Here are some other guest posts…

• Include Your Pets in Your Bush Fire Safety Plan
  Include your pets in your bush fire safety plan Bushfires or Wildfires can strike quickly and ferociously and Australians need to have bush fire safety plans, as do other nations in wildfire-prone areas around the world. PetSafe® Brand Australia is urging all pet owners to ensure they have included their pet’s needs when creating their Bush Fire Safety Plans. A pet emergency kit should be included in your plans. PetSafe® Australia has pulled together a four-step easy to follow checklist for your pets should you need to evacuate your home. Four Steps to Keep Pets Safe during Fire Season 1.
• Socialisation versus Anxiety in Dogs
  If you are a dog owner, you’ve probably heard about the socialisation of dogs. You may also have wondered why anxiety in our dogs seems to be increasing. Dave Marcellino from The Pawfessionals gives Pet Problems Solved his advice on socialisation versus anxiety in dogs… Socialisation versus Anxiety in Dogs One of the most important and formative parts of a puppy’s life is socialisation. The period of time, from 2 weeks up until 12 weeks of age, is regarded as a ‘critical’ period of socialisation for a puppy. This time period can vary slightly from breed to breed. If social
• How To Make A Living Writing About Dogs
  How To Make A Living Writing About Dogs If you love your pets and you enjoy writing, then you may be able to combine the two and form a career writing about dogs, as Mollie Porein shows us… Everyone wants a job that they love, so if you are a big fan of dogs, wouldn’t it be great to write about them all day? There are a wide range of pet magazines and pet-related websites out there, so there are certainly ways to make a living. Writing about dogs may be one of the best things to do today, but
• Everything you should know about dog arthritis
  How much do you know about dog arthritis? With this information from experts, increase your understanding of this canine condition.
• Pets and owners – you can learn a lot about one by studying the other
  You may or may not look like your pet! But chances are you actually behave like them! Research is showing that, with pets and owners, you can learn about one by studying the other…  Pets and owners – you can learn a lot about one by studying the other The personality of a pet owner can help a veterinarian understand the health and welfare of the pet. Shutterstock/PM Production There’s an old saying that pets and their owners become more similar as time goes by. There may be some truth in that, but can we use information about owners to improve
• Myths about the Australian Dingo
  MYTHS ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN DINGO If you live in Australia, you probably know very little about our native dog, the Dingo. If you live elsewhere you probably know even less! Here, some myths and misconceptions are revealed by Eloïse Déaux… Dingoes do bark: why most dingo facts you think you know are wrong As I visited a wildlife park in New South Wales in 2011, the keeper at the daily “dingo talk” confidently told us that “pure dingoes don’t bark”. After five years studying dingoes’ vocal behaviours, I can tell you that this is a myth. Dingoes do bark! While travelling
• Reducing the suffering of flat-faced dog breeds
  Vets can do more to reduce the suffering of flat-faced dog breeds As most dog lovers know, flat-faced breeds of dogs, such as Pugs, French Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are very popular right now. They do have significant problems, however, and more could be done to reduce their suffering, as this article, first published in The Conversation discusses… This pug is suffering from extreme summer heat at 37C Veterinarians have a professional and moral obligation to reduce or prevent any negative health impacts of disorders in animals. But what if animals are bred with known disorders? And what
• Are you walking your dog enough?
  How often do you walk your dog? Ever wondered if you are walking your dog enough? What would your dog say? Here are some guidelines on walking your dog… Are you walking your dog enough? A running dog is a happy dog! James Ting/Unsplash, CC BY-SA  Australia has nearly five million dogs, with nearly 40% of Australian households owning one. But it seems that 40% of Australian dogs are not walked enough and that a similar percentage of dogs are overweight or obese. With colleagues at the University of Sydney, we are interested in collecting more recent data on these trends. So
• Is your dog happy? 10 common misconceptions about dog behaviour
  Making dogs happy should be every dog owner’s aim. Here are 10 common misconceptions about dog behaviour, written by Prof Paul McGreevy and Dr Melissa Starling, first published in The Conversation… Is your dog happy? 10 common misconceptions about dog behaviour It is difficult to refer to what dogs, as a collective, like and dislike and how they behave. Just as humans do, dogs all have their own personalities and learned preferences and so can differ dramatically in how they approach life and what they take from it. In our book, Making Dogs Happy, we use scientific research, illustrative photos
• 12 Fascinating facts about ferrets
  Ferrets are fun! If you have ever looked for a pet that is easy to keep and acts like an eternal kitten, then consider a ferret or two! Here are 12 fascinating facts about ferrets, thanks to Tamara Labelle at ExoticDirect… 12 fascinating facts about ferrets by Tamara Labelle from ExoticDirect As well as being super cute, ferrets can also be very cheeky and like to steal and hide things. Owners have reported that their ‘little thief’ has run off with the dog’s bone (woe betide the dog spotting them!), shoes, bracelets, computer mice, socks and apples. And once their
• Therapy dogs help students at schools and universities
  THERAPY DOGS HELP STUDENTS AT SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES Around the world, dogs are helping people cope with stressful events – being in hospital, travelling in airports, exam times. Delta Society Australia has been conducting animal-assisted activities for years and many other organisations and individuals understand the benefits that therapy dogs have. This article was first published in The Conversation… Therapy dogs can help reduce student stress, anxiety and improve school attendance Therapy dogs can decrease anxiety and stress in students, while getting them more excited about classroom activities. (Howard County Library System/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND)   In the wake of the
• Animal Rights Support: Pets are more than property
  ANIMAL RIGHTS SUPPORT: PETS ARE MORE THAN PROPERTY Although pets, such as cats and dogs, mean so much to so many people, they are still no more than property when it comes to the law. As this article, first published in The Conversation, points out, it may be time for this to change. People want more for pets… Public support for animal rights goes beyond keeping dogs out of overhead bins Dogs can become as close to you as any other person – but are they ‘legal persons’? Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock.com Garrett M. Broad, Fordham University A French bulldog named Kokito
• Keeping chickens as pets
  KEEPING CHICKENS AS PETS Have you ever thought about keeping chickens in your backyard, for their eggs, or simply as pets? I love my chickens but thought I’d ask expert chicken-keeper, Cassandra Smith, of Backyard Chicken Coops, to give us the basics of chicken keeping and why they make great pets… Do chickens make good pets? If keeping chickens as pets is a new idea to you, maybe you’re wondering why you’d want to have chickens as pets when you can head to the supermarket to pick up your fresh eggs? There are so many reasons to keep chooks aside
• Do fish have feelings? Animal sentience explained
  DO FISH HAVE FEELINGS? ANIMAL SENTIENCE EXPLAINED It seems obvious that animals have feelings but it was not so long ago that the existence of animal emotions was denied. Here the feelings of animals, including horses and even fish is discussed by Keele University lecture Jan Hoole. Here’s what the science says about animal sentience Shutterstock There seems to be significant confusion about what happened in the British parliament when MPs discussed a proposed amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill to formally recognise animal sentience. But where science is concerned, animal sentience is in no doubt. The definition of sentient
• Keeping dog care simple – in 7 steps
  Caring for your pets can be a little daunting – even overwhelming – at times. There is so much information out there – good and bad! What we need is a simple guide to caring for your dog (or cat). This is just what Lerida Grant from We Are Pets has done. Compiled the 7 topics that dog owners want to know about into her book ‘Simple Dog Care – 7 steps to a healthy, happy dog’ and I’ve asked her to sum up what we all want, and need, to know… Keeping Dog Care Simple – in 7 Steps Do
• Making dogs happy
  We love our dogs and want to give them as happy a life as possible. But just what makes dogs happy? We asked Dr Melissa Starling to give us some tips on making dogs happy… Making dogs happy We dog owners are attached to our dogs. We love them like family. So, it’s no great surprise that we want our dogs to be happy, just like we would want our human loved ones to be happy above all else. Our dogs can’t tell us what they want, though, so how do we make our dogs happy? What is “happy”? For
• Dimensions of dog petting: How positive interaction with your dog can be as beneficial as common forms of therapy
  DIMENSIONS OF DOG PETTING: HOW POSITIVE INTERACTION WITH YOUR DOG CAN BE AS BENEFICIAL AS COMMON FORMS OF THERAPY Can dogs really stop us eating chocolate? I recently met Kristin Finkbeiner, a PhD student at ISAZ, human-animal interactions conference in Barcelona. Kristin’s research immediately intrigued me as it involved dogs… and chocolate! Not dogs eating chocolate, as that would be bad. Instead looking at the positive effects dogs have on human stress levels. I asked her to explain some of her work to us… Guest post by Kristin Finkbeiner All pet owners intrinsically know that there is something special to the
• Assessing shelter dog behaviour to determine adoption suitability: Meaningful or misleading?
  I have asked Dr Kate,a newly graduated PhD animal behaviourist, of Pets Behaving Badly, to tell us a little about her PhD findings. This will interest anyone concerned with shelter dogs and behaviour assessments… Assessing shelter dog behaviour to determine adoption suitability: Meaningful or misleading? By Dr Kate Mornement Like many of you, I’m an animal lover and the high euthanasia rates of shelter dogs the world over is an issue that has always concerned me.  Upon entering a shelter dogs typically undergo a behaviour assessment (or temperament test) to determine if they’re suitable for adoption. Problem behaviour, such as aggression
• Purchasing Pet Insurance: A nose for great cover – What to look out for when purchasing pet insurance
  A NOSE FOR GREAT COVER: WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR WHEN PURCHASING PET INSURANCE This guest post comes from www.compareinsurance.com.au and gives pet owners some helpful hints when choosing pet insurance. We often look at what pet insurance covers but we fail to spot what it doesn’t cover. This can be costly. If you are taking out pet insurance for the first time or renewing your insurance, make sure you read these tips…   We all know the feeling. Your fur-baby has caught a mysterious illness, or requires emergency surgery. You’re forced to pay thousands to patch up your poor pooch
• Pet furniture: ideas for our furry friends
  PET FURNITURE: IDEAS FOR OUR FURRY FRIENDS Needing ideas for pet furniture? Hands up – who designs their home decor around their pets? I know I do. Places my pets can sit. Shelves for my cats to lounge on. A scratching post to trip over! I’ll bet I’m not alone. Many pet owners like to consider their cats, dogs and other creatures when they design their homes or come up with innovative interior or garden design ideas. Here are some of my favourites pieces of pet furniture, most highly practical, others simply aesthetically appealing… 1. Climbing shelves for cats Cats annoy some