Do Dogs and Cats Feel Stress? April is Stress Awareness Month

Some dogs are very in tune with their people. These dogs pick up on the stress levels of the humans around them and in turn feel that stress. So if you have one of these kinds of dogs, your stress from a bad day at the office might affect your dog as well.

So, how can we help our pets "de-stress"?

Dogs and cats seem to react best to classical music. Cats tend to relax in front of the speakers when classical music is playing. Dogs will actually bark less - especially when they listen to the music of Bach. Classical harp music has been shown to help alleviate stress in cats, dogs, chimpanzees and other animals.

In recent pet anxiety studies, house pets responded favorably to classical music under stress-inducing situations, often slipping into a very serene and peaceful state of mind after only a few minutes of listening. Certain instruments and sounds were more effective than others. There are now CD’s created especially for your pet. If you have a stressed out pet, these may be one way to help them relax.

　

Alice England

Makingstuffwithlove.etsy.com

April Pet Photo Contest: "April Showers"

Nearly everyone had a very difficult and snowy winter and I know we're all thrilled for Spring to finally be here! In keeping with this very "springy" month, our theme is "April Showers". Show us your furbaby all wet, in the water, or with a watery background. If your pet is deathly afraid of the water (like my Velvet), we'll also accept photos with a spring or Easter theme. Send in your photo, slide show, or video of your wet pet. Add some words to be posted with their pic to go along with the theme.

We'll accepting entries from April 1st through the 18th. Visit us in the forums where we'll be hanging out and introducing the new entries until voting begins on the 19th.

We welcome all pets: dogs, cats, birds, gerbils, hamsters, geckos, chickens, frogs, turtles, snakes, pigs, horses, just to name a few.

Check out the contest, read the rules, and join in the fun. Click the Furbabies link at the top to go to the contest.

BUY A BOX FOR CHARITY

PetsJubilee has donated an April pet sampler box to Etsy for Charity, so, if you're considering buying a box, please purchase it from here. The proceeds of this box will go to this month's charity.

Etsy for Charity is a great group of Etsians who pull together to raise money for a different charity every month. People donate items to the shop and the proceeds of those items go to charity.