Lots of people feel anxious when they’re alone for long periods of time. But you may not realize that dogs feel the same way sometimes, too!

If you come home from being away to find your dog has torn up furniture, soiled the floor, or you get a report from neighbors that your dog barked and howled the whole time you were gone, your dog probably has separation anxiety problems. Unfortunately, many dog owners think their dogs are acting out of anger at being left alone or because they are “bad dogs.” This leads to you handling the problem as bad behavior, which won’t solve it. One of the keys to dealing with separation anxiety in dogs is understanding what it is, and why some dogs don’t deal with being alone as well as others.

First, you should know that dogs are social animals. Their mentality is based on living in a pack (much like our family structure), so when they’re left alone, they don’t handle it well. Their instinct is to find the rest of their pack, and when they can’t do that, they become agitated. This leads to the behavior that frustrates owners when they get home.

If you suspect that your dog has separation anxiety, there are some signs and symptoms you can look for that can help. When you’re home, does your dog cling to you and demand constant attention? Does your dog start to get upset when you’re getting ready to go out? When you’re away, does your dog whine, bark, or howl the whole time you’re gone? Is your dog restless while you’re away? Is your dog destructive, or does your dog soil the carpets or floor in several areas while you’re gone? If so, your dog most likely isn’t simply bored, but is having anxiety at being separated from you.

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Perfect Pooch Behavior with Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement of dogs can be done easily by employing praise, dog toys, and small dog food treats. This type of training is proving to be far more rewarding than attempts at behavior modification that employs negative reinforcement techniques. When you elect to praise and reward your dog in a positive manner it will strengthen your bonds and you will be able to gain his trust much faster. If you are attempting to train your dog on your own the positive reinforcement methods are a sure way to quicker success and much less frustration

Our pets all have their individual learning curves and this directly how easily and quickly they can be trained. Some pets will be easier than others to train but with patience any of them can be taught basic obedience behaviors. Dogs are just like any other animal, including us humans, and they learn certain behaviors in two basic ways. Sometimes they will show the desired behavior simply for enjoyment and rewards, but they may be trained to respond to avoid unpleasant consequences.

This is the basic difference between positive and negative reinforcement in any type of training environment. Negative reinforcement means that the owner must deliver a punishment, or negative consequence, when their dog exhibits an undesirable behavior. If a dog chews up a shoe then the consequence could include harsh words, a few swats with a rolled up newspaper, or the owner might take away some favorite dog toys. Another harsh punishment involves the pet being placed in doggie prison (their crate) for a short period of time. The idea is to get the dog to associate the consequence with the behavior. Just like many humans, lots of dogs end up confused and hurt because of this type of behavior modification.

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Our priority to keep an aquarium in our homes is the well-being of the fish and invertebrates we maintain. And the first step to note while preparing a checklist of the aquarium accessories required for the well being of aquarium occupants is to keep the aquarium room cool, especially for marine aquaria. The ideal temperature for most fish-only aquaria is between 76 degrees and 82 degrees Fahrenheit. If you only have fish in the aquarium and the aquarium is stocked properly with aquarium supplies, then you only need about a 2 to 6 degree temperature drop. This will depend on the type of aquarium you keep and the temperature drop needed to cool the tank.

With fish, it’s not always the high temperature that kills. Many fish die in tanks running too hot due to low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the water. The warmer the water, the less dissolved oxygen (DO) it will hold.

Here are a few tips to keep your aquarium water cool for your little friends to survive for long.

1. If your aquarium is well-covered, open the covers on your tank, and place nylon netting over the openings to prevent fish from jumping out. This allows heat to escape. You can aid this process further by directing the air-flow of a small fan across the top of the tank.

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