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. He says: “If your pet is acting funny or is under the weather, or you want to know about nutrition or exercise, just ask. I can help keep pets happy and healthy.”
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Q) I RESCUED an African grey parrot a year ago who was in a sorry state due to plucking.
Mikey is doing much better now, but he gets down if I go out for a few hours.
It’s like separation anxiety. Is there anything I can do to ease it?
SHARON JOHNSON, Peterborough
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Sean says: Many parrot species are highly social, and African greys especially so, living in great big flocks with high levels of communication between family members and friends.
Of course when we decide to make pets of them and keep them alone in a small cage, they can experience very real emotional and psychological problems including separation anxiety.
Feather plucking is a complex problem and can result from many causes, so a health check with a parrot specialist vet is a good first step.
Then parrot company for Mikey might not be a bad idea.
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Got a question for Sean?
Q) MY Miniature Schnauzer barks all the time.
Sally, who is two years old, is adorable but it’s getting worse.
She mainly does it in the garden and there’s no rhyme nor reason to it.
SARAH NEALE, Richmond, N Yorks
Sean says: This is the joy of solving canine behaviour “problems”.
Firstly, they are often a totally natural behaviour for a dog, and only a problem for us.
Remember Sally can hear (and smell) a lot better than us, so in this case she may be hearing a human several gardens over and feels it’s her job to ward off a perceived intruder.
Or she may be saying, “Hi” to some of her pals, or telling a squirrel or fox she’s going to get them.
The underlying reason is going to be part of the solution though, so I would recommend enlisting the help of a qualified behaviourist to keep your neighbourly relations in order.
Q) THE pump has broken in my garden pond and I have three goldfish in it.
I’ve got a three-week wait until it’s fixed.
I have plenty of oxygenating plants and it is large — 3ft wide and 5ft deep. Is the pump essential?
MARY-KATE CLARK, Chelmsford, Essex
Sean says: I think it should be fine as you have few fish in a decent- sized pond, but only as long as you lay off the supplementary feeding.
Keeping fish successfully in a bowl, aquarium or pond is actually largely about keeping good water quality.
Too much food with too little filtration equals lots more poo and therefore water pollution.
It’s also important to say that filtration can be mechanical, with electric filters, or biological with the plants and bacteria that naturally grow in your pond consuming the waste products.
In a well-established, well-planted pond that has found its balance, you don’t need a mechanical filter.
But you do need to limit your number of fish and not overfeed which would cause the water to go toxic.
Q) MY Labrador Dave is overweight.
He’s a kitchen-side surfer so we are trying to be as strict as possible and I try to get the family to restrict treats and he’s getting plenty of walks.
What else can we do to help him stop piling on the pounds?
SIAN COOKE, Manchester
Sean says: The only thing you can do is to limit the calories.
That means, from your family’s side, being hot on leaving nothing out for Dave to scavenge and cutting back entirely on any treats.
If you must, those treats should be a dedicated amount of his daily food allowance kept aside.
Do you know how many calories he needs each day or how many calories are in his food?
It’s super important to get his weight under control now as obesity causes so many complications for dogs down the line.
Star of the week
JACOB suffered terrible injuries after being caught in a snare but now has a purr-fect home, thanks to Cats Protection.
The two-year-old cat was found injured in Bedworth, Warks, in June and needed his leg amputated.
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The charity, which is running a campaign to have these traps banned, rehomed Jacob with University of Warwick teaching fellow James Taylor.
James, 36, said: “He’s playful, friendly and loves to explore. His story shows how cruel snares are, and I am completely behind Cats Protection’s campaign.”
See cats.org.uk/campaigning.
Win a litter box
THE Sun on Sunday has teamed up with PetSafe to give one lucky cat lover the chance to win its popular ScoopFree Covered Self-Cleaning Litter Box worth £279.99.
Containing crystal litter for odour control, there’ll be no scooping, cleaning or refilling your cat’s automatic litter box for weeks.
To enter, send an email headed SCOOPFREE to [email protected] by October 29. See uk.petsafe.net. T&Cs apply.
Prepare care for the unexpected
OWNERS should make sure their pet insurance is up to scratch, after Agria Pet Insurance highlighted a number of serious accidents and the crucial role of protection against unexpected medical costs.
The insurer has handled cases including jellyfish stings, swallowed barbecue skewers and cigarette butts.
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Fenris, an 11-month-old Cocker Spaniel, licked a jellyfish causing vomiting and distress at the beach. An emergency vet administered an antihistamine and opioid as with dogs it is vital to get treatment within 20 minutes to prevent a potential life-threatening allergic reaction. He went on to make a full recovery.
Barbara, a three-year-old Weimaraner, described as an “opportunist food thief” scoffed a BBQ skewer that became lodged dangerously close to her heart. Fortunately, surgery saved her.
While Mirren, a rescued Greyhound, ate sand from a cigarette bucket on a hot day leading to extreme sickness and diarrhoea.
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She was put on a drip and kept at her vets overnight.
All these cases involved substantial veterinary fees, which Agria Pet Insurance covered as the owners had ensured they had taken out adequate cover.
