Pet Health Library

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• Dog: Excitable and Disobedient

  Many excitable and boisterous behaviours are normal for puppies and will diminish with time and with appropriate early training. However, if the behaviour persists, is difficult for you to manage, does not respond well to basic training it is possible that it is driven by an emotional disturbance, rather than bad manners.

• Dog: False Pregnancy

  False pregnancy (also known as pseudocyesis, phantom pregnancy or pseudopregnancy) is the term used to describe the condition whereby a non-pregnant dog undergoes bodily and behavioural changes similar to those you that would expect if she was pregnant.

• Dog: Play and Exercise

  Play with owners and with other dogs, not only provides the dog with some of its exercise requirements but also helps to meet its social needs.

• Dog: Separation Related Anxiety

  Separation anxiety is a term used to describe a condition which afflicts dogs that are overly attached to or dependent on family members. They become extremely anxious and show distress behaviours like vocalisation, destruction, house-soiling or inactivity when separated from their owners.

• Dog: Toys

  For dogs to remain behaviourally healthy it is important that we meet their needs for physical exercise and mental stimulation.

• Dog: Treatment of Firework and Noise Fears

  The best approach to this problem is to change the dog's perception of the noises using the behavioural modification techniques of desensitisation and counter-conditioning.

• Dog: Using Surgical Collars - Elizabethan and Tubular Collars

  Sometimes it is necessary to use a special type of collar to prevent your pet from attacking a particular area, such as a wound or bandage dressing. They take two forms: Elizabethan collars and tubular collars.

• Dogs & Cats: Systematic Desensitisation

  Systematic desensitisation is a behavioural modification method used to reduce an animal's emotional response to a given object or situation.

• Dogs: Barking

  The presence of unwanted and inappropriate barking is one of the most common complaints of dog owners and their neighbours! Up to a third of noise complaints to local Councils of some areas concern disturbances by dogs.

• Dogs: Destructiveness - Chewing

  It is a normal behaviour for puppies to investigate their environment by sniffing, mouthing and perhaps even chewing on objects throughout the home environment.