If you have ever felt like children in this picture, trying to return one of your pets to its enclosure, then you probably have a multi-species household.

The ducks are in the bathtub again.  Yesterday it was the turtle, but she is back in her terrarium, and now there are four ducks who needed shelter from the storm outside, peeking over my tub wondering when breakfast will be served.

The miniture pinscher is pretty sure the ducks are aliens and might hurt the children, so he keeps running back and forth from the bathroom to me insisting I deal with this threat to his family with short alarm barks.

Have the fish been fed?  Oh good.  No, wait, I mean, have they been fed today?

The hound dog lays patiently on the cool tile of the hallway, wagging his big tail thud thud thud everytime I step over him until I finally ask him if he needs to go out.  He is unconcerned by the waterfowl invasion but he is carefully positioned to guard his bed and rawhide chew from the little dog.

Upstairs the guinea pig reminds me she needs breakfast too.  Her whistles turn to happy purrs and chatters and she allows a petting while I pour her food into her feeder.

Now for the primates.  Are the children even dressed?

Before our cat died at 23, he enjoyed terrorizing the dogs.  I would be calling the canines and after a few minutes when they would not appear I would go looking for them, only to find them lurking, stuck behind a feline roadblock 10 times smaller than them.  The cat would be in the doorway, seeming to ignore them completely, grooming himself.  If I tried calling the dogs again they would lower their ears and whine and pace but they would not challenge the cat.  At this point, the cat would start his triumphant purr, loudly.

When I was growing up, after the inside pets were taken care of, the outside pets in the barn needed breakfast and fresh water.  And if we daudled, they donkey would start braying insistantly until someone from the “big barn” came outside.

As a veterinarian I am scientifically trained, but when it comes to my human + animal families I often lose sight of all the unique needs and behaviours I spent so many years learning about.

For example; primates are group animals and rarely feel comfortable alone for very long.  Humans communicate with language now, but our primate roots are in touching, grunts, and social grooming.  Primates, especially young primates, need to touch and hug WAY more than most species can tolerate.  Teaching children to restrain their natural urges and give pets their space is an important life lesson that will serve them well.

Canines also prefer packs or small family groups, and also engage in a large amount of vocal communication and physical interaction.  They also feel safe in small dark spaces most like dens.

Wild felines are almost all solitary, and the rare contact they make with other wild cats are usually violent.  The exception is with their kittens, and this is the trait we have bred up in our domestic cats for 10,000 years.

Rodents are pretty social, and prefer to live in groups and engage in grooming and foraging behavoiurs together, but above all they value feeling safe from predators.

Reptiles can aggregate, but socialization for them is limited to displays of strength.  They also like to feel safe.

Most of our pet fish species like to school, and they do best on regular repetitive schedules that mimic their natural aquatic environments.

Waterfowl like ducks have a strong need to flock with their own kind.

If you have a multiple pet, or multi species household, the key is to understand what motivates each species, what each species needs for optimal social behaviour, and to have realistic expectations of what each species will do when threatened.  START with the primates in the house!  Observe your own behaviour and that of your family and notice where it clashes with the needs of the pets.

Usually we can provide space pets need with simple changes in habits.  For examle; I began closing the door to the bathroom so the little dog would stop worrying about the ducks.  The guinea pig has her house to hide in, and no one is allowed to strip her of it; instead we have to lure her out with food.  I picked up the rawhide the big dog was guarding and put it away for later.  We have adjacent crates for both dogs under the stairwell that they are trained to go in whenever we leave, or whenever there is a need, and we decided crate time was the safest rawhide time to avoid dog fights.

I checked that the turtle was alone and not being exposed to too much noise.   The children are not allowed to pick up the small dog, this was probably the most difficult task I have had.

I moved the cat’s food and litterbox to a room the dogs could never access, so he no longer needed to rule the doorways (as much).

The ducks are always kept together, even if they had to be moved, we carry them in pairs to avoid stress.  No one is allowed to chase them, period.

Pets make life worth living for me, and the more I adapt to their needs, instead of trying to force them into mine, the happier we all are!evelyn and sara small

 

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