Having pets is probably one of the best ways to add happiness into your home. Pets can shower you and your family with love, loyalty and affection just like a family member.

Dogs and cats are perhaps two of the most loved pets in most homes all over the world. Dogs are more preferred because they are very affectionate of their masters and thus considered man’s best friend. On the other hand, cats are also adored because of their natural charm and sweetness towards their “parents”. However, given the fact that these adorable animals can be great pets, it is a very sad truth that some of these precious beings suffer cruelty even from their own masters.

We don’t need to see an injured or malnourished animal just to get a clue that they are being abused. This series of blog articles shall help us recognise animal cruelty when we see them and educate us on what to do if we see or suspect that an animal is being abused.

What is animal cruelty?

Animal cruelty is defined as the act committed by a human being towards an animal that results to suffering or sometimes death of the animal being inflicted upon. In detail, it can also be defined as the hitting, shouting at, or injuring an animal in a particular way. Sadly, animal cruelty is an alarming problem that still occurs today and is evident in many forms.

Understanding and Knowing its Negative Effects on Animals

Animal cruelty can result to a lot of negative effects on animals for a long period of time. For instance, if you impose physical or even verbal abuse on a dog, which are forms of animal cruelty, it is most likely that either of these will cause him severe psychological effect. In many cases, physical abuse or cruelty can cause the dog to be handicapped for life or live with severe health problems. Psychological effects are usually presented in the form of fear, aloofness or even aggressive behaviour in animals. An abused animal can exhibit fear by hiding under tables, beds and closets while aloofness happens when they reject any physical contact from humans. On the other hand, aggression can occur when they attack even innocent people. For dogs, you can see aggression if they growl at people without any apparent reason.

To be continued…

*Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org

Given the fact that desexed pets are healthier and happier and that Australia has a pet overpopulation problem, what are some of the reasons people might give for not wanting to have their pet desexed?

“I want to show my children the miracle of birth”. You can teach your children about birth without producing a litter of puppies or
kittens which will face an uncertain and possibly tragic future. Buy your children a book or a DVD on the subject or get one from a library. Also, it’ll be a lot easier on them then experiencing the trauma of seeing the puppies and kittens being taken away. It is more important to teach your children about responsible pet ownership.

“Nature intended animals to have babies”. Possibly, but nature also intended for most of them to die early from disease,
starvation or becoming a meal for another animal before they reproduce. As pets, there are already more of them than there are homes to take them in.

“I can’t afford to have him or her desexed”. This is false economy. It costs far more to feed a pregnant bitch or cat plus her litter
twice a year. Also, if there are any complications during the birth, you could be facing huge vet bills, and your bitch or cat could die. In NSW, dogs and cats must be registered with your local council by the time they are 6 months old. The cost of registering an entire (not desexed) animal in NSW is approximately $120, whilst a desexed animal is $40. Ask your local council to refer you to rescue groups and charities which could help with the cost of desexing or do a web search to find the groups.

“The operation will hurt my pet”. The surgery is routine and simple. Your vet has probably done hundreds of them. For female pets, the vet will remove the ovaries and uterus, and in males the testicles are removed. Your pet will usually be able to go home at the end of the day and not stay overnight. Sometimes pain relief tablets are given. I many cases your dog or cat will be back to normal the next day or at most, the day after.

“Our pet is too young to be desexed”. Females can be desexed from around 4 months old. Don’t wait until your female is older than 6 months or you risk her getting pregnant. Males can be done as soon as their testicles descend at anywhere from 3 months old. Follow your vet’s advice. Don’t put it off. Your pet will be happier and healthier.

“The pound will find them a home”. This is the saddest myth of all. The fact is that they will not! Pounds have limited space and resources and far more dogs and cats coming in than people coming to adopt them. The majority of pets entering pounds get put down! Read more about the realities of dogs and cats in pounds at http://www.deathrowpets.net/

Read more about the desexing at http://tinyurl.com/desexyourpet

Guest Author: After a long career in IT, Terri now divides her time between bookkeeping for the family business and volunteer work with Dog Rescue Newcastle.

Petitude, in partnership with Dog Rescue Newcastle, will publish pet care guide and pet adoption articles until end of 2010. To learn more about Petitude’s new advocacy campaign and what you can do to help our less fortunate furry pals while doing your online shopping, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Christmas is such a very busy season and one of the most important things that we pet owners often forget is ensuring that our beloved pets are always safe. For example, we all get busy and excited decorating our Christmas tree, but only some of us take the extra steps and measures to ensure that it will be pet safe. Unfortunately, of all the Christmas symbols, the Christmas tree can pose the most danger to a curious pet. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to build a pet safe Christmas tree.

Here are a few tips:

• Consider using an artificial tree so your pet cannot choke on any fallen pine needles.
• Anchor the tree to the wall and ceiling with screws and nylon fishing wire.
• Get a table-top tree that can be elevated out of reach.  Even then, use caution with fabric skirting, as your pet can always pull on that and take everything else with it.
• Put a small gate around the tree. (Although it may not be effective for all pets, especially the bigger ones.)
• Use plastic or cloth decorations instead of breakable ones.
• Do not use tinsel and ribbons because they are both hazardous to our furry pals.
• Keep any electrical cords out of reach. You can also try taping the cords down with heavy duty duct tape.

The holiday season should be a great time to bond with our family, friends and pets, so it is always important to avoid accidents that can spoil the most-awaited occasion of the year. By ensuring that you have a pet safe Christmas tree, you can expect the merriest Christmas ever with your precious four-legged pal.

Photo courtesy of: wikipedia.org

This can be an emotional subject but it boils down to two undeniable facts: (1) it is better for your pet and (2) it is better for our community. It is better for your pet because a desexed dog or cat is happier and healthier; and it is better for our community because you will not be adding to the tragedy of hundreds of thousands of homeless pets being put down in Australian pounds every year.

A puppy or kitten needs to be desexed (spayed or neutered) no later than 6 months old to prevent having a litter. The simple, routine surgery can be done as young as 3 months and up to any age. It’s never too late.

Happy and Healthier Pets

Male and female dogs and cats which have been desexed are usually more relaxed and settled than those that are not because they are not troubled by hormonal urges which compel them to go out and find a mate. Male desexed pets are often less aggressive, less likely to mark their territory with urine, less likely to perform “humping” behaviours, and less likely to roam and to try escape their yards.

When your female dog or cat is desexed you won’t have to deal with the mess of her period or the worry of having strange males trying to get at her. Female cats won’t yowl out for a mate.

Undesexed male and female cats and dogs get more cancers then desexed cats and dogs. Females can also develop the life threatening disease pyometra, which affects the uterus. Undesexed females also run the risk of complications and death from
pregnancy and giving birth.

Better for Our Community

Every year, 250,000 homeless dogs and cats are euthanised in Australian pounds, according to www.deathrowpets.net. Even if you think you can find homes for your pet’s litter (a litter of 12 is not uncommon), there is no guarantee they won’t wind up dumped in a few months or years. Also, many of your pet’s offspring will breed, and their offspring will breed, and the pet overpopulation problem will continue to get worse and worse.

Read more about the pet desexing at http://tinyurl.com/desexyourpet The next article in this series will address some myths about pet desexing.

Guest Author: After a long career in IT, Terri now divides her time between bookkeeping for the family business and volunteer work with Dog Rescue Newcastle.

Petitude, in partnership with Dog Rescue Newcastle, will publish pet care guide and pet adoption articles until end of 2010. To learn more about Petitude’s new advocacy campaign and what you can do to help our less fortunate furry pals while doing your online shopping, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Dear Petitude Customers and Friends,

August is Pet Dental Health Month and as part of Petitude’s advocacy on pet health and responsible pet ownership, we would like to encourage everyone to schedule a dental checkup for your pet to ensure the best dental health possible.

Dental disease is probably one of the most common health problems diagnosed amongst our domestic pets today. This can result in tooth decay, infected and bleeding gums and in more serious cases, can cause problems involving the heart and kidneys.

In general, dental disease can be prevented with regular dental checkups and proper diet. These should be part of your pet’s dental health plan. Appropriate feeding and early detection can prevent or delay the development of any dental disease.

Good news is, we received an invitation from RSPCA Victoria, a non-government community based animal welfare charity, inviting Petitude customers, subscribers and web visitors to take advantage of their FREE pet dental checks throughout this month of August. RSPCA Veterinary Clinics at Burwood East and Peninsula are giving free nurse dental checks. This is a great opportunity to make sure that your pet’s dental health is A-OK!

For more information or to schedule your pet’s dental checkup, please call:
RSPCA Burwood East Vet Clinic:  (03) 9224 2222
RSPCA Peninsula Vet Clinic:  (03) 5978 6722

Please spread the good news and share the link!

Cheers,
The Petitude Team

It can be very difficult and scary for you if your dog pulls towards other dogs and barks at them while you are out on a walk. The other dog may be walking towards you or may be behind a fence. You may think your dog is going to attack the other dog and you may pull back hard on his lead. Unfortunately, this will inevitably make the problem worse.

Instead of reprimanding your dog and yanking on his lead, you should aim to teach him to do a substitute behaviour (focusing on you) when triggered by the presence of another dog. As soon as he does the desired behaviour (focus on you) you should reward him heavily. He will eventually learn to associate the presence of another dog with the happy event of getting a treat and will turn to you for his treat instead of barking at the other dog.

To train this new behaviour, take a bum bag full of smelly, high value dog treats (i.e. his favourite food, such as sausage or cheese) with you on your walks. If your dog is more motivated by toys than food then take his favourite toy instead. Your walks should be the only time when he gets his favourite treat or toy, at least until his behaviour improves.

When you see another dog approaching, or you are approaching the yard of a dog which normally triggers your dog, you need to immediately distract your dog with the treats or toy while the other dog is passing by. You must start doing this before your dog notices the other dog. Try to keep his focus on you and not the other dog as much as possible. If your dog goes mental then stop treating and try to get him away from the situation as quickly as possible. Stand between you and the other dog so he doesn’t see him. Slowly, after a lot of practice, he should start looking to you for treats when he sees another dog instead of getting overly excited. It will take a while but it really does works…eventually. You just have to be patient and keep working at it consistently. Remember to start distracting and rewarding your dog before he gets sees the other dog and keep rewarding him as long as he is focused on you.

Guest Author: After a long career in IT, Terri now divides her time between bookkeeping for the family business and volunteer work with Dog Rescue Newcastle.

Petitude, in partnership with Dog Rescue Newcastle, will publish pet care guide and pet adoption articles until end of 2010. To learn more about Petitude’s new advocacy campaign and what you can do to help our less fortunate furry pals while doing your online shopping, please subscribe to our newsletter.

The First 3 weeks

Allowed Foods

• Fish (This is the only animal derived protein allowed. Fresh, frozen or tinned) –or — another meat such as kangaroo)
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Starches: pasta, rice, potato, beans
• Small amounts of fish based dry dog food

Not Allowed Foods

• All protein from animal sources:
• Meats (chicken, beef, lamb, pork)
• Dairy products (cheese, milk, yoghurt)
• Eggs
• Meat based dog treats (i.e.: liver treats, pig’s ears)
• Table scraps
• Tinned dog food and other commercially prepared dog food such as dog roll
• Dry dog food biscuits other than fish based (as above)
• Nuts

Hints

Go to the grocery store and stock up on the following:

• Tinned fish such as tuna, mackerel, salmon, and sardines. All in oil or water, not brine which is salt water. Buy the supermarket brands to save money.
• 6 fresh fish fillets such as orange roughie or hake. No shellfish or prawns.
• 3 potatoes
• Bread crumbs
• Bag of small pasta such as elbow macaroni or soup mix (little alphabet letters)
• Bag of frozen mixed vegetables (carrot, peas, etc but no onion) or fresh veg
• Apples, bananas or other fruit your dog likes (no grapes or stone fruit)

Make a batch of Homemade Fish Cakes (containing only fish and mashed potato) and a boil a batch of Pasta and Vegetables to store in your freezer and fridge for quick meals for your dog. A typical meal might consist of fish cakes or tinned fish, plus pasta or rice, plus vegetables, and maybe chopped fruit.

Guest Author: After a long career in IT, Terri now divides her time between bookkeeping for the family business and volunteer work with Dog Rescue Newcastle.

It is estimated that approximately one in 10 dogs suffers from skin problems. Scratching, rubbing, chewing, biting, and licking of the skin and fur will make your dog’s life a misery. It is a sign that there is an underlying problem that needs treatment. There are medications which your vet can prescribe which will suppress the itching but these have side affects and shouldn’t be used long
term. The best solution is to discover the cause of the problem and eliminate it.

As noted in a previous blog article “Three Different Sources of Allergies in Dogs” persistently itchy skin in dogs can be caused by fleas, inhaled substances, and sensitivity to a particular food. In this article we’ll look at food sensitivity in more detail and suggest a diet which can determine which food is the problem.

Dog’s Allergy Elimination Diet

In order to find out which food is the problem you need to eliminate common problem foods your dog has been eating and replace them with an uncommon food for three weeks to see if the dog itches less. If the dog shows improvement after the 3 weeks,
then you can start adding back other foods, one at a time. If any food you add back causes your dog to start itching again then you know this is the problem food which you need to eliminate permanently from your dog’s diet.

If there is no improvement after 3 weeks, the allergen may be a grain such as rice or wheat (pasta, bread, most dry dog food). Continue with the Allergy Elimination Diet but eliminate grains for 3 weeks. If there is still no improvement, then food allergy
may not be a major problem. Talk to your vet about this diet and about Atopica medication and other treatment options.

The basic facts are:

• The foods most likely to cause an allergic reaction are animal derived proteins (meat).
• The proteins most likely to cause an allergic reaction are beef, lamb, pork and chicken. Do not feed these during the 3 week elimination period.
• Feed only one animal protein source for 3 weeks.
• Choose a protein which your dog has very rarely or never eaten before, such as: fish, rabbit, kangaroo, or goat.
• Fish is easiest because you can vary the fish given (i.e.: tuna, salmon, roughie, etc) and you can use fresh, tinned or frozen.
• Other non animal protein sources such as beans are allowed.
• Fruits and vegetables are allowed.
• Starches are allowed but not too much as these are the second most likely allergen.

Guest Author: After a long career in IT, Terri now divides her time between bookkeeping for the family business and volunteer work with Dog Rescue Newcastle.

At Dog Rescue Newcastle, we sometimes rescue pets from pounds who were surrendered because their owner died. This is tragic because there is no doubt that the deceased person would be horrified if they knew that their beloved pet had wound up in a pound and was facing euthanasia.

We are also approached by people going into nursing homes who can no longer care for their pets. We help if we can but if we don’t have a foster carer available then there is nothing we can do.

We were once asked to rescue two little Maltese dogs that had spent more than 6 weeks locked in a filthy garage after their elderly owner went into hospital. She had made arrangements for the dogs to be fed in the expectation that she would shortly be returning home, but she did not realise that she could never return home.

These sad stories teach us the importance of making proper arrangements for the care of your pets now, before an emergency arises. Don’t rely on others to do the right thing if you have not spoken to them and gained their agreement.

You should include your wishes for the care of your pets in your will but you mustn’t rely on this. It could be weeks before your will is found and read and by that time it could be too late for your pets. Steps you can take now:

1. Talk to your relatives and trusted friends and try to get someone to agree to take charge of your pets if you are unable. Give them the contact details of a trusted neighbour for them to contact if they are unable to reach you. Give them a list of other friends and relatives to contact. If you are taken away in an ambulance, your neighbours will know before your friends and relatives. Ask them to pick up your pets from your home as soon as possible. If they are unable to adopt your pets themselves, give them clear instructions about rehoming them. Ask them never to surrender your pets to the local pound or RSPCA. Consider leaving them some money in your will to use either to care for your pets indefinitely or for helping to find them a new home. Tell them you have done this.
2. If you don’t have a friend or neighbour who will do this for you, contact local rescue organisations, kennels and catteries for help. If you are able to provide funds for the support or rehoming of your pets they may be able to help.
3. Talk to your neighbours about what you want to be done with your pets if you should be taken away in an ambulance. Give them the contact details of your friend or relative who has agreed to be responsible your pets.
4. Write a big note and place it in a prominent position(s) in your home giving instructions to police or ambulance personnel about who to contact to look after your pets. List your pets and where they can be found around your home. Ie: dog or birds in the yard, cat outside, lizard in a spare bedroom, small dog elsewhere in the home.

Petitude, in partnership with Dog Rescue Newcastle, will publish pet care guide and pet adoption articles until end of May 2010. To learn more about Petitude’s new advocacy campaign and what you can do to help our less fortunate furry pals while doing your online shopping, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Guest Author: After a long career in IT, Terri now divides her time between bookkeeping for the family business and volunteer work with Dog Rescue Newcastle.

It is not normal for a dog to have bad breath. If your dog has bad breath it could be caused by teeth or gum problems. Dental problems should never be ignored. They are very painful and can cause your dog to be unable eat properly, to feel stressed, unhappy and can even cause heart damage. If your dog has bad breath or seems to be in pain when eating or won’t eat hard food then do the following:

1) Check for food stuck between your dog’s teeth and remove it if you can.

2) Check also for broken teeth, tartar build up, and red, swollen, or bleeding gums. If you see these problems please take your dog to the vet. Don’t let her suffer. The vet can find the cause of the problem and devise a treatment plan. He or she may recommend anaesthetising your dog to clean her teeth. Most dogs need to have their teeth professionally cleaned by a vet occasionally as they get older. Ring a few vets to check their prices.

Here are a few ways to help minimise canine dental problems:

1) Regularly feed your dog raw, meaty bones and dry biscuit type dog food.

2) Try giving Rover a daily dog chew made especially to clean teeth. Follow the instructions on the packet. Dried pig’s ears will also work.

3) Don’t give your dog sweets. Those donuts and Monte Carlos are just as bad for Fido as they are for you.

4) Any time your dog needs general anaesthesia, such as for xrays, desexing, or other surgical procedure, ask your vet to check your dog’s teeth and clean them if needed.

5) The best preventative is to brush Missy’s teeth using special dog toothpaste and toothbrush available from vets. The vet nurse can advise how to slowly introduce these things to her daily routine. The younger you start this with your dog the easier it will be.

Dental problems are very common. It is estimated that at least 3 out of 4 dogs over 3 years old have dental disease. If you take steps to prevent the problem and act if it happens, then your dog wont’ have to suffer from dental pain, and you won’t have to suffer from her doggy breath.

This information is meant as a guide only. It is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice and care.

Petitude, in partnership with Dog Rescue Newcastle, will publish pet care guide and pet adoption articles until end of May 2010. To learn more about Petitude’s new advocacy campaign and what you can do to help our less fortunate furry pals while doing your online shopping, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Guest Author: After a long career in IT, Terri now divides her time between bookkeeping for the family business and volunteer work with Dog Rescue Newcastle.