Watch out! Avoiding pet hazards in the 21st Century

We've all seen pictures of celebrities toting a cute 'Toy' pooch under their arm or in a little rhinestone-studded handbag. It's frustrating to most dog owners because we know that their little legs were designed for walking and that's just what they'll do! But smaller dogs are generally prone to being picked up more often, and just like cats they can catapult themselves out of your arms.

Sugar the Chihuahua (pictured) did just that when she jumped from the arms of her owner's friend - and ended up with a tiny metal plate in her leg. With a broken limb so severe that her owner, Clare Mitchell, feared the dog would lose her leg, Sugar showed amazing resilience under the careful care of a brilliant vet. Her leg saved, she was trotting around just two days after the operation, but "we haven't picked her up since!" adds Clare.

The 21st Century is definitely coming with its own hazards say pet insurers PetPlan. From falling out of handbags to being stepped on by overenthusiastic Nintendo Wii players, modern companion animals are facing dangers previous generations didn't have to worry about. As a result, 21st Century owners are being presented with enormous veterinary bills. Of 3,000 clients polled by PetPlan, over a third had caused accidental damage to their pets with an average cost of £170 to put things right.

Nearly sixty percent of those owners admitted to stepping on their pet (with dogs the most likely victim), with 21% owning up to dropping them (with guinea pigs suffering the most); the next biggest threat was accidental poisoning. Please remember, for example, to keep your chocolate well out of reach of your dog!

PetPlan's Vet of the Year, Brian Faulkner, has this to say:

"Dogs are especially inquisitive and often get under your feet when you are concentrating on something else. Luckily, most of the time they see you before you see them and manage to move out of the way before you step on them but it is not uncommon for vets to have to help them through the odd accidental owner-inflicted scrape and bruise."

In other words: watch where you're going, just in case your dog doesn't!


Disclaimer: Dogs Trust has an arrangement with PetPlan to provide six weeks of free insurance to all new owners of our rescue dogs. You are not obliged to continue with this provider, but we recommend that you consider obtaining pet insurance if you have not already done so.

No news to pet owners: dogs 'catch' human yawns!

Now, I know my late cats and I started yawn chains back and forth to each other all the time. And it does seem to me that dogs are very attuned to the moods and behaviours of their owners. So today's news that dogs can 'catch' yawns from humans doesn't surprise me, and I suspect I'm far from alone in that.

Scientists believe that human yawn chains are down to empathy, and this evidence suggests dogs are capable of empathising with people - again, no news to dog lovers! I've certainly seen a dog start the process; a dozy Chihuahua once set off a whole bus I was riding on, to the amusement of everyone in it. The key finding with the new research is that they can also 'catch' a yawn from us, and previously it was thought that only humans and close primates could do that.

I know I've managed to get cats to mimick my behaviour before (making them sleepy by blinking slowly at them and, yes, making them yawn after me). Dogs are, as the scientists who conducted the research pointed out, "very skilled at reading human social cues", tending to respond to mood and adopt a posture and behaviour similar to their owner. BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull couldn't get his two gorgeous inky black Labs to yawn when he did, but when he pretended to sleep they immediately settled down to do so as well - surely this suggests just as much empathy?

In the 15,000 years we've lived together, it's inevitable that dogs and people have learned certain habits together (it's just a shame we can't all be as unconditionally loving as dogs are!). But it's good to have yet more proof of how close and connected a relationship can develop between man and his best friend.

ASPCA assists Tennessee's largest ever puppy farm raid

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has lent its expertise and resources to Tennessee's largest-ever puppy farm raid, showing that the problem is just as widespread as suspected.

The cruelty investigation team, including two forensic vets, discovered 747 animals in enclosures dotted around the 92 acre Pine Bluff Kennels estate. The vast majority were dogs, but horses, burros, miniature horses, chickens, goats, parrots and pedigree cats were also found on the site.

Seven hundred dogs - over 200 of which are pups - were found lacking basic care in faeces-encrusted pens lacking ventilation and sufficient food and water. Most require treatment for matting, sores, broken limbs, hernias or abscesses. Various different breeds were discovered, including Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, GSDs and Great Danes.

Dr Melinda Merck, working on behalf of the ASPCA, commented:

“This is one of the worst situations I have ever seen. Animals are in extreme states of neglect and illness. Some are dead. The overcrowding, the unsanitary conditions, the flea and parasite infestation, as well as the stress of competing for food and coping with untreated illnesses, are all severe.”

Puppy farms, also known as "puppy mills" in the USA, are an international problem, and despite laws that prohibit some of the practices of puppy farms in the UK, they are still prevalent over here. The industry is often driven by innocent-looking Internet ads, and inexperienced future dog owners are duped into buying a puppy raised in conditions they would have been horrified by.

For more information on helping to destroy this cruel trade and tips on identifying a genuine breeder, please read the Dogs Trust information leaflet.