ArcaMax

Dear Casie,

It’s rare that a bird of prey will scoop up a small dog. Generally, large birds can’t carry more than half their body weight, so if they wanted to pick up a pet, it would have to be a much smaller dog or kitten.

I reached out to Kara Bale, communications manager for The Avian Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina, for her thoughts. She said if you’re seeing hawks and falcons overhead it’s because it’s breeding season and they are keeping an eye over the predators in their territories.

“Birds generally don’t want to interact with pets, and definitely not with humans who they see as the scariest predators of all,” Bale said. “Aggressive encounters aren’t about the birds thinking the dogs are prey, but the birds seeing dogs as predators. These birds are protecting their young. So, if a bird gets too close to a dog, even a dog you’re walking, it’s telling the dog to stay away. It’s not a predatory behavior. It’s a defensive behavior.”

There are other predators in Florida, like coyotes and alligators, she says, that might be more of a concern to a small dog’s safety. I don’t know if the color of your dogs’ coats makes them more vulnerable, but it’s possible. Just to be safe, monitor your dogs’ outside time whenever you can and encourage Taco to stay closer to his pack by reinforcing his recall response through training.

Keeping pets safe over the Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a stressful holiday for noise-phobic pets, and our dogs and cats may express their fears in numerous ways. Cats may run and hide, and not be seen for hours. Dogs may pant, pace, tremble, vocalize, panic or destroy things. The challenge for any pet owner is to find the right combination of stress-reducing strategies to keep their pets calm over the noisy holiday weekend.

For both dogs and cats, it’s important to create a safe space inside your home with music or white noise that drowns out the sound of the fireworks. Pressure wraps, like Thundershirts® and Anxiety Wraps®, can ease frayed nerves. There are also veterinary-prescribed anxiety medications and over-the-counter products for stress that, when used separately, may help.

It often takes multiple strategies to calm pets over the Fourth of July holiday. Mix it up and determine what works best for your pets.

========

(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)

(c) 2020 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.