ITCHING DOG – POSSIBLE SOLUTION

I had a Toy-Pom, Fiela, who were the most amazing little dog. She developed Hot Spot at about three years of age. At the time I was too dumb to question our vet when he told me that she suffers from severe allergies and that she needs to be treated with Steroid Prednisone. This only offered temporary relieve and she received regular injections for almost the rest of her life. When I really started questioning the benefits versus the side effects of the cortisone treatment, the vet told me, that it is better for the dog to have a short life worth living, rather than a long life of misery. Now I must tell you that the side effects constitute some serious misery as well. The obvious side effects, from day one, were weight gain and an unbelievable thirst. She was always thirsty. You could not believe the amount of water this little 6kg dog could soak up. She would go berserk with thirst. We always had to make sure that there was water for her. Even when we just went for a walk in the park, we had to give her water every few minutes. The terrible thing is the medication destroys the kidneys. As the kidneys start failing, the dog suffers severe pain. Talk about misery! When Fiela reached the age of 9, I discovered a remedy for the itching. Needless to say, it was too late for my little dog. The years of cortisone treatments resulted in kidney failure and she passed away.

A small breed dog like a Toy Pom  could easily reach the ripe old age of between 13 and 15.

Let me first tell you a little bit about Hot Spot and then I will get to the remedy that I found.

Please note that I do not sell the product and have no affiliation with the manufacturers, but can certainly vouch for the efficacy of their products.

I have tried and failed to find a common opinion as to the reason why some dogs develop the terrible itching condition in summer. The occurrence of this phenomenon seems to be on the increase and this leads to the only opinion that has some consensus amongst veterinarians – that the increase in vaccination of pets may possibly be the cause of this condition.

Although there certainly is a certain amount of disagreement as to the cause of Hot Spot, the condition does have certain symptoms in common.

Since the condition mostly occurs during the warm seasons, it is commonly referred to as “Hot Spot” or “Summer Itch Hot Spots”. With this condition, the dog would itch terribly, be constantly scratching, rolling on its back, dragging it’s butt on the floor, grass or ground and chew on itself.

A dog will develop such severe itching that they may cause themselves serious injury. They cause skin wounds, infections, bald patches, often resulting in drying and roughening of the skin. Such an animal can become traumatized and very desperate.

The irritation mostly occurs on the back, around the tail, on the stomach area, legs and paws. The occurrence of Hot Spot seems to be more prevalent in warm moist climates and certainly occurs all over the world.

All types of dogs may develop Hot Spot, irrespective of breed, size, hair type and colour. Pedigree or “pavement special” is equally possible victims of this condition. From young puppies to old dogs, with no previous history of skin disease may develop Hot Spot.

Hot Spot are often incorrectly diagnosed as eczema, allergies, or other disorders. Although this may very well be the case that the reason for the itching may be from another disease, I suggest you try out some other options first, before allowing your dog to be treated with cortisone or other drugs that may very well have serious side effects.

However, it is extremely important not to confuse Hot Spot with the various types of mange, flea infestations, ringworm or hormonal conditions. A veterinarian will certainly diagnose these conditions quickly and recommend and prescribe an effective remedy.

When a dog develops a skin condition, which sometimes results in an unpleasant smelling dog, the family members may often ostracize the poor dog. The dog then becomes much stressed and this will only aggravate the situation. Imagine yourself being shut out by the people you love most as a result of a condition that you certainly do not want and did not ask for.

People will sometimes take such an animal to the Animal Welfare Societies for adoption rather then trying to find a solution. Unfortunately such pets are not “adoptable” material and are almost always euthanized.

Because the dog often smells strongly, the loving family members would bath the dog more often, which in most instances only results in aggravating the problem, particularly when harsh shampoos are used. Preferably use a very mild moisturizing herbal shampoo. Buy a shampoo that you would use on yourself. Do not buy pet shampoos at your supermarket, even when it is supposedly for “sensitive” skins. I use a shampoo that works very well,  particularly on my Rhodesian Ridge Back. She does not suffer from Hot Spot, but her skin sometime becomes very dry and appears to form something like dandruff. A bath and condition with my favorite soothing herbal shampoo clears that up very quickly.

All sorts of remedies are offered by everyone and his mate, particularly on the internet. Some of these therapies have not been tested properly and may be extremely detrimental to the health of your dog.

Absolutely avoid any pet product – like the plaque – if the instruction states that you must wear gloves! So, you can poison your dog, but heaven forbid you poison yourself?

Also try to imagine yourself itching like mad and someone ties your hands and puts a huge cone shaped plastic collar on you, so that you cannot get to the itches!

Be kindhearted and thoughtful in your actions and treatment of your dog at all times. Sure, the scratching and chewing can drive anyone up the wall, but keep in mind, the dog hates it even more than you do.

I read somewhere about a study that were done at a university veterinary school in the USA, that all standard medical treatments for Hot Spot were basically ineffective. It was also found that 30% of dogs recover from this condition spontaneously, without medical or any other type of interference.

However, in the mean time the poor dog goes mad with itching day and night, 24/7. Oh my word! Just imagine itching like that.

The product that I recommend can be purchased from www.ravenpetproducts.com and consist of a small bottle of shampoo and a lotion. It worked incredibly well on Fiela, but by that time, her little kidneys were practically non-existent. I tried the lotion on myself for insect bites and I must tell you, I have NEVER felt anything so soothing and quick-acting. Mike Raven of Raven Pet Products crammed four “kits” in an envelope for me to save me some money on the postage. When I ordered I found them to be reliable in their promises and I was very comfortable sending them the money upfront.

Always have a soft hand and attitude with your pet. A pet given a lot of love and tenderness is a far more rewarding companion than a pet who is handled with a hard hand and are constantly being punished and shouted at.
Control over a pet is essential, but control does not mean harsh scolding and punishment.
Always remember, they are not humans and do not have the logic of humans. Do not punish them for not having human minds. A dog who digs in a flower bed or a cat using your brand new couch as a scratching post, are just being a cat and a dog. The dog is probably bored or opening up its pantry stocked with lovely decomposing bones and the cat is doing what is genetically correct behavior for a cat – sharpening its claws to catch prey. A parrot’s piercing vocalizations is often a sign of boredom or incorrect feeding.

Give the dog a new toy regularly. An old shoe is no good after a week in the garden; it no longer smells like its favorite person’s feet.

A plastic cool drink bottle, with two or three marbles inside and the cap back on, makes a great toy for a young dog. If they chew it open, make a new one and remember to give them a bottle that would fit in their jaw.

They find squeaky toys hilarious. Offer up a piece of your firewood for a teething pup, they love to chew and tear of the bark and it massages their gums wonderfully. Surely, it is easier to clean the bit of bark from the lawn than the leftovers of your brand new pair of very expensive shoes.

Continuous digging in your favorite flower bed can be annoying to the extreme. Pick up some of the dog’s poop and throw it in the holes where the dog always digs. You can cover this with a bit of soil. This also works for that dog who loves to dig up your lawn. The poop decomposes fairly quickly, but remember not to do bare hand gardening in that spot for a few weeks!

Your cat would love a nice tall scratching post with fresh catnip rubbed on every so often. Simple toys like a crumpled up sheet of paper, can keep a kitten amused for a long time.

A big sheet draped over a kitchen or dining room chair, to form a “cave” or an empty cardboard box with a few feathers from you feather duster inside, makes for huge excitement in your kitty’s day. Be original, there is simply no need to buy expensive toys, unless you can afford to do so.

Give your parrot things to chew on and to shred. Above all, give lots of quality attention. Find out what type of fruits and nuts are your bird’s favorite and give regularly. Keep in mind they need lots of sleep and quiet time.

Take the time to read up about the minds and actions of your pet.

You would be amazed at the change in your own attitude once you start understanding the actions of your pet.
Remember to always praise and/or reward every single time the pet obeys a command, how else would they know that what they have done, is correct and pleases you? Trust me, they absolutely love to please you !
All basic training e.g. sit, lie down, eat, wait etc. should always be given with a calm voice and a calm attitude. Training attempts to make a dog “sit/stay” when you are electrifying the springs in their hind legs with an excited voice and hyperactive attitude is doomed to failure.
Training should start from the very first day that you get your pet. Structure makes them comfortable and confident pets.
Every time you give an instruction and it obeys, even a light touch on the head will please your pet no end.
The praise must be part of the life you share with your pet for the rest of its life.

Symptoms would be:

Constant rubbing against you.

Constant meowing unless you pet the cat.

Always wanting to sit on your lap.

Prancing in front of you.

When you go to bed at night the cat would be waiting. It would spend the night on your bed, constantly moving about and snuggling up.

The cat would be very distant to guests and would not like to be touched by them. Would even respond to guests attention by biting and scratching.

When you go away the cat may get into self mutilation activities, like compulsive licking of the same area on the skin, until the hair is gone and the skin raw.

Defecating and urinating in inappropriate places - often on your bed. (Make sure the cat box are kept clean - this may also cause the cat to use other areas as a toilet)

Spraying may occur inside the house.

A cat who tends to bite and scratch when being petted, will become increasingly aggressive.

The best route to take is very similar to desensitizing a dog who suffers from separation anxiety.

Read our article here.

• Make sure that the dog is healthy by taking it to the vet for a thorough checkup. (read our article on medical aid for pets)
• Make sure the dog has a very comfortable place to sleep.
• Make sure the dog has good clean healthy meals and fresh water.
• Make sure the dog gets a lot of exercise.
• Revert to initial obedience training, like sit/wait/eat, etc. to re-establish your alpha dog position in the relationship.
• Never, never, never punish or scold the dog for destructive behavior. Research has found that anxiety levels in dogs who expect punishment, increases substantially in the half an hour before the owner is expected back home.

Teach the dog that it is good and nice to be alone sometimes. Leave out fresh toys every day, pick up the toys of the previous day and replace them with others, on a rotational basis. Give special treats that would last a while, like braided ostrich sinews, but only when you go out. (The dog may very well end up being pleased to see the back of you!) I have always believed in simple training methods – even the smartest dog in the world is not a rocket scientist and with a bit of clever planning and training, we can easily outsmart them.
Remember; always speak in a calm, low-pitched voice. All commands must be firm – no shouting or requesting – simply command. Even when the dog disobeys your commands, you are not to become excited.
It is essential that you ignore any behavior geared to seeking attention – barking, whining, jumping etc.
Enforce the down/stay commands. Slowly increase the down/stay periods, while staying with the dog. After some days, start moving one or two steps away. Increase the distance progressively. When anxiety symptoms appear, step closer without making a fuss. Eventually the dog will realize that you are “available” even when you leave him alone for half an hour or so, by moving into another room in the house.
Once the dog remains calm when you move to another room, you can move him outside. Leave him outside for a very short period – in the beginning maybe leave him with an interesting chew to distract his attention from you. Go inside for just a few seconds. Increase the “inside” periods gradually. Then start closing the door between you for half a second. Increase the closed-door period gradually. At no time must you leave the dog alone longer than it is prepared to go. You must go back outside before the dog starts displaying any signs of anxiousness. You will simply undo all the hard work by reinforcing the anxiety again.
If the dog does display any sign of anxiety, move close to him, but ignore the dog completely until it has calmed down.
While you are still practicing the “outside” behavior, you can start to give some attention to things inside the house that triggers the distress and anxiety.
Make note of everything that you and other family members do that triggers the anxiety. e.g. picking up the car keys. The dog would have typical anxiety symptoms when they notice you go through the pre-departure routine. Like putting on shoes, jersey, jacket, closing doors and windows, switching off the TV, picking up your car keys etc.
Now start with desensitizing the dog. Pick up the keys and let them jingle in your hand or on your belt for hours. Put on your shoes and jacket, pick up the keys and go sit in the dining room to have lunch or go watch TV for a long time. Do this for example when you are planning to watch a rugby match. Switch the TV off, put on your shoes, close the curtains and go make yourself a cup of coffee. After three or four weeks, the dog would take practically no notice of these activities. Always remember – do not reinforce anxious behavior, by responding to it. Ignore the dog completely until it has calmed down.
Now start with “leaving the house” desensitization. Go outside, initially without things like the car key, shoes, etc. Close the door and open it again by the count of 15. Slowly extend the time outside. After a while, take the car keys with you, but open the door again before the dog start barking or whining. Slowly increase this time as well.
After you can stay outside for at least 30 minutes, without triggering anxiety, you can start the car. Let it idle for a few minutes and come right back into the house. Again, do not respond to anxious behavior – ignore it completely. Calmly sit down somewhere and give attention only when the dog is calm and quiet.
When you go outside for an extended period, give the dog a stuffed Kong, or braided ostrich sinews. Something nice that will keep the dog busy for a while. Now, take the vehicle out the driveway and stay away for about 5 minutes. Increase this time away from the house gradually.
NEVER GIVE ANY RECOGNITION TO THE DOG WHILE IT IS DISPLAYING ANXIETY BEHAVIOR.
This process may take as long as 6 weeks, be patient.
In severe cases, it may be necessary to ignore the dog completely for three or four weeks. Keep in mind, if it is currently only clinging to one family member, it may simply transfer its clinging habit to another family member who now gives attention. Apart from making sure that the dog’s physical needs are attended to, it may receive no attention whatsoever from any family member. Ignoring the dog may seem severe and harsh, but in the end, it will result in a much happier dog and a strong healthy relationship between pet and owner.

The golden rule is always, prevention is better than curing. You can use these methods to teach a new puppy from an early age, that it does not have to be afraid to be alone. If you have a new dog that you adopted from a shelter, start with the training from the first day. Nevertheless, give huge amounts of quality attention while the dog is calm and quiet.

Good luck and remember: PATIENCE is the key.

It is a tragic and ironical fact that pets suffering from separation anxiety often ends up being handed over to shelters or euthanized.

Sometimes destructive behaviour is a result of pure boredom, or even medical problems is mistaken as separation anxiety and then handled inappropriately.

Rule those out first. Take the pet to the vet for a thorough medical check.

Use a video camera to observe the pet’s behaviour after you leave. If the pet acts normally by sleeping a bit, drinking water, eating, playing with a toy etc., and only start with the destructive behaviour an hour or two after you left, it is most likely just boredom or inappropriate behaviour, that can be rectified with training.

Some years ago we had a Great Dane, who, we thought, showed some serious separation anxiety symptoms. However, after some questioning of the neighbours, as to what they hear and see when the dog misbehaves, the following situation revealed itself.

The neighbour’s children, a 12-year-old boy and his sister of 5, loved our dog and would often come to “play” with the dog. We discovered that, when hearing the children in the street the dog would bark inside the house, the children would then call to the dog with endearments and the dog would then get desperate to get to them. Destruction of window frames and doors and doorframes were the result.

On a few occasions, she managed to get out and get to them by destroying the wooden garden gate. Another time she dug and ripped her way through the side door of the garage and then tore open the rest of the path straight through the double garage door. When we then reinforced and blocked all her “escape” routes and she began to chewing and shredding things in and around the house.

After discussing the problem with the children and the parents, the problem resolved itself and the destruction stopped.

If most or all of the following occurs, your dog most likely suffers from separation anxiety:

• The dog has the same behavior pattern every single time you go out, even when you are out for just a short period of time. Again, a video camera would be very useful, or return to the house in about 25 minutes.
• The dog is absolutely glued to you when you are at home, even to the extent where it would whine when you close the toilet door and destruction starts within half an hour of you leaving the home.
• The dog chew and destructs things only when you are not there. (If the dog chew on things while you are at home, this probably just requires some behavior modification training and your problem will be resolved.)
• The dog chews items that has your smell or the smell of other family members on them, like your pillow, unwashed cloths, socks or shoes.
• When you touch the items that the dog destructed, directly when you get home, it may still be warm from the dog’s body heat, because it would want to be near you (or your stuff that smells of you).
• The dog defecates and urinates in places where it would never do while you are at home, defecation on the bed or pillows are not uncommon.
• It barks and whines non-stop – check with the neighbours, if they have not started complaining already.
• The dog displays no guilt over the damaged items.
• The dog goes nuts if you close it or yourself in a room, so it cannot get to you.
• The dog sleeps with you in your room. (This will not result in all dogs developing separation anxiety)
• The dog gets anxious when you are getting ready to go out.
• The dog does not eat or drink while alone.
• The dog salivates excessively.
• The dog develops diarrhea.
• The dog can be left with someone else, without displaying symptoms.
• The dog may be happy to be left alone in the car or at a strange place.
• When you arrive at home, the dog is excessively pleased to see you. It will run in circles, jump, bark, whine and generally want your complete and undivided attention for some time after you get home.
• In more severe cases, the dog may lick or chew on itself.

All dogs of all ages and all breeds may develop separation anxiety, but more common factors that may result in separation anxiety is:

• Early separation from the mother. (You are now the new mother)
• Lack of contact with humans or other puppies when very young.
• Puppies that were kept in pet shop cages or animal shelters.
• You got the dog from an animal shelter (These dogs are so happy to have found a loving home, that they are fairly prone to developing separation anxiety)
• Having been left for a stay in a kennel.
• The time that the owner normally spend with the dog, are suddenly reduced as a result of a change in the lifestyle. e.g. a new job, a divorce.
• Moving house.
• Children leaving home.
• A new baby or pet that suddenly appears in the home.
• You have been on leave for some time and suddenly have to go back to work.

We had a strange case of (luckily short lived) separation anxiety, when our Toy Pom passed away. Our Jack Russell and the Toy Pom were completely inseparable; the one would not eat or pee without the other one present.  We buried the Toy Pom in our garden and planted a beautiful shrub on her grave. The Jack Russell kept on trying to dig open the grave, she pulled the shrub out, she would not eat or drink or come into the house. We had to pick her up and carry her inside. We decided to keep her inside for a few days and not allow her to get to the grave. She started chewing herself terribly. Before we could resolve the problem, our two new, large breed, pups arrived. Luckily the Jack Russell was so irritated by these two terrors, that her attention were distracted from the loss of her best friend and the self mutilation and digging stopped after about a week.

That brings to mind that getting the dogs attention away from the person that the dog is fixated on, may be a huge part of the solution.

Always keep in mind – punishment achieves absolutely nothing. Locking the dog in a crate or an empty room, giving it a hiding or anything like that, will most likely just increase the anxiety.

You are the dog’s one and all. The hero, the friend, the mother and as far as the dog is concerned, the best thing that could possibly happen to a dog. It is therefore easy for a dog to develop separation anxiety, if you are not careful from the first day that you get the dog. Prevention is far better than curing.

A myriad of opinions exists for the treatment and handling of separation anxiety. Some involves medication. Personally, I would try other options, like desensitization, before going the route of medication. Medication may however be a necessity where the owner may have to go away for an extended period, while the desensitization training is still ongoing.

It is impossible to find a kennel and cattery that would cover Mitzi with her “blankie” when she goes to sleep, or to serve Rover and Fifi their decaf in the morning.

We have reverted to doing wild camping, as I can then take all four my dogs with me, and have the peace of mind that I personally take care of them.

Of course, one is not always in the mood for living in a tent, neither does all the seasons allow you to do so. Any information on pets welcome accommodation is a lifesaver.

The Pet Friendly Directory is a great source of pet friendly accommodation spots right through the country.

You can also visit their site www.petfriendly.co.za and order your new book online.

They will shortly be publishing their fifth edition. If the previous editions are anything to go by, this will be a good investment.

Sharyn & Janine has been doing some amazing work in putting this book together and by publishing new editions regularly with updated information.

Also take part in their poll; they are trying to determine if people would be interested in getting the book in the form of an EBook.

Personally, I think it would be wonderful. I have often found that one decides in the middle of the week to get away for the weekend. The problem is always – where to? If you have not gotten around to buying the book yet, you are stuck. You cannot just load the pets in the car and stop in front of any guesthouse, or holiday accommodation, expecting them to welcome you and your pets with open arms.

With the Petfriendly Directory available online, you can search for accommodation and make your booking from the comfort of your home or office, the minute the wandering spirit starts surfacing!

When you do find accommodation that welcomes the entire family, including the pets, be considerate to your hosts and fellow guests.

Leave your pets in the car until you have permission from your host to take them out.

Always keep the pets off the furniture, or cover the furniture with your own clean throws to protect them.

Do not allow your pets to be noisy.

Do not allow your pets to eat on the carpets. Take some small mats with you or cover the area where you feed the dog with one of your own throws.

Leave the TV on when you leave the pet alone. That way they have some company.

If anyone complains that the pet is noisy when left alone, take the pet with you when you go out, or have members of the family take turns to stay with the pet.

When leaving your room or cottage, always have the pets on a leash or in a carry box.

Never allow your pets to frighten or chase any birds or wildlife when you are a guest. (They should not do so, in any case, but oh, to get them to understand that!)

Take your pet’s bedding with – make sure it is clean and freshly washed. You do not want to smell up the place.

When taking the dog for a stroll, pick up the droppings. It is not the host’s duty to do so.

Enjoy your holiday by being a considerate guest and you will be welcomed back the next time you want to visit!

A pet will get ill and injuries will occur, just like with a human child.

After all, if you get a pet, you must be prepared to treat such a pet as a member of the family. Nevertheless, in the excitement of getting a new puppy or kitten, the vet’s bills are the last thing anyone wants to think about.

Keep in mind, when you adopt a pet, you are responsible for its well-being. Not only out of the goodness of your heart, but also by law.

Because people do not budget for such occurrences, the pet often suffers excruciating pain without the necessary medical attention.

With animals, a simple thing like getting a few stitches becomes a huge expense, often far more than the average to low income family can afford.

As the pet will not sit still for the cleaning and stitching of a wound, they cannot just receive a local anaesthetic, they have to undergo general anaesthesia.

Therefore, for a large breed dog, such a simple procedure (for humans) can run up close to a R1000-00 and be even more if the wound is infected and the pet has developed a fever. The cost may run closer to R2000-00 if that is the case.

There has been only one medical aid scheme, that I am aware of, in South Africa for a number of years now.

However, in 2007 a new medical aid scheme entered the market – Medipet SA.

After visiting their website, I was very impressed by their simple straightforward rules and their extremely affordable rates. I signed up all four my dogs immediately.

Of course, there is some “no claim rules”, like cleaning of the pets’ teeth and annual vaccinations, which will not be covered. That is a small price to pay for the amazing benefit of R25,000 cover for your pet per year. You get that for the low monthly premiums from R125 and less. They even give discount if you have multiple pets covered. You only pay the first R250 excess per occurrence.

That means that you can now take your pet to the vet without having to worry about the expense.

If your cash flow situation is critical, you can always ask for an arrangement, with the vet, to pay the balance of the bill when the medical aid pays you out. Be responsible and pay the vet. You will need them again and do not want a poor reputation to spoil your chances of top rate medical treatment for your pet.

We normally pay cash at the vet for all treatments and claim the money back afterwards. I have thus far received my refunds within 10 days, each time I claimed.

Visit the site www.medipetsa.co.za today still and make sure you take out medical cover for your pet.

Do not make your pet suffer sickness and injuries, because for the price of four movie tickets, you can get them fully covered.

I would start them off as follows: When wanting to close the house for the night, I would allow them to go for a run outside. I will give them time to wander off and then suddenly blow the whistle hard. They would come back the first time because they are curious about the strange noise. Those that do not come right away gets locked out for five or six minutes. Those that do come right away, will get a reward in the form of lavish praise and a small bite of something really special, like a piece of biltong or steak. They very quickly learn to come when the whistle blows. I start cutting down on the treats after a while and increase the praise.

Be inventive in your training and use things that your dog really loves to do or to eat to initially get them to respond to the whistle.

If your dog likes to go for a drive, it is also a good time to use the whistle. Blow on the whistle to call the dog to the car. Let him or her get in right away. It is important that they associate the whistle with pleasant experiences. They need to be happy to respond to the whistle quickly, to ensure the success of this method.

We do a lot of wild camping and all our dogs always goes camping with us. We allow them to roam freely and to come and go as they please. However, when “The Whistle” goes, they drop everything and anything that has caught their fancy and come to us immediately, no matter how far they have wandered off, no questions asked. They run !

Recently, on a camping trip, we made a pee-pee stop in the veldt. Pepper, our Merle Great Dane, suddenly dashed after a small buck that jumped out of the short shrub next to the road. This was on the West Coast, with no fences in sight. Now, I tell you with the buck going at the speed of light and the dog as fast as the buck on those long legs, they were a huge distance from us, before anyone of us could even blink. Luckily, I had “The Whistle” on a string around my neck. The first piercing blow had Pepper stopped in her tracks. She came back instantly, although very disappointed. We made her instant obedience a pleasure by praising and giving her one of our sandwiches. She will certainly be obedient again the next time around. All this happened so fast, that the other three dogs did not even realize that Pepper was chasing something.

A few years ago, Caesar Zandberg, a safari tourist operator, lost his dog in a similar occurrence. His dog chased after a herd of Springbok in the Kaokoveld in the North Western parts of Namibia. He radioed for assistance from other operators and people living in the area. They hounded all the villages, kraals and settlements for weeks. The dog was completely lost. He and his wife were devastated. The dog was their only “child”.

Organized crime has syndicates, like car-hijacking syndicates, who steal animals, on order, to supply a specific demand. They will target pedigreed dogs to be used for dog fighting like Staffies, Alsatians, Border terriers and such.

“Fancy” dogs will be dog kidnapped for reselling or breeding purposes.

All and any dog may be snatched, to be sold to laboratories for testing (yes, even in South Africa) or to be sold in townships, or at the docks in coastal cities, for meat.

Unfortunately, vets do not regularly check for microchips, and when they do, they do not verify that the person, who brought the pet in, is in fact the true owner of the pet.

Never, ever leave your dog tied up anywhere. Not even in your own yard. You are putting your pet at risk, as they cannot get away from strangers. It is, in any case, a very cruel practice to keep a dog chained.
Make sure your garden fences are secure. It is also a good idea to have an alarm on your garden gates. This will alert you to any intruder even before they can get to you or your pet.

If possible, have an electrified wire installed along the top of your fence facing the street. Thieves would often simply lift a dog over the fence by its collar.

Ideally, your dog should be discouraged from running or spending time at the fences and gates facing the street. Simple and cheap methods would be to place some of its own excrement along the runway. They find it extremely unpleasant and would avoid the area. It will probably “pong” on hot summer days. However, if you do this when the pet is still young, they would be discouraged for life from spending time right there at the gate and fence.

If you like to take your dog for regular walks, do so at different times.

Never reveal details about your pet to strangers.

Never leave your dog unattended in your car. Not even for a short while. Not even when you lock the car and you are just quickly running into the shop to buy milk. People often leave a window open for the dog, which gives a thief easy access. Cars are frequently stolen with a pet inside. What happens to the pet thereafter is sometimes terrible. They get dumped next to freeways or sold, or simply abandoned, or heaven only knows what else.

You dog should never be allowed to run out of sight when out walking, thieves targeting dog only needs seconds to snatch it.

Preferably, use an extend-able lead to give the dog the feeling of freedom, while still under your protection.

Always be alert to stranger lurking in your area and peeking over fences. Whenever you notice someone trying to make “friends” with your dog, call your dog into the house immediately. Call the armed response or the police. If you feel reasonably secure behind a decent fence, try to take a picture of the person or persons, preferably with a zoom lens, so you need not get close to them.

Do not confront such persons, especially when you are alone. Get into the house and take your dogs with you. They sometimes throw powdered poison on to dogs barking at fences and can throw the same poison on you. Recently, a number of such instances were in the news.