have punished scratching too severely, the stress may come up as other undesirable behaviors, like urine marking or increased aggression.
Provide foraging opportunities for your cat, especially just before bed
You can use fancy cat puzzles, or you can simply provide cat-friendly food or treats and place them around their space at different levels and in hidey holes. Cats will use their keen senses to hunt out and find the treats. It takes some time for some cats to get used to it, and we can help you shape this behavior in your cats.
Why? Sniffing out food and eating small meals are both excellent ways to tire out a young cat and reduce stress in all ages. You will probably sleep better when your cats get to hunt out some especially tasty goodies just before bed, and it is another way to help them gain confidence with their cat furniture.
Enrichment abounds!
There are, of course, tons of other ideas to try with your cats. I haven’t even touched on many categories of enrichment. These four tips address many feline-typical needs, and I’ve found them to significantly decrease behaviors we might find annoying in our feline companions. If you’d like some more ideas and inspiration for cat enrichment, visit our Cat Enrichment Roundup.
Here’s to harmony,
The Pet Harmony Team
Now What?
Try doing one of these things for your cat. Just dropping a few tasty treats on an unused cat tree or rearranging the top of the bookcase to be cat friendly can go a long way!
Don’t go too over the top. Introducing too many of these things at once won’t just stress you out — it may also stress your kitty! Try one thing at a time, and use trial and eval to figure out which things work for your cat. And don’t be afraid to return or donate toys that your cat doesn’t like.
Work with a qualified behavior consultant if you need help with your kitty. These things might help, but we can also hone a plan specific to your cat! If you’re ready for a professional, you can work with us here.
PS: Capitalism
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* Pet Harmony, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Copyright 2025 Pet Harmony, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy
Results are not guaranteed because behavior, human, canine, or otherwise, are not guaranteeable.
What Owning a Cat Teaches You About Agency
Why Cats?
I love cats. Cats are regal, majestic creatures. They defy the laws of science by filling any container they curl up into. They purr, and rub on you, and curl up on your lap to snuggle. I have had cats from the time I was small. I cannot remember meeting a cat I didn’t like, though I’m sure I have.
I once saw a meme that made me laugh out loud. It said:
“What if the Internet is filled with cats because dog people go outside?”
So, if you’re here on our website, then you are obviously a cat person.
While that may not be true, it is true that if you follow Pet Harmony, you probably care a lot about your pet. You might have a pet whose behavior puzzles you. You may feel frustrated by the behaviors your animal is displaying. I promise to relate my experience with cats to dogs- and to other species, as well.
Cats get a bad reputation. I have heard many people describe cats as jerks. They’re not loyal like dogs. They make their own decisions. They never consider what you need. They’re independent, and they don’t really need us. Cats are lazy and prefer humans to dote on them like the feline gods they are!
After getting my first two dogs, and becoming a dog trainer, I’ve met many people and dogs. Often, people are happy with their dogs, only wanting to prevent future problems with a new dog. Just as often, however, I’ve run into people who are frustrated with their dog’s behaviors. Since I have been a dog trainer for quite a few years now, I’ve noticed a trend among people unhappy with their dogs. They tell me:
“He never listens to me.”
“She only minds when she wants to.”
“He won’t stop getting on the counter!”
“She nips at me when I try to make her do things.”
I understand those feelings. I know it is frustrating to think you got a man’s best friend, just to find they won’t listen to you, destroy your house, steal your food, or even hurt you. Those feelings are totally and completely valid. When I hear these things, what I understand from it is basically this:
Their dog is acting like a cat. Well, a stereotypical one, anyhow.
Cats Are a Lesson in Consent. (And Agency)
What I mean when I say that their dog is acting like a cat is really that their dog has opinions. Their dog has things they like and things they dislike. Their dog likes some things better than listening, especially if they don’t understand why they should listen. Dogs are very social creatures. They descend from creatures that worked together to bring down large prey. Wild felines, however, are usually pretty solitary. What that means is though both wild canids and wild felines are individuals with wants and needs, our concept of “dog-ness” includes a certain level of “clinginess” and working for its “master” (which is a strange use of words we can get into another time). We expect dogs to appease us. However, our society’s concept of “cat-ness” is usually aloof and independent.
What a cat really needs, as well as any pet, is agency and consent. Agency is the ability to have control over certain outcomes in your life. This can usually come in the form of choices given to an individual. Consent is the ability to assent to or approve of something, especially something that is happening to oneself. Each of these creates a sense of freedom in the animal. Trapped animals lash out, bite, and scratch. An animal that is given agency will feel more secure, and less likely to lash out.
Why Agency? Check out Allie’s excellent post about it, here, or read about it in Emily and Allie’s book, Canine Enrichment for the Real World.
How do I give my pet a sense of Agency?
Give them choices. That doesn’t mean that you open every door and window and take out any safety measure for your pet. It means you offer them choices that don’t endanger your pet or anyone in your home. If your cat (or dog) doesn’t like to be out when new people are over, make them a safe place to hide away from people until they leave. They may surprise you and come to observe the new person. Don’t pick them up and force them to interact. This is removing their ability to control the situation and thus limiting their choices. If you let them choose when, how, and if they want to interact, don’t be surprised if you find they are more willing to come out in the future. Conversely, if you force them to interact with someone, they may become more reclusive in the future.
When we brought home my cat, Sylphrena, she was 6 months old. My husband and daughter had limited experiences with cats, and were upset that she didn’t want to be held by them, but would (often) allow me to hold her. At first, I wasn’t sure why. After watching the way they held her, I realized why. My daughter and husband would often hold her tighter if she struggled to get away. This would result in a teenage kitty tantrum: scratches, bites, and occasionally growling. Obviously, she didn’t like it, but they couldn’t understand why she would let me hold her.
When an animal allows me to pick them up, I give them the choice to leave, by pulling my hands away, while still on level with the animal. If the animal runs away, so be it. Should they choose to stay, I try petting them and see if they settle down to snuggle. Then I can put my arms back around them. If they start to struggle again, I let them go. In this circumstance, I am both giving my pet choices, and allowing them to consent to being held (or not).
Allowing Sylphrena to feel safe by giving her the choice to leave really built her relationship with me. She knew I would let her go if she wanted, and knew she had agency if I tried to hold her. She wasn’t trapped.
I taught my family how to help her feel secure and safe by allowing her to make the choice whether she wanted to stay (or not), and over time she has become more trusting of my husband and daughter.
There are little things you can do every day to give your pet agency and let them consent:
- Petting consent tests (for any species)
- Making different textures and types of chews and toys available (for many animals)
- Sensory areas with pet-safe plants and textures your pet loves. (I will likely be making another blog specifically about this after I make one for my pets!)
- Allowing your pet the choice to move away from other people or animals (do not force them to say hello!)
- Making different textures available to scratch on for kitties
- Having multiple litter boxes available in different areas for your cat (you can even provide different litter options to see what they prefer)
Many times, if we just look at what our pet is telling us with their body language, we can see what they really need or want– and if we can safely provide them with the agency to do that thing, we can improve their quality of life– and, in most cases, our own as well. Because a content and healthy creature doesn’t feel the need to lash out.
Now What?
- Learn more about your pet’s species-specific body language, so you can tell if they like something or not.
- Find one way to allow your pet more agency in their life
- Research and prepare your home with appropriate furniture or enclosure requirements unique to your pet
- If you’re not sure where to start, try our free Facebook group, Enrichment for Pet Behavior Issues Community.
- If you now want to own a kitty, or are just looking for another, check out this article on how to prepare your home for a new kitty!
Here’s an excerpt:
Bringing home a cat is an exciting time for the family. They provide laughter, companionship, and can even teach little ones about responsibility. However, preparing your home for a kitty can bring about some uncertainties and renovations to ensure your cat is well taken care of and comfortable in your home.
To help you get started, Redfin reached out to 14 cat experts, from Seattle, WA to Ottawa, ON, including us. Here is our best advice on how to prepare your home for a kitty. Check out How to Prepare Your Home for a Kitty: 14 Tips from the Pros.
You Have to Practice Before the Test
When I’m giving a client a new activity, I always tell them to practice first in scenarios where they’ll be more successful. For example, practicing loose leash walking or the flight cue inside. Or Look at That or a greeting strangers protocol with faux triggers or people they know. Every now and then, someone will come back to me with:
I tried what you said to do and it didn’t work.
After some sleuthing, we sometimes find that the problem is that they tried to use it in a more difficult situation before they or their pet were ready. That happens to all of us (myself included!) at some point! But, if we go straight to testing without practicing, we usually fail the test.
Practice makes perfect
This cliche applies to behavior modification: practice makes perfect. Well, as close to perfect as we can expect from a living, breathing individual with free will. The situations in which we want to use our pet’s skills are usually higher stress situations, either due to excitement or distress. I liken this to a “test”, where you’re expected to perform skills you’ve been learning in a higher stress situation. But the only way to do well in that type of situation is to practice a lot in easier scenarios that gradually build in difficulty.
Imagine we plucked someone off the street, told them the basics of brain surgery, and then asked them to perform brain surgery on someone. Show of hands of who’d like that person to operate on them? That’s a hell no from me! I want someone who’s gone through school, practiced on cadavers, and has operated on a bunch of people before me. I want someone who’s practiced.
Teaching our pets something once or twice and then asking them to perform it in a high-stress situation is like asking someone we’ve plucked off the street to perform brain surgery. It’s just not going to go well. And, if through luck it does, it’s not going to be predictably replicable. We need to practice in easier situations that gradually build in difficulty in order for them to succeed.
What do easier situations look like?
This will be different depending on the skill or maladaptive behavior we’re talking about and where the pet is in their learning journey. In general, easier situations can look like something as simple as you and your pet training in your living room without anyone else around or it can look like a watered-down version of the situation you’re working up to. You have a lot of options when it comes to an easier situation. In general, choose a scenario where you’re pretty sure your pet will be successful.
Keep in mind that “easier” is subjective, and is based on current skills. Calculus is easy for someone with a Ph.D. in math but it’s hard for a 3rd grader. Staying still is hard for a puppy but is easy for a service dog. The goal is to practice in situations that gradually increase in difficulty but for each step to still be easy for your pet’s current skill level.
Now what?
- Determine what an easier situation looks like for a skill you’re trying to teach.
- Start practicing! If your pet is doing well, keep practicing. If they’re not doing well in that situation, that means it’s currently too difficult for them. Go back to the drawing board to figure out what would be easier for them and try again.
Happy training!
Allie
What Gardening Can Teach Us About Behavior
I’m a plant person. So, naturally, I was thinking about plants as we were readying a space to install raised beds last year. We have a shady backyard and while we chose the sunniest spot for the new beds, I was carefully monitoring how much sunlight it actually got so I knew which plants to put in. And that’s when I realized that there are some similarities between plants and animal behavior.
Environment matters
I mentioned that our backyard is shady so we didn’t have a choice to put our raised beds in an area with full sun (unless we wanted to chop down a tree, which we didn’t). That means that those beds house our veggies that need less sunlight: peas, salad greens, carrots, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. They’re loving it! Those plants are doing great and we’re getting to eat the rewards of that hard work. The environment is set up for those particular plants to thrive.
But what would have happened if I had tried to put plants in those beds that required full sunlight? Some of them may survive, but they would never thrive. They would never do as well in partial light as they would in full sunlight. It wouldn’t matter how well I cared for them. It wouldn’t matter how much water they received or how much compost I added to their soil. They still would never thrive, no matter what I did.
Environment matters. Each plant needs a particular type of environment in order to thrive. That’s true for our pets, too. Our pets may be okay in an array of different environments, but will likely only thrive and be the best they can be in certain ones.
We know this already for ourselves, whether consciously or not. When I think of this topic, I’m reminded of my professional wife and Pet Harmony co-owner, Emily. Emily and I met when we were working in southern Utah. She knew that she wasn’t a desert person even before moving there. She described to me that she had low-level stress all of the time by living in a desert and that she felt a sense of relief when she traveled somewhere greener. I didn’t really understand what she meant until I found myself experiencing that same relief when I would travel back to Illinois. I didn’t know I had low-level stress from living in a desert environment until I wasn’t in the desert anymore.
It’s not that either of us did poorly living in the desert (well, Emily may say otherwise at times). But we would never be our best in that environment. It’s not the right living situation for us. The same can be true for our pets, too. A pet with sound sensitivity is going to have a harder time living in a city or living with certain kids. Dogs who come from a working line will do better in a household that loves doing things with their dogs and perhaps has more space. I’ve mentioned before that we adopted Oso as a behavior case. In our environment, he’s incredibly easy on a day-to-day basis. That wouldn’t be true in a different one, though (and was not true in several of his previous environments). Environment plays a role in behavior.
What if my environment isn’t perfect for my pet?
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Uh oh. I know my environment isn’t the best for my pet. What do I do?”, you’re likely not alone. Many of the cases we see are situations in which that environment is simply not the best for that pet and that’s a large reason as to why they’re having problems. It wouldn’t be as hard in a different environment.
One thing that we can do is management, and that can go a long way to improving the environment. For example, if we know our pet has a hard time with sounds and we live in the city then we can explore different sound masking options. Or, if we have a dog with leash reactivity to other dogs we could walk them in an industrial area where there isn’t likely to be other dogs. There are tweaks that we can make to improve our environment for our pets.
This is also where behavior modification comes in. We can help our pets feel more comfortable in their environment and teach them skills that can help them interact with it. In some scenarios, these skills can help them be much closer to the best version of themselves; in others, it may only help make the situation okay instead of great.
There are also several times where we’ve seen people choose the answer: change the environment. I did this with Oso when we moved back to Illinois. Our set-up in Utah was not ideal for him and we knew that when we brought him into our family. However, we also knew that we were moving in a few months and that we would be able to have a much better environment for him in Illinois. He’s one of the reasons we live in the house that we do today. I’ve seen other folks do the same when they’ve moved in the middle of their behavior modification journey and their pet’s behavior was a factor in their new location. Emily had a client who wasn’t planning on moving and then did so specifically for her dog!
The question we get not infrequently when talking about changing the environment is about rehoming. That conversation is outside the scope of this particular post, but it is a viable option in some cases. Sometimes loving an individual means doing what is right for them, even if it’s hard for you. And sometimes what’s right is allowing a pet to be in an environment that’s set up for them to thrive even if you can’t be the one to provide it.
Accepting our pets for who they are
Sometimes the issue is not necessarily the environment our pet lives in, but the environments we want them to be a part of. For example, a dog who’s afraid of kids might do quite well in their home environment which doesn’t have kids but it would be disastrous to take them to a family party in which there are a lot of kids running around. Or, a pet with generalized anxiety might do well with their day-to-day routine and home, but would likely not do as well traveling cross country in an RV with their family. We need to accept our pets for who they are and not put them into environments in which we know they won’t do well. We wouldn’t ask a plant to need less sunlight, would we? (Okay, I actually make that request of plants all the time and then they start dying so it’s not a successful request.)
Now what?
- Evaluate your environment objectively. Try to keep emotion out of it as much as possible (I know it can be hard!) Is your environment perfect for your pet? If yes, great! If no, keep on reading.
- Consider how you can manage your environment to help make it closer to what your pet needs. Start implementing those management strategies!
- Evaluate how those management strategies are going. Is it sufficient or do you need to go to the next step of teaching skills and modifying behavior? If it’s sufficient, great! If not, keep on reading.
- Work with a behavior consultant to determine which skills will help your pet and your particular situation. A professional will be able to get you results faster than if you were to go through it on your own. Email us at info@petharmonytraining.com if you need help or get started immediately with our Beginning Behavior Modification on-demand course! Even remotely we can still evaluate your environment; we’ve mastered the wobbly Zoom house tour without getting seasick!
Happy training!
Allie
May 2021 Training Challenge: Overt vs. Covert behavior
Happy spring! I have no idea how we’re already in May, but here we are. And with the new month comes a new training challenge. Here’s the challenge for May:
Describe 1 construct or label using overt behavior
Okay. What the heck did I just say? This training challenge requires a bit of a vocabulary lesson. Now, y’all know I try to not be super vocab-heavy or technical in these blog posts, but this is one where the technical terms end up being the easiest way to communicate this concept. I promise to make it as painless as possible! Let’s dive in.
Overt vs. Covert Behavior
Overt behavior refers to observable, measurable behavior. Examples of this include:
- The person took three steps to the right
- The hawk is flying at 20 mph
- The dog’s ears turned back and are sitting low against the skull
- The cat jumped onto the counter
There’s no arguing whether these behaviors are or are not true because we can see them and measure them.
Covert behavior refers to internal thoughts, feelings, motivations, and intentions. And a construct is our interpretation of those covert behaviors. If you want to think of covert behavior and constructs as the same thing for now, go for it. The technical differences between those two aren’t as relevant for our level of discussion. Examples of this include:
- The dog is mad that I left him alone and that’s why he pees when I’m gone
- The dog is anxious when I leave him alone and that’s why he pees when I’m gone
- The dog doesn’t know to not potty inside and that’s why he pees when I’m gone
- The dog is trying to claim his territory when other dogs pass by the house and that’s why he pees when I’m gone
As you can see, there’s a whole lot of debate as to whether these behaviors are or are not true. Here we have the exact same overt behavior- urinating when left home alone- but I’ve heard all of the above as constructs people have created to explain that particular behavior.
Here’s the thing with covert behavior and constructs: we’ll never know if they’re accurate. Heck, we’re even terrible at guessing the covert behavior of our fellow humans, with whom we speak the same language! How can we assume that we’re better at guessing the covert behavior of another species that doesn’t speak the same language?
One more vocab word to throw into this mix: labels. A label is something we use to describe someone. For example, we could say a pet is:
- Stubborn
- Fearful
- Aggressive
- Anxious
- Sweet
All of those are labels.
Why does all of this matter?
All of this matters for a few different reasons:
The words we use shape our judgment, and ultimately can shape how we feel about our pets
Let’s say we have a dog who sometimes lies down in the middle of a walk and cannot be coaxed to get up for several minutes at a time.
Overt behavior: lies down while on a walk for several minutes
Constructs and labels I’ve heard people use to describe this behavior:
- Stubborn
- Too hot to walk
- Scared
- Watching everything; attentive or focused on their surroundings
- Getting old and joints might hurt
Now, how do you think the person who thinks their dog is stubborn feels about them vs. the person who thinks their dog is getting old with ouchy joints feels about them? My guess is those two people have a pretty different relationship with their pets and feel very differently about this particular behavior.
Our judgment shapes our decisions, for better or worse
Let’s continue with the previous example. Each of those people would likely choose a different path to change that behavior. This might look like:
- Stubborn: force them to walk
- Too hot to walk: manage by walking in the morning when it’s cool
- Scared: seek help from a behavior professional
- Watching everything; attentive or focused: train a watch me or attention cue
- Getting old and joints might hurt: speak with their vet about pain management options
One behavior, 5 different options for treatment based on our assumptions about what’s happening. But, and I can’t stress this enough:
We don’t know if our assumptions about covert behavior are accurate.
That means that we can’t make training decisions based on covert behavior, constructs, or labels. While we might be right in our assumptions, we can end up doing more harm than good if we’re wrong. For example, if the person thinks their dog is stubborn but actually they’re too hot to walk or in pain, forcing them to walk could end up seriously injuring them. Assumptions do not make for effective decisions; observing overt behavior makes for effective decisions.
Our assumptions cloud our observations
I see people on a daily basis who are struggling to reconcile seemingly incompatible thoughts, theories, assumptions, etc. that they have about their pets. The most common I hear is reconciling the “sweet” label with a dog who is biting people. This usually comes in the form of the following statement:
They’re so sweet 95% of the time but it’s just that 5% we’re worried about
It’s hard for us to wrap our heads around how a pet who is sweet can also bite someone; sweet individuals don’t hurt others. When I see this happen we usually have a discussion that we’re the ones setting up that false dichotomy; their pet can still be very sweet with them but also fearful and biting other people. They’re not mutually exclusive behaviors.
Sometimes, though, I see people struggling with that more than others. In those situations, I often see where folks will hold fast to a label or construct that they have about their pet and it makes it so they cannot see overt behavior that contradicts that label.
For example, I’ve worked with a few clients who had leash reactive dogs and would even bite other dogs in some situations. The dog was showing clear signs of stress around members of their own species and even though we went through all the typical spiels about anxiety-related behaviors, they still believed that their dog truly enjoyed other dogs because they had a dog friend as a puppy. They couldn’t see the stress signals I was pointing out to them because that contradicted who they thought their dog was. Needless to say, those folks made much slower progress than their counterparts until we reached the point where they were able to see with their eyes, not their ideas.
Hold up. Don’t you use labels and constructs all the time?
Yep! I do. Even though we shouldn’t make training decisions based on constructs or labels, they’re really helpful for communicating as long as all involved parties are defining those words the same way. For example, if I had to describe leash reactivity as barking, lunging, growling, and air snapping at the end of a leash when a dog is near another dog every time I talked to a client, we’d never get anything done. Instead, I tell my client, “this behavior that you’re describing I’m going to call leash reactivity.” That way we can communicate more efficiently and be on the same page as to what we’re defining as leash reactivity.
But, what about the anxiety label you use? Isn’t that an assumption?
Right again! Those of you who have done an initial consultation with me might remember that when I describe your pet’s behavior as an anxiety-based behavior, I’ll actually say it’s a behavior based in anxiety, stress, fear, however it helps you to think of it. The next sentence is usually something along the lines of, “Those are all technically different, but for our purposes, I’ll use those phrases interchangeably because we can treat them all the same way and that’s really what I’m more interested in.”
Those are, however, all still labels or constructs. The reason I feel comfortable using those to make behavior decisions is because of body language. There has been enough study on body language, and studies are still coming out, that we can make an accurate enough guess as to broad strokes of covert behavior– like excitement and fear. So really those behavior decisions are happening based on body language and other behavior observations (overt behavior), and we attribute those body language signals to different constructs or labels.
Back to the training challenge
Alright, I think we’ve detoured from this month’s training challenge enough for it to now make sense.
Your task for this month is to take 1 construct or label that you have for your pet and describe it using only overt behaviors. Here’s an example:
Construct: Zorro likes his new tank setup
Overt behavior: Zorro is spending more time basking, less time trying to escape, and less time performing repetitive swimming behaviors in his new tank setup than his old one.
If you’re feeling extra ambitious for this challenge, you can then turn that overt behavior into a different construct or label so you can see how easy it is for folks to create different explanations for the same behavior, like this:
New construct: Zorro has realized that I have finally outsmarted him when it comes to him escaping and he’s given up. I’m finally smarter than my turtle.
Now what?
- Choose a construct or label.
- Think about what your pet is actually doing when you use that construct or label. What do you see with your eyes?
- Share your results with us on Facebook or Instagram @petharmonytraining
- If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, we have a video training on overt vs. covert behavior in our Beginning Behavior Modification course.
Happy training!
Allie
P.S. We have something BIG in the works to help even more pets and their people. Stay tuned for an announcement later this month!
5 Tips for Living with a Resource Guarder
Last week I talked about normal vs. abnormal guarding, and that resource guarding in general is a pretty normal behavior. Humans are masters at it! Just because something is considered normal, though, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take steps to avoid it or treat it accordingly. So for this week I thought the logical next step would be talking about tips for living with a guarder. Check them out below.
- Learn their body language. For those of you who’ve followed this blog for a while, I probably sound like a broken record when it comes to the first step. When it comes to resource guarding, there are signs before the growl, air snap, or bite. Learning these signs allows you to intervene before there’s a problem and before your pet has to use those warning signals to keep someone at bay.
- Make a list of all the things they guard and share it with everyone in their life. If your pet only guards, say, raw bones, you probably don’t need to write this down. You can simply let anyone who would give your pet that item know that it’s a guarded item. However, if you have a pet who guards a lot of things from various individuals, a written list can be incredibly helpful for people like dog walkers, pet sitters, and longer-term visitors.
- Create a management plan and share it with everyone in your pet’s life. Now that you know what they guard, we can look at those situations and determine how we can prevent guarding. This could be something like simply not giving your pet items they guard or picking up all the toys when the neighbor dog comes over to play. Food and item guarding is usually quite easy to manage. Space and people guarding is more challenging, and often requires a professional because it’s not as easy to manage.
- Don’t test your pet. There are so many things that I don’t know if Oso guards because I’ve never bothered him when he has them. If it’s a high enough value I assume it will be guarded and I leave him alone and manage as I would if I knew it were true. There’s really no reason to test instead of manage. This also goes for feeding your pets together. There’s really no need to test this when you can simply feed them in separate rooms. Management is easier and cheaper than a bite.
- Don’t take things from your pet. It’s fairly easy to create a resource guarder. How do you create one? Take things from them. Teach them that someone is routinely going to take their valued possessions away from them or bother them while they’re eating. More info on that here. If your pet has an item they shouldn’t have and it’s not dangerous or valuable, ignore them. Let them have it. If it is dangerous or valuable, trade them for it with treats.
Now what?
- If you’re living with a resource guarder (and we all likely are, to some extent!), go through the list and determine what your first action should be. Do you need to learn more about what body language signals to look for? Or talk with the rest of the household about your management strategy?
- Start in on your first action item! When that feels comfortable and sustainable, choose another action item.
- If you’re feeling overwhelmed with where to start or how much it feels like there is to do, check out our Beginning Behavior Modification: Learn the Skills You Need to Successfully Address Your Pet’s Aggression, Anxiety, Reactivity, or Fear. It walks you through learning your pet’s body language, setting up a management plan, and more. Check it out here.
- Check out our free Resource Guarding Workshop to learn more about resource guarding specifically and some of the RG-specific foundation skills.
Happy training!
Allie
How I Accidentally Taught My Turtle to Escape
I talk about my dog, Oso, all of the time but he’s not the only critter in our household. I’ve mentioned my turtle, Zorro, a couple of times throughout the course of this blog but today I want to devote an entire post to him. Specifically, I want to talk about a trainer/owner failure: how I accidentally taught him to escape from his tank.
My management failure
A year or two ago I changed Zorro’s setup by building a platform that sat on top of his tank to allow for more water in it. As soon as it was installed, I questioned whether or not he would be able to escape from his new setup. However, instead of doing something preemptively about that, I decided to take the “wait and see” approach.
This was mistake number one. Zorro tries to escape whatever enclosure he’s in. This has been true of every enclosure I’ve put him in in the last 12 years I’ve had him. I knew he would try to escape this new setup and I knew that it was more possible than it was with his previous setup. Yet, I still took the wait and see approach, even though I knew better.
Sure enough, it took only a few days for him to start trying to climb out. Luckily, his tank is in my office so I was right there to put him back in. It quickly became clear that I would need to actually have some management solution in place to keep him safe. Instead of developing a great management solution, though, I put up a half-assed management solution. Again, I questioned whether or not it would be effective.
This was mistake number two. Instead of putting a great management solution in place that I knew was going to be effective, I opted for the easiest solution I could think of and I still questioned whether or not it would be effective. Of course that didn’t work and he was able to climb out of his tank. What this did was teach him that if he just pushes the barrier a little harder, then it will work.
Since that didn’t work I reinforced it a little more. I knew it still wasn’t perfect, but it should’ve been much harder for him to escape. However, because I previously [accidentally] taught him that if he pushes against the barrier harder then he’ll be able to escape, he was now able to get out of this more difficult setup, too. Mistake number two came back to bite me and provide mistake number three.
This situation was 100% my fault. I knew Zorro’s past behavior; I knew he’d try to escape this setup and I knew that it was likely possible. Even with all of that knowledge, I still chose to take my chances and feign surprise when what I knew would happen actually happened because it was easier for me to do it that way. I didn’t have to put in the extra effort or forethought by taking the “wait and see” approach. And, because I didn’t do what I should have done the first or even the second time, I taught Zorro to try harder and how to escape more successfully.
The way that I taught him to try harder is through something called “shaping”. Shaping means reinforcing gradual approximations– or baby steps– towards an end goal behavior. This is the technique frequently used for teaching really cool tricks. Below is a quick video example of shaping:
How I used shaping here [albeit without trying] was by setting up gradually more challenging situations for him to succeed at escaping. If I had put a more rigorous management solution in place after the first time Zorro tried to escape, he would have failed and learned that it doesn’t work to try harder. However, because I set up an only slightly more difficult approach he did learn that pushing harder worked and was able to use that knowledge later for the next only slightly more difficult approach.
The right way
This past summer I finally started building the dream enclosure I’ve been thinking about for Zorro for a while. And this time, I decided to do it right when it came to him escaping. When thinking through the design for his enclosure, I took into account all of the ways I could possibly think of for him to escape. I knew I wanted a plexiglass barrier surrounding it for aesthetic reasons, but decided to make the barrier taller so it wouldn’t be possible for him to reach the top and pull himself up and out. Anything that’s tall enough for him to climb on to then climb out is against a wall. We anchored the back walls so he can’t move the barrier off and slip under.
When the top and barrier finally went up and he was able to move around, we reassessed our management strategy to make sure what we assumed and expected to happen were accurate. While watching him and testing the barrier for ourselves, we decided there might be one more possible way for escape: if he pushed it hard enough could he break the adhesive holding the sides together or bow out the plexiglass enough to slip out? Instead of taking our chances, we grabbed a few brackets so that even if he pushed he wouldn’t be able to bow or break the sides. We’re a few weeks in and he’s tried to escape as he always does. This time, though, he’s been unsuccessful and his attempts are dwindling.
How does this relate? A dog counter surfing example
The reason I wanted to tell this story is because I often see pet parents go through this same process of taking a half-hearted approach to management and inadvertently shaping their pet to be better at foiling those management attempts.
One behavior that I frequently see this happening with is counter surfing. Dogs are opportunistic scavengers. They are made to search for food and eat it when opportunity strikes. It’s what they do. Even though we know that, many people still opt for the “wait and see” approach when bringing home a new dog, just like I did at first with Zorro’s new platform. The “wait and see” approach here is to leave food out on the counter (even if it’s in a bag) and leave the dog unattended in the room.
When that doesn’t work, many people will opt for pushing the food back on the counter so it’s harder to access but will still leave them unattended with the food on the counter. This is the part where we inadvertently train our dogs that if they try harder, they can still access the food.
When that doesn’t work some people opt for the sink but will continue to leave them unattended. Again, we usually end up inadvertently shaping our dogs that they can still access the food if they try harder.
A more solid management solution to start with instead is to leave no food on the counters when the dog is unattended and if you do need to leave the kitchen while you’re cooking (when it’s difficult to put food away) to then keep the dog out of the kitchen using baby gates, doors, etc. It’s much harder to counter surf when you’re not in the kitchen when food is on the counters.
Now what?
- Think through your pet’s current behavior and learning history. Is there a behavior you’ve been trying to manage but are instead inadvertently shaping your pet to foil your attempts?
- Think about a management solution that would make it so your pet couldn’t perform that behavior. Chances are you may have already heard of the management solution but maybe thought it was too cumbersome (like I did with Zorro’s platform!) Is there a way to make it less cumbersome or easier to enact?
- Enact your management solution and start breathing easier!
- If you’re having trouble coming up with a management solution, email us at info@petharmonytraining.com to schedule a session or check out our Setting Yourself Up for Success: Behavior Modification Basics course.
Happy training!
Allie
January 2021 Training Challenge: Video Your Pet Home Alone
We are full swing into our free Separation Anxiety Workshop this week! In honor of that workshop and our Separation Anxiety Immersive Digital Course which starts this upcoming Sunday 1/10/21, I wanted to do a separation anxiety-related training challenge this month. Here it is:
Video your pet home alone
Here are a few screenshots from one of our consultants, Ellen, doing this activity:
Why everyone should do this
In Ellen’s blog post about her dog’s separation anxiety journey last month (check it out here if you haven’t read it yet), she mentioned that scientists are starting to think that more pets have separation-related issues than we previously thought– up to 22.3% – 55% of the dog population. That’s a whole lot of dogs! Even if you think your pet is fine being left alone, let’s double check just to make sure.
For those of you who do have a pet who you think may be displaying separation-related issues, this is definitely something you’ll want to do. The first thing we ask potential separation anxiety clients to do is send us a video of their pet home alone. With other behavior issues we’re able to ask questions about what the person sees their pet doing and we can determine what’s going on that way without needing to see the behavior (more info here). However, with separation-related issues the person can’t know what their pet is doing without a video. There can be other explanations for certain behaviors aside from separation-related distress, so a video is incredibly helpful in this situation.
Note: if it’s pretty obvious your pet is distressed being left home alone, work with a consultant before doing this. There’s no need to cause unnecessary stress and a professional can give you more specifics on the set-up than what’s feasible in a blog post.
How to do it
There are a lot of ways to get a video of your pet home alone. Here are a few of our favorites (Disclosure: Affiliate links ahead. We receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. This helps us continue to put out free content to help you and your pets live more harmoniously!):
- Zoom yourself. Set up a zoom meeting between two accounts (both of which can be owned by you!). One camera stays in the house (laptops work great here) and the other goes with you (i.e. phone or tablet). I love this option because you get real-time streaming + recording function that you can send to your behavior consultant.
- Ring or Nest systems. A lot of folks already have home security systems set up in their house that can be accessed in real-time and can save recordings. If you already have something like this, use it!
- Furbo cameras. Furbos are designed specifically for knowing what your dog is up to while you’re gone. A super cool feature is their event-triggered recording option (available through an optional subscription with the device) so you can better learn what triggers a reactive dog throughout the day.
What you’re looking for
Long-time readers of this blog won’t be surprised at the first answer: body language. We’re looking for stress signals before and after leaving. Everyone– pets included– shows stress a little differently so the specific signals will be dependent on the individual. Common signals include vocalizing, pacing, drooling, and destruction. However, shutting down is a not uncommon signal that can also be difficult to distinguish from true rest and relaxation.
We’re also looking for how long it takes them to calm down if we do see stress signals. Some pets’ anxiety is more centered around the actual departure than being alone for a long time. A video makes all of that clearer. Again, if it’s pretty obvious that your pet is distressed being left alone I recommend working with a consultant first so they can give you more specifics on the video set-up.
Now what?
- Figure out the technology you’d like to use to get a video of your pet home alone.
- Record your video. Since it’s hard to go places at the moment, a quick walk around the block can be a good start.
- Watch your video. What body language signals do you see? What activities do you see them performing?
- If you’re seeing signs of stress, we recommend starting on that behavior modification journey now before it becomes a real problem when we’re back to leaving our pets for longer. Our Separation Anxiety Immersive Digital Course or a private session are both great options. We recommend Ellen for separation-related problems– she’s finishing up a program to be a certified separation anxiety consultant! Email us at info@petharmonytraining.com to get started with either option.
Happy training!
Allie
