Happy Pets

Caspar and Mechior

Despite the devoted attention that they pay to ear-washing, sadly neither of our two cats seem to possess the power — or, perhaps, the inclination — to save us the bother of watering the garden on a sultry summer’s night. Caspar and Melchior will be putting in an occasional appearance to illustrate some of the choices and problems — as well as the pleasures — that all cat-owners inevitably face. I hope that sharing our experience of their habits and idiosyncrasies, as well as of the ailments that have afflicted them during the past twelve years and the care strategies that we have used (some successful, others less so), will prove useful to you. (more…)

Choosing a puppy appears to be rather a haphazard affair, and when you consider how many different breeds there are to choose from and how human nature varies, it’s not surprising we sometimes end up with the wrong dog. So, let’s approach the subject of buying a puppy from a completely different angle—the puppy’s. For a long-lasting and fruitful relationship, you need not only the right breed, but also the right temperament. First of all, we must sweep away all the old sayings about buying dogs: for example, if you have a large house you can have a large dog; if you live in a flat you must have a small dog. As far as I am concerned, the size of your living accommodation is irrelevant to the size of your dog. A Great Dane will be quite contented living in a flat if he’s given the right amount of exercise and attention from his owner, and let’s forget the nonsense about little dogs requiring little exercise. Unless you’re thinking in terms of a Chihuahua, every dog needs to be exercised daily. (more…)

Finally, you must decide whether you want a dog or a bitch. In my opinion, the old saying that the dog is dominant and the bitch is loyal has no credence. If you are not interested in breeding, then the sex of your puppy is irrelevant if the temperament is right. If you have no intention of breeding from your dog, then I advise that you have him castrated or her spayed. The ideal age is around a year old, but I advise you to consult with your veterinary surgeon on this matter. I am astounded at the attitude of many male dog owners on my suggestion that they have the dog castrated. Their usual retort is, ‘It’s cruel. You’re taking his natural rights away from him.’ In my view, it is criminal to keep a male dog entire and never let him mate a bitch. These owners are asking their dogs to live the life of a monk. The entire male dog will be in constant search of a bitch and, therefore, suffer mental anguish. It is far kinder to have him castrated before he reaches full maturity. Bitches that are unspayed and constantly left to cope with their ’seasons’ can also suffer a lot of mental anguish, with false pregnancies and milk. Eventually, the unspayed bitch usually develops womb problems that can often be fatal. (more…)

Having answered all these questions, you will know whether you still want a dog or not, and can now turn your attention to the type of dog which would fit in best with you and your way of life. Don’t just look at the different breeds of dogs. Do a little research into their background and what they were originally bred for. This will give you a far better idea of the temperament your dog will grow up with. Every breeder will be tempted to tell you of the virtues of his favourite dog. Not many of them will tell you of their faults. Obviously, I can’t go through every breed for you here, but I will try to take a cross-section, to show you what you’re looking for.

The Labrador, the dog I am most familiar with, was bred to retrieve game birds. Therefore, he’s been bred to sit steady to the sound of gunfire, go out quietly and retrieve and to return to his owner. Nevertheless, he’s a very active dog and can work an eight hour day in the field and still look as fresh as a daisy: so he will want plenty of exercise. Here I can tell you how to read between the lines and find the faults of the breed. (more…)

It is important for you to remember that your puppy does not understand English. It is essential to show him exactly what the words mean. Most dog owners don’t realise that they have actually taught the puppy to do the wrong thing by not using action and words together. A good example of this is a puppy who tries to climb on the furniture. Just think of it for a moment. You’re the puppy, you have two paws on the settee and your owner is sitting reading the paper in an armchair. ‘Get off!’ your owner will shout.

But he can’t be bothered to put the paper down, come across to you and physically show you what he means. So, what are you to think, after he’s stayed sitting for quite some time, telling you to get off? If you are a reasonably intelligent puppy, as most puppies are, you will associate the words ‘Get off’ with having your front two paws on the furniture. (more…)

The biggest problem most dog owners have is getting their dogs to return to them on command once the dog is off the lead. But so many owners cause their own problems on this exercise, I’m not surprised their dogs don’t wish to return to them. Let us first view the faults, in the hope of preventing you from making the same mistakes.

Why your dog won’t come back to you

The first and simplest reason your dog will not return to you on command is that you haven’t trained him thoroughly in the garden. If he won’t come when called in the confined space of his own home, he certainly won’t in the freedom of the fields. In the main, owners with untrained dogs are full of excuses. (more…)

The chaser

My heart aches when an owner comes to me with a chasing dog. ‘I daren’t let him off,’ they tell me. ‘He chases bikes, postmen, cars, children, other dogs.’ Again, we have a situation where the poor dog suffers because the owner cannot be bothered to train against these things. I have heard so many remedies for the dog chaser which, in my opinion, would only make him worse. Many of these so-called remedies take the control of the dog out of the owner’s hands and put the onus on the thing that’s being chased. A good example of this is the dog who chases bikes. Two of the most frequently-used remedies are that the rider of the bike carries a jug or cup of water which he throws at the dog on his approach, or the rider of the bike offers the dog a titbit. (more…)

Don’t fall into the trap of many dog owners of forgetting the fun element in your training. If life with your dog has become a drudgery and the time you take to train him basic commands is full of harassment, fraught with anxiety, stop, you have got it all wrong. Dogs, like children, should be a pleasure to us. I see all types of human beings coming along to my training classes with their dogs and I can instantly tell you which ones will fall into the ‘failed owners‘ category. They’re the ones who won’t listen, who won’t try, who think they will make a fool of themselves talking to their dog and putting enthusiasm into their voices. Many of them refuse point-blank to sit on the ground with their dogs and think it childish and stupid to play with them. In my training classes I try and make most of the exercises a game so that the human beings forget their self-consciousness and before they realise it they are having as much fun as their dogs. It is very rewarding to train along with other people and their dogs, as it gives incentive to the owners to come out best. If you train with other people or go along to a training club perhaps some of these ideas will help you and if you’re the stiff and starchy conservative type maybe it will give you enthusiasm to change your dog’s training and have fun. (more…)

Wherever you go to find a kitten, you obviously want to choose a healthy one, so look out for any tell-tale signs of illness or infestation — not only in your selected kitten, but in any other cats in the cattery or pet store.

If you are allowed to handle a kitten — and you should be, provided you have not been in contact with other cats from which you might pass on disease — you should not feel any hard or scabby patches of skin under the fur. The fur itself should be free of any powdery deposit, which might suggest a skin condition, and of the black specks that could be the droppings of fleas. The eyes should be bright and follow everything with interest. Neither they nor the nose should have any runny discharge, and the ears should be clean and free from gummy fluid or brown specks that result from ear mites. (more…)

Sometimes, especially in a city, it is not safe to let a cat go out on its own. If this applies to you, then consider teaching your cat to walk on a lead — a discipline that is not very common among cats, but which can be extremely useful. A cat may choose to follow its owner and some will trail along behind any friendly human, but cats are not naturally led, as dogs are, so teaching them to walk on a lead is much more difficult. The best chance of success lies in starting very young and capitalizing on the way kittens follow their mother.

Once used to its collar, the kitten can be introduced to the lead, which should not be presented as another string-like plaything to be pounced upon. You can try distracting the kitten’s attention from it by playing with a piece of string at the same time, but you must give the kitten the opportunity to establish that the lead is something safe. (more…)