Animal Talk – July 2019

q&a

DOGTA LK

Dog shelter

D

ogs are vulnerable to changes in the

weather and if they are outdoors,

even during the day while you are at work,

you need to provide a place of safety and

shelter from all types of weather.

The Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962

is national legislation. Section 2 of the

Act states that it is an offence to keep an

animal in conditions of confinement or in

a manner that causes them unnecessary

suffering or in any place that lacks

space, ventilation, light, protection or

shelter from heat, cold or weather.

How the provision of shelter is

undertaken is the key. A cosy kennel

in a draught-free area with decent

bedding and the floor of the kennel

lifted slightly above ground level would

be considered acceptable.

Christine Kuch, NSPCA

Is it really necessary to provide shelter

for my dog outside?

Removing

that tick

What is the best way to

remove a tick?

I

f you can handle the gross-factor, you

can carefully remove ticks from your dog

yourself. Use a tick removal tool or simply

your thumb and index finger. Taking care not

to squash the tick, apply gentle pressure

close to the mouthparts of the tick, which will

cause it to let go. Drop it in alcohol to make

sure it’s dead before you dispose of it.

Small animal veterinarian

C

auses can include alerting to a stranger or

threat in the dog’s territory, distress,

frustration, irritability, separation distress, anxiety,

boredom and insecurity, to name only a few. For the

owner, it is quite acceptable when a dog barks at an

intruder or at other intruding animals, but it becomes a

big problem when the dog reverts to excessive barking,

apparently for no reason, becoming an irritant to his

owner and the neighbours. However, it must be strongly

noted that there is ALWAYS a reason why a dog barks

excessively and it is not because the dog wants to

irritate humans or is being a naughty dog!

Some breeds of dog inherently have a more vocalised

disposition than others; that is what they were bred for,

thus the behaviour is contained in their DNA. It is essential

to always do research on the breed that you are interested

in, as this will give you an idea of the barking behaviour

you can expect.

Anlé Allison, behaviourist

Vocal dogs

Why do dogs bark?

Bow wow

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