Blog - Page 2 of 3 - Life on Four Legs

17/11 |

Help my cat is scratching everything and ruining my house…..!!!

Help… my cat is ruining my sofa, bed, wicker laundry basket (insert prized furniture possession here)! This is a call I receive almost weekly. Why oh why are our furry feline friends so intent on destroying our belongings? Is it out of spite? Malice? Or something else?

Why do cats scratch?

Scratching is a normal feline behaviour and they do it for a number of reasons:

Maintenance of claws –old claw coverings are shed when cats scratch. It also sharpens and shortens the claws.
Stretching – ever notice that a cat will often scratch after it has woken up? It is our equivalent of a satisfying morning stretch!
Muscle maintenance – scratching is a way of keeping their hunting leg muscles in tip top shape.
Marking – scratching provides both a visual signal (the scratches themselves) and a pheromonal signal to other cats. Cats have lots of scent glands between their toes and scratching is a way of saying ‘come read my message over here!’ Scratching behaviour can sometimes increase in times of stress and be seen in ‘socially important’ areas to the cat.

Picking a scratching post

Many commercially available scratching posts are totally unsuitable for cats. When trying to stop your feline scratching your furniture, you need to make sure you have provided them somewhere appropriate to carry out this innate behaviour.

Things to look for:

Sufficient size – the scratching post should be 1.5 x the length of the cat when standing on their hind legs and stretching up.
Sufficiently sturdy – Many scratching posts are flimsy and will wobble when leant on by the cat, which will scare them! Make sure the scratching post can easily take 100% of your cat’s weight.
Consider a horizontal post – some cats prefer horizontal scratching posts – if your cat is scratching your rug think of getting one of these!
Look for a vertical weave – cats like to scratch in vertical motions. Lots of commercially available scratching posts are horizontal (e.g. rope wrapped around a post) – meaning cats can’t get a good grip and will be less likely to use it.
Consider the type of material your cat is enjoying scratching and try to provide this in another setting. Corrugated cardboard, wood, carpet and wicker can all make great scratching posts.

A good scratching post might be all that is needed to stop your lounge looking like this!!!

You can entice your cat to use the new scratching post by using cat nip, dangling wand toys over them and by rewarding them (food and positive interaction) when they scratch the correct area.During this retraining time, they should not be allowed access to the problem area.

If you have followed my top tips for picking a scratching post and are still having issues with a scratching moggy, contact me for more help. Scratching can be a symptom of an anxiety disorder, so it is important not to ignore it!

10/09 |

Don’t Panic!!!

Have you ever had a panic attack? No? Has your pet?

A lovely client of mine emailed a video of her dog during the big Sydney storm we had two weeks ago. There is no other way to describe it except for a panic attack. The poor dog was running around, howling, drooling and trying to break down a door to get out of the house. The video ended with him vomiting in the house ☹ Nobody would argue that this dog was distressed.

Now, not all animals will show such an intense response – but studies suggest up to 50% of our household dogs are scared of thunder. This can develop for various reasons such as a genetic sensitivity, a traumatic experience during a thunder storm, social transmission (learning from another storm-phobic animal) or as a result of a generalized anxiety disorder.

www.ericteske.com

What can we do?

Prevention

Studies have shown that positive exposure to sounds including fireworks, engine noises and thunder in the first 6 months of life can be protective against phobia development at a later stage. 1

Playing with your puppy while introducing these sounds means they accept the noise as normal and so are less likely to develop fear responses as they get older.

Introducing puppies in a positive way to noises such as thunder may prevent a phobia developing

Too late for prevention – so what next?

If you already have a dog with a storm phobia it is not a lost cause!

Medication

For some dogs, like my client’s dog above, the phobia is too intense and medication helps him cope with any up-coming storms. If your dog is getting very stressed talk to your veterinarian or vet behaviourist about whether medication is the right choice for your pet.

Consider getting an Adaptil diffuser or collar to use on your dog.

Manage the situation

When a storm hits there are a number of things you can do to help your dog:
• Minimise exposure to lightning by closing the blinds or curtains.
• If your pet wants to hide, let it. If hiding is their preferred choice of coping, provide them with a box or a place to hide.
• Try distracting your pet with treats and a game. You could even throw a ‘thunder party’! Get your pet excited, play with them, throw treats and make the storm event a great time.
• Consider a thunder jacket.These can help some dogs by making them feel safe and secure.
• Play music.Either calming music such as classical, or even music with a distracting beat (such as rap – Snoop Dog) are anecdotally the best.
• If cuddles help, go ahead! Remember you can’t reinforce fear! If a cuddle helps calm your dog down then go for it.

And then?

The ultimate aim of managing a dog with storm phobia is to stop the phobic responses entirely or at least reduce the intensity of their panic.

We do this by going through a process of desensitisation and counter conditioning. This basically means we take the thing they are scared of (loud thunder noise), make it small, so small that they don’t react fearfully (by playing it very quietly) and pair it with something good (a yummy treat or a game). This is a slow process, but it enables us to teach the dog that thunder isn’t so scary and is actually something pretty good – as it predicts the arrival of treats!

As with all behaviour modification, it is crucial that this process is undertaken in a controlled, consistent manner So for further information on how to make your pet’s life that bit better contact me at Julie@Lifeonfourlegs.com.au.

1. (Appleby DL, Bradshaw JWS, Casey RA. Relationship between aggressive and avoidance behaviours by dogs and their experience in the first 6 months of life. Vet Rc 2002; 150:434-8)

17/05 |

Do you have a pessimistic pooch? (The answer may be more scientific than you think!)

Do some dogs have a negative outlook on life?

In 2008, I undertook research at Bristol University as part of my Bachelor of Science degree to identify whether dogs suffering with separation anxiety exhibit longer-term effects in how they view the world. This was published in 2010 in Current Biology (under my maiden name of Brooks).

The question we wanted to ask was that we know people that are happy are more likely to judge ambiguous situations as positive and vice versa but do dogs have that same glass half full vs half-empty mentality?

This pug definitely seems to think his glass is always half empty 🙁

Working with dogs at the RSPCA in Bristol, they were trained that a bowl in one corner of the room always contained food and that a bowl in the opposite corner never did. Bowls were then moved to 3 ‘ambiguous’ locations – straight down the middle, nearer the ‘always full’ and then nearer the ‘always empty’ location.

Dogs that ran slowly to the ambiguous bowls were labelled ‘pessimistic’. Interestingly, there was a strong correlation to pooches suffering with high levels of anxiety when left alone.

So what now?

This week I was very excited to read that further studies have been carried out by the University of Lincoln to investigate whether anything can be done about this pessimistic outlook.

They adopted the test structure we designed and recruited two groups of dogs – those with separation anxiety and those that were ‘normal’. To start with they found the same as we did in 2008, dogs with separation anxiety were more pessimistic.

Banishing the ‘black dog’

However, here is the great news. They treated these dogs with a course of antidepressant medication (fluoxetine / Prozac) and undertook a programme of behaviour modification. After just 2 weeks of treatment, these anxious dogs showed a similar response to the “normal group”. The “black dog” was being banished!

This scientific study emphasises that separation anxiety is a real welfare issue. Pets that panic when left alone don’t just get stressed at that time, but suffer from the effects in their judgement of day to day activities too. But it is not all doom and gloom. Structured behaviour modification and medication can make a huge difference, something I see clinically every day.

Resources:

Mendl, M, Brooks, J, Basse, C, Burman, O, Paul, E, Blackwell, E & Casey, R 2010, ‘Dogs showing separation-related behaviour exhibit a ‘pessimistic’ cognitive bias’. Current Biology, vol 20., pp. R839 – R840

Christos I karagiannis, Oliver HP Burman and Daniel S Mills, 2015 Dogs with separation-related problems show a “less pessimistic” cognitive bias during treatment with fluoxetine (Reconcile™) and a behaviour modification plan. BMC Veterinary Research 11:80

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.

22/02 |

Do pets dream?

All pet owners who have watched their furry friend sleeping will at some point have asked themselves this question. Moving feet, twitching ears, those super cute noises coming from their bed are just some of the signs their minds are elsewhere.

But just where are they? Are they chasing birds on a summer’s day? Pouncing on their favourite toy? Gorging themselves on delicious food? Or are they simply experiencing some kind of unconscious reflex?

Do pets dream?

Let’s have a little look at the evidence!

Not so Cat-atonic

During the 1960s in France, some horrific experiments (by today’s standards) were performed on cats. Inhumane as they were, what was discovered offered great insight into not only our favourite companions, but also ourselves.

Scientists surgically removed a part of the brain known as the pons from a number of cats In humans, we know the pons works to stops us moving around whilst we are in R.E.M (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the sleep phase in which we dream.

By removing this brain structure, the cats wandered around, vocalised and acted aggressively whilst asleep. This strongly suggested that they were dreaming, involuntarily experiencing images and sensations in their minds but no longer able to restrict their body from physically responding to them.

Without their pons, we were not only able to confirm that our pets dream but were able to actually see what they are dreaming about!

A-mazing Rats

Thankfully, modern day science has progressed in its approach since then. In 2007, scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) looked at electrical pathways of the hippocampus (the part of the brain involved in memory) in rats as they navigated their way through a maze for the first time.

Amazingly, they found the same neurones were firing when the rats were awake and learning as afterwards) in their REM sleep. In other words, the scientists inferred the rats were ‘rehearsing’ the maze in their minds during sleep. It was even possible to pinpoint certain tricky parts of the maze that the rats were specifically thinking about!

But are our pets self-conscious?

With dreaming in our pets confirmed, the tricky bit comes down to consciousness. Do they realise they are dreaming? Do they remember the dream after they wake up? And if they do, can they distinguish between what they experienced when they were asleep versus when they are awake?

What do you think? Have you ever seen your pet dreaming?

Life on Four Legs is a Veterinary Behaviour Consultation Service run by practicing Vet Dr Julie Ashton in Sydney, Australia.

27/01 |

What is your cat trying to tell you?

For many years we underestimated our feline friends – believing they were solitary creatures only communicating with each other at the very edges of their territories – which in itself was probably limited to aggression.

We now know that this is not true! Cats can and do live in very complex social groups and have well-developed signaling methods:

Vocalising

Anyone with a cat knows they make a wide array of sounds. Clever cats have even learned to vocalize at the same pitch as a baby crying to make it harder for their human slaves to ignore!

So what do the most common noises actually mean?

Purr – anyone with a pet cat will be familiar with this cute sound. This is the noise cats make when they are either looking for some contact or enjoying something.

Miaow – this noise is rarely heard in cat-to-cat communication – but is heard often when humans are around. It is thought to have developed as a way to communicate with people (who are very auditory communicators). Cats make a different sounding miaow in different situations and their humans are trained to react accordingly!

Chatter – this is the amazing sound cats make when they are watching a prey object they cannot reach!

Growl/hiss/spit/snarl/yowl – I don’t need to tell you these noises indicate aggression!

Visual signaling.

Cats use their face, body and tail as their main signaling methods (thanks to google for the pictures – most have been adapted from Leyhausen 1979).

Face:

Tail:

Body:

Smell

Cats live in a variety of situations depending on the amount of food available – varying from huge family groups to solitary living. Smells are like written messages to us and can be left in areas where other cats may visit without having to actually see the other cat.

Cats also have a very well developed secondary smell organ –the vomeronasal organ. This lets them sense pheromones too. These are chemical messengers which can affect their emotions!

Urine – urine marking or spraying is a relatively common behaviour ‘problem’ I see in cats. Cats tend to spray more in domestic situations as a result of anxiety. However the true meaning of this spraying is not yet know. It is thought it could help cats to time share space, or may provide information about the size, sex, health and reproductive status of cats living in the same area.

Scratching – scratching is thought to have a variety of uses – firstly claw health but also signaling. It acts as a visual signal (the scratch), but they also have a large number of scent glands between their toes and leave signals within their territory with these.

Skin glands – Cats have lots of scent glands in their skin. The one we most commonly see being used is the face – cats rub on familiar things (you, their environment) to mark them as familiar. This makes them feel more relaxed in their environment.

If you need any more information on reading your cat, or understanding what your cat is trying to tell you then contact Dr Julie @ Life on Four Legs

25/11 |

It’s getting hot, hot, hot….!!

So Sydney, summer is here and by all accounts it is going to be a hot one! Summer is my favourite time of year, but unfortunately it can be misery for our furry friends. Those that suffer the most include the brachycephalics of this world. These are our squished faced pets; and include Pugs, French Bulldogs, Boston terriers, Persian cats etc. These pets have changes in their anatomy which mean that they don’t breathe or pant efficiently, making them much more prone to heat stroke.

Walter may be just about the cutest dog there is – but dogs like him struggle in the hot weather 🙁

Signs of heat stroke include:

Panting excessively
Drinking lots of water
Weakness or wobbliness
Vomiting or diarrhea
Disorientation or confusion
Eventual collapse
Raised body temperature, which can sometimes be felt by touch

If in doubt contact your local vet ASAP. Heat stroke can kill.

Remember, just like children never leave your pets unattended in a car, even with the window open.

So what can you do?

There are a number of obvious things you can do:

Always provide your pet with multiple drinking bowls of fresh water
Provide lots of shade and make sure they actually lie in it!
Clip their fur
Allow them to lie on cool tiles
Air conditioning (even whilst you are out during the day if necessary)
Not walking them during the hottest part of the day

However, this is a behaviour blog, so now for the fun parts! Remember that your pets don’t always know what is best for them, so move that cooking cat out of the direct sun! There are lots of great and fun ways for your pets to keep cool this summer:

Kongsicles

We all love a good ice lolly in the summer – including our dogs (and greedy cats such as my Seby..!) To make your very own dog or cat ice lolly – pick an appropriate sized kong, turn it upside down and plug the small hole with treats to create a seal. Then fill the kong up with chicken stock, tuna water or your liquid of choice. Freeze it overnight and voila… a kongsicle!

Paddling pools

Lots of dogs love a good paddle. Fill up a paddling pool, or an upturned box and fill it with water. This will allow your dog to jump in and have a swim (unfortunately most cats hate water so this won’t be a popular choice for most of them!)

Ice blocks

Ever been to a zoo in the summer and seen them feeding the animals ice blocks as entertainment? The same thing can be done for our dogs. Simply get a container (such as an old ice cream container). Fill it up with some water add some treats, freeze, and then add another layer, more treats and freeze it and there you have it – a frozen block of fun!

Encourage drinking

Many people tell me that their cats don’t drink much. We can encourage cats to drink by using a water fountain, adding some tuna juice to water or even changing to wet food during a hot spell.

Trip to the beach

There are a lot of great spots in Sydney that allow dogs at the beach. So if time allows bring your furry friend to the beach – just remember to provide them with fresh water (sea water and dogs don’t mix….!) and try and bring them at the cooler times of the day.

Dr Julie and LouLou enjoying some evening beach time!

And most importantly ENJOY!!

27/10 |

Helping dogs and cats that just can’t stand having a mani-pedi.

Why do they hate it?

This week I have had am influx of pets that just can’t stand having their nails clipped. For some pets it’s mainly the restraint that they hate, for others it’s the noise of the clippers and some just can’t stand having their feet touched. Dogs and cats feet contain large numbers of touch sensitive receptors and so are much more sensitive to being held than either yours or mine.

No matter what the cause of the anxiety around having nails clipped, animals that don’t allow it to be done are a cause of stress for themselves, vets, nurses, groomers and their owners! They can develop medical issues associated with nails growing into their feet and often the problem worsens each time we try and overpower them to allow clipping.

So what can we do?

To try and reverse the stress and anxiety related with nail clipping we need to teach them that having their nails cut is actually fun thing 🙂 To do this we pair nail cutting with a tasty treat repeatedly (a technique called desensitising and counter conditioning). This technique is demonstrated wonderfully by Sophia Yin in the video below:

http://drsophiayin.com/videos/entry/training_a_dog_to_enjoy_toenail_trims

Dr Sophia Yin was a huge inspiration to Dr Julie and sadly passed away earlier this month. She will be sadly missed by the profession but her memory and techniques will live on.

And cats….?

Exactly the same technique can be employed with cats. Some canned food, tuna, Vegemite or peanut butter smeared on a spoon is a good option for them to lick while you practice holding their feet.

Here is Woollahra Vet Hospital’s practice cat Silver loving his nail clip:

What about puppies and kittens?

Now for the prevention part! It is very important when you get a new puppy that you get them used to you handling them everywhere – opening up their mouth, looking in and handling their ears, and handling their feet. You can practice holding them and clipping small pieces from their toenails as soon as you get them!

If you are having problems with a furry friend misbehaving for their mani pedi and would like some advice on what to do next then please contact Dr Julie at Life on Four Legs.

12/10 |

Apartment living with Sydney’s dogs and cats

According to a recent Sydney Morning Herald Article, more and more of us are willing to pay a premium to allow us to live with our furry companions in inner city apartments:

http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/can-i-bring-my-dog-too-20141012-114eyf.html

Until very recently (this month to be exact!) I have been living in an apartment in Rose Bay with my cat Sebastian – and he has been quite happy (if not slightly porkier than I would like…..).

Most of us work much longer days than we would like and most of our fur kids end up being at home alone for long periods of time. There are however a few easy to implement things we can do to make their lives happy and more interesting.

For both dogs and cats consider getting a puzzle feeder. These can be as easy as a home made kibble dispensing bottle (simply make holes in an old plastic bottle- and voila!), or hiding food in an empty egg box for cats – to more elaborately designed feeding stations such as the Trixie Cat Puzzle Boards or Kong dispensers. Alternatively, take to hiding kibble all around your apartment – your dog or cat’s very own daily treasure hunt! Seby is a big fan of his puzzle feeder:

When it comes to toys – variation is the key! Pets get bored of toys very easily – so leave them down for no longer than a week, then swap them with another. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on new toys, simply hide them for a few weeks and your dog or cat will get excited about it once more .

www.petsneedalifetoo.com have a huge range of amazing toys (just be careful not to leave any toys your pet can ingest parts of!)

With cats, remember they see the world from a different perspective and love nothing more that climbing on things and sitting up high. Consider getting a cat tree with various levels for your cat to hide or climb on. If you don’t mind adding to your interior design there are a wide variety of cat shelving and walkways you can buy online, I love:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CatastrophiCreations?ref=l2-shopheader-name&ulsfg=true

For a cheaper solution most cats can’t resist a cardboard box.
For dogs try and walk them at least once a day and add in some games for variation. You could try sharing walks with other dog owners in your apartment – so someone can walk them in the morning and the other person in the evening. If you are out for extended periods every day you could even consider a reputable doggy day care or dog walking service.

If you are thinking of getting a new cat or dog and want to discuss ways to enrich their lives to prevent common behaviour problems, or are currently living with an animal suffering from problem behaviours please don’t hesitate to contact Life on Four Legs 🙂

< Newer Posts

Older Posts >