From a grass-eating dachshund to a colour changing cat – your pet queries answered
HE is on a mission to help our pets . . . and is here to answer YOUR questions.
Sean, who is the head vet at tailored pet food firm tails.com, has helped with owners’ queries for ten years.
Q) SNOWY, my six-year-old Bichon Frise, still acts like a puppy – as he steals anything I put down.
He pinches clothes, glasses and chews up all my slippers. What can I do to stop this behaviour?
PATRICIA MURPHY, Cannock Wood, Staffs
Sean says: The simple solutions are often the best. Don’t leave anything down that you don’t want to get chewed up.
Chewing is natural dog behaviour – it’s enjoyable, releases feel-good chemicals or endorphins and it’s an occupier for periods of boredom.
So encourage that chewing with a rotating supply of chewable toys and even puzzle feeders – then you might get away with your slippers intact for 2025 and beyond.
Q) OUR black cat Luna is half Oriental and nearly five years old.
Her coat on her tummy and up her back legs is changing colour to a whitish/grey colour with a little skin showing.
We haven’t changed her diet and she appears well and not to be bothered by this.
Have you heard or seen this before, please? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
MAUREEN KIRKHAM, Bucks
Sean says: If it’s not diet-related my next hunch would be a hormonal issue, but you say she is well and no other changes, like her weight or thirst?
Finally, this could be an age-related coat colour change.
For some cats and specific breeds this is perfectly normal. Black cats often turn reddish brown with age.
Q) LILY, our Dachshund, has started eating grass when we’re out on our walks.
She’s never really done it before. She is sometimes sick afterwards.
She’s just turned six, is there any reason for this?
GRAHAM FIDDLER, Wimbledon, London
Sean says: The age-old question, the chicken or the egg? Do sick dogs eat grass, or does eating grass make dogs sick?
There are various theories, one being that if Lily is feeling sick she may eat grass in order to self-medicate or even stimulate vomiting to make herself feel better.
Then there’s the theory that some dogs just like eating grass. But eating too much can sometimes upset their stomach and cause them to vomit.
The two things to watch out for are to ensure she is on a complete and balanced diet tailored to her needs. And that she is regularly wormed.
Q) WE have had our rescue dog Sandy for four years, and we think she’s about seven.
She’s a wonderful companion but she sheds hair irrespective of season or conditions. We have tried all different shampoos, conditioners, oils, foods and so on.
What makes treatments more difficult is that she is a fussy eater. It would be nice, I’m sure, for her not to have clouds of loose hair getting into her food/water etc.
My wife and I often speculate on whether her early-life mistreatment may have affected her metabolism.
We would appreciate any advice you can give on possible treatment for “shedding”.
MIKE READMAN, Whitby, North Yorks
Sean says: Some dogs and breeds just shed more than others. And the only real way to keep it from becoming such a nuisance is by regular grooming.
I’m not talking about booking her in for a pamper once a fortnight, I mean brushing her coat out daily or every few days as a minimum.
A pet shop can advise you on what would be the best brush for Sandy.
Star of the week
DON’T shed a tear for Tia, the brave moggy who can’t blink.
The sweet-natured cat suffered a facial injury leaving her needing eye drops twice a day, but it hasn’t slowed her down.
The four-year-old deserves a loving owner, say her carers at the Cats Protection Centre in Gateshead, Tyneside.
Manager Beni Benstead says: “We will never know how Tia came to have a partial facial paralysis, but we can see how admirably she has coped.
“She needs an owner with the patience to administer the eye drops and we will offer support to ensure a smooth transition.
“Tia is so used to having it done she doesn’t cause any fuss. She deserves a home where she can get her paws under the table.”
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Healthy dogs ‘are being put down’
A UK charity has made a heartbreaking appeal for people to search their souls before taking on a dog.
Fetcher Dog recently raised the profile of doomed pets with images of abandoned dogs on Instagram.
Co-founder Jordan Connor says: “Please think before you buy or adopt a dog.
“It is not a decision to enter into lightly and if you end up getting one, please don’t try to surrender them as soon as you encounter one undesirable behaviour.”
She says dog pounds are at breaking point and a stray must legally spend a week in one before being put to sleep due to lack of space.
People who breed dogs or buy pups from breeders exacerbate the problem.
Jordan explains: “Pounds are not only full of loving dogs with no issues, but tiny puppies dumped because of accidental litters or because they got slightly too old to sell.”
Fetcher Dog, in Ashford, Kent, has saved hundreds of pets.
Jordan adds: “I get a lot of comments on posts which say ‘we don’t put down healthy dogs in the UK,’ but this is wrong. Not only are dogs put to sleep in pounds every week, but in your favourite rescue charities too.
“We are a no-kill rescue, but many aren’t.”
See fetcherdog.com