Doggie daycare

Who’s a pretty boy then

WHY do parrots talk?

According to Roger Valls, cofounder of the Avetropic association that cares for parrots in captivity, the question is “ambiguous and complex.”

Speaking to a national newspaper, Valls described speech as the articulation of words to express something and communicate, and that when parrots emit sounds “they obviously do so with the intention of communicating something.”

However, parrots do not only vocalise or ‘talk’ to communicate with us, there are other reasons that can lead them to reproduce sounds or vocalisations, namely the search for attention and their own entertainment ­ es­ pecially in birds that live in captivity.

In their life in captivity alongside humans, the main reason for parrots to vocalise is to communicate with their social circle, which is often reduced to the people who look after them.

“They understand sounds, memorise them and repeat them in certain situations,” says Valls, adding that, “they associate words with situations.”

Another reason a parrot may vocalise is for entertainment. “They may do it for fun, especially in captivity. When they don’t have as many resources to entertain themselves during the day, they may do it to kill time,” said the Avetropic expert.

Owners leave their pets at a centre one day a week when they are away at work, always on the same day so that the dogs form a strong group and get to know each other well.

The centres are a hive of canine activity, with the small groups of animals chasing each other, running up and down stairs and jumping on and off the sofas and cushions.

Dogs are usually separated by size and character, and the service also includes outside walks and periods of rest.

Owners and trainers say that a care option, which can cost up to €350 a month for full days or €220 for half days, promotes socialisation and facilitates the treatment of separation anxiety, making it easier to leave the animals alone afterwards.

It is also said to be ideal to work on behaviour, as the carers use healthy snacks to train the dogs and the animals are reportedly much calmer when they are picked up after their session.

FOOD banks for pets are on the rise in the UK to help owners who are struggling with the cost of living crisis ­ and the trend looks set to continue expanding given their success and rising demand.

One case is in Coventry, where Melinda Anthony runs a pet food bank by the Betty Ennis Foundation charity, supplying pet food and other animal essentials.

She set it up last year after encountering a plea on social media from a local couple who were in dire straits after he was laid off due to injury and she had been put on Universal Credit.

A call for help was put out and I received “loads of donations of food,” Melinda told the BBC, adding that she believes the cost of feeding pets is leading increasing numbers of owners to abandon them.

The idea is also catching on in Spain, especially since the Covid crisis. The first pet food banks opened in Catalonia several years ago and have since spread throughout the country.

The only requirements to use these centres are for the pet owners to be able to prove that they are struggling financially and that the animal is registered in their name.

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