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
Showing posts with label keeping pets safe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keeping pets safe. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
A storm's a'brewing ...
This morning I was woken suddenly by what seemed to be the loudest, most soul-shuddering thunderclap I think I've ever heard. I stayed still in bed, relatively calm, and after what seemed like a few minutes, drifted back off to sleep. Then again, suddenly, another boomingly loud thunderclap, followed shortly afterwards by an incredibly bright flash of lightning. By this time, my young cat was fully awake and alert, swinging his head from side to side like a periscope searching for land. I then realised that this was most likely, his first thunderstorm. Tiger, my older cat, is well versed in matters relating to earthly physics and natural phenomena, so she was tucked up soundly in a ball near my feet.
The thunder and rain has continued here for the best part of the day, but I'm not too worried about the effects that it might have on my cats as they are indoor-only (well, Nauty is, Tiger still has outside privileges). Unfortunately, it is all too common a situation where a pet (usually a dog) hasn't been properly acclimatised to storms and adverse weather conditions, and if kept inside, can create chaos with the house furnishings or even the physical house itself. There have been cases of dogs jamming their heads in cat and dog door flaps, ripping the frames to pieces in an attempt to remove themselves from the situation that is happening around them. Some pets have also broken glass doors and windows to remove themselves from the noise, either narrowly escaping with their lives or unfortunately being found lifeless by their owners on their return home because of injuries the pet has sustained in its escape attempts.
With winter quickly approaching and storm surges on the rise, I urge you to ensure your house and property is as safe for your pets as possible. Make sure that any possible escape routes for your pets are safe, and if possible, add stickers or cover the bottoms of glass panels so that they are more visible to your pets. Have your cats wear elasticated or easily breakable neck collars, and keep an up-to-date tag on your pets' collars in case they do escape your property. By law, all dogs over 3 months of age must be microchipped - currently this is the only form of permanent identification available for pets. I strongly encourage you to consider microchipping your cats also - if they go missing, they are more likely to be reunited with you sooner than if they didn't have a chip. If you find that your pet has gone missing in stormy conditions, call your local veterinary clinics, the SPCA, animal control and put flyers in letterboxes in your neighbourhood asking your neighbours to contact you if they find your pet.
You can also purchase CDs that have recordings of thunderstorms on them which are used to desensitise pets to the noise of a storm. Play them at a low level to begin with, and engage your pet in a fun activity such as playing with a toy, training with rewards, or just gentle cuddling and stroking (provided your pet isn't scared at the time, otherwise you will inadvertently reinforce their fear of storms). As your pet begins to ignore the noise (and if played low, it shouldn't bother them anyway), gradually turn up the volume so they become more accustomed to the noise level.
As we share our lives with our pets, we need to understand their needs. Something we have become accustomed to will be new for them and we must respond to their needs appropriately. Then we can be sure that they will be able to accept anything.
The thunder and rain has continued here for the best part of the day, but I'm not too worried about the effects that it might have on my cats as they are indoor-only (well, Nauty is, Tiger still has outside privileges). Unfortunately, it is all too common a situation where a pet (usually a dog) hasn't been properly acclimatised to storms and adverse weather conditions, and if kept inside, can create chaos with the house furnishings or even the physical house itself. There have been cases of dogs jamming their heads in cat and dog door flaps, ripping the frames to pieces in an attempt to remove themselves from the situation that is happening around them. Some pets have also broken glass doors and windows to remove themselves from the noise, either narrowly escaping with their lives or unfortunately being found lifeless by their owners on their return home because of injuries the pet has sustained in its escape attempts.
With winter quickly approaching and storm surges on the rise, I urge you to ensure your house and property is as safe for your pets as possible. Make sure that any possible escape routes for your pets are safe, and if possible, add stickers or cover the bottoms of glass panels so that they are more visible to your pets. Have your cats wear elasticated or easily breakable neck collars, and keep an up-to-date tag on your pets' collars in case they do escape your property. By law, all dogs over 3 months of age must be microchipped - currently this is the only form of permanent identification available for pets. I strongly encourage you to consider microchipping your cats also - if they go missing, they are more likely to be reunited with you sooner than if they didn't have a chip. If you find that your pet has gone missing in stormy conditions, call your local veterinary clinics, the SPCA, animal control and put flyers in letterboxes in your neighbourhood asking your neighbours to contact you if they find your pet.
You can also purchase CDs that have recordings of thunderstorms on them which are used to desensitise pets to the noise of a storm. Play them at a low level to begin with, and engage your pet in a fun activity such as playing with a toy, training with rewards, or just gentle cuddling and stroking (provided your pet isn't scared at the time, otherwise you will inadvertently reinforce their fear of storms). As your pet begins to ignore the noise (and if played low, it shouldn't bother them anyway), gradually turn up the volume so they become more accustomed to the noise level.
As we share our lives with our pets, we need to understand their needs. Something we have become accustomed to will be new for them and we must respond to their needs appropriately. Then we can be sure that they will be able to accept anything.
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