Dr Jo's blog

Tweet up?

Dog owners know what social catalysts dogs are. We walk our dogs and we talk to people, people who we might not normally even look at. Sometimes we even divulge the most intimate details of our lives, safe in the knowledge that the listener must be a caring, sharing kinda person cos they’re a dog lover.

The internet has brought a different means of communication. Take Twitter. I speak to dog and pet lovers from all over the world now. We share knowledge, tips, joys and sorrows. We post pics of our pets and sometimes we even become our pets, talking as our pampered pussycat or pooch.

Twitter on occasion spills out into real life and mutual followers actually meet. Like North Shore Coffee Mornings (#nscm), a group of Sydney people who meet to chat over coffee every week. I went this week and met so many interesting people (roll call).

Got me thinking… I wonder if the pet community are also meeting up in real life. Is this something you would like to do?  Are there any dog walking groups formed out of Twitter or other social media networks? Is it impossible to do with cats? If you are already doing this, please let us know where.

Jo’s website

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How much does your pet cost you? Scared to work it out? And just how much would you be willing to spend should your pet need special care?

Recent reports in the news have commented on just how much pet owners will spend on their pets:

• Cat lover pays $7000 to remove a tumour form their cat’s head (read)
• Brisbane couple spent over $100,000 on their dogs (read)
• Pet owners hounded by veterinary fees (Miranda Devine article)

If you love your pet then chances are you will spend whatever you can. Most other pet owners will approve. What happens when you talk to non-pet lovers?

“Are you mad?!” they shriek. “All these starving kids in the world….”

Just because you love your pet does not mean you will not fund charitable work elsewhere. In fact pet lovers are more empathic with people in general. Chances are they are helping feed people in poverty.

Choosing to spend money on your pet’s medical care can raise all sorts of moral and ethical dilemmas. How much is too much? Chemotherapy may cost $4000 per session and you may need 6 sessions. Can you afford it?

It is not easy to decide to end your pet’s life. To make that decision based on your finances can be especially guilt-provoking. What if your partner does not want to? Perhaps this is a deal breaker we should discuss prior to acquiring a pet (but most of us would hate to picture this dilemma).

The easiest way to make this decision I have found after having clients face this, is to consider the quality of life of your pet. Do they have many years left to live their life? Will they face years of discomfort or even pain?

One thing is certain – the joy your pet gives you can never be measured in financial terms.

Please share your thoughts and experiences. Leave a comment below.

More from Dr Jo at www.petproblemsolved.com.au

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1.       The interesting friends I follow. Where else can I follow the conversations of a moose, a capybara, a gorilla, a gerbil and her mother? Just as in real life, on Twitter I enjoy the company of cats and dogs and the most followed pet of all is Sockington (@Sockington) who comes up with some fabulous feline life statements such as:

“OH DESPAIR THY NAME IS EMPTY FOOD DISH thy last name is mcglamery WELL EMPTY FOOD DISH MCGLAMERY LET’S SEE IF A YOWL WILL HELP YOU”.

Sockington’s prose has earned him over 500,000 followers.

Sockington 500,000 Followers from Jason Scott on Vimeo.

2.       You can be yourself. It is tempting when you first tweet to try to emulate the style of others. At first I stuck to being a professional, recommending all things pet. Other people were tweeting about the colour of their socks! Now I know, just like real life, Twitter is a balance of both personal and professional. Now I tweet whatever I like. I tweet about how muddy my pup’s paws are or how my cat has woken me again at 5:30am. If my followers don’t like me, easy, simply unfollow. I can do likewise. How many friends can you do that to in real life?

3.       Just because you think something is brilliant, doesn’t mean it is. On Twitter, it is quite a priveledge to be retweeted, Sometimes, you tweet your supposedly brilliant 140 character message and… NOTHING. Not a retweet! Not even a reply. Next, a quick comment and bingo, everyone loves it, retweets it and you get masses of replies.

I once said “Anxiety problems in our pets need to be treated with kindness for both the pets and the owner’s sake.” Nothing brilliant there I thought but the large number of endorsing responses I received showed that my tweet had touched people. Twitter helps me learn what inspires others.

4.       I can find out anything I want to. When I need to know something, such as where to find a book of barking, I can just ask my followers. Yes I could Google but Twitter followers give me their personal recommendations; very valuable. I can return the favour, occasionally giving pet behaviour advice and instead of a 2hr consult and 6months of therapy, all it takes is 140 characters.

5.       Twitter takes you to other worlds. Not only can I find out who twitters in my suburb, I can look for cat owners in Edinburgh or dog owners in Siberia. I can be a mythical creature (if I had the imagination); I can take on my pet’s personality. I can find joy in other’s experiences too. Here is Smudge (@Smudgebestcat), who resides with his people in England, being best cat at Australian Barney to Canadian Alley cats’ Twitter wedding. Only on Twitter?!

If you need more info on pets, visit Pet Problems Solved.

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Sharing your life with any other living creature gives potential for embarrassment. None of us can completely control what any other living, breathing individual will do. And our pets seem spectacularly good at playing the role of embarrassment-maker. Here are some of the cheeky pets that I’ve encountered…

1.       Charlie the cheeky parrot who talked a lot and his favourite saying was “Silly bugger!” Fine at home with the family but not so good when the local minister came calling.

2.       Milo the terrier aka Milo the Humper. Milo humped everything including cushions, beds, legs of friends. Milo’s owner was over 80 years old and was exceedingly embarrassed by what she perceived to be Milo’s sexual habits.

3.       Sheba the noisy kitty would escape out of her owner’s home almost every night and get into a cat fight, waking her neighbour’s children. Once or twice, yes, it happens. But almost every night?

4.       Toby the Chocolate Labrador whose copraphagy habit was creating a social suicide situation for his owner at the park. Toby would eat the faeces of any animal he could find, even those dogs he played with.

5.       Sally the crotch sniffer. Say no more. Sally was a Doberman, just the right height.

6.       Elvis the sleek black pussycat who peed in guests shoes and handbags. Gave new meaning to ‘Elvis the Pelvis’.

7.       Happy Harry the larrikin Labrador (yes Labrador’s feature regularly on this list!). Harry just loved people so much that he jumped on everyone; especially when he was in the park; especially when he was in full flight! Harry had knocked over a lady who had just undergone knee replacement surgery. Oops!.

8.       Sunny the Burmese who had a fetish for underwear. Great but it didn’t belong to his family. He would sneak around the neighbourhood, stealing clothing from the washing lines. Imagine confronting your neighbour’s bloomers? Moral dilemma – do you give them back?

I reserve the right to save the last two on this list for my pets. Yes, why should the so-called animal expert have perfectly behaved pets?

9.       Cherry the Dalmatian who simply loved food. Would never steal it when mum was there but turn my back and… One time during a cocktail party when I had just served the whole round of Brie and turned away to fetch the crackers, shouts of laughter burst out. There was Cherry disappearing out the door with the entire cheese in her mouth. (Moral dilemma – do you rescue and serve the cheese?)

10.    Leo the lion, sorry Maine Coon. Leo’s cable radar has led him to find (when hidden) and chew his way through 3 ipod cables and 6 phone charger cables. Also 2 sets of guests cables too. Not just one bite. He entirely shreds them!J

 Do you have an embarrassing pet story? Or are you too embarrassed to share it?

More about pets at  Dr Jo’s website.

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Dog park

By Dr Joanne Righetti (visit Pet Problem Solved website)

Dog parks were the promised nirvana. I have a puppy and want her to meet other dogs. This is such a critical part of her development and socialisation. We can meet other dogs in the street but a tangle of leads inevitably results as the dogs wrestle, play bow and run circles around one another. An off leash area seems ideal. I can let my puppy run free and play to her heart’s content.

Why then do I spend my time watching what every other dog is doing? Are they going to be friendly? Is their owner watching them? What if I want to do some training with my pup, will other dog owners call their dog away from us? (No chance!) Should I intervene in every dog argument?

It seems to me that there are positives and negatives to these designated dog friendly areas:

I wonder if these parks need to be better designed. Mine is great in that it is fully fenced, has access to water and poo bags. (Off leash etiquette is extremely important.) But it is a flat field. There is little to entertain my dog except other dogs. We can’t use it when sport is on.

So what’s the overall concerns us on dog parks? Do you have a point of view (councils will be reading so now’s the chance to speak!)

·         Do you wish you had an off leash area and why don’t you have one in your neighbourhood?

·         Have you had good and bad experiences in an off leash park? Were you or your dog to blame? Do you still use the park?

·         What would you change about your off leash area? Separate ones for small and large dogs, more to do in the park? What is the ideal dog park?

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