HE is on a mission to help our pets . . . and is here to answer YOUR questions.
Sean, who is the head vet at tailored pet food firm tails.com, has helped with owners’ queries for ten years.
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He says: “If your pet is acting funny or is under the weather, or you want to know about nutrition or exercise, just ask. I can help keep pets happy and healthy.”
Q) MY horse Penny is allergic to hay dust.
I’ve been told I need to wet her hay.
Is there any medication I can give her instead to alleviate it?
Sam Barnes, Leeds
A) What an unfortunate allergy for a horse, though some may be surprised to hear it’s not entirely unusual.
For horses with hay allergies there are several options to manage this.
One is not feeding much hay and keeping them more outdoors on pasture, but I recognise this isn’t always an option, especially in the British climate.
If feeding hay indoors or outdoors, you can feed hay cubes or pellets, or get dust extracted hay.
Failing that (as it can be costly), wetting the hay to dampen down any dust or spores present is advisable.
In terms of medications or treatment, certain horse-safe antihistamines can be prescribed by your vet, or in severe cases a course of steroids may be an option.
But this is a lifelong condition and the husbandry changes are going to be the mainstay of prevention rather than cure.
Q) WHEN I walk my 18-month-old husky Zorro he goes crazy for squirrels and really pulls on the lead.
What can I do to stop walks becoming a nightmare and keep him distracted?
Em Dougherty, Cardiff
A) This is a tricky one as the prey drive can be high in such active and alert dog breeds.
The first thing to say is that you need to prevent that behaviour from being rewarded.
So for the time being, keeping him on the lead and not allowing him the thrill of the chase is necessary.
If he gets that opportunity once then he’ll try harder and harder the next 20 times to get that feeling again.
It’s an addictive thing, the squirrel rush.
Then look up three behavioural techniques to practise on your walks.
Habituation is easy — get him so used to squirrels that he becomes unbothered by them.
The more exposure he gets, the better.
Then try counter-conditioning and response substitution.
It’s a little more complex and tricky, and its success depends on subtle interactions between you and Zorro.
I think a qualified behaviourist would be a worthwhile investment even for just one or two sessions in the park to get you started.
Q) MY lab Cooper is a real scavenger on walks.
He dives to pick up anything edible — he’s already had one trip to the vets because of it.
What can I do to stop his greedy ways? It’s a real concern.
Pete Marsh, Brighton
A) A scavenger, food- obsessed labrador you say? What a novel concept.
Sorry for joking, but this is pretty classic.
Did you know that in genetic studies, they found that up to one in three labradors has a defective gene, one that ought to let them know they’re feeling full.
Effectively, they have no “off switch” to say they aren’t hungry any more.
If this is the case with Cooper, then you may just have to prevent him accessing things he shouldn’t.
Keeping him on a lead is one option, but it’s no fun, so a bucket-type muzzle that prevents him scoffing unmentionables in the park is the next best thing.
Star of the week
BOXER Layla is one of the new faces of credit rating firm Clearscore after becoming a hit on Instagram.
Her owner, Chris Naughton, put seven-year-old Layla on social media when she was a puppy instead of putting countless dog pictures on his own social media.
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Layla, from Stockport, Gtr Manchester, soon had thousands of followers.
Interior designer Chris, 49, told Paws And Claws: “She loved doing this.
“We gave her chicken breast as a treat afterwards. We are so proud of her.
“She has kidney disease and allergies, and had cancer and chemo last year. But she still wags her tail every time she goes into the vets.
“She is an amazing dog with a wonderful temperament.”
WIN: Cleaning products
WE’VE teamed up with cleaning brand Zoflora to give three lucky winners the chance to win a year’s supply of cleaning goodies worth £100.
It has products from Zoflora’s pet-friendly fragrance Mountain Air, which will eliminate pet odours and has been specially developed to be better tolerated by your pet’s sensitive sense of smell.
For a chance to win, send an email headed ZOFLORA to sunday pets@ the-sun. co.uk by June 30.
Go to zoflora. co.uk. T&Cs apply.
Codes are key to keeping dogs calm
A THIRD of pet owners use codewords to hide something exciting or scary from their four-legged friends, it’s been revealed.
The most commonly concealed words avoided to prevent overexcitement are “walkies”, followed by “treat”, “biscuits”, “bathtime” and “dinner time”.
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A study of 2,000 dog owners by Petplan found 54 per cent say they use their own special language to communicate with their furry friends.
Meanwhile, a study in animal cognition found cats respond to words in “cat-directed speech”, which is like baby talk as typically it is higher-pitched and uses short, repetitive phrases.
Petplan’s Bella von Mesterhazy said: “Some dogs can be sensitive to certain words and tones so it’s interesting to see so many pet owners adopting playful code words and phrases to alleviate stress and overexcitement.”
A third of owners also said their pet reacts to the word “vet”, with 32 per cent using a codeword to avoid a pet getting anxious beforehand.
Key food words that triggered excitement in pups include “chicken”, “sausage” and “cheese”.
Heartwarmingly, two other words which make our pets happy are ”grandma” and “nanny” – showing that the older generation are spoiling our pets too.
