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I understand affection. Really, I do. But I have to say I find this behavior rather puzzling: kissing your pooch on the mouth. You’ve seen such a scene in many movies, including that tanned senior who just loves her poodle in “There’s Something About Mary.” Dogs often sniff and lick things we wouldn’t put near our mouths, right?

Do you let your dog show love with a smooch on the lips? 

It’s that time again … when guess who comes hopping down the bunny trail! In this case, it’s when the Easter pet arrives in his or her bunny ears.

Ajc.com would love to see photos of your Easter pets, whethery they’re bunnies, dogs, cats or iguanas. Click here to upload the photos.

We’ll use the photos in a gallery in time for Easter. Send yours today!

• Upload photos of Easter pets here

We found some of the best pet experts in metro Atlanta. Look for your answers every week.   Today’s advice comes from Ingrid Johnson of Paws Whiskers and Claws, The Feline Hospital in Marietta. Click here to find out more about our experts.

We went to a local rescue group to adopt two cats. The rescue group insisted we bring one cat home first, then adopt the other one a week later. I’ve always been told it is better to bring two cats in at the same time. Will I have problems now bringing the second cat into our home? The first cat only has three legs. Could that be why they wanted us to wait? He gets around fine — you’d never know he was handicapped.

It is always recommended to adopt cats in pairs, as the buddy system tends to work well for them. The most stressful experience most cats undergo is change of environment and having another feline companion to help them through the transition to a new home is, in my opinion, imperative. This is most important if the cats are already friends or litter mates, so there would be no reason to introduce them to the home separately.

The fact that your new cat is a tripod would also not necessarily make a difference, as this handicap does not tend to slow them down a bit or affect their ability to adjust. The only instance that might make this appropriate is if two random cats that did not know each other at all were selected. In this case I would bring them both home at the same time and set each of them up in separate “safe” rooms and slowly introduce them to each other and their new home simultaneously.

Cats should always be housed in pairs. Contrary to popular belief (myth) cats are not solitary. They hunt alone but live in colonies. It is always ideal to adopt in pairs and have multiple cats so they have a chance to interact with their own species. This is particularly important if your cats are indoors only. To put it in perspective, imagine a human locked in a house their entire life and never getting to see, speak to, or touch another person, ever! The only exception to this rule would be the little 6-week-old kitten adopted and kept as an “only cat” its entire life. These cats become very poorly socialized and often can never be introduced to another cat as they are typically extremely aggressive to their own kind.

These cases are sad, and the cat essentially has been “ruined” by its humans, and now cannot enjoy the companionship of its own species. The long and short of it is two are better than one when it comes to kitties — great news for most cat owners.

Since moving into our new home, we’ve been having visitors. And Diesel, our one-year-old puppy, has not only greeted them, he’s also tried to enlist them to play.

Most times as company arrives, we put Diesel in his crate, making sure our guest is comfortable with Diesel and Diesel comfortable with our guest. The problem is, most times, Diesel gets too comfortable. Once we let him out of the crate, he wanders over to our guest, toy in his mouth, sits in front of him or her and then politely drops the toy. Sometimes, our guest will fall for the bait, exclaiming, “Oh, he’s so cute! He wants me to play with him.” They’ll play with Diesel for a few moments and then try to move on.

But, “NOT SO EASY!” says Diesel. Once you’ve played with him, there’s no turning back. It’s a predicament that means throughout our guests’ visit, they are harassed by an eager pup. While I’ve tried to reprimand Diesel, I’m not sure that he understands the problem: In his eyes, he’s just playing with a new friend.

I’ve heard of pets who don’t know how to act when company arrives but it seems to me that my puppy is “too friendly.”

Any of you have the same problem? If so, how do you handle it?

We found some of the best pet experts in metro Atlanta. Today’s advice comes from Kate Jackson of the Jabula Dog Academy. Click here to see all the AJCpets experts. And feel free to submit questions in the form of a comment today.

I have a 4-year-old Chow mix, who stays in the house at night. When I take her out in the morning, if I don’t have her on a leash, she runs up and down the street and won’t come if I call. I have to get in my car and go after her. Is there anyway I can keep her from running away?

Coming when called is one of the most difficult exercises to teach a dog. You need to start the difficult task of conditioning her to come when called. Get a long leash or rope, about 20 feet, which you attach to her collar when you take her out the door. Have some really good-tasting treats on you.

Take her out, let her go off to take care of business and sniff. Call her name and immediately tug on the rope so she instantly turns and comes over to you. Have her sit in front of you and give her a really good treat (like cheese or a piece of cooked chicken breast) and praise and pet her. Practice this until you don’t have to tug on the rope to have her come to you, and she gets into the habit of instantly turning and coming to you. Always use lots of praise and treats.

Eventually when she is conditioned to just stop and come back to you, you can start to just let the leash or rope drag around behind her should you need it. When you have not needed it for a few weeks, try without the leash or rope. Continue to use the treats and praise for a number of months.

Is your dog destined for stardom? Maybe Fido or Fifi can get a head start on Friday, March 20: That’s when Walt Disney Home Entertainment will be in Centennial Park in Downtown Atlanta hosting a casting call to find one lucky dog for a role in an upcoming Disney buddies film like “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” “Bolt” and “Space Buddies.”

Audition slots are limited with sign-up beginning at 11:30 a.m. and are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Disney will be looking for all types of dogs — action stars and superheroes full of talent and tricks! And make sure they look their best — there’s a red carpet, too. Organizers suggest participants arrive “camera ready” in the style of “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,”and that means outrageous outfits and doggy bling!

Auditions are taking place in six other cities too. “Chloe” from “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” will also make an appearance at Centennial Park. Click here for more information on the casting call.

Do you think your dog has star potential? Will you be taking him/her to the casting call?

In South Carolina Wednesday, a man was cited for owning a hyena.

In February, a pet chimpanzee went on a violent rampage, disfiguring a Connecticut woman (his former home is pictured).

Some people love exotic pets so much that they forget they’re dealing with wild animals, and that wild animals can be unpredictable. Hyenas are hunters and scavengers and could pose a threat to other pets, wildlife or even children. In the case of the Connecticut woman, the chimpanzee, Travis, had been socialized to interact with humans years before his well-publicized rampage.

Legislation quickly followed: The House of Representatives voted in favor of the Captive Primate Safety Act, a bill that had actually been introduced prior to the Connecticut attack.

Are you in favor of restricting the ownership of exotic pets? Do you think restrictions will help prevent attacks on people, or are they just freak accidents?

RELATED: Florida offers amnesty for exotic pets

Before you jump to the conclusion that I’m truly a crazy cat lady, there are indeed cat lovers out there who use social media tools like Twitter to communicate with one another. While I use Twitter primarily for business purposes, I do keep a personal account as well, which is how I stumbled upon the group, Cats who Twitter. This active and growing community of cat lovers have built Twitter pages for their feline friends, who then can “communicate” with each other. And some of these cats have quite a following, check out OscarTheCat. He has more followers than I do on all of my Twitter accounts … combined.I have mixed feelings about the trend of pet owners using social media. On the one hand, I’ve come across some really interesting and touching posts, such as one Twitter user who was facing the reality of having to put her beloved 18-year-old cat to sleep. Her Twitter followers offered words of support and comfort. On the other hand, sometimes my Twitter feed gets inundated with posts like, “My toy mouse is stuck under the fridge” or “Mommy’s mad, I coughed up a hairball on the new rug” and I feel I could do without these details.How do you feel about pets and social media, like Catbook and Dogbook on Facebook, or creating Twitter profiles for your pets? Have you ever created an online profile for any of your pets or do you feel that’s crossing the line into the crazy pet owner territory?

A friend adopted a 2 1/2-year-old standard poodle from a rescue group. Charlie had been raised with six other dogs by a person who worked from home. When the owner died, the dogs were given up. Charlie’s a sweetheart, housebroken, great on a leash and great with other dogs. The problem? Charlie is terrified to be alone.  He needs to be near my friend all the time. She works full-time. On their second day together, Charlie broke out of his crate in the morning. She put him back in. She came home three hours later to find that he actually broke his crate, dislodging the entire front panel. He then shredded the curtain over her front door in a desperate attempt to escape. Her house had become his crate.Her vet and the rescue group said he must have severe separation anxiety and prescribed him Xanax. But she felt it was wrong to drug a dog! To keep him safe, she took him to doggy day care by day and is trying to work with him and the crate at night. (He is fine in the crate if she’s in the room, but when he can’t see her, he becomes hysterical and violent. He even broke some of the reinforcements she used to strengthen the crate.)Several dog trainers told my friend that separation anxiety is one of the hardest (and most expensive) behavioral problems to solve. And because she works full-time, she may not be able to ease him through the transition like he needs. “I feel awful, like I”m letting him down,” my friend told me. At the same time, she can’t afford to board him daily. “I know that the best thing for him is to be in a home with another dog. The current situation is traumatic for him and for me… I think this just isn’t the right fit.”Have you experienced separation anxiety like this with your pet? Please tell us your story.

When was the last time you had a really good laugh? Does your life need a little more fun and silliness? Then send in photos of your pet wearing green for the first Ajc.com St. PETrick’s Day.

We had so much fun with Valentine Pets last month that we couldn’t wait to see if Atlantans dress their pets up for March 17, too.

All you need to do is click here for the page that uploads your St. PETrick’s Day photos. Everybody’s Irish on St. PETrick’s Day, including our feline and canine friends.

Send your photos today!

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