Pets

Question: My husband and I are planning on starting a family this year but worry our two-year-old Jack Russell cross, Jackie, might get jealous. She adores children but can get jealous when my attention is elsewhere. What can I do to make sure she is okay with a new addition to our family? Lisa Hunter […]

This purrsonality-plus puss is the pet for those who want an intense relationship with a character cat. No shrinking violet, the Siamese both demands and provides extremely stimulating companionship. Extraordinarily intelligent, inquisitive and resourceful, the Siamese usually insists on participating in all facets of your daily activities ? whether it be reading the newspaper with […]

Question: What’s the best way to clean my pet’s ears? Answer: You can easily clean your pet’s ears by wiping them with cotton wool and peroxide. It cleans away the gunk really easily and the peroxide dries quickly so it doesn’t annoy your pet for too long. Tash

Question: We’ve had our budgie for a few years now and he won’t stop screeching. It’s driving us all mad. We tried putting him into another room but it doesn’t help. What can we do? Eve Burrage, Perth, WA. Answer: You need to try and work out what the trigger for his screeching is. Does […]

Many owners believe that dog training is only for those who wish to compete in obedience trials. This is akin to believing that only children who grow up to be doctors and lawyers should attend primary school! Unlike “training” children, we are unable to sit down and explain to a dog why we wish for […]

Question: How do I keep my dog happy while I’m away? Answer: When leaving my dog to go to work, I throw a handful of pellets all around the backyard and also leave a chew for her to find. This keeps her busy for hours trying to find everything and she associates my leaving with […]

Question: My Staffy pup has started to lose her puppy teeth and the adult teeth are coming through. My concern is that her lower canines have come through and are not yet positioned correctly as the baby teeth were. Will this change as the adult teeth grow? Will they eventually position themselves correctly as she […]

Question: I have heard that when male dogs are de-sexed they have a lot of bloating around their lower stomach area. Is there any truth in this or is my dog just slightly overweight? Collette Answer: Dear Collette, It is a very common misunderstanding that de-sexing animals makes them fat. What actually happens is that […]

Question: Dear Julie, We have just moved into a flat with our six-month-old male cat Tiger and a new two-year-old male cat, Tally. Apart from the terrible cat litter smells in a flat, they are new to each other and have taken to sleeping all day and running amuck at night. They can’t go outside […]

Question: Dear Julie, My nine-month-old mini foxie trembles a lot, whether it is hot or cold. Is this normal? Annie Nunn Answer: Lots of little dogs will tremble and often it doesn’t have anything to do with temperature. Of course, these tiny tots don’t have a lot of fat to insulate their bodies, so they […]