Michele The Pet Minder

Surprise!

20/2/2017

Sometimes pet minding can be such fun! Recently I walked into one of my visits and this is what my pussy cats had left for me. When I asked who did it they both looked so innocent. Neither one of them would spill the beans. Roughly two days later I was presented with another very special present only this time I was given two body parts. The top half of the mouse was on the floor and its tail was about 30cm away. Only the garden gnomes know what the cats did with the bottom half of the poor victim and they're probably not give me any clues. This time who ever did it managed to make a better job of splitting the mouse in two.

Caring for a dog that lives outside during winter

18/6/2016

Now that the cold weather has actually arrived it's time to take extra special care of your dog if it lives outside by providing it with the right size kennel in a place protected from the wind and rain. The kennel should also have some blankets inside for your dog to snuggle into. If you don't have a kennel and they sleep on a patio or veranda be sure to keep their bedding off the cold ground. Get them a dog bed of the right size. The ones with the metal frame like in the picture are a good option. You can also buy a pillow that fits the frame and this makes your dog even more comfortable.

No chocolate for your dog this Easter!

21/3/2016

Did you know that chocolate is toxic to dogs? Please follow the link to the RSPCA Australia Knowledge Base to find out why.

http://kb.rspca.org.au/why-is-chocolate-toxic-to-dogs-and-other-pets_476.html

How to bond with your new cat

14/3/2016

I’VE JUST GOT A NEW CAT AND WHILE I WAS HELPING IT SETTLE INTO ITS NEW ENVIRONMENT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO SHARE THIS EXPERIENCE WITH YOU.

MY LAST CAT, NINA, DIED IN AN ACCIDENT AND I WAS SURE I WASN’T GOING TO GET ANOTHER ONE, BUT THIS CHANGED WHEN MY SISTER FOUND ANOTHER CAT
AT A RESCUE SHELTER AND IT LOOKED PRETTY MUCH LIKE NINA. IN FACT, IT’S HARD TO TELL THEM APART.

I’VE BEEN ABLE TO USE THE TECHINQUES I’VE PICKED UP DURING MY TIME AS A PET MINDER TO MAKE SETTLING IN LESS STRESSFUL FOR HER.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS TIME AND PATIENCE

TO START WITH I CHOSE A SAFE, QUIET ENVIRONMENT WHERE SHE COULD RELAX DURING THE FIRST DAY OR TWO. I GAVE HER MY BEDROOM AND BATHROOM AND I KEPT HER AWAY FROM THE REST OF THE HOUSE. THE ONE THING I FOUND HARD WAS REMEMBERING NOT TO OPEN THE WINDOWS. HAVING MY NEW CAT ESCAPE WOULD HAVE BEEN STRESSFUL FOR BOTH OF US.

I PUT HER LITTER TRAY AND FOOD IN THE BATHROOM, BUT I’M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN SHE DOESN’T NEED THE LITTER TRAY.

THE THING TO DO IS KEEP ANY DOGS, OTHER CATS AND YOUNG CHILDREN RIGHT OUT OF THE WAY.

I GAVE MY NEW CAT PLENTY OF TIME TO EXPLORE HER NEW SURROUNDINGS BEFORE I MADE CONTACT. THE BEST IDEA IS TO LET THE CAT COME TO YOU WHEN IT’S READY. DON’T FORCE YOURSELF ON IT.

I DIDN’T THREATEN HER OR MAKE ANY SUDDEN MOVEMENTS. IF YOU DO YOU’LL FRIGHTEN THE CAT, AND DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES IT MIGHT NOT WANT TO HAVE ANY FUTHER CONTACT WITH YOU EVER AGAIN WHICH IS A PITY BECAUSE CATS ARE REALLY GREAT ANIMALS TO INTERACT WITH. THEY’RE A LOT CALMER THAN DOGS AND THERE’S NOTHING LIKE THE SOUND OF A HAPPY PURRING CAT.

GIVE IT TIME. I OFTEN FIND THAT SOME OF THE CATS I CARE FOR DON’T WANT TO KNOW ME UNTIL WELL INTO THE VISITING PERIOD. IN A LOT OF CASES THEY USUALLY START TO SHOW INTEREST ON DAY 3 OR 4. ONCE THEY GET TO KNOW ME WE USUALLY BECOME THE BEST OF FRIENDS. I’VE ONLY HAD 2 THAT WERE TOO AFRAID TO COME TO ME AT ALL.

WHEN MY NEW CAT BECAME REALLY RELAXED IN HER NEW SURROUNDINGS, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS TIME TO LET HER MEET MY DOG, I LET THEM GET CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER. MORGAN WAS DYING TO MEET HER NEW FRIEND. SHE WAS BEST FRIENDS WITH OUR LAST CAT AND SHE PROBABLY THOUGHT THE SAME THING WOULD HAPPEN WITH THIS ONE, BUT ON DAY 2 DOGGIE SOON FOUND OUT THAT THIS CAT ISN’T NINA. THE NEW CAT HAD A FEW “STRONG WORDS” WITH HER AND DOGGIE WAS VERY WARY FOR THE REST OF THE DAY.

THE SAME GOES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND OTHER CATS IN THE HOUSE. LET THEM HAVE CONTACT FOR VERY SHORT PERIODS AND WATCH THE REACTIONS BETWEEN THE PARTICPANTS. IF THE CAT HAS A NEGATIVE REACTION THE BEST THING IS TO LET IT HAVE ITS OWN SPACE AND KEEP ALL OF THEM APART, BUT HAVING SAID THAT, OUR CAT DECIDED TO CHANGE HER OPINION OF THE DOG AND WE HAD CAT AND DOG SLEEPING ON THE SAME BED DURING THE NIGHT OF DAY 3.

BY THE BEGINNING OF DAY 3 MY NEW FRIEND WAS SICK OF BEING CONFINED AND SHE WAS MORE THAN READY TO EXPLORE THE REST OF THE HOUSE. NOT LONG AFTER THAT SHE WAS SITTING AT THE BACK DOOR LOOKING OUT INTO THE BIG WIDE WORLD, BUT SHE WON’T BE EXPERIENCING IT FOR A WHILE.

I’M ABSOULTEY SURE THAT PRETTY SOON I’LL HAVE A CAT THAT FEELS RIGHT AT HOME AND WE’LL BOTH ENJOY A TRULY LOVING BOND. NOW I JUST HAVE TO SETTLE ON A NAME FOR HER!

Try to avoid hitting blue tongue lizards when driving

21/10/2015

This is one piece I’ve been wanting to write for a while, but I thought I’d wait until I was totally sure the blue tongue lizards were back for the summer.

Today I was driving along Ryde Road at Gordon and I noticed a blue tongue lizard on the road. I wasn’t sure if it was alive and trying to cross the road or if it had already been hit. Unfortunately I was surrounded by a lot of fast moving traffic and there was no way for me to stop and see what was happening. I just had to keep driving. To get to where it was it had already made it across 3 lanes of traffic from the other side of the road without getting hit which I found absolutely amazing.

The situation I’ve just mentioned is difficult, but when you’re driving along quieter suburban roads where it is easy to avoid hitting them now is the time to be vigilant. From a distance their grey colour and low profile can make them hard to spot. They blend in with the road and sometimes you don’t know they’re there until your right in front of one. This means you must take extra care when driving.

If you do find one on the road that looks like it’s in danger and you want to move it off the road, don’t try picking it up. Even though I’ve read that they don’t normally bite I wouldn’t like to risk being bitten. I usually just walk behind them and keep them moving towards the footpath. Most of the time they’re quite cooperative, but I’ve encountered a few who want to turn around and snarl at me and show off their blue tongue. It’s a defence tactic and it never deters me. I always remain totally committed to my rescue mission and my snappy friend always finds its way to safety even though it doesn’t appreciate my concern for its wellbeing. Remember that if you are going to spend time on the road don’t forget to take care of your own safety.

There have been a couple of occasions where I’ve had to take a lizard to the vet due to injuries it’s sustained from being hit by a car. One was alright, but the other one had to be euthanaised. I always keep a towel or blanket in the car just in case I have to pick up an injured animal. As this seems to be happening more often I’ve also taken to having a cat carrier in the back of the car as well.

I’ve had plenty of successes, but there was one lizard who didn’t want to stay out of trouble. I moved this one away from the road on about four occasions, but sadly one day when I was passing the area where it had been I saw that it had been run over.

Apart from cars, another threat to blue tongues are cats and dogs. I know of one household where the family dog loves attacking blue tongues and it never gets into trouble. My dog loves harassing the lizard that visits our yard (I think we might even have two lizards) and unlike the dog just mentioned mine never gets away with it!

Also be careful when you’re mowing the lawn. I almost ran over one, and once again it was a case of the lizard being hard to spot. Luckily the lizard moved away just in time, and I learned an important lesson.

I must admit that I do find them horrible to look at, but I’m always pleased to have one in my yard. They seem to take care of my snail and slug problem plus a few other things as well. I just have to remember not to use snail bait because it’s harmful to lizards. My lizard/s always return every year and it’s probably because I have an untidy yard with a wide variety of plants. I hate highly manicured gardens which only have about 3 plant species and the rest of the garden is so neat and tidy that it deters any wildlife from visiting. In my untidy yard I’ve created an entire ecosystem without going out of my way to do so. There are plenty of good hiding places and plenty of food, and not only do I have my lizards, but I also see a lot of other animals as well.

Be on the lookout for ticks

11/9/2015

I’ve been meaning to write a piece about ticks and today I was given the motivation to get on with it, I found a really small one on my foot. I’d been walking a pair of dogs along Robinson Street, East Lindfield. We walk on the side of the street where the bush meets the footpath. Somehow it had found its way inside my sock. It was too small to tell exactly which species it was, but I’m now going to make an effort to check for ticks when I finish my walk. I’ve also asked the owner to make sure the dogs are up-to-date with their tick prevention.

I’ve “borrowed” a picture from The House Call Vet’s website to show you what ticks look like. The paralysis tick is the worst one you can come into contact with.

From here on I’m going to refer you to a few websites with more information so you can do your own research. It’s such a serious issue and I don’t want to give you any wrong information.

For tick information concerning animals

First go to google images and look at the pictures of young and adult paralysis ticks. There are a couple of really good photos that show you what they look like when they’ve attached themselves to an animal.

The next place to go is one of the vet websites.

I found the Greencross Vets Ku-Ring-Gai website quite good. It’s really informative and it explains what happens if you do have to take an animal to the vet. I’ve had a few clients who’ve had to do this after a paralysis tick bite and it’s really expensive and really stressful, so prevention is a must.

http://www.greencrossvet.com.au/Ku-Ring-Gai%20Services/TickParalysis.aspx

For tick information concerning people

Go to the NSW Government Health website

I tried to put a link to the site here, but it didn’t work, so just go to google and type Ticks NSW Health and it should come up at the top of the results page.

The unwanted dog fight

10/9/2015

Today I was out walking two dogs and everything was going pretty well, a lot of sniffing and weeing and happy little faces until we were “attacked” by a small dog the size of a poodle.

As we passed by a house one of the occupants opened the front door and the dog came flying out and started the trouble. Normally I spend most of my walks anticipating trouble and it usually works. If I see something I don’t like I get away from it as quickly as possible before trouble starts, but this time the whole incident was totally unexpected and it happened so quickly that I had very little time to react.

I couldn’t believe that such a tiny dog could be so aggressive. My dogs snapped back, which didn’t surprise me. The other dog didn’t back down and I wasn’t sure if the “disagreement” was going to get worse. I told the person four times to call the dog away and he just stood there. When he did decide to come and take his dog away he did so at such a leisurely pace that if the incident had continued there was the possibility that there might have been injuries. His lack of interest also prolonged the situation. The point is that when you’re asked to call your dog away do so immediately, don’t just stand there! Luckily we were alright, we managed to get away without any damage, but it ruined our happy walk.

I do understand that the dog was either defending its territory or was just a typical noisy small dog with an attitude problem, but that’s no excuse for its behaviour and its owner’s lack of common sense.

I’d like to see what happens when one day that tiny dog annoys another much bigger dog. I don’t want to be around when that one starts. It’s probably going to come out the loser and you can bet that the big dog will get the blame for starting it even though it was just reacting to the aggression of the small dog. What will the small dog’s owner’s response be then? Will they even care?

As a side issue I’d also like to mention that it’s always important to prevent a dog from slipping quickly out the front door because if the property doesn’t have a fence it only takes a few seconds for the dog to run onto the road and get hit by a car. I’ve heard of more than one case where this has happened and I once saw it myself. In that case the owner was lucky enough to get hold of the dog before it got near the road. It was a scary experience and I wouldn’t like to see again.

Time for a haircut!

20/8/2015

Are you thinking of getting a dog that needs regular clipping such as a schanauzer? Do you want to have the expense of regular clips? These are two questions to consider if you want to have a dog like this. If you already own one then you’ll know what I mean. On the other hand some other dogs such as my silky terrier shown in the picture above just need a tidy up every few months. This year I’ve kept Morgan’s winter coat much longer than I normally would because I noticed last year that she shivered on the colder days. Recently I had to get her clipped much earlier than I intended because her foot kept getting caught in her fur when she scratched herself and now she seems to be coping much better, but you wouldn’t believe how quickly her hair grown back.

When you need to use a groomer here’s a few of the options you have and I’ve shared the experiences I’ve had over the years.

Take your dog and have it groomed and pick it up later

The Grooming parlour

The vet. Some often have a groomer come to their place a few times a week

These are two very good options if you can’t stay while your dog is groomed. If you’re going to leave it you just need to think about whether or not you like the idea of your dog sitting in a cage for a while. Most animals seem to be OK and over time they tend to get used to it.

The groomer comes to you

The trailer with the hydrobath

You’ll need to arrange to be home for this one. The dog is washed and clipped while inside the trailer. Most people seem to favour this option. You might have to provide the electricity and possibly the water, but these days most trailers seem to be self-sufficient. If you have a regular session and you can’t be home you might be able to let the groomer take the dog from the backyard and return it. It all depends on the groomer.

If they can park their trailer in your driveway they will, but if that isn’t possible they’ll do the wash and clip on the street.

Having the trailer come to us wasn’t a bad idea. We had three dogs being done at one session and it worked out pretty well. Two were just having a bath and the other was having a quick and easy clip. The groomer we used was quite happy to do it this way and she didn’t mind being at one location for a while, but in majority of cases groomers only work on one dog at a time at each session and this is definitely the case with complicated clips.

If you your dog doesn’t need to be clipped the hydrobath is also a great idea for bathing big dogs. It’s much easier than doing it yourself particularly if you’ve got a dog with a thick coat such as a german shepard.

Inside your house.

This is the one I use now. I have to wash Morgan before Liz arrives and the only problem I have is that as soon as I wash her the little devil goes outside straight away and rolls in the dirt!

I feel better knowing that Morgan is safe inside in her own environment. She’s a lot less stressed and it works out cheaper. It’s also less time consuming for the groomer

Another way I’ve done the inside clip is to get a few other easily clipped dogs together and have them done in one session. Once again it seems to work out well for everyone.

Do it yourself

I did a grooming course and I was absolutely hopeless, but I do know a woman who clips her own dog and it looks fabulous, you’d never know that it hadn’t been done by a professional. Find a grooming course and give it a go. You might find that you’re quite talented and it will definitely be cheaper and more convenient than the ones above because you can do it in when it suits you.

As for choosing a groomer it’s the same as choosing a hair dresser, if you see a dog with a really good clip ask the owner who did it. You might find that it takes a few clips by various groomers before you find the one you like, but once you’ve found them you’ll love looking at their results.

Unrestrained dogs on the backs of utes

7/8/2015

Lately in my pet minding travels around the Upper North Shore I’ve seen at least 2 instances where dogs have been left to rattle around on the back of a ute without being restrained at all.

One of these vehicles was about to go up the M1. Can you imagine what it would be like trying to keep your balance on the back of a ute moving at 110km? You also have to remember that not all dogs are happy to just sit still or lie down on the tray, many of them get quite excited and just won’t sit still at all. They just keep running from one side to the other and it wouldn’t take much for these dogs to fall off.

Not properly restraining a dog on a ute’s tray is incredibly stupid. It’s unfair to the dog, it’s dangerous for other drivers and it’s also illegal. There are fines for drivers who are caught.

All dogs are required to be properly secured while travelling in cars or on the back of a ute. Fortunately most of the time the ute drivers do the right thing and I usually regard this as a sign that they care about their dogs. Those that don’t should just leave the dog at home.

Ku-ring-gai off-the-leash dog parks

15/7/2015

Did you know there are several off the leash dog parks in the Ku-ring-gai area?

You'll find them at Killara, Lindfield, North Turramurra, Roseville, South Turramurra, St Ives Chase,
St Ives, Turramurra, Wahroonga, Warrawee and West Pymble.

Not only are they a great place to let your dog have some fun, but they're also a good place to meet new people.

For more information see the Ku-ring-gai Council website

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