News
The benefits of cooked pumpkin for dogs and cats
The humble pumpkin is a great addition to the diet of your cat or dog. You can add small amounts of mashed cooked pumpkin to their meal every day. Pumpkin is low in calories and your pet feels fuller sooner, helping them to maintain a health weight. The fibre helps maintain ongoing digestive health. Pumpkin can also help settle down an upset stomach.
Based on 7 health markers and a study of 1769 people, pet owners are healthier
The Mayo Clinic followed 1769 people in Europe and monitored their health based on 7 health markers. They concluded that pet owners were more healthy on average than non pet owners. Dog owners specifically were the healthiest of all groups. It is thought that its because having a dog prompts owners to go out, move around and play with their dog regularly.
Campaign to discourage owning dog breeds which have chronic medical problems
The RSPCA and the Australian Veterinary Association have come together to launch a new campaign - Love Is Blind (We Love Our Dogs). The campaign aims to educate dog breeders, dog owners and vets about the problems inherent with some pedigree breeds of dog such as pugs, british bulldogs, french bulldogs, boston terriers and pekingese, among others.
Smell o'clock - how dogs tell the time with their noses
Alexandra Horowitz, a research scientist in the field of dog cognition believes that dogs are able to use their keen sense of smell to determine what time of day it is. Smells in a room change as the day goes on. Hot air rises, and it usually rises in currents along the walls and will rise to the ceiling and go kind of to the center of the room and drop. If we were able to visualize the movement of air through the day, what we're really visualizing is the movement of odor through the day.
Reverse sneezing in dogs and a common remedy
Our own pet beagle sometimes reverse sneezes. Its a behaviour seen in dogs whereby air is taken into the nose quickly, and results in the appearance of discomfort and choking.