When you love animals, it?s hard to have just one. In the beginning, you might have planned on having only one pet. But then you met that loveable stray, or your friend tricked you into visiting an animal shelter and it was too late. You had to have another pet.

Whatever the reason, now you?ve got a new pet and you have to introduce to your current pet, who probably won?t be too happy about it.

What do I do, now that I have a new friend for my anxious pet?

What to think about

First, you must understand that this introduction can only go so well. Your pets will not experience love at first site and be best friends forever from moment one. Getting along will take time.

Also, it is important to remember that all animals have individual personalities, so some may fit into your household better than others. Take this into account when you are picking out a new pet.

Getting started

When you bring your new pet home, give the new pet and your current pet their own, separate spaces in the house. You should keep them apart at first. Make sure you spend an hour a day with each pet. Watch them for signs of anxiety and stress. Signs of stress include:

• Aggression
• Hiding
• Loss of hunger
• Crying

Make sure your pets have time to acclimate to his new situation.

Early introductions

When your pets seem comfortable, put your new pet in a different room and allow your current pet into the new pet?s old room to learn his scent. You could also give the current cat something with the new pet?s scent on it.

The next step is allowing the pets to smell each other on opposite sides of a door. If they are comfortable, you could allow them to see each other while still remaining physically separated. Each pet is different, so the pace with which you move through these steps will vary. It is important to have patience because anxious animals can be more aggressive.

Meeting in person

When your pets are comfortable smelling and seeing each other, you can move on to the next step: bringing them together in a neutral room. It is helpful to have two people for this step. This way each of you can play with a pet and give them treats to reassure them and help create positive association. If you have dogs, you may need two people to stop aggressive behavior.

If the situation deteriorates, you may need to separate the animals and bring them together at a later time.

Moving on from there

At first, only allow your pets to be together under supervised visits until they are comfortable with each other. This may take hours, days or weeks depending on your animals. The important thing is to stay patient and proceed with caution so your pets can be as comfortable and happy as possible throughout the experiences.

A note for dog owners: Dogs create their own social order between themselves, so make sure that both dogs remember that you are the top dog.
In the end, your dogs may become best friends or they might just get along. It?s ultimately up to them, and either way is ok.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dogs-701/Introducing-new-8-week.htm
http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/pdfs/cats/introducingcats.pdf

We all know pets can help relieve human symptoms of depression, but what’s a human to do for their depressed pet? Below are some common questions pet owners have about pet depression.

Can My Pet Really Be Depressed?

Yes. Pets can experience many emotional disorders such as depression, separation anxiety, social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Not treated, depression or other emotional disorders can dramatically reduce your pets quality of life.

What Causes Pet Depression?

Depression in your pat can be caused by a number of factors. Any major change in their life or routine can induce a bout of depression. Consider if your pet has recently lost a playmate or friend or if their owner has left them. Changes of scenery have been known to cause symptoms of depression in pets, for example if you move suddenly or send your pet to stay with someone without introducing them to the new place. A chemical imbalance can also trigger depression in your pet.

What Are Signs of Pet Depression?

Signs of pet depression include lethargy, reduced appetite and thirst, loss of initiative, weight loss and lack of interest in usually fun games.

How Do I Know It’s Depression and Not an Illness?

It’s very important to thoroughly diagnose your pet’s depression. Often weight loss and lethargy are caused by an illness, not depression. Be sure to monitor your pet’s symptoms closely and share everything with your veterinarian, who may want to do some tests before diagnosing depression.

How Can I Treat My Pet’s Depression?

Consider the possible source of your pet’s depression. If their long-time playmate died, consider getting another pet to play with. Maybe their child moved out of the house; be sure to give the pet plenty of loves and play with them. Try to increase their activity level. Occasionally, a veterinarian will prescribe medication for your depressed pet.

How Can I Prevent Pet Depression?

Keep your pet active. Boredom and stress for pets can lead to other social disorders such as OCD and social anxiety. Establish and follow a routine so your pet can look forward to certain things. If you have a house sitter, explain thoroughly the pet’s routine so its cycle is not thrown off. Avoid sending your pet to a kennel if that triggers depression.

Consider regular doggy day care where you pet can play with other friends, or take them on play dates or to parks to meet others. If your pet is going to stay in a new place, say while you’re out of town, introduce them to the place and their new care giver slowly. Bring the pet to the new house a few times and let them get used to it and the person who will care for them. Don’t be sad; make sure to maintain a positive attitude that will rub off on your pet.

Pet depression can be a serious problem, but it doesn’t have to. By noticing your pet’s behavior and immediately taking steps to help it, you can provide a happy life for your pet.

You probably know that separation anxiety can affect people, particularly small children. But you might not have been aware that separation anxiety can affect dogs and cats as well. Dogs tend to have more obvious symptoms of separation anxiety; they tend to get loud and destroy your house. Cats are often harder to figure out.Animals with separation anxiety are over dependent on others and lack self-confidence, so it is important to help your pet. Because cats are more subtle, they may be suffering more than you realize.

Why cats develop separation anxiety

Some breeds are more prone to separation anxiety. They develop the problem from the combination of genes and environment. Oriental cats like Siamese and Burmese tend to be emotionally sensitive and prone toward anxiety. Other breeds, like Maine coons, are less likely to develop the disorder.

A cat?s life experiences before he met you can also influence separation anxiety in cats. Kittens who were orphaned or weaned too early are more likely to develop the disorder. And think twice before buying a kitten; cats bought from a pet store are more likely to have been subjected to the former two scenarios. Having several different owners can also influence the condition.

The combination of early life experiences and a sensitive personality can cause a cat to develop separation anxiety.

Signs of separation anxiety in cats

• Following owner around the house
• Negative behavior as owner leaves, such as crying, sulking, hiding and depression
• Trying to escape/destructive conduct while owner is away
• Crying after owner has left
• Being over-excited when owner returns
• Refusal to eat when left alone
• Failure to use the litter box when owner is away
• Excessive grooming

How to help your cat

There are a few things you can do for your cat to alleviate his anxiety and make him more comfortable and happy while you are away:

• Keep your cat in one room with food, water and litter box while you are away
• Leave on the radio so it is not so quiet
• Leave out toys and catnip to distract him
• Position furniture so cat can look out the window and entertain himself
• Put birdfeeders by the windows for the equivalent of cat television
• Ignore your cat for 15-20 minutes before you leave and again when you come back
• Make sure you spend quality time with your cat every day
• Another animal may keep your cat company, but it might also make the situation worse

Talking to your vet

If this doesn?t help, try talking to your vet. They might have some suggestions for a behavioral therapist. In extreme situation, cats may be given medication.
It is also good to see your vet to make sure the behavior isn?t being caused by some other problem. A cat who cries a lot and urinates outside of the box may have a urinary tract infection.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/31561/separation_anxiety_in_cats.html
http://www.petplace.com/cats/separation-anxiety-in-cats/page1.aspx
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1310&articleid=2372

Pet anxiety is an important issue because it can manifest in many different negative behaviors like digging, spraying, excessive barking or crying, destroying furniture, inappropriate urination and general unhappiness. Treating pet anxiety will improve their quality of life, as well as yours.

Anxiety can usually be treated through desensitization, but sometimes requires medication. Here is an overview of the types of pet anxiety.

Pets and separation anxiety

Separation anxiety is one of the more common pet problems. Because pets act out in many different ways, their owners may not even realize what the problem is. Separation anxiety is especially common in animals that have had many different owners and fear being abandoned again.

Some pet owners make the problem worse by trying to reassure the animal before they leave and making a big deal out of leaving. Crate training is one way to ease separation anxiety. Owners might also try ignoring the animal for 15 minute before they leave and for 15 minutes after they return.

Pets and social anxiety

Animals must be socialized in order to be comfortable around humans and large groups. Animals who are not socialized may feel fear, aggression or the urge to run when forced to be social with either animals or people. Social anxiety is often seen in animals that have not had much human contact, like dogs rescued from a puppy mill or feral cats. Socialization should begin slowly, starting with one person and moving on from there.

Cats usually experience social anxiety from interactions with other cats, but they may also be shy around new people or groups. If your cat is shy around people, it may be nothing to worry about as long as s/he has access to food and a litter box. Some cats have naturally shy personalities. However, if your cat is spraying, exhibiting destructive behavior or licking excessively, you should look into treatment.

Pets and noise anxiety

Many animals are scared of loud noises like thunder, gun shots or deep voices. You can help your pet by desensitizing it to the noise. You can also create a positive association, like giving your dog treats during a thunderstorm. Another way to desensitize is to make a recording of the sound and play it softly, gradually turning up the volume.

Pets and Car Anxiety

Some animals like riding in the car and others don?t. It may be the confined space, the noise or the motion that gets to him. Each pet is different. If your pet is young, you can make rides in the car a positive experience. But if you have an older pet you will probably have to start slower with behavior modification exercises. The idea is to get the animal comfortable with the car and then eventually make the car ride a pleasant experience.

This can be more difficult with cats because they have to ride in a carrying case. If they don?t like their case to begin with, you have your work cut out for you. First you have to get them comfortable with their case and then you move on to the car.

http://dogs.about.com/cs/disableddogs/a/anxiety_three.htm
http://dogs.about.com/cs/behaviorissues/p/sep_anxiety.htm
http://dogs.about.com/cs/behaviorissues/a/anxiety_noise.htm

Some may find it hard to believe, but dogs can be depressed. Dog depression can be mild to severe, and is more than simply being down for a few days. Dogs can experience long bouts of depression just as humans do. Here is some information on dog depression and what you can do to help your pet.

Possible Causes of Dog Depression

Any number of factors may induce depression in your dog. Consider life from its point of view: did you leave your pet for an extended period of time? Has their child grown up and moved out of the house? Maybe their long-time playmate moved away. Any change of scenery, change in routine or loss of a close friend or human may have triggered your dog?s depression. A chemical imbalance may also be to blame.

Signs of Pet Depression

If you think your pet may be depressed, look for signs of lethargy and lack of interest in activities that are usually fun. Your dog may not eat as much as usual, or drink less water and might lose weight. A lack of initiative may also be a sign of depression in your dog.

Depression or Physical Illness?

Consider your dog?s normal behavior. If it?s not acting the way it usually does, this is a sign something is wrong. Be sure to see your veterinarian; you want to make sure your dog?s lethargy and weight loss isn?t due to a serious illness or disease. Your vet will want to rule out all possible physical ailments, before treating depression.

Treating Your Dog?s Depression

Your veterinarian may recommend an anti-depressant medication. However there are other ways to naturally treat your dog?s depression. Be sure to show your dog you love it and want to play with it. Your pet will pick up on your positive mood. If the source of the depression may have been loss of a playmate, try taking your dog to doggy day care or a dog park to meet new friends.

Increase their activity level bit by bit, encouraging them to play with you. If you?re gone from home for long periods of time, consider getting another playmate that will provide company for your dog while you?re away.

Prevention is Key

The best way to treat depression is to make sure it never happens. Consider your dog?s feelings when making major decisions. If you have a sensitive pet, a sudden change may cause anxiety. Try and introduce them to the change gradually. If you?re moving, bring your dog over to the new place a few times. Be sure to keep at least some of the furniture your pet is used to and comfortable with. Or arrange furniture in the same way as it was before the move. If your dog will be staying with friends while you?re away, bring it to their house a few times before you leave. Make sure your dog gets comfortable with them and their house.

The most important thing to do is to keep your dog?s feelings in mind. If your dog tends to be affected by minor incidents, introduce them gradually if possible. Small steps can go a long way in improving your dog?s quality of life.