Pets

Ask the vet… with Lynn Broom

Dogs are not small humans! We love our dogs as members of our families and we sometimes forget that they are not human. They do, however, differ from humans in terms of their health and their behaviour, in some aspects quite markedly. Just because we can eat something doesn’t mean that dogs can eat the same. Chocolate, onions and raisins can all be toxic and should be avoided. Xylitol is a common sweetener and sugar replacer in sweets and chewing gum and can cause dangerously low levels of blood glucose and liver failure. Drugs which are safe and beneficial to us may be fatal to dogs. A single 200mg ibuprofen tablet can be toxic to a 4kg dog causing intestinal bleeding. Even drugs which are useful in dogs often need significantly lower doses due to their smaller body size and it can be easy to cause toxicity if dogs are given or accidentally eat human medication. Dogs use different innate body language to humans. For instance we smile to show friendliness. A smile involves parting your lips and showing your teeth – in dog language this is seen as snarling which is a display of aggression. Dogs which have been raised with people have usually learnt to recognise a smile as a positive response (and some may even copy it!) but those unused to people can find a smile threatening. Holding eye contact in the dog world is another aggressive dominant behaviour but we often stare at and hold eye contact with dogs assuming they are interacting with us. However this may be seen as a threat particularly by a nervous dog. Dogs do not have the same social rules as us. While dogs may learn via training what we do and do not want them to do they do not understand why these behaviours are required, simply that they receive a positive response for something we want them to do. A dog which looks guilty when found with a chewed shoe is simply showing submissive behaviour because he recognises that your angry body language is associated with previous negative experiences, and he is attempting to prevent you from directing your anger at him – he does not, however, understand why you are angry.

Companions at Peace Pet Cremation

Independent family run business offering a very personal, caring pet cremation service to bereaved pet owners. Collection Service Farewell Room Out of Hours Service provided Located in a rural countryside setting on the Somerset Dorset border

WANTED SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED

DOG any breed or cross breed 7 years plus good home 01929 463000

BEAUTIFUL ROUGH

COLLIE (Lassie) puppies, ready now. Excellent pedigree and show potential, lovely temperament. Home reared. Further information call 07786933733

JACK RUSSELL PUPS, bitches only, ten weeks old, wormed, micro-chipped, docs, vet papers, certificate, short legged, show winning parents. £650 per pup Tel 07779 685709

Contact us on: 07900 654 440 www.companionsatpeace.co.uk

BLANDFORD & STURMINSTER CATS PROTECTION

Loving homes needed for cats and kittens in our care.

For more details, please call our helpline 01258 858644 or visit our website: www.blandford.cats.org.uk

Contact us to advertise

01963 400186

LABRADOR PUPPIES for sale,wormed up to date. Microchipped, both parents hip eye and elbow tested and both can be seen,parents are kc registered and have very good temperaments Tel 07800 755862

TWO REMAINING PEDIGREE LABRADOR Retriever puppies for sale from a litter of five: one male, one female, both yellow. Five generation Kennel Club pedigree available. Mother with good hip and elbow scores; first vaccinations given. Enquires: Robert Rhys 07803 609614

LOST AND FOUND AND REHOMING

New year, new home

These cats at the Blandford and Sturminster Newton Branch Cats Protection are all looking for new homes, can you help?: Milly (11) tabby/ white is a timid, fluffy girl looking for a quiet home with no Can you give a home to Milly? children Pepper (1) is a tortie who’s a sweet but very lively girl looking for a home in safe location with no small children Dora (18mths) - a sweet b/w girl needs a stress-free home with someone who is there most of day. Lost cats: This is their most recent lost cat - please check their Facebook page or give them a call Gillingham - Black 6-mth male kitten missing since 17/12 Found cats: If you are regularly seeing a cat in your garden or down your street that you don’t think has an owner please give them a call- it might be a lost and could be reunited with its owner. Tarrant Rushton - Black cat, been around since Christmas. Cats Protection are still offering neutering and micro-chipping for £5 in postcode areas DT10, DT11, SP5, SP7, BH21 and now also in SP8 call 01258 268695 Or Dora?

BEHAVIOUR TIPS

Helen Taylor BSc (Hons) is a qualified, accredited behaviourist and is a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist and a Registered Practitioner with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council and is a member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (no 881). help@helentaylordorset.co.uk www.helentaylordorset.co.uk.

In this series of short articles Helen offers bitesize tips on training your dog using effective, safe and humane methods.

Tip #7 Growly? Most people’s response to a dog that growls, snaps or nips is to reprimand or punish, or to ignore it and continue. This is the worst possible thing to do. The purpose of “aggression” is to get rid of a perceived threat. This may be a threat to the dog himself or to something he values such as a person, dog, location, food source etc. Dogs will start with non-aggressive signals if they are uncomfortable. If these are missed or ignored and the “thing” continues to happen, most dogs will progress to some form of aggression. He is saying “I’m very uncomfortable, please don’t make me bite you”. If you punish a dog for growling, not only are you ignoring the real problem (the fact that the dog is feeling threatened by something – something he now hates even more as it’s associated with punishment). But worst of all, it may also teach him to suppress his warnings to avoid the punishment. So now you have a dog that gives no warnings that he is uncomfortable - until he can take it no more and bites (without warning). Next issue: So what should you do?