Poop.

Irish Typepad, Flickr Amy D. Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of 23 pet care books, including "Complete Kitten Care" and "Complete Care for Your Aging Cat." We love our cats but don't always understand their seemingly bizarre behaviors. Sure, some things our cats do are unique to them but other actions are shared by felines the world over. Here are seven weird cat behaviors, and what they mean. Head bonks. The first three months I had my cat, her head turned pink from head-bonking my lipstick. Rubbing behavior, which includes the forehead, cheeks, and full-body slams, is called bunting, and it transfers the cat's signature smell onto objects ...

Anna Westhoff Each week, Ben Westhoff shares the ups and downs of owning Pippi, the dalmatian mix he and his wife Anna adopted as a puppy in late 2009. Anna wrote this week's column. Ben and I may live in the suburbs, but we don't have our own enclosed yard for Pippi to do her business. Instead, we give her plenty of walks around the neighborhood, to give her the opportunity for what I like to call her "daily constitutionals." Ben is pretty disciplined about keeping Pippi on the sidewalk, but I often let her sniff around front lawns, under hedges and along tree-trunks. She just seems to love being outside so much; her tail whips to and fro when she finds a scent she likes! Sometimes, ...

Getty Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know." I've heard that you can train a puppy to urinate and poop on command. Is that true? I am about to start visiting shelters to adopt a dog, and want to know how I would go about this sort of ...

Rounding up our favorite animal stories, photos, and videos on the Web each week! Zebras: Hippo Dentists? A Zebra DDS recently used its mouth to give a teeth cleaning to a hippo. Gives a new definition to "open wide." [via Dailymail.co.uk] Iditarod Reunion Hearts were warmed in Alaska's icy climate when a sled-dog that had been missing for four days was reunited with his worried owner. [via Dogster] Flying Fish It's raining fish! Hallelujah, it's raining fish! In Worcester, England, a live fish fell from the sky and was rescued. [via People Pets] Poop-Scoopers Unite! A new Chicago blog is taking on those who don't pick up ...

Zer0_pt, Flickr Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's new expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs and she is one of less than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of nine books, more than 200 articles and has been a lobbyist on legislation concerning hazardous dogs and responsible dog ownership. Dear Dr. Burch, My dog has a disturbing habit -- he eats his own poop! Why does he do this? Dr. Burch Says: If there is a dog behavioral issue that makes us cringe, it's when dogs eat their own waste. We're talking ...