“Look, I slipped and my paws may have caught the walls, but it was definitely an accident”

One of the most common things we hear from customers is, “if I get this bed/toy/house, my dog will probably destroy it 10min”. So some people’s solution to this problem is have as little things in the backyard/house as possible, in order to minimise the damage. But does that really work?

We think it doesn’t work, because there will always be things in the house and backyard, shoes, slippers, cables, door mats, plants garden hose, so there will always be something there for your dog to destroy.

So the (sad) truth is, you have to teach your dog not to chew on things, and we may have a few tips for you:

(1) Give them proper items to chew on

Dogs just love to chew on things, it’s in their DNA, so you have to acknowledge that. Don’t just throw a few piece of random toys on the floor and expect your dog to love them. Experiment with different toys and find out what interest them most. Put treats inside the toys to attract your dog. Give your dog fresh bones. Try different things and find out what works and what doesn’t.

(2) Make sure they get enough exercise

Dogs with too much energy and nowhere to release that energy are the most destructive. So make sure your dog gets enough exercise to use up their excess energy. Try different amount of exercising and see how it changes your dog’s behavior.

(3) Introduce them to a new piece of bedding / furniture

When you get a brand new $100 dog bed for your dog (and if your dog has a history of destroying beds), slowly introduce them to this (expensive) new piece of furniture. Only use it while the dog is under your supervision, if it starts chewing on it, stop it and let it know you do not want that. Once your dog gets used to not chewing on the bed, you can leave the dog alone with it.

(4) Put repellent on items

If all else fails, try putting pepper, chilli or lemongrass on items where you want your dog to stop chewing on. This may be able to drive them away.

By Jacky @ Vebo Pet Supplies

We came across this article on Women’s day the other day, and it has several easy-to-learn tricks you can teach to your dog.  And they are actually easier than you think!

Take a Spin
Arden taught readers of our June 1, 2010, issue how to get their dogs to spin. Here are the tips, in case you missed them:

1. Hold a tiny treat at your dog’s nose, then move your hand slowly toward his tail. Say “yes” and give the treat when he begins to move his head away from you.

2. Gradually increase the turn by holding the food in your hand farther away. When your dog confidently follows your hand through a full spin, say “spin” right before you move your hand to lure so he’ll start to connect with the behavior.

3. Once he’s mastered that, use a smaller hand circle as a cue, so he’ll learn to spin when you make that gesture and say the command.

Crawl to Your Owner
“Begin on a smooth surface so your dog feels comfortable moving along the floor,” suggests Arden. Help your pup make his crawling debut with these steps:

1. Start by teaching your dog to lie down. Hold a treat just in front of your dog’s nose when he is lying down and move it slightly forward. Reinforce any movement forward by saying “yes” and giving a little treat. If he tries to stand up, don’t say anything. Simply start again.

2. When you are confident that your dog understands to follow your hand by staying low to the ground and inching forward, add the cue “crawl” just before you begin to move your hand.

3. Move the treat progressively farther away from your dog, but remember to be patient. Even if your dog is very fit, he will need to gradually build up to being able to crawl for more than a few inches.

Take a Bow
“This is a great finale to a routine of tricks,” says Arden. Follow these tips—and then get ready to applaud your dog.

1. Most dogs will stretch when they wake up or go into a bow as a way to solicit play. In either case, you can capture the behavior by simply marking the moment she bows. Say “yes” and give a treat. This way you are clearly telling your dog that what happened at the exact moment she heard the marker sound is what results in the reward.

2. You can also lure this behavior by holding a treat at your dog’s nose when she is standing. Lower your hand to the ground and be prepared to mark the moment her front end goes down so she doesn’t slide her whole body to the ground and lie down. If she does, just try again and be careful to mark before her rear end starts to go down.

3. Once you can reliably get the bow either because your dog is freely offering it or because you are luring, add the cue word or phrase such as “take a bow” or “bravo” right before she goes into a bow so she starts to connect the verbal cue with the behavior.

I recently read an old article written by Malcolm Gladwell on Pitbulls (“Troublemaker”). In the article, Gladwell is using Pitbull as an example to point out a “generalization” mistake we tend to make all the time.

Gladwell used an incident where a Pitbull attacked and caused fatal injuries to a young child in Ontario, then the local authority reacted by banning all Pitbull related breeds in that area.

Yes, Pitbulls have certain genetic qualities in them that make them easy to be trained into dangerous fighting dogs. But when it comes to fatal dog attacks, a LOT of dogs can be dangerous. For example, Galdwell gave an example where a Labrador attacked a women so viciously that it led to first ever facial transplant in the world! Luckily, they did ban everyone from keeping Labradors as pets after that.

His point is that we often generalise too much (“Pitbulls attack people”, “All terrorists are from the middle east”) and our solutions are too generalised (e.g. ban all Pitbulls).

The thing is,  banning certain dog breeds is never going to solve the problem, majority of times, it’s the owners who mistreat their dogs and turn them into killing machines.

If you are interested in Gladwell’s article, read it at:

http://www.gladwell.com/2006/2006_02_06_a_pitbull.html

Just imagine, you find 3 female kittens in your backyard,  out of kindness (and surrendering to the kittens’ cuteness),  you decided to keep them as pets. Within 6 months, all 3 cats get pregnant, suddenly you have over 15 kittens in your backyard and you are scratching your head.

This is exactly what happened to our friend’s parents last month.

Stray cats is a serious problem and it gets out of hand really fast.

So we completely understand when Hollywood actress Katherine Heigl launched a new “I hate balls” website  and campaign with her family to raise awareness about de-sexing pets. Go Katherine!

]]> http://www.vebopet.com.au/blog/cat/i-hate-balls/feed/ 0 http://www.vebopet.com.au/blog/cat/i-hate-balls/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/VeboPetBlog/~3/cScXkVBiKy4/ http://www.vebopet.com.au/blog/dog/one-dog-year-seven-human-year/#comments Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:41:58 +0000 admin http://www.vebopet.com.au/blog/?p=253

old dog in glasses

There is a common misunderstanding that 1 dog year is equal to 7 human years (so a 2 yera old dog is equivalent to a 14 year old human), but the reality is actually not this simple. The facts:

• Puppies grows at a MUCH faster rate during the 1st year, an one year old puppy is approximately equivalent to a 14 year old human (which makes good sense considering dogs can start having puppies within 2 year)
• After that, we have to factor in the breed size, as we all know small dogs live longer. So after the first 2 years, a small/medium dog will grow at a ratio of 5 human years to 1 dog year, whereas a large dog will grow at a ratio of 6-7 human year to 1 dog year

So a 10 year Great Dane is effectively 84 year old, but a 10 year old pug is only 64 years old.

< Contents sourced from http://www.misconceptionjunction.com >

A lot of people like to share what they eat with their pets, but there are many types of common and seemingly harmless human foods that can make your pet very sick or even kill them.

Chocolate

Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic.

When affected by an overdose of chocolate, a dog can become excited and hyperactive. Due to the diuretic effect, it may pass large volumes of urine and it will be unusually thirsty. Vomiting and diarrhoea are also common. The effect of theobromine on the heart is the most dangerous effect. Theobromine will either increase the dog’s heart rate or may cause the heart to beat irregularly. Death is quite possible, especially with exercise.

After their pet has eaten a large quantity of chocolate, many pet owners assume their pet is unaffected. However, the signs of sickness may not be seen for several hours, with death following within twenty-four hours.

Cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are the most toxic forms. A 10-kilogram dog can be seriously affected if it eats a quarter of a 250gm packet of cocoa powder or half of a 250gm block of cooking chocolate. These forms of chocolate contain ten times more theobromine than milk chocolate. Thus, a chocolate mud cake could be a real health risk for a small dog. Even licking a substantial part of the chocolate icing from a cake can make a dog unwell.

Semi-sweet chocolate and dark chocolate are the next most dangerous forms, with milk chocolate being the least dangerous. A dog needs to eat more than a 250gm block of milk chocolate to be affected. Obviously, the smaller the dog, the less it needs to eat.

Onion and Garlic

Onions and garlic are other dangerous food ingredients that cause sickness in dogs, cats and also livestock. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger.

Pets affected by onion toxicity will develop haemolytic anaemia, where the pet’s red blood cells burst while circulating in its body.

At first, pets affected by onion poisoning show gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhoea. They will show no interest in food and will be dull and weak. The red pigment from the burst blood cells appears in an affected animal’s urine and it becomes breathless. The breathlessness occurs because the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body are reduced in number.

The poisoning occurs a few days after the pet has eaten the onion. All forms of onion can be a problem including dehydrated onions, raw onions, cooked onions and table scraps containing cooked onions and/or garlic. Left over pizza, Chinese dishes and commercial baby food containing onion, sometimes fed as a supplement to young pets, can cause illness.

Onion poisoning can occur with a single ingestion of large quantities or with repeated meals containing small amounts of onion. A single meal of 600 to 800 grams of raw onion can be dangerous whereas a ten-kilogram dog, fed 150 grams of onion for several days, is also likely to develop anaemia. The condition improves once the dog is prevented from eating any further onion

While garlic also contains the toxic ingredient thiosulphate, it seems that garlic is less toxic and large amounts would need to be eaten to cause illness.

Macadamia nuts

Macadamia nuts are another concern. A recent paper written by Dr. Ross McKenzie, a Veterinary Pathologist with the Department of Primary Industries, points to the danger of raw and roasted macadamia nuts for pets.

The toxic compound is unknown but the affect of macadamia nuts is to cause locomotory difficulties. Dogs develop a tremor of the skeletal muscles, and weakness or paralysis of the hindquarters. Affected dogs are often unable to rise and are distressed, usually panting. Some affected dogs have swollen limbs and show pain when the limbs are manipulated.

Dogs have been affected by eating as few as six macadamia kernels (nuts without the shell) while others had eaten approximately forty kernels. Some dogs had also been given macadamia butter.

Luckily, the muscle weakness, while painful, seems to be of short duration and all dogs recovered from the toxicity. All dogs were taken to their veterinary surgeon.

Pets owners should not assume that human food is always safe for pets. When it comes to chocolate, onions, garlic and macadamia nuts, such foods should be given in only small quantities, or not at all. Be sure that your pets can’t get into your stash of chocolates, that food scraps are disposed of carefully to prevent onion and garlic toxicity and that your dog is prevented from picking up macadamia nuts if you have a tree in your garden.

Other potential dangers

Avocado (all parts) – the toxic ingredient in avocado is called persin (toxic amount unknown). Mmost documented cases of poisoning have been in livestock that have eaten all parts of the avocado and in large amounts. The toxin may be confined to the leaves, bark, skin or seed but the flesh is thought to be poisonous to birds.

Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips (contain cyanogenic glycosides resulting in cyanide posioning)

Potato peelings and green looking potatoes

Rhubarb leaves

Mouldy/spoiled foods (keep garbage lid firmly on)

Alcohol

Yeast dough

Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine)

Hops (used in home brewing)

Tomato leaves & stems (green parts)

Broccoli (in large amounts)

Raisins and grapes

Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars

Xylitol (sweetener often found in sugar-free gum)

Cooked bones – they can splinter and cause gut perforation, as well as blockages in the intestine, tooth fractures, and cooked chop bones can get stuck across the roof of the mouth

Corn cobs – a common cause of intestinal blockage requiring surgical removal

< Contents sourced from http://www.petalia.com.au >

Pet doors are great for letting your dog (or cat) in and out of the house, but sometimes it may let more than just your dog and cat through…..

This is a rather famous video on the Internet, but if case you haven’t already seen it, you have to see this and admire the intelligence of the squirrel (and the person who prepared the setup)!

"What car harness?! This is how I ride man !"

As a lot of people may not realise (until they get caught one day),  it is illegal to drive a car with an unrestrained dog in NSW and you could be fined over $400 for letting you dog roam around the car and stick its head out from the window!

This law was first introduced in July 2009,  which stipulates that motorists must not drive a vehicle with an animal on their lap or preventing them from having proper control of the car, carries a penalty of three demerit points and $338, rising to $422 in a school zone.

If an animal is injured as a result of being unrestrained, owners also face up to six months’ jail and fines of up to $5500 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The RSPCA managing inspector, Matthew French, said that even the Australian tradition of conveying dogs untethered on the back of utes could land drivers with on-the-spot fines of $500 under the Act.

Car seat belt for pets