To tie in with the article on monkey house invaders, here is a monkey Q&A - all our readers’ questions about how to deal with break-in’s and attacks.  Continue Reading

Two Scottie dogs, Boone and Kenzie, spend their days traveling the world. Watch this video to see the places they’ve visited. Continue Reading

My mail box is always full of complaints about barking dogs from neighbours…. on both sides of the fence.And I can understand why folks get so hot under their collars, because incessant barking often  results  in sleep deprivation which can lead to all sorts of medical problems like high blood pressure, heart attacks and  nervous breakdowns …which in turn lead to job loses, poverty and  starvation. Also synonymous with unyielding yapping is rage - sometimes with terminal results at the end of a barrel as sadly occurred awhile back. So barking dogs are not only a menace, but threatening our very lives as well.  Continue Reading

Today I’m focusing on the miracle Hearing Dogs for the Deaf  which many folks have heard of, but aren’t too sure what they actually do.

Seventeen years ago it was my goal to train hearing dogs for the deaf, but I was unable to source any information on how dogs were taught this phenomena. It was before personal computers, the internet and Google, and although I snail mailed begging overseas establishments for help, my requests were all ignored. Continue Reading

You’ve seen the movie…. now attend the course. The Doolittles are here with a vengeance. In the last 2 weeks I’ve been hounded with emails inviting me to attend five different work shops by five different ‘Animal Communicators’ who claim to talk to animals.   Continue Reading

Every now and again, some know-all gets onto their soap box and preaches the deadly consequences of giving dogs chocolate. Now that’s a laugh when the same smartass, in the same breath, is probably also singing the praises of commercial pet food … of which a whopping 102 major brands in the States are currently being withdrawn from the market due to their lethal contents! Continue Reading

A friend has just returned from Spain and Portugal where she said they specialise in streetwise dogs, because the homeless mutts there don’t fight and aren’t phased by fireworks, which is a far cry from our phoofed and pampered pooches.

Now that would seem like quite a mystery but actually it’s not really, because dogs are social and “streetwise” animals by nature … although I sometimes wonder about the humans whose dogs often reflect their behaviour! Continue Reading

More often than not, blindness in dogs can be caused by an injury. One terrible case I recall was Ajax a German Shepherd male who was prone to fighting a sworn enemy across the hedge. When his eye began to weep and he lost interest in life, his dad became concerned and marched him off to the vet. X-rays revealed the worst case scenario … a 4 cm thorn was embedded in his eye!

Another quick way of causing blindness in your dog is to allow it to travel with its head out of the window or on the back of a bakkie. Maybe it’s an ego thing for the owner who’s actually stupid enough not to realise grit and fine metal matter blows into their dog’s eyes and  lodges,   eventually leading to impaired vision. Continue Reading

Kids and Dogs go together like a Love and Marriage  … or at least that’s the way it should be! But unfortunately it’s not always true because often little Johnny can’t even venture outdoors without little Jackie nipping him and making him cry.
Unfortunately the poor dog is always blamed for being out of control and dumped at the SPCA. Believe me, if the real culprit was to be disposed of, animal shelters would be bulging with unruly kids as they are almost always the real reason behind your puppy’s bad behaviour! Continue Reading

Clients frequently ask me why their dogs keep urinating in the house, on the bed, in the cupboard, against the furniture etc etc etc. Indiscriminate urination is nearly always very ‘discriminate’ and a carefully planned means of communication. What I  call  Pmail can  ’spell out’  dominance, especially if the ‘Post man’ carries his head, ears and tail high, advertising the fact he’s the Main-man on the block and takes no captives! This cocky devil often posts his Pmail by urinating against a human leg or the furniture on which the folks are sitting which is the ultimate in disrespect, arrogance and self  importance, “Whatever I  mark, I conquer, so you better watch your P’s and Q’s mate, or  you’re yesterdays dog meat!” Continue Reading