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Shock collars have been a controversial part of pet behavioural training for a while now, with animal welfare groups campaigning against them as a heavy handed and barbaric way to discipline unruly animals which could easily be replaced by better training methods. Now, the Welsh Assembly has voted in favour of a complete ban of the collars, with penalties of up to £20,000 and six months in prison for using them.

While I think the penalties are a little excessive (obviously they are the worst-case, but still), the ban itself does make sense. I’m not a fan of the electric collars and find that when they are used, they simply result in a pet which is no longer trusting of its handlers even if its behaviour improves.

Still, what do you guys think?

If you’ve ever had to take a pet abroad, you will know the amount of effort which has to go into planning your trip in order to satisfy quarantine requirements. Since pet passports were introduced along with microchipping, travel within the EU is much simpler as long as you still plan ahead to a certain extent and have your pet tested between 3-24 months before traveling. However, those rules could be relaxed even further, a move which could open the door to rabies returning to the UK.

The problem is that the EU claims that rabies, ticks and tapeworms are problems seen in such low numbers within the EU that the necessity of having your pet tested is redundant and simply makes it harder to travel with animals. However, research from the World Institute for Animal Health suggests that these problems might be being under reported and that even if they aren’t, the numbers of cases in some areas of the EU are still too high to make the possibility of infection low enough to relax the rules.

I think the important thing here is that the authorities are trying to strike a balance between freedom of movement and disease prevention, but this story does give off warning signals that maybe things could get worse before they get better.

As I mentioned in my most recent post, the UK Government wished to introduce a law making it mandatory for all dog owners  to pay for third-party liability insurance for their pets. This was supposedly to help with the damage caused by illegal breeds of dog on other people and the costs of dealing with their owners. Obviously, this plan went down like a lead balloon.

Well the government has now dropped their plan which would have seen each dog owner pay for the illegal activities of others, while those very same law-breakers would still get away with owning banned breeds of dog.

I for one am glad, because the last thing anyone needs in this economic climate is MORE expense due to other people being irresponsible!

The UK government is one of those funny institutions. If you’ve ever seen Father Ted, you’ll know what I mean when I compare it to Father Jack – the old guy, covered in his own filth, who every so often pipes up to come out with some inflammatory comment before slipping back into his stupefied slumber.

Well, this time the mad priest has come out with something truly idiotic. As we all know, some little boys like to get big dogs to make themselves look tough. This big dog is trained (or not, as is often the case) to react to humans with an extremely violent temper. They walk these dogs around like they’re the kings of their little estate and treat them like weapons. A few of these animals have ended up killing or seriously injuring small kids when irresponsible owners leave the two together unattended. So the government’s answer? Tax everyone.

Yes, soon you will be forced to pay an insurance premium on your dog to cover yourself against ‘third party liability’. That means if your dog was to bite someone, the insurance policy would pay out to cover their costs and so on. Somewhere, somehow, this is meant to stop people getting banned breeds of dog and training them up into aggressive attack dogs.

Maybe the government missed a beat here. It isn’t that the victims of such attacks can’t get compensation. It isn’t that there should be more money pumped into the animal welfare system (well, it should, but that isn’t the point of this policy), it is that little chavs are getting BANNED BREEDS OF DOG. Maybe they should look at where these animals come from, and how to stop that trade. And do you really think for one second that the kind of idiot who partakes in this activity is going to suddenly decide to respect the law by taking out an insurance policy? That is, if they could even be covered on an illegal animal…

This time the government has fired so wide of the mark it is untrue. What they have come up with, again, is something to punish the innocent while the guilty get off scot free.

How long before they find a way to put a tax on hamsters…

Dogs have a sense of humour. We all know it – there is just something about them. So it should come as no surprise that when a couple from Scotland who owned a dog decided to get tickets for a dog training show, the hound would inevitably find a way to work against them!

The dog, an 8 month old female Labrador, had never touched the mail before the tickets arrived just after Christmas. Nevertheless, she still tore the tickets into pieces – while leaving all the other mail intact, of course.

Something tells me this dog knew what those tickets were for, and had to deal with them… And how!

So Christmas is just round the corner, its that time of year when you are thinking of presents, but have you forgotten that other member of the family ??
How many of you go that little bit further and treat your pet to a present or three. There are many choices out there depending on your ‘taste’ in pet accessories.
Maybe you go for the easy choice of a squeaky toy or dog treats, at least it will keep them entertained for an hour or 2. Alternatively you may decide that pet clothes are the way forward, a fetching jacket or furry hat are among many ranges you will find. But if you want that something that slightly more ‘special’ then full outfits are available. I managed to find both a superman and darth vader outfit for a dog within minutes of searching for costumes.
So whether it’s a safe or outlandish present along with a Christmas cards that you plump for, just remember;

“A dog’s for life not just for Christmas (but don’t forget their present as they may have one of yours instead !!!)”

Because it’s winter now, people seem to think it’s acceptable not to clear up after their pets. In the summer the pavements are clear, it’s lighter for longer and it’s obvious when people take their dog for a walk and then don’t bag it and bin it. At the moment, the leaves have been falling from the trees, there’s rain falling and people basically run back and forth from their cars to their houses or places of work and don’t take a moment out to appreciate the weather as it’s usually shocking. Because of this irresponsible dog owners are being lazy and just letting their pets mess amongst the leaves. This would not be pleasant for anyone unfortunate enough. Stepping in dog mess would just ruin your day. A friend was late to work the other day due to this kind of incident. She said she went out to the car and realised she had forgotten something, so then went back into the house but on the way in, she had stepped in something nasty and walked it through the living room. Or course you can’t just leave it so she got out the cleaning products and disinfected her house before heading back out. This made her late for work, so please, clean up after your pets!

As we are coming up to Christmas, it is important to remember the age old saying, ‘a dog is for life and not just for Christmas’. This time of year has always been a popular one for considering buying animals to give to your loved ones at Christmas, however please remember that if you do decide to buy an animal, they will need to look after it properly for life. Dogs and cats live for about 15 years (if they are lucky) and there is a surprising amount of responsibility needed to properly love and care for a pet. Dogs require walking every day, all animals require feeding, and all animals require love and attention to ensure they have a happy life. If you are not totally confident that the animal you buy will be looked after properly then please don’t give an animal as a gift. If however you are absolutely sure that the person you buy an animal for will love and be able to care for it properly, then it can be the greatest gift. Be responsible and if there’s any doubt, buy them jewellery instead!