As a response to a message asking to know more about health checking your pet at home, here is some information… part two:

Last weeks post covered the face, this week will cover health checking the rest of the body – as a continuation from the face/ head…

SPINE:
From feeling for lumps, nicks, cuts, etc. on the head and face of your animal; run your hands gently down the spine, feeling all along for anything out of the ordinary.
– check the spine is straight, not sticking out at any odd angles
– no lumps or swelling around the spine
– check the skin around the spine is not punctured or wounded (open)
– feel gently, slowly, and carefully

TAIL:
– same as above, just continue down the spine to the tail, checking the same things
– if your pet is a tail chaser, check that your pet has not caught its’ tail and done damage (with their teeth)

ABDOMEN:
– gently apply a slight pressure, to check for any pain
– feel for any internal lumps

RIBCAGE:
– check it feels normal for the species, not oddly shaped
– gently apply pressure, checking there is no pain (nothing feels broken)
– no lumps or swelling

LEGS/ WINGS/ HIPS/ SHOULDERS:
– no lumps, swelling, cuts, nicks, etc.
– free from pain when gentle pressure is applied
– joints bend normally; no pain or stiffness

FEET/ NAILS/ HOOVES:
– not too long; curling
– not flaking or split
– clean and free from dirt, debris, stones, etc.

FUR/ FEATHERS/ SCALES/ SKIN:
The fur patterns on your pet tend to match up with the skin colour; i.e. black patches of fur will have dark skin beneath, white fur will have pale skin beneath, brown fur will have brown skin beneath (etc. etc.) so know what your pet looks like all over so you can tell if anything is unusual. Know what is normal for your pet in terms of fur/ skin/ feather/ scale type, note any benign abnormalities so that you are able to ascertain when anything unusual occurs.
– skin: free from dryness/ crusting; fur/feathers: free from dandruff/ debris
– fur free from matting/ knots
– feathers should have a healthy shine
– fur should be soft and shiny
– wire hair/fur should not be brittle
– scales ought to be normal; not raised, or discoloured
– free from parasites, abrasions, lesions, infection

As a response to a message asking to know more about health checking your pet at home, here is some information… part one:

First and foremost, wash and thoroughly dry your hands. Ensure you are clean before health checking your pet. If you feel the need, wear thin medical gloves.

Start with the eyes. Always.
If there is anything anywhere else on the body, you don’t want to transfer it to the eyes accidentally; staring with the eyes will avoid this.

EYES:
– free from discharge
– free from foreign bodies
– not red, bloodshot, or discoloured in any way

Next move onto the nose.

NOSE:
– free from excessive and/ or unusual discharge
– clean and clear
– watch also for excessive sneezing

Then the mouth.

MOUTH:
– gently lift up your pets lips to check the teeth
– small animals with split lips can have one side of the lip lifted at a time, the bottom lip can be gently pulled down to check the bottom teeth
– check for tartar build up
– know the colour your pets teeth ought to be, so you are able to tell if there is any discolouration (e.g. rats have yellow teeth, cats have white teeth)
– check gums are not discoloured or bleeding
– rabbits and rodents; check teeth are not overgrown (or likely to cause damage)
– check tongue is normal size/ shape and not discoloured (e.g. Chow-chow dog has a blue tongue unlike other breeds)

Next check the ears.

EARS:
– check the external ear is free from cuts, nicks, lumps, not extreme temperatures, and not painful when in normal motion
– check there is no excessive wax build up
– no unusual odour (dogs ears smell pretty bad normally, ensure you do not mistake this for infection)
– no mites, fleas, ticks, or other parasites

GENERAL FACE:
– free from cuts, nicks, lumps, and pain
– fur/ feathers not matted and free from debris
– skin is not dry or infected

Look out for the corresponding post next week, covering the rest of the body.

8th August 2014 – International Cat Day

Google defines a cat as “a [small, domesticated,] carnivorous mammal with soft fur, a short snout, and retractile claws”. However for this post, I am also including Big Cats.

Cats are loved world-wide.
Bigger cats were (and in some places, unfortunately, still are) hunted for various reasons, however a lot are now in zoo’s and safari parks – with people working to protect the various species.
Domestic cats, starting in ancient Egypt, were once worshipped; now they are loved pets and hilarious internet sensations!

Nyan Cat, Pusheen and Stormy, Keyboard Cat, Grumpy Cat… and all the other cats on the internet doing funny things – trying to fit in a hamster ball, attacking that stranger cat in the mirror, being tickled in a really cute way, and so many more things plastered on the internet!

Even dogs are coming around to the idea of cats – one dog in particular really wants a kitty! Some dogs still hold onto that ancient dog vs. cat thing – pushing cats into bathtubs and the like…

Enjoy these cat pictures to celebrate International Cat Day!

Tiger

Ocelot

Lioness

Pebbles

Minkey Moggy

Smokey

Keyboard Cat

Domestic Short-hair cat – own image

King

Casper

Zoe

Lion

Leopard

Toby

Pusheen & Stormy

Pye

European Wildcat

Nyan Cat

Maisie

Leo

HEIGHT:
10 – 14 inches tall at the shoulder

WEIGHT:
6 – 8 kilograms

LIFESPAN:
12 – 15 years

ORIGIN:
China

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:
short snout, toy breed, big eyes, big personality, curly tail…
difficulty breathing, spinal problems, overcrowding of teeth…

Guessed the breed yet? Well, unfortunately it’s a very popular little breed – the pug! Don’t get me wrong – it’s not like I dislike the breed, just saddened by how much inbreeding has damaged this breed. The reason it is in a post of Rare Breeds is because there are less than 50 genetically individual pugs, out of all pugs, in the UK alone! So most pugs will be related somehow, which means inbreeding is harder to avoid – whether you know you are inbreeding or not!

This breed was originally bred for Chinese nobility, they are good companions with a fun personality. Unfortunately with too much human interference, this breed has many health issues, and despite the knowledge we have kept breeding from unhealthy stock.

The breed standards set up by the kennel club haven’t helped either – the standards of how dogs must look causes health issues, which are often hereditary.

Pugs have the same amount of teeth as any other dog, the same amount of nasal tissue as any other dog… but with a brachycephalic (flat and wide) skull, all of this has been squashed up – which causes issues. The flatter skull also means less space for the eyes, and pugs are prone to eye prolapses. Having the same amount of nasal tissue is what causes the breathing difficulties, often pugs need surgery to remove some of this tissue to enable their airways to be cleared and normal breathing to be established.

The kennel club breed standard for the pug calls for a double curl of the tail, this has had negative affects on the spine. The persistent breeding over and over of damaged, to conform to breed standards, has left pugs with worse spinal problems over the years. The spine can become twisted and painful, just so that they can have a tail curled to the way people want it to look!

These are just the tip of the iceberg with pug health issues. We will never get this breed back (or others) if we don’t try to start out-breeding, and expanding the gene pool, to preserve these animals. Let’s face it – this breed is loved worldwide, and we’d hate to see it go extinct!

Short one this week. As much as we love our pets, not all animals have it as good as our little sweetie’s. Some have it very bad which sucks. It’s lovely to read rescue adoption stories and see animals get a second chance at happiness (they needn’t need a second chance, they should be loved right the first time).

The UK has the best animal welfare laws in the world, but even our laws do very little to help animals that really need it, without hard evidence. There are the 5 Freedom’s that were originally written by farmers for livestock, but have since been applied to domestic animals too. I have also realised that not many people have actually heard of the 5 Freedom’s – so this is merely an informative post to share what the 5 Freedom’s are and what they mean.

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst – fresh water readily available at all times, and a diet to maintain a healthy vigour

2. Freedom from discomfort – providing a suitable environment, including shelter and a comfortable area to rest

3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease – by prevention, or rapid diagnosis and treatment

4. Freedom to express normal behaviour – by providing sufficient space and proper facilities, and the company of the animal’s own kind (suitable socialisation)

5. Freedom from fear and distress – ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering

I firmly believe in providing animals with the highest standard of care and good welfare that is possible. These are a good starting point.

I have been thinking about sleep this week, and how with longer days and more sunlight during summer, often we rise earlier and stay up later. This is because of serotonin released in your brain (the waking hormone) caused by sunlight (you can counter this with heavy curtains that block out most light). Melatonin is the hormone that causes sleep. Obviously these hormones work differently depending on what species you are, and whether you are diurnal, nocturnal or a crepuscular species.

Anyway – with all that technical nonsense floating around my brain I decided to share some random things about animals and sleep, with a few pictures for your enjoyment too!

Fish and snake need darkness to help them sleep due to not having eyelids – snakes may bury in substrate but fish do not, so remember to turn off tank lights

Some species of snails can sleep for as long as 3 years!

Elephants sleep only 3 and a half hours per day, usually standing

Horses and cows cannot dream unless they sleep lying down

Giraffes need less than 2 hours of sleep per day, often getting no more than half an hour of sleep daily – broken into several intervals of between 5-10 minutes – they sleep the least of of all mammals

When dogs sleep on their back, with their paws up, they are in a deep sleep

The little brown bat sleeps up to 12-20 hours a day

Cats (big & small) need a minimum of 12 hours sleep per day, on average sleep for 14 hours daily

Sharks must keep moving whilst they sleep, often covering great distances

Birds have a locking system to stabilize them whilst they sleep, perched

Dolphins and ducks can half sleep – where only half their brain is asleep at a time, the other half stays awake!

Flamingo’s also sleep half their brain at a time, whilst on one leg

Walruses can go up to 3 days without sleep, but when they do sleep they get on average of 14 hours (just like cats!) daily

Koala’s sleep approximately 18 hours daily

Sloth’s sleep 15-18 hours daily (not as much as you may have thought)

Bats sleep (and rest) hanging upside-down as their wings are not strong enough to take off from standing – they need to drop into flight

The green tree-frog turns a tan colour during sleep

Prey species tend to sleep little and often in safe (often high) places, or stood up – whereas predator species sleep for long periods and where they like

I hope that you found that interesting – if you want any more information or have any questions, about anything animal related, please feel free to ask in the ‘thoughts’ box below or on the comments page, or via social media sites
– Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn.

We get dogs as companions; as pets.  Our pets rely on us to live – they trust us with their lives, trust us to take care of them. We love our pets, and we take pride in training them and teaching them things. We like to show off the fun tricks we have taught our new puppy or even our older dog! But we often neglect to keep up with, or even do, basic training – we all toilet train, and at least attempt sit, stay, and recall.

Teaching your dog not to pull on the lead is often not done, and not kept on top of. This training not only to make things easier on us, especially with larger breeds, but is good for your dog’s health. I go nuts when I see people yanking their dog back on the lead – especially an extender/ retractable lead, because they are designed for your pet to roam – don’t want him to roam, don’t use the extension or use a normal lead! Unfortunately this seems to happen more with small breeds, because we are strong enough to lift them of their feet via their neck… doesn’t mean we ought to.

If you do this, you may seriously damage your pet’s neck – and surely that’s not why you got a companion animal, to cause harm?! If the dog is pulled up sharply to a hard stop, just one jerk can cause lasting damage – permanent damage that will stay with your pet for the rest of his life.

Extender/ retractable leads are more likely to cause this reaction from us – they are harder to get your dog back with, without jerking the lead. Teach your dog simple commands, to walk to heel and come back when called.

If you still have issues with your dog pulling on a lead, then for both your benefit and your dog’s, try a gentle leader or a harness – not a “check” or “choke” chain.

Take into account the breed of dog you have – for instance, a harness will cause a dog breed such as a Husky to pull more, as their instinct to “mush” and pull will kick in. If you choose to use a lead and collar, as I do personally, ensure that you train your dog to come back when called and walk to heel on command to avoid any (accidental) jerking of the lead – remember that just one jerk can cause permanent damage to your furry friend.

Vaynol cattle are white, with black ears, eyelids, hooves, and a black nose; sometimes also black socks and ends of the horns (black points). The females may even have black teats on their udder. The males have long horns, which grown out the side of the head, and then flick upwards (to quite a height); the females do not have horns. The breed on average weighing 300-450kg.

The breed itself is very old, dating back to the  late 1800’s. White cattle with coloured points are first mentioned in literature, dating back almost 2,000 years. It is also a beef breed (not a dairy cow).

Vaynol cattle are on the Rare Breed survival trust list, classified as Critical – meaning there is less than 150 left in the UK. This makes them one the rarest breeds in Britain. They are a semi-feral breed, largely maintained on large estates and national parks. Due to being semi-feral, with little human interaction/ intervention, they are quite wary of humans and seen as a timid breed. Although, slowly making a come-back with more human intervention nowadays – with breeding programmes set in place and measures taken to avoid inbreeding within such small numbers of individuals.

As a response to a message asking to know more about Dolphins, here is some information you may not have known…

Dolphins are highly intelligent marine mammals. The order Cetacean includes the marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Dolphins are part of the family of toothed whales Odontoceti; also including orcas (killer whales) and pilot whales. Most species live in tropical and temperate oceans throughout the world; a few species live in the world’s rivers (such as the endangered Amazon river dolphin a.k.a. the pink river dolphin). There are 36 species of dolphins – 32 marine species, and 4 river (freshwater)species.

Dolphins are carnivores, mostly eating crustaceans, fish and squid. They have clever methods of catching fish, and getting a good meal out of big shoals. They trap the shoal close to the surface of the water, and blow bubble “walls” or “nets” to keep the shoal together. The dolphins then take it in turns between blowing bubbles and feeding. Some will also slide up onto beaches (almost beach themselves) to catch fish in the shallows.

Dolphins, like bats, use echolocation to navigate and hunt, bouncing high-pitched sounds off of objects, and listening for the echoes. They can find food, each other, navigate around their environment, and locate objects with echolocation. They have a special organ for echolocation known as the melon organ. The melon also helps with hearing via echolocation They use their teeth as a type of antennae so that they can receive information about incoming sounds. They get information about the size and the shape of the object, before they actually see it, through this process.  The melon is located in the forehead, in front of the skull.

 Dolphins have complex and large social and family groups. They are very loyal and will not abandon a family member in need or is in injured. Unfortunately, this makes them easier to hunt – humans have hunted them by trapping a few in shallower water and injuring them, the rest of their family will then not abandon them, and any relations of the others will not leave… you see my meaning (unfortunately).

A group of dolphins is known as a pod. The males are bulls, the females cows, and the young are known as calves.

Dolphins have such diverse appearances – big ones, small(er) ones, striped ones, spotted ones, plain ones, long beaks (snouts), short beaks, round heads, long heads, tall dorsal fin, short dorsal fine, arched back, straight back… The Largest of all dolphin species can grow to over 31 feet long when fully grown, which has provided them with the incorrect name of “whale” – the Orca, more commonly known as Killer Whale. The smallest known species is the Maui’s dolphin, growing up to 5 ft 6 – 7 inches. So to finish this post, here are some photo’s of different dolphin species of all shapes and sizes!
(Hover over , or click on, the individual images to see the species name)

False Killer Whale Dolphin

Orca (Killer Whale) – yes, technically, it’s a large dolphin

Chinese River Dolphin (Baiji)

Melon Head Whale Dolphin

Risso’s Dolphin(s)

Irrawaddy Dolphin(s)

Maui’s Dolphin

Spinner Dolphin (pod)

Hourglass Dolphin(s)

All images are open source, Google images, or my own – or photos donated for use.

If you have any questions or comments; please post a comment below, or contact Ali’s Answers via one of my social media pages…
. Google+ (Ali’s Animal Answers)
. Facebook (Ali’s Animal Answers)
. Twitter (@AlisAnswers)
. LinkedIn (Ali Holloway)

Pygmy Jerboa – the smallest rodent in the world

• Also known as the Desert Rat
• They live in the desert – hence their alternate name
• This little species is from Asia and North America
• The large ears help to keep them cool, the same way an elephants ears work – the blood vessels in the ears being close to the surface of the ear allowing heat to escape easily and quickly as needed
• The large ears also provide excellent hearing, allowing them to hear predators and escape before the predator gets too close
• They are only 2 inches in length
• They can jump up to 9ft in length
• They eat plants and insects, and get most of their water this way
• These tiny rodents have litter sizes of between 2-6 pups (babies)
• A solitary species – exceptions made during breeding seasons, and sometimes in limited environments, loose colonies may be formed to better share out resources

Northern Pudú – the smallest deer in the world

• They range in size from 32-35 cm in height
• They can grow up to 85 cm in length
• The Northern Pudú is from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
• Their slightly larger counterpart is the Southern Pudú, it is from southern Chile and southern Argentina, and can grow up to 44cm in height
• The males have 2 short, pointy horns rather than tall staggered antlers
• The females do not have horns or antlers
• Males are called Bucks or Stags, and the females are called Does
• The fawns (baby deer) have a lighter brown colouration with white stripes/ spots to help them blend into the undergrowth and stay safe
• The adults have a solid, darker brown colouration

Least Weasel – the smallest mustelid in the world

• Approximately 11 – 26 cm (4 – 10 inches) in length (from tip of nose to base of tail)
• This species weighs approximately 25 grams!
• Despite its small size, it is capable of killing a prey 5 – 10 times its own weight
• Babies are called kits, males are known as a Jack or a hob, and females are known as a Jill or a doe
• The litter size of the Least Weasel is between 3 – 10 kits
• Their diet is made up of small rodents, small birds, bird’s eggs, poultry and rabbits
• Large birds of prey, such as owls and hawks, are predators of the Least Weasel
• They are also the smallest carnivore in Britain
• These tiny weasels live in a range of habitats – including grasslands, sand dunes, woodland and mountains
• They must eat roughly between 40% – 60% of their body weight daily