Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Jan 1

Unfortunately, Pet Insurance is individual, so you need to find the best one for you and your pet.

Whether you have a dog, cat, parrot, snake, gerbil or horse - you need to know that your pet’s health is covered - whatever happens.

However, there are different types of pet insurance available and so you need to search around for the best one to cover you and your pets - and this isn’t necessarily the most expensive or the cheapest options.

If we use dog insurance as an example; you need to check your insurance covers all the things relevant to your lifestyle and everything relevant to your dogs ongoing needs.

For example, some insurance policies won’t cover your dog if you take it to work with you.  Some insurance policies won’t cover certain dog breeds or certain dog ages. 

And some will only pay out a certain amount of money for each individual illness.  So, if your dog has an eye problem when they are 2 years old and you use up the alloted amount of cover treating it; if the same eye then gets sore again at any time - the insurance company won’t be obliged to pay any more for it.  You will have to pay it all yourself. 

Things like this could be a problem with certain dog breeds which may have hereditary eye problems like entropian, retinal dysplasia or other more general problems like elbow or hip dysplasia.

And obviously it’s not just dogs with these insurance issues - as there are certain things that will be specific to other species - like eventing horses, working ferrets, hunting owls, female anythings used for breeding, show animals, and so much more.

That is why the best thing you can do when insuring your pets is to ask an expert.  Insurance companies offer a variety of levels of cover depending on what you need and what you are willing to pay for it.

However, as they offer different things - it is up to you to make sure you are happy with what you are paying for - and you have checked that it covers ALL that you need AND want.  For example if you want all conditions to be covered for everything, then you need to make sure that you find the exact policy which does that.  You can’t just sign up to what looks ok and than get angry when you aren’t covered.

It’s that same as buying a house - you can’t pay for a one-bedroom flat and then start complaining that they won’t add a second bedroom onto it 2 years later.

There are even different policy clauses for different countries (as they all have slightly different animal control laws), so if you live in Australia; then get pet insurance Australia specific.

The ‘best’ insurance is the one that suits your needs and your budget - there is no ‘one-size fits all’ approach to pet insurance.

So speak to an expert about your policy requirements and they will get you covered for everything you need - or want.  

posted by admin on Jul 21

You may be helping to kill turtles, sharks and even whales - all for a snack!

As you sit at home reading this, there are dying sea turtles taking their last painful look at the world; a young shark could be struggling to breath in a place it has always lived; or a passing whale wondering why it can’t resurface this time for one last breath…..

All so that you can have that fish lunch you have been promising yourself….

Unfortunately, fish hooks don’t just catch fish and fish nets don’t just catch fish either - infact more species of fish, mammal and crustacean die than the very fish we are trying to catch.

You may be currently aware of the problems of by-catch closer to home - but it is just as important across the World as it is at home with WWF estimating that a marine turtle is killed every few minutes across the Oceans; and they are trying to highlight just one - but very important - area that is currently under threat.

The Coral Triangle:

This is a vast area of the Oceans stretching from South-East Asia out into the Pacific Ocean where some 3000 species of fish ply the reefs - along with 5 of the 7 known species of turtles; plus all sorts of other associated species in tropical waters.

The fishermen here are just fishing - as they have done for centuries - to make a living, however the equipment they are using is old-fashioned and is the root of the issue.

With rising numbers of mouths to feed, and rising costs of living - these fishermen are increasing in numbers and so is the amount of by-catch - ie; turtles and dolphins!

However, with a few new items of fishing equipment and a small amount of training - the number of non-fish species caught and killed by these fishermen can be greatly reduced.  For example a newly designed hook that can reduce turtle deaths by an amazing 90%.

And if turtles do get snared, it is normally only a slight wound that results and with the employment of another great invention, these hooks can be removed simply and with as little damage as possible.

How To Help:

Well, these fishermen still need to make a living - and we still want to eat fish - so the best way you can help is to get in touch with WWF to promote and increase the use of these specialist hooks.  A 90% reduction in turtle deaths is well worth just a small donation.

The fishermen don’t want to catch the turtles as they take up a hook that a fish could have been on, but they weren’t able to move on from their old techniques - however, technology can help - and so can you.

And by donating regularly to WWF, you can help them to investigate more ways to save marine life and improve the livelihood or other people across the globe who rely on the oceans for their food and wages.

We already have quite easy lives - so let’s share that good fortune.

posted by admin on Jun 20

Taking your dog for a walk in the countryside is great for your dog - but not for everyone else!

Dogs love the outdoors; the smell of the countryside, the space to run around, and time with you - but you mustn’t forget that it isn’t just about you and your dog.

There are many ways in which you and your dog could ruin the countryside for other users, make some people’s walks less enjoyable, scare wildlife and livestock, reduce the numbers of certain species and spread disease!

The countryside doesn’t sound too nice now does it? 

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  Just by following a few simple guidelines - both you and others can stay safe and have a great day out.

1) Understand the meaning of ‘under close control’:

Unless you can instantly get your dog to return to you or stand still immediately on your command - then your dog isn’t under close control.  This means that if you dog decides to chase sheep, run close to a road, scare ground nesting birds, ruin someone’s picnic or approach a young child - you can’t stop it.

And that is the very essence of ‘under control’.  So this means that whenever you are close to other people, roads, livestock, wildlife, walking through a farm or garden or when told to control your dog by a polite sign - you MUST put your dog on a short lead.

Saying ‘Sorry’ after the event just isn’t good enough in all the above circumstances. 

Never assume that any other countryside visitors want to ’say hello’ your dog either - just because he is cute; never assume that he won’t run off into a farm building, eat someone’s food or that they ‘always comes back eventually’. 

It isn’t fair on other countryside users, landowners or farm animals.

2) Dispose of Dog Waste considerately:

Picking up dog waste isn’t always the best thing to do - especially if you are then going to throw the full bag in a hedge!

Because your dog is under close control - you will always know when it is fouling in the countryside - and you must by law - deal with it appropriately.

If you are in a car park, public green space, farm yard, garden, picnic area or park - you must without a doubt collect the waste somehow and dispose of it in a bin or be prepared to take it home with you.

If you are on a footpath or public space where other walkers will pass by, then you need to move the waste from their path.  Either you can pick up the waste in a bag and take back to your car, or you can flick the waste into a hedge with a stick to degrade naturally.  You can’t pick up the waste and then throw it in a hedge! 

Not only is this technically littering, but the waste will not biodegrade inside the bag and voluntary litter collectors cannot get to the flung bag easily themselves - and pulling the bag will no doubt split it open!  And of course the plastic bag could suffocate wildlife!

If you are in farmland or grazing areas you should always pick up the waste as the bacteria in dog waste can pass on disease and worms to livestock (and other dogs) and of course rain can wash the waste onto the food crops!  Neither of which is desirable!

Even a well trained dog cannot know these things - so you will be held fully responsible for its actions. 

posted by admin on Jun 2

There are many types of roundworms that could infect mammals; but the 2 most common types found in domestic cats are:

Toxicara felis:
Kittens can be infected after birth by their mothers milk. Towards the end of her pregnancy, hormones trigger any dormant larvae in her muscles to pass into the mammary glands. These larvae migrate through the milk glands and straight into the stomachs of the newborn kittens.

Once ingested, these larvae grow inside the kitten and can become adult worms while the kitten is still young - obviously they will use the nutrition from the milk instead of the kitten itself.

The kittens can also ingest futher larvae from infective eggs in the environment (on their bedding, etc) or more commonly, through the bitches milk until they are weaned. 

Kittens with a heavy burden of worms will have their growth stunted, and very likely have distended, swollen bellies and will often vomit and have diarrhoea.  Severe infections of worms have been known to totally block the intestines.

However, kittens should have naturally expelled all their adult worms by 7 months of age. Any eggs or larvae ingested after this time won’t become adult worms in the gut, but will pass through the intestine wall into the body of the kitten (now an adult cat) and settle as their resting state (as cysts) in the muscle tissues.

Any eggs that were ‘passed’ by these kittens or the queen onto the ground or bedding, usually in faeces, have very protective cases and can survive outside for up to 2 years waiting to be eaten or licked up by an animal or human (not washing their hands before eating).

If these eggs are ingested by any animal other than a dog (their specific host) they will not become adult worms in the body - it is host specific to only cats.

However instead, they will travel through the body to the muscle tissue and remain temporarily inactive in a ‘cyst’. This animal (or person) then becomes their temporary host as the worm larvae are hoping that one day, when this ‘animal’ dies, it will be eaten by a cat (or other animal that is then eaten by a cat) and they can complete their lifecycle.

Basically this worms job is to live in the female cats muscle tissue until she becomes pregnant so it can infect her kittens.

Toxicara leonina:
This roundworm will infect both cats and dogs as part of it’s life cycle, but it is not a zoonosis - it has not been known to pass to humans in it’s live state.

There is no infection before birth from the mother to her unborn young, or through the mothers milk - infection is commonly seen in young adolescent animals as they begin to explore their enviroment and ingest eggs or temporary hosts containing inactive larvae (i.e; a cat eating an infected mouse or beetle, or a dog eating undercooked offal and game).

There are normally no outward clinical signs of light or heavy infestation with this worm, as they are well tolerated by both cats and dogs, so you wouldn’t know that your pet even had them!

A good a reason as any to regularly worm your cats!!!

posted by admin on May 26

There are many types of roundworms that could infect mammals; but the 2 most common types found in domestic dogs are listed below:

Toxicara canis:
Puppies can be infected before birth by their mothers (bitches). Towards the end of her pregnancy, hormones trigger any dormant larvae in her muscles to pass into the uterus. These larvae migrate through the flesh of the unborn puppies into their liver and lungs.

Once born and breathing, the puppies will cough these larvae up and normally swallow them stright back into their own intestines where they become adult worms.

The puppies can also ingest futher larvae from infective eggs in the environment (on their bedding, etc) or more commonly, through the bitches milk (dormant roundworms would have migrated to the mammary tissues and were also triggered by the bitches hormones).

Puppies with a heavy burden of worms will have their growth stunted, and very likely have distended, swollen bellies. They may even vomit or have diarrhoea. Severe infections have been known to totally block the intestines.

However, puppies will have naturally expelled all their adult worms by 7 months of age. Any eggs or larvae ingested after this time won’t become adult worms, but will pass through the intestine wall and settle into their resting state (as cysts) in the muscle tissues.

Any eggs that were ‘passed’ by these puppies or the bitch onto the ground with faeces have very protective cases and can survive outside for up to 2 years waiting to be eaten or licked up by an animal or human (not washing their hands before eating).

If these eggs are ingested by any animal other than a dog (their specific host) they will not stay in the gut to become adult worms.

Instead, they will travel through the body to the muscle tissue and remain temporarily inactive in a ‘cyst’. This animal then becomes their temporary host as the worm larvae are hoping that one day, when this ‘animal’ dies, it will be eaten by a dog and they can complete their lifecycle.

Basically this worms job is to live in the female dogs muscle tissue until she becomes pregnant so it can infect her pups.

Toxicara leonina: 
This roundworm will infect both cats and dogs as part of it’s life cycle, but it is not a zoonosis - it has not been known to pass to humans in it’s live state.

There is no infection before birth from the mother to her unborn young, or through the mothers milk - infection is commonly seen in young adolescent animals as they begin to explore their enviroment and ingest eggs or temporary hosts containing inactive larvae (i.e; a cat eating an infected mouse or beetle, or a dog eating undercooked offal and game).

There are normally no outward clinical signs of light or heavy infestation with this worm, as they are well tolerated by both cats and dogs, so you wouldn’t know that your pet even had them!

A good a reason as any to regularly worm your dog!!!

posted by admin on May 18

Here is another dose of healthy tips for horses and ponies - and for your peace of mind too!

No time to waste - let’s get stuck in with a great tip for everyday smooth running: 

1) Keep a bin for baler twine and string near the haynets and bales for storage and use.  You don’t want small pieces of twine getting mixed up with the feed or bedding and you never know when you will need a piece of twine for something!

2) Massage your horse back firmly for a short while after long rides to help it relax and recover from the pressures of you in the saddle!

3) To prevent horses sqabbling in the fiield, always try to put out several piles of hay so that they don’t need to fight for who eats first - and the losers don’t have to wait to eat anything that’s left over!

4) As with humans, if you are intrioducing a new activity to a horse, make sure you prepare them for it and take thing slowly.  Just as we ache after that one-off game of tennis or trampolining - so will an unfit horse if asked to suddenly go out for a 4 hour hack!

5) Equally, get them used to wearing certain equipment too, like over-reach boots, a crupper and even a saddle if it has been a while.  Make sure that there is plenty of movement, and no chaffing at all. 

6) And check that everything still fits!  After a winter out of the saddle - the horse could have gained weight, or if young or old your horse could have even changed shape - so make sure everything still fits perfectly before heading off out for a hack.

7) Wire or electric fencing can be more easily seen by your horse if you attach bits of ribbon to it that flutter in the wind.  This will help to prevent them (and you) from running into it by accident.

8.) Always remove your gloves when picking out your horses feet after activity as it will give you a chance to feel for any heat or small bumps that you wouldn’t notice otherwise.

9) If you find yourself pestered by flies out on a hack, then grab some elder slalks and slide into your brow bad as the smell of crushed stalks is a mild insect repellant!

10) Adding garlic to your feed has multiple benefits - and smells lovely at the same time.  It helps repel insects, keep on top of (but not get rid of) worm infestations and is great for the skin and breathing!

Anyway - get back out there in the summer sun and have some summer fun! 

posted by admin on Apr 27

Would you know what to do if an animal in your care collapsed?  Or a member of staff was seriously injured?

We all hope that these things will never happen to us - but they may well do and it is best to be prepared.  If you run a business that leaves animals in your care and you employ staff, work with volunteers or come into contact with the public - you should really get yourself trained up in case of emergencies.

And it isn’t just for work that you should get qualified either - it is for your own friends, family and pets.  Imagine being able to save a life in exchange for 1 day a year taking a First Aid course.

Animals First:
If you are a dog walker, groomer, sitter, owner or work in an animal shelter - you should really know the basics for animal health and safety.  Yes - the trained or experienced staff aren’t that far away and can come to the rescue - but sometimes it is the first few minutes that are the most important - so need you to act fast.

Sometimes - seeing that something is going to happen in advance is even better!  But you can only do this if you know what you are looking out for.

So, find a local course with a veterinary or animal care college and sign up!  You won’t ever regret going on a course - only not going!  And imagine the way you will feel if an animal dies in your care - then the course fee won’t seem that much in exchange for an animals life.

People Too:
It isn’t just your animal customers that might benefit from your help - while out walking or driving or when visiting a clients home - you could find a human in need of emergency assistance.

If you have taken an Emergency First Aid course you will know how to assess the situation in an instant and make sure that that person gets the best first aid that you can offer - and the basic checks only take about 15 seconds.

Such a short amount of your time could actually have saved their life.

Don’t Be A Stranger:
Why do you have to take this for work anyway - you might not even meet any humans in your day to day working hours?  Well, think of your family and friends.  People you know can have accidents too you know - so take the course for them if anything.

You can never know too much about emergency first aid!

posted by admin on Apr 20

There is only 1 species of mink found in the UK - The American Mink.

As you can probably guess, the American Mink is an introduced species and is wreaking havoc across this ‘newly discovered’ landscape and is now a ‘pest species’ - which can be (humanely) trapped and killed.

But how can one species of mink be so destructive when their are other species of mink across Europe?

American Mink:
As their name suggests - these mink have not evolved to live in a European ecology.  They were brought to the UK for their furs and have since escaped or been ’set free’ into un unsuitable environment and in large numbers.

Mink are semi-aquatic mammals and love to eat anything they can fit in their mouths including our much loved and very endangered water voles!  They are very territorial and will not tolerate other minks coming too close - often fighting to the death…..

They will also take birds and eggs and are not liked amongst farmers, wildlife enthusiasts or conservationists to name a few parties.  Although they are a wonderful sight in themselves when seen wild - they are persecuted wherever they go.

They are black in appearance although can be more brown in cases due to inbreeding when farmed - however their tail is always very bushy and can be almost as long as their body - and they have huge whiskers on their face!

Their bodies are much longer than the average cat, but they have very short legs.  As a result, they move about by ‘hopping’ rather than walking like a cat, with their back slightly raised. They will also be seen in or near water - which is also very unlike a cat.

Not An Otter!
Some people get them confused with otters - which can be disastrous - as otters are very rare in most parts of the UK and shouldn’t be disturbed or trapped - and certainly not killed! In the UK they are also a protected species and even getting too close for a picture can be stepping over the ‘legal’ line! 

The easiest way to tell them apart if you can only see one animal on it’s own is that the otter has tiny ears for it’s head!

Other differences include the following but aren’t always so easy to spot with one individual passing by in a flash (however if you see a long mammal in the water or on the ground in daylight infront of you for a long time - it will most likely be a mink as otters are very shy and mainly nocturnal).

Eurasian Otter: (Lutra lutra)
Brown, mainly water-based mammal - nocturnal and very wary of humans and dogs.
Rounded, wide face with tiny ears compared to the size of it’s head!
Pale, creamy colour band from the ears, down the throat and to the front legs.
Around 1 meter long (medium dog sized) - with thick, heavy-looking tapering tail.

American Mink: (Neovison vison)
Black, land and water-based mammal - active any time of day or night and not shy!
More pointy face with larger ears - more like a polecat.
Generally the same colour all over - but commonly with a bright white chin.
Up to 50cm long (large cat sized) - with a long, full, fluffy-looking light tail.

All Change:
Luckily for UK wildlife, mink occupy the same habitat as otters but otters are so much larger that the mink move away.  Eventually as the otters recover their numbers in the UK, mink numbers will drop to a manageable low - and they will stop eating all our precious wildlife!

However, the European Mink (Mustela lutreola) isn’t so lucky and are listed a endangered!  As the American Mink are bigger than them - they are the ones wiping out whole populations in Europe!  Unless trapping and habitat loss are dealt with on the continent, European Mink could be seeing their last few strongholds lost to the Americans!

Unfortunately - introduced species rarely ever settle in naturally to a new environment and will always be classed as pest if their habits badly affect other species.  So the people who ’saved’ a few farmed mink from becoming coats - could possibly have doomed several other species to extinction! 

So, ’save’ one common and hugely widespread domesticated individual from instant painless death - but allow it to painfully kill at least 2 other already restricted and endangered mammal species as well as numerous threatened birds and their eggs. 

Not such a well thought out ‘animal rescue’ after all!

posted by admin on Apr 1

You must have heard of a doxipoo, a morkie, a zuchon or a pekepoo?

But should we be creating these crossbreeds for fun?  We are messing with years and years of diligent breeding to create specific dogs that look and act a certain way - and have centuries of history - just to make a one-off cute new puppy!

If we go back to the original ‘designer dog’ which was the labradoodle (labrador x poodle) there was a new purpose needed.  A non-moulting large dog that was intelligent enough to work with the blind - a moult-free Guide Dog.

We took an existing guide dog and bred it with with a similarly sized non-moulting dog - the standard poodle.  The result was a labrador-sized hypo-allergenic Guide Dog - well a small proprtion were.  Not every labradoodle retains the non-moulting gene, or the labrador sized gene, or the easy to train gene - so can’t be used at all. 

This is exactly the same for these new designer dogs.

People originally started working breeds along the non-moulting route for all sizes - as there are 4 different sized poodles as well as bichon frises and their clan who don’t moult as much as normal dogs either - and account for a lot of the ‘poo’ and ‘oodle’ breeds, like cockerpoo, yorkapoo, roodles and schnoodles.  But then something happened.

Rather than crossing breeds to gain any sort of benefit - people just thought it was fun to be the first to cross anything at all.  There were pugs with beagles, yorkies with shih-tzus, chihuahuas with daxies and King Charles spaniels with corgis.

It was all done in the name a novelty.

And of course - these designer dogs are just one-offs.  They aren’t true breeds - they are cross-breeds by definition and can’t breed true.  This means that if you breed a cockerpoo with a cockerpoo - you won’t necessarily get a litter of cockerpoos!

True breeding takes years and a formal pattern of breeding with certain individuals - you can’t just keep shoving 2 dogs together just because they look the same!

This happens now with bad breeding - for example, by breeding any old German Shepherds together you do still get a litter of German Shepherds - but they might not make very good pets or have any of the normal German Shepherd traits.  The reason is that most bad breeders only manage to get second-hand dogs or bitches - or the individuals that the breeder didn’t want to keep themselves - hence a bad gene pool!

Now imagine a whole country full of people who have decided that they want a designer dog to carry around with them in an over-the-shoulder bag.  Are these the type of people who can realistically control breeding to make sure that these breeds stay true?  Or will their efforts only further confuse the breeds and end up making mongrels instead?

The Genetics Are Tricky: 
If you cross a yorkshire terrier and a maltese, you get a morkie (apparently) - so lets say that all the puppies are somewhere between 75% yorkie/25% maltese and 25% yorkie/75% maltese.  This is a very wide range of numbers!  But needless to say people won’t think that this is a problem.

However the very nature of cross-breeds is they are just that - a cross between 2 breeds.  So if you then breed them with either a yorkie or a maltese - they are no longer morkies are they?  They might be 87% yorkie and only 13% maltese.  Breed them again with a maltese and you might not notice any yorkie at all - but breed them with another morkie or a yorkie and you will start to see shared traits again.

This could lead to all sorts of problems down the line in terms of true breeds though.  Will it come to a point where you can’t 100% tell which breeds you are breeding?  What if someone took that Yorkie with a hint of maltese and assumed that it was pure yorkie and bred it as such - it would still hold some maltese genes.  The breed is no longer pure.

I thought the reason that people liked a certain breed of dog was because it was just that - a specific breed of dog.  However, with all these designer cross-breeds lurking about - filling up classified and rescue centres - it might not be too long before there aren’t any pure small breeds anymore.

Pedigree papers will become gold dust as dogs that look like bichons, cocker spaniels and poodles - aren’t.  There will be no other way to tell which is which unless you get a DNA test!  But then pedigree dogs aren’t the most expensive or most sought after breeds anymore - people want a cross-breed!

Some people might say that pedigree dogs have been over-breed and have inherent diseases caused by our ‘breed standards’ and that it is good to get a non-pedigree.  But then we go ahead and start breeding dogs in our back yards based purely on what they look like - or what they sound like more often than not!

We are basically creating our own breed standards - but with no rules at all…..

posted by admin on Mar 26

Losing your pet must be one of the most dreaded experiences for a pet owner.

But you don’t have to face it alone - you just need to plan ahead.  Or get someone else to do it all for you!

Now, you may be wondering how can someone else reunite you with your lost pet - but finding your pet can be achieved with just one simple step.

Bearing in mind that there are a number of ways that you can make sure that your pet is reported to you as ’safe’ before you even lose them - you need to understand hoe the whole process works.

For example - nothing can make your pet be found any faster than it could be found in the first place.  You can have a collar, tag, microchip, tattoo, name tag in the coat or a giant flag with your details on it hanging off your dog or cat - but it still won’t be found until it is found!

What you can do though is make sure that the moment it is found - is one minute before you get the call!

Check, Plan and Prepare:
It’s all right having a microchip or a tag on your pets collar - but if your contact details aren’t correct or the best number to contact you on - then there will be an inevitable delay in you finding out your pet is safe and well.

For example, if a vets scan your chip to find you details and you have since moved - they will be ringing a wrong number until they either give up or someone else answers and tells them you have moved.  And if the number you have given on your dogs collar is your home number - you won’t hear them call you as you will be out and about local parks looking for your dog - and so will miss the call.  Lost cats are found during the day too - so make sure your work number is on there instead of your home number if you are a 9-5 commuter!

Silly little things could make all the difference in the rush to find your pet again.

Ask Others:
Asking all your neighbours is a great way to find a lost cat - but you will ultimately be calling up all your local vets, pet stores and rescue centres to ask around.

But - if your pet is chipped, then as soon as it is found by any of these or are taken to a vet at any time, they will call you.

However, if you want to call all these people up you are wasting a lot of time and effort for them as well as you!  They have to listen to all your details and write them all down in a folder - and sometimes these are volunteers doing this - so why not find a company that will contact them all for you in 1 go.

People like PetAmberAlert will fax or text your pets details to everyone on their books in your area in an instant - solving all your worries in one call!  Especially if you have lost your pet while travelling or on holiday - as you won’t know all the local vets and centres to call?

Or, just make sure you never lose you pet in the first place!