Customer Q&As solutions

Q A&Customer solutions

Let your rabbits control social situations. Rabbit advice

Socialising rabbits

I’ve just got a pair of rabbits. What is the best way to socialise them?

Rabbits don’t enjoy being handled, but they are cheeky and intelligent. They’ll soon learn and enjoy taking treats from you and following you about.

Don’t expect cuddles from your rabbit

Although traditionally rabbits are a popular children’s pet, they are only really suited to families who will be happy to socialise with their rabbits sitting on the fl oor and not cuddling them.

Rabbits fi nd being picked up and cuddled extremely stressful. You may well be scratched, kicked, or bitten as they try to struggle free. This is not an aggressive behaviour, simply a way of escaping from a potential predator. You may expect that the more you handle a rabbit as a kitten, the calmer they will become. Sadly, this often has a negative effect as the rabbit matures and often goes on to be a grumpy grown up.

Let your rabbits come to you

The best way to socialise your rabbit is to sit on the ground in their run area offering tasty treats. This will help both you and your rabbits get the best out of living together. Avoid the temptation to stroke and pick them up. This way, your rabbits learn to hop up to you and away again without anything but pleasant things happening — this being food!

After a while, even the shyest rabbits will come up to inspect you. They will often rub their chin on your shoe or leg and hop over to nibble the treats on offer. This is their way of claiming you and feeling relaxed. If you’re able to do this with your rabbits daily, you’ll soon fi nd they happily choose to hop and sit on your lap or follow you around.

Never offer your hand in front of your rabbits’ face to sniff. This will often result in a bite — its their blind spot and will take them by surprise.

Wood Green, The Animals Charity helps pets and people at every step of the way. As well as being a safe haven for vulnerable pets in need of urgent care and a loving new home, Wood Green provides expert advice and hands-on support to pet owners in need of a guiding hand. With almost 100 years’ experience in rehabilitating and rehoming pets, the charity’s is committed to making sure that pets have the best lives possible. This vital work is only possible thanks to the generosity of supporters. Find out how you can make a difference to pets in need at woodgreen.org.uk

Grieving pet

My 13-year-old rescue dog, Phoebe, is grieving with us following the recent death of my other rescue dog, Billy. Billy and Phoebe had been together since they were both two years old. Phoebe has reacted to Billy’s death in a totally different way to what we expected. My partner and I cannot go out without her howling or barking. She will not leave my side and wants to be with me all the time. When let out into the garden, she starts barking at imaginary things, or she stands at the front door and barks, even when we are there and there is no one at the door or anywhere near our drive. I’ve tried everything to help her separation anxiety, going out for fi ve minutes and gradually increasing the time, but within two minutes she is clearly distressed. We have a camera on while we are out just to see what she does; she simply paces up and down and is not happy at all. She has also suddenly started weeing in the house. I have been heartbroken at losing Billy and I did wonder if she was picking up on that grief. I’m trying not to be upset when she is around. I don’t know if getting another dog would help her, but I don’t want to stress her out any more.

Dog behaviour

Tamsin says: I completely empathise with the distress experienced after losing such a beloved friend. Dogs certainly read our emotions and experience grief themselves for the loss of a constant companion. However, the behaviour change you describe in Phoebe might also arise from medical issues, especially as she’s a teenager. Please have her examined by your vet so any coincidental medical problems can be treated.

Your vet will also be able to refer you to an accredited behaviourist to help Phoebe feel differently about life without Billy, and the necessary changes in her routine and environment this will involve. They will be able to guide you through helping Phoebe feel secure within the home again. While getting another dog right away might feel as though it would provide Phoebe with company and support, a new dog might also

create anxiety and distress, which could affect the new dog too. It’s worth waiting until you and Phoebe are feeling better in yourselves, as it’s still very raw for you both. Many dogs grieve It might be diffi cult for you, and dogs the loss of a canine will respond individually, but leaving companion. some things out that still smell of Billy might provide Phoebe with some support. Keeping to a daily routine will help her feel secure. Ensuring she has the opportunity to exercise, explore, sniff, and play will connect you as you both grieve. For your own benefi t, please contact the Pet Bereavement Support Service whose trained volunteers are dedicated to helping owners deal with their loss https://www.bluecross.org. uk/pet-bereavement-and-pet-loss Tamsin Durston is a canine behaviour offi cer in Dogs Trust’s canine behaviour and research team.

Are foxes a threat?

I live in a London suburb and to my surprise I saw a fox trotting down a nearby street. I have two cats that have free access to outside by a cat fl ap. I am now worried that my cats Charlie and Chocolate may be at risk. Do foxes attack cats?

Foxes can attack cats.

Cat general care

Celia says: Yes, foxes do occasionally attack cats, especially if they are particularly hungry.

Fox lovers claim that cats can see off foxes, but this only applies to some healthy bigger cats that stand their ground. Kittens, elderly cats, cats that are small in size, or cats limping home from an accident are the most likely victims of foxes. That said, most animal bites on a cat seen by vets come from fi ghts between two cats rather than foxes.

The only 100 per cent way to keep your cats completely safe from both foxes and road traffi c injuries is to keep them as entirely indoor cats. However, because both Charlie and Chocolate have been used to roaming, they will undoubtedly hate being confi ned and it may take several weeks before they adjust. You will have to be strong minded, if you make this choice.

You can reduce, though not eliminate the risk, by closing their cat fl ap at night. Foxes hunt more often at twilight and night, than during full daylight. Call your cats in at a set time each evening and offer treats and an evening meal.

Make sure there is nothing to attract foxes to your garden — no hedgehog food or bread for birds. Security lights that are triggered by garden movement will also be a deterrent.

It will also help if you train both cats, using treats, to come to you when you call them using a specifi c command word. Start the training inside the house, then do it in the garden. Finally, during the day, call them in from the garden itself, reward them and then let them back out again. This ensures that they do not associate your call with always being immediately shut in.

Celia Haddon MA MSc MA is a well-known pet columnist and author of numerous cat books. She is a cat lover and owner, with a cat behaviour qualifi cation and broad experience of feline issues. ▲

He goes back to our old home!

I have been trying to fi nd a solution for my cat Jimmy who seems determined to travel back to our old house and has done so many, many times.

We lived in a rental house for two and a half years where we bought two male cats (brothers) and called them Jimmy and Jamie. We then decided to buy a house which was around four miles away. I honestly thought Jimmy would settle fi ne and it was Jamie I would have a problem with. How wrong was I!

We moved into our new house beginning of August. I kept both cats inside for a week (which wasn’t easy as they have always been outdoor cats), and used a plugin diffuser which I thought might help them settle. After a week, we let them explore outside a little at a time while we kept an eye on them.

I don’t recall the fi rst time Jimmy disappeared but since we have lived here, Jimmy has walked back to the old house consistently once and sometimes twice a week. When he disappears, we go to our old house, usually call his name a few times, and there he is. He jumps into the car and is happy to get his taxi back home. This is normally a day or two after. The longest he has been missing is a week (I would go back to our old house twice a day calling his name but he never appeared). There are stables and ponies near our old house and we think this is where he sleeps.

We have tried keeping him in for a while but he is meowing and desperate to go out so we eventually cave in. Both cats were allowed out whenever in our old house (through a cat fl ap) and they were often out all night but I have now put a curfew on their cat fl ap and they are locked in at night.

I would welcome any advice your experts can provide on what to do about this situation. He is a very happy loving cat so I don’t think he does it because he is unhappy. He just seems to prefer our old house!

Clare says: Cats are, by nature, territorial creatures. Once they establish a territory, they work very hard to defend it from neighbouring interlopers. The area around your former home will have been viewed by Jimmy as his territory and the urge to maintain it will be what’s driving him back there.

When he fi rst went out exploring his new environment, he may well have found a familiar route that took him back to his old home. Have you been in touch with the new occupants of your old house? They might inadvertently be encouraging Jimmy through stroking him, feeding him, and even letting him in the house. Make sure to let them know not to pay him any attention as this could be very confusing for him.

In this type of situation, it’s important to make his new environment irresistible by providing all the important resources and enrichment he needs to encourage him to stay put. Feeding him small, frequent meals will hopefully motivate him to stick around. Using plugin diffusers containing artifi cial pheromones may help to settle him, as well as providing him with items on which he can deposit his own natural scent. These include scratching posts on which he can secrete his scent as he scratches them. The more of his own scent there is in his new environment the more settled he should feel. Playing with Jimmy using toys that replicate his natural hunting instincts will not only allow him to associate your new home with positive activities but will help to maintain a strong bond between you.

It is possible that his new outdoor environment would have already had a feline ‘king pin’ in charge of it when you moved in, so if you do see any other cats in or around your garden it’s a good idea to chase them off, and in doing so you’ll hopefully be making it a little bit easier for Jimmy to establish the new territory as his.

Unfortunately, there’s no quick way of resolving this and it may take many more months before Jimmy settles. If there appears to be no sign of this happening, and the route he takes incorporates busy roads it may be safer and kinder to fi nd out if the current residents of your former home would be willing allow him to stay where he feels more comfortable. Cats can return to their former territory. Cat behaviour

Clare Hemington DipCAPBT is an accredited feline behaviourist. She has a cat behaviour referrals practice and runs her Honeysuckle Cat Toys business with the help of her Siamese, Billy. You can fi nd out more from her website: www.honeysucklecattoys.co.uk

Labrador grooming routine Dog grooming

We are about to get our fi rst puppy, a Labrador, and I’d like some advice on how to introduce a good grooming routine for him from the start, so we don’t experience any problems as he gets bigger. What would you recommend and how often?

Labradors have a double coat that moults.

Joanne says: It’s lovely that you are thinking about your puppy’s grooming needs from a young age. The sooner you start, the more accepting he will be of handling and grooming.

As a puppy, the best thing you can do is ensure your dog is comfortable with you handling every part of his body from the feet to the ears; this way when he is being groomed he will not be concerned about you handling him.

A Labrador has a double coat, which traditionally moults, but you will fi nd with modern living that there will be constant hair loss. A rubber brush is good to use as this will help to remove dead coat. I would recommend a good brush once a week, and more frequently when in full moult.

Most professional groomers offer puppy introduction sessions, which will help acclimatise your dog to the full grooming process. Labradors vary in their requirements for professional grooming appointments, as this will depend on how well you keep the coat at home and how sweet you want him to smell! I have some Labs who come for a bath once a month and some that come twice a year. To fi nd a professional groomer near you,searchthegroomersspotlight.com

Can I have some more?

Dog behaviour

My Golden Retriever pup (seven months old) has started barking before mealtimes and when playing. After I have fed him, he will keep going back into the kitchen, jump up at the cupboards and cooker, and bark for more food. What am I doing wrong?

Tamsin says: Don’t blame yourself — there are likely to be many factors at play and it’s great that you’re seeking support early! Dogs this age can typically show frustration-related behaviours, which sounds like what your pup is displaying.

Your clever, food-motivated puppy has learned where meals come from and when, so is trying to communicate that he wants feeding/more food! With toys, he’s likely trying to get you to engage in more play.

Barking’s diffi cult to ignore, but our responses might inadvertently encourage our dogs. Generally, with any unwanted behaviour, the goal is to set dogs up for success by managing the situation. Teach him that barking at you doesn’t get a response; however, a more appropriate behaviour will always be praised or rewarded. For example, when playing, reward your pup for sitting before the toy is thrown. Around mealtimes, give him something else to do while you prepare his food, such as asking him to settle, and intermittently reward him with a treat for staying quiet and calm. After the meal, encourage him to settle, or distract him by letting him in the garden.

Preventing access to the kitchen might help. If he does bark, try to ignore or distract him, avoiding any telling off/feedback for it. Getting cross never helps and might make him bark more. Lastly, check with your vet that his diet is appropriate for his age and keeping him feeling full, as this might contribute to food-seeking behaviour.

Tamsin Durston is a canine behaviour offi cer in Dogs Trust’s canine behaviour and research team.

Clever dogs soon learn where the food comes from and when.