Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Cat try to ‘swim’ around water dish
Dear Cathy: One of our cats has the habit of standing in front of his water dish and making movements as if he were swimming while drinking his water. — Alexia & Dave, Hopkins, MN
Dear Alexia and Dave: Cats often exhibit inexplicable behaviors. It sounds like your cat is pawing around the water dish, and not pawing the water itself. Cats can and will do both. They have scent glands on their paws and may be marking their territory. They also are fascinated with movement and like to play with their food and water, reminiscent of what they might do in the wild if they caught a small animal.
Dear Cathy: Our 2-year-old female westie, Bella, is driving us nuts. Anytime a commercial or show comes on with a dog, or there are sudden movements or bright colors on the TV, she goes into a fit. She barks wildly, jumps at the TV, grabs a toy and shakes it and runs back and forth. — Ray, Orland Park, IL
Dear Ray: While Bella’s reactions are exaggerated, they are fairly common for terriers who are very sensitive to movement and sound.
Every time you are in the room, ask her to come to you and sit. When she does, click with a clicker or say a reward word like “bingo,” and then give her a treat. Train her with the TV off at first; then with the TV on, but muted and paused; then with it just muted. If the on-screen sound or movement triggers the behavior, pause and mute everything, and shake a can of coins, if needed, to get her attention. Then repeat the steps above.
When she responds, give her a distraction that fully engages her mind and takes her mind off the trigger. Give her a puzzle toy to engage her brain. Freeze some peanut butter in a Kong or let her push around a Wobbler that dispense treats. Give her the puzzle toy only when you are watching television and not during the initial training period. We don’t want her getting bored.