Not too long left for WCC's draft dog policy

Submissions for the new Draft Dog Policy for residents of Wellington City Council's suburbs close on the 7th August (next Friday).

For those residents who want to have a say regarding this proposed new policy, please see the Council's website here.

In summary, the Council proposes the following changes:

• five new off-leash dog exercise areas
• improved access for dogs and their owners to the waterfront through the central business district
• a proposal for a destination dog park
• new provisions for Responsible Dog Owner status
• criteria to determine the need to neuter menacing dogs
• new policy objectives that recognise the positive community health benefits of owning a dog.

There are also some important changes being proposed to the current dog parks available to WCC residents, so it is worth checking out their dog exercise area maps here.

It is important to note that there is no mention in the Dog Policy Proposal document of making dog exercise areas safer or more accessible to dog owners and walkers by installing lighting or watering stations, increasing the number of rubbish bins or improving access to the areas. These are the key things I think are of most importance to dog owners in Wellington City.

To make a submission to Council (and oral submissions are encouraged as they "will carry weight with councillors" according to Councillor Iona Pannett), see the details on the Council's website.

Councillor Pannett also welcomes discussions with interested residents - her contact details are listed below.

Iona Pannett
Associate Social Portfolio leader and Wellington City Councillor (Lambton Ward)
Address: 27 Caroline Street, Mt Victoria, Wellington 6011
Telephone: 384-3382 (work)/021-227-8509 (mobile)
E-mail: iona.pannett@wcc.govt.nz

What do you want to see done with Wellington City Council's dog exercise areas?

An update from The Pet Hub

Wow time certainly goes quickly when you have a big event coming up. For those of you in the Pet Club, you will have received our email newsletter a few days ago letting you know that we are going to have a stand at the upcoming Pet Expo being held at the Addington Raceway (1st & 2nd of August). We have been super-busy preparing for Pet Expo and we're keenly looking forward to it. Drop by our stand (we will be on the ground floor in the dog area near the stage) if you come along - don't be afraid to say hi! We will have some great items to give away, exciting demonstrations that we hope you will be able to check out, and many other fantastic reasons for visiting. We very much hope to see you there.

It's also a good time of year to remind you to book your pets Christmas holiday accommodation. I know, July? But trust me, all the best accommodation providers will be near capacity already so get in now to avoid disappointment and pre-Christmas stress for you and your pets.

During July, we hope to also bring you new information about caring for your pet turtle, and how you can keep these cool pets happy and healthy.

We are also in negotiations to have an ongoing presence on another prominent web site which is very exciting. We'll update you as soon as we know whether this is confirmed.

Please bear with us over the next few weeks in the lead-up to Pet Expo. We will continue to work on the site as well during this time. And don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or queries whatsoever.

Purrs and woofs!
Rochelle and Francesca

Be aware of misinformation - it could harm your pet

Today I discovered a new pet blog available on a prominent website. It only began in recent days and the introductory post discusses the site's intentions to have experts as well as pet owners blogging on pet topics and issues.

While the posts themselves (the small amount that have been posted to date) have been fairly generic about a topic that affects most pet owners, my concern is in the comments that have been numerous and, quite frankly, incorrect in most cases. So this blog is just a short warning to you to be very careful where you get pet health information from.

It is my hope that the site owners do find genuine experts to blog - as yet, I don't know how they are picking their sources however I'm sure they have a system for doing it. So if you do come across information on a website posted by "some random person" whose credentials you cannot identify or who have no credentials at all, be very careful if you decide to take this information on board. Do your research - visit veterinary health-based, factual websites, or contact your veterinary clinic if you want to clarify any information you have seen or heard of. The last thing any veterinary health professional wants is for your pets to become unwell because of unsolicited advice.

Have you heard any advice that you weren't so sure about? Tell us about it in the comments. Don't forget that we also have our Ask a Vet column - if you have any questions you would like clarification on, just ask!

Free Kibble!

As part of my daily routine I read up on all the animal related news items from around the world, and the occasional blog now and then. I also religiously go to one of the cutest and easiest sites on the internet where all animal lovers can make a difference with one single click of their mouse. This site is http://www.freekibble.com/


I love the trivia - it's normally pretty easy but if you can't bear to be wrong, just open up a new tab, go to Google and type in the question. The answer should pop back pretty quickly.


Free Kibble is the brainchild of a young American girl who (with help from her parents) created the website to help feed animals in US shelters. Her idea has really taken off and they regularly receive daily visitors to the site. Going by the kibble tally at the bottom of the question section and dividing the number by 10 (which is how many pieces of kibble are donated each time an answer is guessed - whether correctly or incorrectly), it appears as though freekibble and freekibblekat users have played 12,113,880 times. That's 12 MILLION, 113 thousand, 880 times (as at 9 June 09)!


Recently added to the site is a tally of which countries Free Kibble is being played in. I found it very interesting that New Zealand is ranked in 15th place out of a total of 135 countries. That puts us in the top 12% of countries playing. That's pretty awesome for a country with such a tiny population! What this tells us is that New Zealanders are big animal lovers and we're generous enough to want to help another country give food to their animal shelters, which is very noble.

Good on Mimi Ausland for her inspiration to create the site and good on you, New Zealand, for helping to support unwanted animals in another country.

A sad day for animal carers

Yesterday, Mr Dalu Mncube was fatally attacked by one of the big cats he worked with at Zion Wildlife Gardens, just out of Whangarei in Northland.

It is alleged that Abu, a Royal White Tiger, was the animal who killed Dalu. Abu was put to sleep following the incident.

It is a sad day for all concerned, and our hearts go out to Dalu's family - his partner Sharon Arnott and their one year old daughter Starskea, as well as the rest of his family back in South Africa. He was only 26 years old.

Dalu set an excellent example of the commitment and professionalism that comes as part of the job when you work with animals - no matter what type of animals they are. Dalu had a special gift with the cats he worked with, and his enthusiasm and passion were obvious to all who met him during the course of his work or watched him on the television series, 'The Lion Man'.

It is a reality that when you choose to work with animals, you prepare yourself to take the risks that this kind of work entails. I admire and commend those keepers who work with large and potentially dangerous animals on a daily basis - they really know what they are doing and have years of training and experience to back themselves up. They are a credit to the species that they care for.

Dalu was no exception to this - in fact, if anything, he was the ultimate rule.

Dalu, you have helped show millions of people just how precious these endangered cats are. You have given us a rare insight into the caring and handling of these cats, and your respect and awareness of them is truly inspirational. You will be sorely missed by those close to you as well as those of us who watched you from afar. Your memory will live on in all the cats at the park as well as in the work that keepers do with big cats every day.

Thank you, Dalu.

The Irresistible Puppy

Have you ever walked past a pet shop and been drawn in by the cute puppy in the window or perhaps surfing the net and stumbled (deliberately or otherwise) upon the pets for sale section? If you have you are not alone. Residing in Christchurch I frequently listen to More FM in the morning and the antics of Simon Barnett and his sidekick Gary McCormick. This will be a familiar story for those who listen in, but for the non locals - some years ago Simon recounted a story of how he walked into Animates in Christchurch one day to look at the puppies with his kids and walked out with not 1 but 2 puppies. A case of the kids convincing him to get one and then not being able to leave the litter mate alone in the cage. Its a common scenario!

Recently Oprah Winfrey in the US has exposed puppy farms (or puppy mills), where bitches are bred over and over again to get maximum numbers of puppies making it a profitable business. Unfortunately these puppies are not necessary well socialised or given the basics in health care. The same goes for their parents. In addition to this an article appeared in last week's Sunday Star Times magazine 'Sunday' talking about puppy purchasing. It is that article, which a colleague showed me, that has inspired me to write this post. I have also recently written an article on responsible dog breeding on The Pet Hub which was inspired by me seeing a client while working as a veterinarian one morning who, when I was explaining at the clients puppies vaccination about desexing, said "oh, I'm not going to spey her, I plan to breed from her". The puppy had been purchased from a pet shop and no history of the parents/genetics was known for a start.

As well as it being important for breeders to breed responsibly, it is also important that as purchasers, you purchase wisely too. If you make poor purchasing decisions on your new puppy, this encourages the poor breeder (and if it is from pet shop with poor policies on puppy selection) to continue the poor practices and in addition you may find yourself with a time bomb on your hand medically and or behaviourally. This translates to a monetary and social cost for you.

Please don't purchase puppies on Trade Me or other sites, without first viewing the puppy and finding out about its credentials, in terms of the parentage. If you purchase dogs prone to hip dysplasia like Labradors make sure the parents of your new puppy have been hip scored. If they haven't, search elsewhere for your puppy. Your veterinarian can advise on what specific things you should look out for on the breed you are choosing.

If you are purchasing from a pet shop, quiz them on there puppy purchasing policy and ask them what they know about the parents of the puppy you are purchasing and what the breeding facility is like. They have a responsibility to have done this research before taking on the puppy.

Purchasing from a place like the SPCA, Dogwatch or GAP (Greyhounds as pets) for example can provide a useful alternative place to purchase pets and they offer some good options. However, choose carefully. Make sure the dog will suit your situation. GAP run a very comprehensive assessment and retraining programme for example and offer great pets for people that have a suitable situation for a greyhound. What is avaialble at the likes of the SPCA vary from day to day and week to week and it may take a while to find a pet that will suit you.

Articles on The Pet Hub which provide useful information for the prospective puppy purchaser are:
Which type of pet is best for me? and
Which dog breed is best for me?

Please avoid purchasing on a whim. The ramifications can be quite serious. Ensure you check out the source of your new puppy properly. Do not rush into your puppy purchase, but take time, do the research on firstly whether getting a dog is right for you, then on the best breed for you and then on the best breeder to purchase from.

Dr. Francesca Matthews
Veterinarian and Director of The Pet Hub

New experiences

I went to a dog club Championship Obedience Show yesterday. It was very interesting. I've never been to a dog show of any sort to be honest, so this was all new to me. Unfortunately I didn't arrive in time to see anything terribly exciting in terms of obedience, although I was lucky enough to catch the 'Paws n Music' display.

This showcased three levels of skill in both handler and dog, from beginner to advanced beginner and then a low-ish level of more highly advanced (yes, I realise now that I should have noted what the levels are officially called). Regardless, it was simply a delight to see the dogs and handlers having such a good time. What I did find out was that the two beginner levels are based on a discipline called 'Heelwork to Music', which is heeling and obedience commands set, as the name suggests, to music. The dogs were still relatively new to the sport, and it showed, but despite the trivial mistakes it was still entertaining to watch. You really have to commend both the handler and the dog for giving it a go, they performed exceptionally well under pressure (and who wouldn't melt at the sight of the matching costumes!).

The advanced handlers and dogs were just brilliant. It amazed me to see how well a dog is able to respond to simple verbal commands, hand gestures and body language and positioning. They really do read us like a book.
As this was an obedience show, all sorts of dogs were there - both purebreds and mutts. They were entered into the Paws n Music competition, and each dog performed to the best of their ability. There was definitely no difference between the application of skills of an oversized Yorkshire Terrier cross to a large German Shepherd. I must admit that this German Shepherd impressed me very much. He was very highly trained in this discipline, and showed nothing but complete dedication to taking his cues from his owner.

I think the best thing about watching heelwork to music is that it really looks enjoyable. I'm sure that it is even more fun being the handler/trainer though. Seeing your dog understand and respond to your commands after days, weeks or even months of training would definitely make it all worth it. The dogs must love it too - it gives them something to think about, and a bit of a workout at the same time. Below are two YouTube videos of two extremely well trained dogs performing a routine with their handlers. Both videos are less than 5 minutes long, and well worth watching!

Gladiator - Canine Freestyle	You're The One That I Want - Canine Freestyle