As this is my first Christmas as a married woman, things have been quite hectic – with a whole new side of the family to consider, and travel arrangements to put together! As such, I’ve seemingly run out of time to write a December post, aside from this; my annual Christmas post.
As regular readers will know from September’s post, my little puppy dog crossed over the rainbow bridge, and thus we will spend our first Christmas without him. I always bought our Barney a festive dog treat to keep him happy and occupied whilst we opened gifts, and shared food.
Christmas traditions come and go but as long as we remember the real reason for the season, and show love and kindness to one another – as He who is love, first loved us, and came into this world as a baby, born and laid in a manger, because He loved us; Christ died and rose again, because He loves us.
All other images are open source, Google images, or my own – or photos donated for use by the pet owners.
If you have any questions or comments; please post a comment below, or contact Ali’s Answers via one of my social media pages… . Facebook (Ali’s Animal Answers) . Twitter (@AlisAnswers) . LinkedIn (Ali Lloyd)
This day, 11th November, we set aside to remember all the fallen in war; the hero’s who gave their today, for our tomorrow. These brave people and animals gave their lives, fighting to preserve all that they, and we, hold dear. Their selfless acts and sacrifices allow us the freedom we have; for that, and so much more, we remember them.
Horses are the animals primarily thought of when war animals are mention (at least in my experience in conversations); a war horse had many uses. Depending on the military role of the division in which a horse was placed, would often determine the use(s) of the animal.
A war horse would carry soldiers into battle, be used as transport for messengers, would pull equipment, machinery, artillery, supply carts, and much more. However, horses were integral to the war, and soldiers would form bonds with their horse, often sleeping close together for warmth when necessary. Donkey’s and Mule’s would also have been used for similar roles; however less so as transport for riders.
Perhaps a lesser-known animal used for pulling equipment and supplies, not used on the battlefield, but back home. Due to the usual animals used (horses, mules, donkeys, etc) as they had been taken into war, their roles at home were taken over by some less-common animals in their absence. Elephants and camels were used for transporting materials and such, as well as for ploughing fields, hauling hay/straw, and other every-day jobs that needed to be done. One of the more famous, was Lizzie the Indian elephant (pictured below); once part of a travelling circus, had her role in life completely altered by WW1 just as many people had – and she was put to work in a scrap metal yard in Sheffield.
Pigeons and dogs were also used to carry messages during war. Pigeons were useful with their homing instincts, being able to bring them back to where the message came from – thus being able to return a response message to the correct place as necessary. Dogs were able to navigate trenches and battlefields with more ease and speed than a human soldier, which made them great at transporting messages this way. Dogs had other uses in war, such as; being guard and/or watch dogs, using their keen sense of smell to find injured soldiers on the battlefield and carry medical supplies, as ratters, and (my no means least) as companions.
Cats would also have been used for companionship, as well as for rodent control in the trenches and living areas of the soldiers, as well as on Naval ships. As rodents spread disease and deplete food supplies, cats were of great value in war-time.
Although you probably wouldn’t have thought it, slugs were also of great value during war. How? Well, slugs have the ability to detect gas before humans. They close up their breathing pores and compress their body to protect themselves, and survive the gas. As such, soldiers would take a “Slug Brigade” with them, and when they saw the slugs react to gas, they put on their gas masks before the gas reached harmful levels, and many lives were saved.
Thanks to brave men and women on the battlefields, and back home; thanks to the many animals playing their part on the battlefields, and back home; thanks to the sacrifices made by so many, we have the lives we live today.
Please check out my November 2014 post Remembrance to see other animals that have been used in wars throughout history.
Cavelry
War dogs and soldiers
Donkey
Captain and cat
Stubby the military mascot dog
Slug
Soldier and military dog in gas masks
Mounted soldier
Military medical dog and soldier
Mounted soldiers
Naval crew and cat
Soldier and war horses in gas masks
Gas mask
Crew and cat
War horses transporting supplies
Lizzie the Indian elephant
All other images are open source, Google images, or my own – or photos donated for use by the pet owners.
If you have any questions or comments; please post a comment below, or contact Ali’s Answers via one of my social media pages… . Facebook (Ali’s Animal Answers) . Twitter (@AlisAnswers) . LinkedIn (Ali Lloyd)
So training with Bertie has been pretty straight-forward, and quite easy – until the last time we had a trainging session, in which we continued lead training!
He’s not so keen to walk to heel when he knows a run on the field is just around the corner! But his owners and I have been working with him and he is getting better each time we go out. He is quite good with his recall training, but sometimes gets distracted by the 10 metre lead and decides to play with that instead!
Bertie
Initially treat motivation and reward was enough, especially with the basics; with more distractions and unwillingness to walk without pulling, I implemented a new reward – his favourite squeaky toy! This saw the change in his behaviour, as the motivation to be good for the reward was renewed. Clearly the treats are not what he’s most interested in as a reward, but play time with his favourite squeaky toy is a great reward; he is now motivated to do well again.
Don’t give up when training your pup gets tough – change tactics, change reward, change your approach – incorporate whatever positive thing works.
All other images are open source, Google images, or my own – or photos donated for use by the pet owners.
If you have any questions or comments; please post a comment below, or contact Ali’s Answers via one of my social media pages… . Facebook (Ali’s Animal Answers) . Twitter (@AlisAnswers) . LinkedIn (Ali Holloway)
To paraphrase the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy;
So long, and thanks for all the licks.
Last week (19/09/19) my family and I said our final farewell to our little dog – he was just over 15 years old, and he brought joy to our lives ever since we brought him home as a puppy in 2004.
It’s always sad to say goodbye to a member of the family – our Barney has been a part of ours since I was 13.
It’s never an easy decision to make; but for so many of us it’s a decision that has to be made, at some point, on behalf of our beloved pet. It was the kind call to make, for his sake, even though heartbreaking for us.
A piece of my heart went with him last Thursday, and he’ll always be treasured in our hearts and memories!
All we can do, as responsible persons for the lives of our animal family members, is to treat them well and give them a happy, healthy life. Then, if it comes down to it, we have the responsibility to not let them suffer too much at the end; and to be there for them – the way they’ve been there for us throughout their lives.
We are to do what’s best for them, as care-givers for as long as we get to have them in our lives!
Dog awareness week, this week, is to raise awareness of dog attacks on post men and women. The aim is to encourage dog owners to be responsible, with the aim of reducing/ eradicating attacks which can result in permanent/ disabling injury.
Over 2,000 dog attacks happened to post men and women in the past year! Over 80% of which happen when the dog is unrestrained in the front garden and at the door.
This is significant risk when you’re just trying to do your job!
Even the nicest dog can become defensive or fearful if it feels its’ territory and/or pack is being threatened – possibly causing your placid pooch to act out of the ordinary and attack the post delivering ‘intruder’. Any dog is capable of attacking; it is therefore the responsibility of you, the dog owner, to ensure the premises are safe and the dog secure when Royal Mail staff deliver your post.
If you have a dog that is aggressive for any reason, ensure you take necessary measures to ensure the safety of any person that may come to your home. This could simply be by ensuring your dog is shut in the house or back garden, having a cage round your letter box to protect the hand and post that comes through, having an external letter box, using a muzzle, having your dog on a lead … the list goes on! There are many little things you can do to help keep staff safe. This will also benefit your dog, as if they do cause substantial injury it could result in your pet being destroyed.
Post men and women should be able to go to work without fear, and do their jobs in safe environments. Be aware of your dog and those around your dog – be responsible and do your up most to ensure your dog is well trained, and all measures necessary are undertaken to keep everyone safe.
All other images are open source, Google images, or my own – or photos donated for use by the pet owners.
If you have any questions or comments; please post a comment below, or contact Ali’s Answers via one of my social media pages… . Facebook (Ali’s Animal Answers) . Twitter (@AlisAnswers) . LinkedIn (Ali Holloway)
With regard to the ears and hearing of Crocodiles – see my previous post. This post is just a short follow-up, with a bit more crocodile info…
Their nostrils can also close up to seal out the water when submerged. They have a long snout full of teeth! The fourth tooth (working from nose), on the bottom, is visible over the sides of the top lip.
The tongue of a crocodile is quite unusual in the fact it is fixed to the bottom of the mouth; it is immovable.
The double spikes along the length of the body and tail are called the scute. Each spike along the scute has bone…
The pattern of the scales on their head and snout are unique to the individual the same way our fingerprints are individual, or the patterns on a giraffe or leopard (etc)…
They really are (in my opinion) fascinating and magnificent creatures.
All other images are open source, Google images, or my own – or photos donated for use by the pet owners.
If you have any questions or comments; please post a comment below, or contact Ali’s Answers via one of my social media pages… . Facebook (Ali’s Animal Answers) . Twitter (@AlisAnswers) . LinkedIn (Ali Holloway)
In the past 10 years we have lost several animal species – in this day and age we consider ourselves better than our predecessors, yet we are still the main cause of animals going extinct… we’re no better than those before us – in some ways we’re worse, as we are not doing what we do to survive; we are doing it for “fun” or “progress”. In what civilised or ‘advanced’ society is there place for this abominable behaviour? Yes, this post is looking to be an informative rant-type…
In the past century many animal species have been wiped from the planet, below is a selection (from the past decade) of those lost forever: (1) 2015 – Eastern Cougar (2) 2014 – Malagasy Hippopotamus (3) 2013 – Formosan Clouded Leopard (4) 2012 – Pinta Tortoise (5) 2012 – Zanzibar Leopard (6) 2012 – Japanese River Otter (7) 2011 – Western Black Rhinoceros (8) 2010 – Alatora Grebe (9) 2010 – Derwent River Sea Star (10) 2009 – Christmas Island Pipistrelle Bat (11) 2008 – Spotted Green Pigeon (Liverpool Pigeon) (12) 2008 – Caribbean Monk Seal
Many species that are extinct today is due to humans – we hunt to extinction, we destroy habitats, we remove animals from the wild for fashion or entertainment – we first make them extinct in the wild and then we deplete the captive animals until they’re gone… and many other reasons. The ICUN Red List contains information of the endangerment of species. We used to hunt sustainably for food, and in many countries/cultures this is still the case, but most of the hunting (at least in first world cultures) is for “fun” or “sport” and is unjustifiably cruel and unnecessary. The man that hunts to feed his family and/or community is not the reason Elephants and Rhino’s are depleting in number and becoming extinct; the cruelty of riding out with a pack of dogs to have them tear apart an innocent fox is not for any justifiable reason; the mind-set of people needs to change to make a difference… the bans we have in place need to be enforced to make a difference… we all want a better world but that won’t happen if we cannot really change.
We have bans (in certain countries) on things like fox hunting, whale hunting (whaling), shark finning, dog and cock fighting, removing animals from the wild (with conservation excepted), and many more abhorrent things – yet these bans are not universal, and often not enforced. If there are no consequences for these actions, or these consequences are not adhered to and/ or enforced, then what power do these bans have? Where then is the protection for these creatures?
Red Fox
Animals are a lot more important to their ecosystems than people give them credit for – the removal or addition of one species has an affect on everything around it. Take the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park for example – video link here(this is in no way my video) – thanks to wolves being back in the ecosystem, the rivers went back to how they used to be, plants that had been destroyed by the overpopulation of deer returned, because the wolves kept down the deer population – things went back to the way they were; back to how they should be. Why did the ecosystem breakdown in the first place; why did the wolves become extinct in Yellowstone? Because of us. Because of humans. Because we killed them off…Grey Wolf
The way we are going, the same thing will happen again and again, with more species. We, as a species, need to change before we are the only species left on a dying planet – small steps to ensure that other species don’t become myth and fairy-tales, instead of living, breathing creatures that share this planet.
Grey Wolf