STACK #197 Mar 2021

FEATURE LIFE TECH

Well, I didn’t know that!

Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic ; two Pomeranians and a Pekingese.

that combining this with essential mental stimulation is the key to success. “Dogs get far more worn out by doing training – like sit, drop, roll-over, shake paws, etc. If you spend five minutes in the morning and night doing some training, that is far more fatiguing for a dog than to go on a 2km walk.

Preparing to return to work Throughout this pandemic, there has been one clear winner – pets. For anyone caught in a lockdown, between the incessant Zoom meetings, the challenges of home-schooling, and staring at the same four walls in a desperate search for inspiration, many turned

What can I use to keep my dog entertained? “Some dogs love to dig, so offering them a clamshell with sand in it can be good," Dr Schepers explains. "A Kong with food in it that they have to push around – and it drops out one bit of food at a time – is great, or sometimes you can fill the hollow up with peanut butter and treats. There are lots of different ways to try and keep a dog's brain active while you are away. Another clever idea is interfacing some home tech stuff with a camera so you can watch what your dog is up to. You can understand their pattern, whether they're snoozing or whatever, and then with an app on your phone, you could set up some really clever stuff to provide entertainment for the dog.“

to their pets for solace. During these periods of isolation, pets have become

accustomed to being the centre of attention. Dogs, in particular, are social animals and enjoy constant stimulation and interaction. So, how can we prepare them to adapt to a more isolated existence? “You need to make a pathway for your dog that is based on routine, and do it for gradually

longer periods,” explains Dr Dieuwerke Schepers from the Gisborne Veterinary Clinic in Victoria. “Make sure you’re familiar with the environmental enrichment concepts for dogs. You can use certain foods in a Kong (a rubber toy with a hollow centre that can be filled with food) and when you leave you say, ‘Here you are, this is for you to keep yourself occupied with for five minutes’ and you literally go out the door with your keys and your bag. When you come back in again after two minutes, they should still be busy with that Kong. “The important thing is that you don’t make a fuss when you leave, and you do not make a fuss when you return; they get rewarded for calm behaviour. So, you are creating a rewards system for the behaviour that you want. In many ways it’s very similar to children – you kind of ignore the stuff that you don’t like, and you actively reward the behaviour that you do want.” And while maintaining the physical exercise regime that your dog has become used to is important, Dr Schepers says

“It’s about marrying good exercise, a good training regime, and particularly paying attention to what’s called ‘environmental enrichment’ for dogs. That’s probably one of the key things to get across – that dogs have certain behavioural needs. They need to eat, they need to play, they need to hunt for food, they need to have social interaction. So, there are certain behavioural needs to be met every day, and if we meet as many of those as possible and make their environment as normal for them as we can – and not try to think of what we would like as humans, but what it is that dogs actually need – then you’ll have far fewer problem behaviours.”

What age can I leave my puppy?

“It depends on what you are providing for your pup,“ says Dr Schepers. “If there is food, water and good shelter and adequate outdoor space, you could probably start to leave them on their own at 10-12 weeks. However, it's important that you gradually train them for those longer periods of time that you are going to be away. There is no clear definition, but around 12-14 weeks you can probably start to leave your puppy on its own for longer periods of time – but you have to train it for that.“

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