A barking dog can be helpful and comforting especially when it comes to alerting you about possible intruders. Unfortunately, barking can also be frustrating and disruptive and excessive barking can even be considered a behavioural problem.

Dogs vocalise in many different ways. They may bark or whine and some may even howl. The most important point is that these are all normal behaviours, they just may be occurring at an undesirable time (6 am), at an undesirable object (the postman) or for an undesirable amount of time (for many hours while you are at work).

Before you can attempt to improve your dog’s inappropriate or excessive barking, you need to determine why your dog is vocalising in the first place.

Common reasons for barking include:

• Warning or alert
• Excitement
• Playfulness
• Attention-seeking
• Anxiety
• Boredom
• Responding to other dogs or people

In some cases, it may be necessary to change your dog’s environment. For example, if your dog always barks at people walking past the front gate, you need to restrict your dog’s access to the front of the house.

Believe it or not, actually teaching your dog to bark on command can help. You can also teach your dog to be quiet on command during this process. You can ask us for more information and instructions on how best to do this. Dedication and persistence will be required!

We are here to help you so if you have any questions about your dog’s behaviour you should always ask us for support.

Keeping backyard chickens as pets has become more and more popular in both urban and suburban areas.

There are plenty of benefits when it comes to keeping chickens:

• They are relatively easy and inexpensive to maintain (when compared to most other pets)
• They produce eggs that are fresh and nutritious
• They provide chemical-free bug and weed control
• Their droppings are a fabulous fertiliser
• They are entertaining and fun 
• Keeping chickens is educational for children

Our top tips for keeping chickens as pets:

1. Check with your local council on the rules on keeping chickens in your area (how many, can they be free-range?)
2. Housing needs to be dry and draft-free, with good ventilation and a place to nest and stay safe from predators
3. You must feed the right diet for your type and age of chicken. Complete and balanced food can be purchased at most farm supply stores. These commercial feeds are formulated differently for broilers (meat chickens) and layers (hens used for egg laying)
4. Grains, such as oats and barley, as well as leafy greens and veggies should be fed in moderation and should not make up more than 10 per cent of the diet
5. Chickens that do not get a balanced diet will be more prone to disease
6. Chickens will lay about one unfertilised egg a day and this is stimulated by exposure to daylight. Egg laying will occur regardless of the presence of a rooster

Don’t forget that it is important to accept the responsibility associated with owning chickens. With good care and no major health problems, chickens can live as long as eight years! 

Ask us for more information or if you have any other questions about keeping chickens as pets. 

It’s not uncommon for a client to ask us if their dog has cataracts.They notice that their dog’s eyes have become ‘cloudy’ and they are worried about what might be going on.

A cataract is a cloudy lens and if dense, is seen as a white pupil. Old age, breed predisposition and diabetes are the most common reasons for cataract development in dogs. Other causes for cataract development include retinal diseases such as progressive retinal atrophy. The presence of a cataract will cause a loss of vision in the affected eye.

Whilst cataracts are something we do see in some patients, a far more common cause for a cloudy looking eye is a condition known as senile nuclear sclerosis.

Nuclear sclerosis is common in dogs (50% of dogs over approximately 9 years of age have the condition) but in contrast to cataracts, nuclear sclerosis does not cause a noticeable loss of vision.

It’s important that we make the distinction between cataracts and nuclear sclerosis so we correctly manage the condition. Cataracts may cause further problems such as painful inflammation and lens-induced uveitis or glaucoma. Cataracts may also be indicative of an underlying disorder that needs to be identified and treated such as diabetes. Cataracts may be corrected by surgical removal and vision is generally restored. Your pet will need to be referred to a veterinary ophthalmologist (eye specialist) for cataract surgery. Nuclear sclerosis doesn’t cause any secondary problems and so treatment is not indicated.

To correctly diagnose cataracts or nuclear sclerosis, we will need to examine your pet’s eyes more closely and will need to dilate their pupils to allow good visualisation of the lens. We will discuss this process with you in more detail if it is required. 

If you are ever worried about your pet’s eyes you should call us. Eye problems can be serious, painful and change quickly so it’s always best to ask us for advice.