Giving your pup opportunities to socialise is an important part of dog ownership. Until they are about four or five months of age dogs are ripe for socialisation. This is a critical period that will shape how they behave with and relate to other dogs and people for the rest of their lives. When your…
Toilet training your new puppy should start as soon as you get her home. Remember, it will take time and patience, but you will get there in the end. Some pups will pick it up quickly, others will take a bit more time. Just be patient and don’t get stressed if accidents occur, because they…
Dog ownership is a commitment for life, but as pet owners we sometimes experience busy periods where work takes us away from the home, or for whatever reason we just can’t give our dogs the attention they need. That’s why doggy daycare is a popular solution. It works in the same way that it does…
It’s not surprising to learn that the Burmese cat has its origins in Burma – the first Burmese cat was taken from this country to America in the 1930s, where it was later recognised as a new breed. Today’s Burmese cats come in 10 colours, including Chocolate (a warm, milky chocolate), Blue (which is a…
Adopting its name from the area of Scotland and England where it used to work with shepherds, it is thought the Border Collie breed can be traced back to as early as the 1700s. It is a medium-sized working dog that is most commonly black and white but can also be brown, red or tricolor.…
Cats like to breed. According to figures from Geelong Council in Victoria, an un-desexed female cat and her male partner can potentially have two litters a year, with an average of three kittens per litter. If their offspring also produced two litters a year, over a four-year period it’s possible that the original pair of…
Taking your precious puppy back to the vet to be desexed can be a daunting procedure for new owners. So, what does it all mean? Desexing is an operation that is performed under sterile conditions by a registered vet using a general anaesthetic. It’s a permanent procedure that can’t be reversed. In female dogs, it…
As a pet owner it’s important you understand the nutritional needs of your pets so you can feed them a balanced, nutritious diet. So let’s get back to basics. Are cats and dogs omnivores (meaning they eat a variety of food from both plant and animal origins) or carnivores (meaning meat eaters)? First let’s take…
Is your best mate misbehaving? He might just be bored. Remember, dogs are meant to leave active lives. In the wild, dogs are spending the majority of their waking lives hunting and scavenging, and most domestic dogs are bred to hunt, fetch game, retrieve prey or herd livestock. Our dogs spend most of their days…
The Sunshine Coast is a great place to own a pet, as we have many parks and beaches for our four-legged mates to run around on, but the council enforces rules on how to exercise your dogs and where you can do it. If you want to take your dogs for a walk, they must…