stress Archives - Life on Four Legs

02/12 |

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas……

So Christmas is nearly upon us (scarily again!) – this time of year can be full of festive cheer for our furry friends, but please remember to look out for their health at this time.

Christmas can be fun for your furry friends (although I am not sure Brioche agrees!)

Around Christmas time there are lots of things that can keep us vets busy, many of which can easily be avoided, so for top tips on things to avoid this festive season to keep your pet safe read on…

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

Tick Paralysis

These horrible ticks are grey in colour and are common on Sydney’s Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches as well as the South Coast. Remember to always use tick prevention in your pets no matter where they are in Sydney (as they can appear in places you least expect).

Paralysis tick prevention should be used summer long

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

Chocolate toxicity

Remember, as delicious as it is to us,chocolate is toxic to dogs. Please contact you vet if your pampered pooch grabs any of the holiday stash to check if they have eaten a dangerous dose!

Dark chocolate is the biggest threat, but any chocolate can cause a problem if enough is eaten! (Picture www.cadbury.com.au)

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Heat stoke

Remember our furry friends as temperatures soar in Sydney around Christmas. Always provide them with shade, fresh water and never leave dogs unattended in hot cars.

Avoid walking your dog in the heat of the day, instead opt for evening strolls like Loulou and Dr Julie!

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me

Macadamia nut poisoning

When planning your festive fare remember macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs and can cause muscle weakness, vomiting and lethargy. Please contact your vet if any nuts are eaten by your dog.

As yummy as they are, macadamia nuts can cause trouble for our furry friends. (photo – www.nuts.com.au)

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me..

Gastrointestinal surgery!

Remember to keep cooked bones, Christmas decorations and presents away from both dogs and cats. If eaten, these strange objects can get stuck in the windpipe, food tube and anywhere in between the mouth and the bottom in our pets, often needing surgery to be retrieved.

A munch on cooked bones or Christmas decorations can land your pet in hospital – so keep them away! (photo www.petclinicsd.com)

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Raisin or grape toxicity

Raisins are almost ubiquitous in our Christmas dinners and grapes often make a guest appearance on cheese boards. Remember that both raisins and grapes in any quantity (even one or two) can cause kidney failure – so keep the mince pies and Christmas pud away from your furry friends!!!

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Poinsettia toxicity

Poinsettia are those beautiful red Christmas plants that often adorn our tables at Christmas. Pretty as they are did you know that eating them can result in vomiting and diarrhoea? And the sap is very irritant to animals skin. So keep them separate from your family pet.

Other plants to look out for include pine needles, lilies, holly and mistletoe to name a few.

Poinsettia and other plants can be toxic to pets if eaten. (Picture www.lowes.com)

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Anxiety

Being a behaviour vet I am acutely aware of the strains we put on our pets at Christmas time. Expecting them to happily accept rowdy parties and long days alone in the house. Always allow your pet somewhere to take themselves away from scary situations and be mindful what effect your plans can have on your dog or cat.

Holiday time can be terrifying for our furry friends with people coming and going and lots of new things to experience.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Electrocution

Christmas lights are often just too irresistible for cats and dogs alike. Always keep wires away from sharp teeth as chewing cables can cause both electrical burns and electrocution.

Christmas lights may look pretty but if chewed can be fatal to our furry friends. (picture www.legalsigns.co.uk)

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Pancreatitis

Eating fatty foods in dogs has been directly linked to the development of pancreatitis – an inflammation of the pancreas causing vomiting, lethargy and abdominal pain. So please refrain from spoiling your pet too much with human food over the holiday season.

Dr Julie’s Christmas ham might be delicious to us, but if too much is consumed pancreatitis might be the result in at risk dogs.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Firework and noise phobia

Please be mindful of fireworks around this holiday season. Provide your pet somewhere safe to hide and comfort them if this helps. If your pet’s anxiety around noises is severe please contact your veterinarian to discuss drug options that may help.

Fireworks may be pretty to us, but they can strike fear into our furry friends 🙁 (picture www.youtube.com)

And finally on the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Batteries…

Batteries are used in many new toys that will be bought around this time. Please keep them away from pets as ingestion can cause burns to the gastrointestinal tract and can be fatal 🙁

Batteries cause more of an issue if chewed on the way down. However ingestion can be fatal so please contact a veterinarian asap if you believe you pet has eaten one. (pic www.boutonveterinaryhospital.com)

So now you know what to look forward to please enjoy a happy healthy festive period with your furry friends 🙂

Dr Julie is a veterinarian and behaviourist and works in Sydney

23/03 |

Cats – are they social butterflies or lone wolves?

Are two cats always better than one? Or are cats simply antisocial loners that will fight if kept together?

Joey & Leo having a snuggle 🙂

There are so many myths about the mysterious lives of our feline friends that in this blog I thought I would look at what is really going on!!!!

How do feral cats live?

To discover how our domestic felines should be kept we can start by looking at their feral counterparts.

Feral cats can form huge colonies of animals. Within these colonies there are generally smaller social groups consisting of related females (sisters, mums, aunties), that co-rear their young (even going as far as nursing other queen’s kittens).

The males are not quite the socialites that the females are and tend to live on the edges of the groups as loners and will (just like a Friday night in Kings Cross) fight with other males to compete for mates.

Related female feral cats often rear their young together.
photo: http://operationsnipfl.org

The number of cats living in a certain area will depend on the amount of resources available to share, most importantly food. If food & den areas are plentiful then huge numbers of cats can live alongside each other quite happily. However as the numbers of cats increase (and they do very quickly as cats are prolific breeders) squabbles break out and cats are forced out and so the groups can be quite changeable.

What about our domestic cats?

So most of our domestic cats are much more pampered than their feral counterparts. Large numbers of cats, male and female both related and unrelated can often live quite happily with each other and be very social. However having a cat living in the same house is a cause of anxiety for many of our feline friends, which can often go unnoticed until fights break out.

How can I tell if my cats are BFFs?

1. Tail up

Cats that are greeting each other with their tails up are happy to see each other, a sure sign they are probably friends!

The cat on the right is happy, the one on the left is more unsure! For more information on reading cat body language see : http://lifeonfourlegs.co.uk/blog/cat-trying-tell/
Photo: Justin Fisch Flickr

2. Allogrooming

Allogrooming, simply means grooming each other. Cats that see each other as the same social group will groom each other. This may be a way of increasing their bond, or simply a way of cleaning an area that is hard to reach for a friend! (Like putting suncream on someone’s back!).

Interestingly in some studies cats often groom each other more after a fight, so it also might be a way of saying sorry and making friends.

Silver and Baby Django are BFFs and can often be found smooching 🙂

3. Allorubbing

Allorubbing, simply means rubbing on each other. This is an act many cat owners will be familiar with, as this is something cats often do to your legs when you arrive home. This is likely to impart a ‘family’ odour to the group, so that all members are easily identified as well as being a tactile affirmation of friendship (a cat’s idea of a hug).

A cat hug!
Photo: wikipedia

4. Eating and sleeping together

Cats that eat and sleep together are often close friends (like their human counterparts!), as during both these activities a cat could be vulnerable to attack.

OK, OK I know I am not a cat….but here is Sebastian the wonder cat and his best friend (me) taking a nana nap!

Some signs that your cats are not the besties you thought they were:

Most of the time it is obvious that two (or more) cats do not get on. However some of the signs there is a problem afoot may be a little more subtle:

Avoidance – cats that avoid each other at all costs – e.g. one enters the room and the other immediately leaves.
Aggression – biting, fighting, hissing, growling, staring etc
Inappropriate urination or defaecation
Hiding away
Marking the house (spraying, scratching etc)

So what can I do?

Always make sure you provide enough resources (litter trays, food bowls, resting places etc.) in different locations around the house. This will reduce the need for competition between family felines. Feliway is also always a great idea if you feel that two cats are not getting on as well as you would hope.

Sami and Zabeel don’t need two beds – but most multi-cat households will.

Relationships between cats can be complicated, so if you feel your cats are having problems please seek help early from your Veterinarian or a qualified Behaviourist.

Dr Julie is a qualified Veterinarian and Veterinary Behaviourist, she runs Life on Four Legs – a dog and cat behaviour clinic based in Sydney, NSW.

09/03 |

Does your dog worry when they are left alone?

If your immediate reaction to the question above was “no”, it might just be necessary to think again.

Separation Related Behaviour is the name given to those behaviours dogs exhibit when left alone. These needn’t always be bad – they can be positive – but it is typically those that are negative and become a problem for both dog and owner that attract most attention – manifesting as “Separation Related Distress”.

Spotting the signs

Identifying symptoms of Separation Related Distress is usually easy. However, connecting the dots and diagnosing the cause can be more difficult as the signs can also result from other causes (illness, pain, other anxieties).

Typical Separation Related Distress signs when left alone include:

Vocalisation (crying, howling, barking)
Locomotor hyperactivity – pacing, trying to escape
Destructive behaviour – chewing or scratching things
Toileting in the house
Excessive salivating
Shaking/trembling
Vomiting (rare)
Freezing or total inactivity

Other signs suggestive of Separation Related Distress include anxiety when you are getting ready to go out. For example, dogs can follow their owners around the house whilst panting and seeking attention when you are putting on your shoes, picking up keys etc. They will have identified these as activities that precede a negative event (their owner leaving) and are reacting to them.

Finally, an overly-excited greeting when you return may also be a sign your dog has been anxious whilst left alone.

But surely it’s not that common?

These types of behaviours are far more common that most owners realise, with at least 1 in 5 dogs exhibiting Separation Related Distress when left alone. Concerningly, this statistic comes from two UK-based studies based on owner-submitted reports meaning it only includes people who identified their dog has an issue.

Even more worrying was a small-scale study by Dr Casey (University of Bristol, UK) that filmed 40 dogs when left alone and reported a whopping 80% as exhibiting Separation Related Distress.

But how can I tell if my dog is distressed?

The easiest way to tell if your own dog suffers from Separation Related Distress is to video them when he or she is left alone. Hopefully you will see him or her chewing on a Kong, settling into their bed and falling asleep. If they don’t do this though, it is not a total disaster – help is at hand.

What should I do next?

If you are worried your dog may be suffering from Separation Related Distress, the first step is to book an appointment with your Veterinarian for a full health check.

With medical causes eliminated, an appointment to see a qualified Behaviourist or Behaviour Veterinarian will allow for a full assessment followed by development of a treatment plan.

For further advice or to discuss a particular case please do not hesitate to contact Dr Julie at Life on Four Legs.

1. Bradshaw, J.W.S., Blackwell, E.J., Rooney, N.J. and Casey, R.A. (2002). Prevalence of separation related behaviour in dogs in southern England. In: Proceedings of the 8th ESVCE Meeting on Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, Granada, Spain. Eds. J. Dehasse, E. Biosca Marce. Publibook, France. Pp 189-193.
2. Bradshaw, J.W.S., McPherson, J.A., Casey, R.A. and Larter, I.S. (2002). Aetiology of separation related behaviour in the domestic dog. Veterinary Record, 151, 43-46.