Welcome to Petplan’s blog, a space where you can read up on the latest pet-news, find out interesting facts and tips about keeping your pets happy and healthy, and share your views on hot topics.
Welcome to Petplan’s blog, a space where you can read up on the latest pet-news, find out interesting facts and tips about keeping your pets happy and healthy, and share your views on hot topics.
Q: We have a new rescue Jack Russell Terrier who won’t stop peeing in other people’s houses. He is a lovely dog – but will wee at least once everywhere we go! It’s really embarrassing. Please help!
A: Your dog is marking territory with his scent, a problem in male dogs who may not have had the best upbringing or been well house-trained. Patience and training will go some way towards helping with this problem, but I would strongly suggest having him castrated if he is not already.
This will help reduce the level of the male hormone testosterone, which plays a role in encouraging your new dog to cock his leg on new surroundings.
Q: My dog is disgusting – it eats the cat poo from the litter tray. How can I stop this?
A: This is known as coprophagia – the eating of faeces. A dog may eat its own, other dogs’ or other animals’ poo.
Cats eat a high-protein meat diet, so theirs is particularly attractive to dogs. Coprophagia can occur as a result of digestive problems.
You should clean your cat litter tray as soon as it is soiled, or place it where the dog cannot reach. Remember that dogs are scavengers and will eat all sorts of items that we find disgusting, so be careful about hygiene – particularly if you let your dog lick your face!
Q: Our Great Dane weighed 75kg when we adopted her a year ago. She has three 20-60-minute walks a day but can't manage more since a leg operation. She won't eat diet food so I give half the amount recommended on the packet, some tripe, two treats a day and some fruit. How can she lose weight?
Dalmatians are not the best choice for first-time dog owners and are best suited to active people with a keen interest in training and behaviour. While they enjoy children's playfulness, as with any breed, they shouldn't be left alone with little ones as their unbridled exuberance may end in tears. Dalmatians are very active indoors; they will love a house with a large garden to run around in, but shouldn't be kept outside in the colder months. They'll appreciate a doggy buddy for when you leave the house, and should also get on with other pets they've grown up with.
Q; My 18-month-old Border Terrier eats grass, which he brings back up. He seems fine afterwards. Why does he do this? A: This is fairly normal behaviour in many dogs, and it's thought that they do it to get nutrients lacking in their daily diet or
Q: Our cat is anally incontinent. He is otherwise healthy and happy, and our vet has no idea of the cause. It's a real hygiene problem, especially as we have a baby in the house. What can we do? A: This is a difficult condition at the best of times but, with a baby in the house, a big problem. If your cat’s anal sphincter has lost tone suddenly, then it is probably the result of damage
Q: My cat has started urinating on my carpets. I use Feliway (a synthetic feline facial pheromone) to discourage scratching, but it doesn't stop her urinating. What can I do?
A: You say that your cat is urinating, but you need to rule out whether it might be spraying. Spraying is a marking behaviour which often occurs when a cat feels insecure and needs to surround itself with its own scent. Feliway would probably have helped if this was a marking behaviour as it reduced the cat scratching (which is another type of marking). This, along with the fact that you say your cat is soiling on the carpet, suggests it is probably urination. Talk to your vet and have a urine sample checked as your cat may be suffering from a urinary tract infection, which can result in a breakdown of toilet training.
Everyone knows that cats and dogs fight like - well, cats and dogs. But, by following our simple expert advice, you can make sure that they live in harmony together. From the PetPeople magazine archiveOn thousands of sofas across the country you'll find a dog and a cat, sometimes even nuzzled up together. Domesticated animals have adapted over many generations and are able to thrive in circumstances their wild cousins wouldn't recognise. So multi-pet households can be harmonious. However, it will take time and patience, and the first meeting is the key.
Q: Oscar, our German Shepherd, met lots of people as a puppy, but has started to bark at people wearing coats and hats. Why? A: This is not an uncommon behaviour, particularly with German Shepherds. It sounds as though you obtained Oscar as a puppy in the spring. Although you spent time socialising him
Q: My three-year-old dwarf lop house rabbit was perfectly house trained and used his litter trays with no any 'accidents' until he went into a rabbit boarding hotel for a weekend 18 months ago. After that, he continued to use his tray but occasionally urinated just outside it, too. Recently, he has
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