welshduck

ANIMALS

Have you noticed the increase in the number of vets these days?

Is this because we are caring for pets better or are they, like humans, increasingly suffering from ill health?

Having identified a mamary tumour (malignant) in a very young dog and witnessed renal (kidney) failure

in a very young cat, it would seem that perhaps they too are suffering. Either that, or like humans I have a

tendency to meet up with the sick ones!

CHEMICALS IN PET FOOD

I have been concerned with the chemicals added to animal foods for many years. And always advise

owners to prepare food for their pets themselves.

Most commercial pet foods have artificial colours and preservatives. Look at the food section on this

website to read about artificial colours added to sweets for children. If they are toxic to humans, it's

very likely they might be toxic to animals.

You could do a trial with your pet...place one dish of freshly cooked fish a few feet away from a dish of

tinned cat food. Let your pet into the room and see which dish he or she goes to. Of course, like humans,

if they have been brought up on canned food, they might just make the wrong choice!

Later on, this section will be expanded to look at the actual chemicals in pet foods.

PARASITES

Most pets, like humans, will have parasites. Many of these can be transmitted from animal to human.

In Australia, in many of the large supermarkets, pet dewormers are available. Some of the drugs that

are used are the same drugs that are used in humans.

If you examine the packet, you will see that they advise regular deworming. Unfortunately they don't advise

owners to deworm themselves!

Just touching your pet may transfer parasites to you. Especially prone are babies and young children who get

licked by dogs and crawl on the floor.

In Portugal, I met a vet who told me that they advise their pet owners to deworm themselves at least twice

a year. When I examined a specimen jar containing a dog's heart filled with heartworms, I was amazed that

the dog lived long enough for that many worms to breed and fill the heart.

Deworming your pet will help to increase its quality of life and life expectancy.

PET BEHAVIOUR

Just like humans, poor treatment or handling of animals can affect them for the rest of their lives. Once they

have a bad experience, this can be compounded with the years.

Communication is always preferable to submission when trying to get an animal to behave. Aggressive behaviour

or even spoiling an animal can have serious repercussions later on.

Where horses were once whipped, spurred and tied up by their legs to be 'broken-in', Monty Roberts has

shown the world that learning the horse's language and communicating in the same language, gets better

and faster results. Just as with humans, it's all about body language!

A horse is a 'flight' animal and humans are 'fight' animals. Spread your fingers to an unbroken horse and you

will scare him away. Horses historically have been prey to wild cats and fingers spread out are reminiscent of

cat's claws. Through communication, an unbroken horse can usually be 'joined-up' and ridden within 30 minutes!

Monty Roberts has also shown that deer communicate in a similar fashion.

His autobiography: THE MAN WHO LISTENS TO HORSES The Story of a Real-Life Horse Whisperer

is an awesome read for many reasons.

Watch 'Whispering the Wild' from Monty's site...joining up with wild horses in Africa.