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I’m sure many people don’t realise it but from the 3^rd April to 3^rd May is National Pet Month. The aim of National Pet Month is to help improve the welfare of pets all across Britain. The registered charity is planning on doing this by educating children and adults on the complexities and responsibilities that come with owning a pet but at the same time to tell people how rewarding owning a pet can be and how their pet can become a true friend. The charity also wants to make pet owners aware of the services that are available for people who own pets, such as local dog training classes. National Pet Month also wants participants to photograph their pets and they can then be entered into a competition to win over £1000 worth of Venture Photography vouchers and a complimentary photography session for the winner and their pet. For more information, simply Google National Pet Month.

The goldfish were one of the earliest types of fish to be kept as pets and their popularity as one of Britain’s favourite pets continues to grow. They are easy to look after and do not require too much attention, apart from cleaning the water every other week and feeding them fish flakes once a day. For this reason I decided that I would get a goldfish and have it as a pet, after my cat and rabbit died. I wanted a no-fuss pet so I chose a goldfish – that was about 15 years ago! I have read that goldfish can live up to 40 years but that the average domestic goldfish live between six to eight years. If that is the average then my goldfish is now double the average age of a household fish. They are so simple to keep as pets, that even I have managed to keep one alive for 15 years! You can also style their tanks so that they match the room that you choose to keep them in. I keep my fish in the bathroom and as my bathroom is blue and white, I bought a clear bowl and filled it with blue and white stones so that it blends into my decor. If I can manage to keep a fish alive for 15 years and counting I’m sure anyone else will be able to as well.

One of the words most famous dogs at the moment has to be Barak Obama’s Portuguese water dog which he bought for his 10 year old daughter Malia Obama, as she suffers from allergies. Obama’s daughter has chosen to call her dog Bo after her Grandfather’s nickname was Diddley, after Bo Diddley. Portuguese water dogs, which do not shed so much hair, are said to be hype allergenic, making them less aggravating to people with allergies. However there is little scientific evidence to support this claim, or to support the claim that any hyper allergenic dog breed even exists, but their non-hair shedding quality has made them popular amongst families. The Portuguese water dog is classified by the American Kennel club as a working dog, originating from the Algarve region of Portugal.

Recently there have been lots of stories in the press about dangerous, illegal dogs that are on the streets of Britain. There are a vast number of people who own illegal breeds of dogs which are dangerous to member of the public and this has been brought to the forefront of the public domain following the tragic death of four-year-old boy from Liverpool. John Paul Massey was killed at a family home in Liverpool at the end of 2009 and neighbors have come forward and said that there are a lot of dangerous looking dogs in the area. The uncle of the boy who was killed has since been charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act. There was a campaign running this year by the Government that wanted all dog owners to insure against pets attaching people, however the proposal was later dismissed by the Government as they did not want to penalise responsible owner. Something still needs to be done in order to ensure that these illegal breeders are not allowed to continue breeding these vicious dogs which can and do attack innocent member of the public, tarnishing the reputation of the responsible dog owners and breeders.

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 !!!)”