Dog versus hedgehog. In a suburban garden, victory would go to the one with the prickled armour. On the dunes of Kaitōrete, the 25km spit of windswept land separating Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere from the Pacific Ocean on Banks Peninsula, the hedgehog doesn’t stand a chance. Minutes after being tracked down in the long grass by Nightshade the border terrier, it has been removed and shot.
“Hedgehogs seem very cute but they are in the wrong country and they eat anything here on Kaitōrete,” says Karin Bos, dog handler for Pest Free Banks Peninsula. “Insects, lizards, eggs, tiny birds – they just hoover everything up they can find.”
Nightshade is part of an arsenal of dogs, traps, poison bait stations and cameras used by Pest Free Banks Peninsula to protect the biodiversity of Banks Peninsula Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū through the eradication of all animal pests by 2050.
For a piece of land without the water border of an island sanctuary or the predator-proof fence of a land sanctuary, it is a bold goal, first laid out in 2016 in the 2050 Ecological Vision for Banks Peninsula developed by the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust in conjunction with the local community. Two years later, Pest Free Banks Peninsula was formerly established by 14 founding signatories, including local councils, rūnanga and the Department of Conservation.
“We are amongst some others trying to do it for the first time, so we are all learning together,” PFBP project manager Sarah Wilson tells Frank Film. “Nobody knows how to do this.”
Banks Peninsula Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū is an ancient volcanic landscape, covering around 115,000 hectares of farmland, pockets of native bush, plantation forests, cliffs and beaches encroaching on the edges of Ōtautahi Christchurch. It is a unique landscape rich with native flora and fauna including tūī, ruru (morepork), pīwakawaka (fantail), kororā (white flippered little blue penguin), hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin, tītī (sooty shearwater), waterfowl, jewelled geckos and spotted skinks. At least six plant species and more than 60 invertebrate species, including the rare beaked moss moth, Gadira leucophthalma, do not exist anywhere else in the world.
Threatening this biodiversity are invasive populations of rats, mice, stoats, ferrets, weasels, hedgehogs, feral cats and an estimated 460,000 possums.
“When you look at possums and rats and stoats and everything else put together, the damage they do to the whole ecosystem is pretty significant,” says PFBP operations manager Tim Sjoberg. “If you start reducing one native species versus another then you are really throwing the balance of the whole ecosystem out of whack.”
But the peninsula’s near-island topography is an advantage, allowing the eradication programme to move steadily from the coastal edges on the east and south towards the west, hopefully without losing advances to reinfestation.
To work within available funds, half of which comes from Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, it is beginning in two elimination sites.
The appropriately named Wildside Project covers 23,000 hectares of steep gullies and towering sea cliffs on the south eastern corner of the peninsula. While aimed at feral cats, ferrets, stoats and weasels, its primary target is possums. Sjoberg takes Frank Film through the stunning beauty of the DOC-managed Nikau Palm Gully, pointing out trees etched with claw marks and saplings stripped of foliage. “The damage they do to the forest structure by eating the most palatable species, the absolute appetite for invertebrates and everything else – these guys have an impact on every cycle of the ecosystem.”
The eradication programme here relies on self-resetting battery powered traps in more inaccessible areas, over 90 live capture traps laid on roadsides and in public parks and backyards and poison bait stations using encapsulated cyanide.
Unlike more remote eco-sanctuaries around the country, care is required around private dwellings, public walking tracks and water-take areas but in setting traps, checking trap lines and monitoring the area for reinvasion, community support, says Sjoberg, is vital.
“We are working in people’s backyards, on their farms – there is some public land but the bulk is private land so having that buy-in from the community is absolutely critical. In this country if you walk away from it without doing any control, you’ve lost all that work, all that mahi, you’ve done – they’ll be back.”
Sjoberg estimates the programme has already killed around 4000 possums over the past two years; cameras in 20 sites around this remote area show a dramatic decrease in possum numbers in the past six months alone.
“A few more to go but we are learning every day and we are accelerating every day.”
The other site is the 5000ha Kaitōrete Spit, where a programme of dogs (including Nightshade and Terry, the cat-sleuthing springer spaniel), cameras and self-reporting traps, which send a signal back to PFBP HQ in Tai Tapu when a trap is sprung, are being used to clear this wild finger of land from hedgehogs, feral cats, possums, ferrets, stoats and, most commonly, weasels, accustomed to dining out on the rich diet of birds, invertebrates, lizards and geckos.
Already about 45ha has been cleared of hedgehogs as the programme moves steadily eastward without reinvasion behind.
“Two years ago walking down the sand dunes you would never see anything,” says Sjoberg. “This last summer when we walked through there were lizards, geckos everywhere. We were able to see a change that quickly. It was quite phenomenal.”
The goal now, he says, is to bed in these gains and to extend further across Banks Peninsula Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū.
“If we are valued by the community, and we undertake this safely and professionally, then I am confident funding will come and we will be able to scale up and work across that landscape.”
Source: Sally Blundell for Frank Film
Posted in Dogs, special dogs and awards
Tagged Banks Peninsula, Frank Film, Lake Ellesmere, pest control, possums, Predator Free 2050
In honor of Service Dog Awareness Month, Purina Dog Chow is joining forces with actor and singer Anthony Ramos to celebrate the finalists of this year’s Dog Chow Visible Impact Award, which recognizes the remarkable impact service dogs have on the lives of military veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ongoing research shows most veterans with trained service dogs show lower symptoms of PTSD and reduced depression compared to more traditional clinical care for PTSD alone.
From now through October 13, 2023, dog lovers are invited to help select the 2023 Visible Impact Award winner by voting on the selected finalists at DogChow.com/service. For every vote, Dog Chow will donate $5 to the Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans (ASDPMV), up to $75,000, to help train more PTSD service dogs. The winning service dog’s veteran will receive a $10,000 cash prize and $25,000 for the organization that trained the service dog.
“Partnering with Dog Chow for this year’s Service Dog Salute program is a privilege beyond words. The unwavering loyalty and support that service dogs provide to our military veterans is nothing short of remarkable,” said Ramos. “I am honored to help shine a light on the powerful impact service dogs have on the lives of those who served our country.”
Visible Impact Award Finalists This year’s Visible Impact Award Finalists include:
A PTSD service dog’s Impact
Roughly 3.5 million military veterans suffer from PTSD, and while service dogs have been demonstrated to reduce the severity of PTSD, only 1% of those in need who seek a service dog receive one each year. Dog Chow has been on a mission to help, donating more than $1M to service dog organizations since the start of the Service Dog Salute in 2018. These donations help support the care and training of more service dogs for veterans with PTSD at no cost to the veterans.
To vote for the Visible Impact Award winner and for more information about Dog Chow’s support of our nation’s veterans, visit DogChow.com/service.
Source: Petfoodindustry.com
Posted in Dogs, special dogs and awards
Tagged awards, ptsd, Purina, service dog awareness month
“This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population — have your pets spayed or neutered.”
– Bob Barker, long-time host of The Price is Right, in his trademark sign-off used from 1982 until his retirement in 2007
Mr Barker passed away at the age of 99 on 26 August 2023. He hosted The Price is Right from 1972 to 2007 and was a passionate animal rights activist.
For the last 20 years, I have always tried to have emergency supplies on hand. First it was because of the ‘millennium bug’ which threatened to shut down utilities and other essential services. Then it was the warnings of New Zealand officials about being ready for earthquakes. I accessed and used many of my supplies during our 2010 and 2011 earthquakes and was pleased to have been prepared.
Since then, I have reviewed my supplies and attempted to keep them re-stocked. A busy life means that I haven’t always been as diligent as I should in doing this (my water purifying tablets expired 3 years ago, for example).
Earlier this year, regions of our North Island were hit by Cyclone Gabrielle and severe flooding. Many people lost their homes. Over the last 10 days, though, I have watched the events in Lahaina, Maui unfold. Climate change has me worried; everyone on this planet is at risk of severe weather events and that includes our pets.
As I write this, there are suggestions that upwards of 3,000 pets on Maui are missing or injured. Many will never be found, which seems to be likely for many human victims, too, because of the heat and destruction of the fires.
The time to prepare is today. Don’t wait.
I have re-vamped my grab bag with an updated pair of glasses, masks, clothes for both Sox and I, a harness (because in the hurry to get him into the car, I may not have time to saddle him up as I usually do), pain medication, an asthma inhaler, a charging cord for my mobile phone, heavy work gloves, and other items.
The bag will be the first thing taken if we have to evacuate in a hurry. The box contains dog treats, batteries, an emergency torch, toilet paper, liquid soap and other hygiene items. I keep a bag of dog food nearby, too, to grab on the way out.
From what has been reported, it seems that many in Lahaina had no idea that they were under threat and that evacuation orders were haphazard. There will be lessons learned from this disaster.
In Canterbury, we get very dry in summer with strong winds. Climate change is supposed to exacerbate this. We live with the ever-present threat of earthquakes. Storms will be more severe in the years to come. Please give some thought to the hazards where you live and plan accordingly.
It’s my hope that I never need these supplies, but it gives me comfort to know that I have them on hand and ready to go if we have to leave our home quickly. I plan to do better at reviewing the supplies; much like the batteries in smoke alarms, they should be reviewed each year when we change clocks to/from daylight savings time.
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and canine fitness, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
Social interaction is good for human health, and a new study suggests it might be good for your dog, too.
“Where we live and who we interact with has a really strong effect on our health and well-being,” said Noah Snyder-Mackler, who is lead author of the study and an associate professor at Arizona State University’s school of life sciences and its center for evolution and medicine. “This link between our social environments and our health extends to many social animals. Animals with stronger social relationships live longer, healthier lives.”
The research, published in Evolution, Medicine & Public Health, surveyed the human parents of more than 21,000 dogs and found that social companionship — with both people and other animals — had the largest influence on healthier aging among dogs. The effect was five times greater than anything else they looked at, such as family finances, household children or the pet parent’s age.
The study is part of the Dog Aging Project, a large community-science research effort started in 2018 and funded by the National Institute on Aging and private donations. It’s led by the University of Washington and Texas A&M schools of medicine and includes more than a dozen institutions, including Arizona State University.
Its goal is to learn how genes, lifestyle and the environment influence aging and disease among dogs. Researchers also hope the insights can help human health.
“Dogs are often considered our closest animal companions and share many aspects of our daily lives,” said Brianah McCoy, an ASU doctoral student and a co-author of the paper. “By studying how the social environment affects dog health, we can gain insights that may also be relevant to human health.”
More than 45,000 dogs overall are enrolled in the aging project. A subset, about 1,000 dogs, are part of a more focused cohort from whom Snyder-Mackler and his collaborators are collecting blood and other biological samples over many years to uncover additional clues.
The researchers used statistical tools to analyze factors in the dogs’ social environments obtained from surveys completed by dog parents. The questionnaires asked about, among other things, physical activity, environment, dog behavior, diet, medications and preventive medications, health status and owner demographics.
The scientists narrowed their analysis to five key factors — neighborhood stability, total household income, social time with children, social time with animals and owner age — that together might explain how the social environment could affect a dog’s well-being.
They found poorer health among dogs who lived in households with financial difficulties and other stressors, and better health among dogs who experienced more social companionship, such as living with other dogs.
The researchers, however, did not quantify life span, although they plan to do so in the future. “While we can’t say ‘having another dog in the house adds X years to your dog’s life,’ we were able to compare the strengths of the effect of different environmental factors on health,” Snyder-Mackler said.
The researchers cautioned that the results don’t mean that pet parents need to add more dogs to the family or rush their pets to dog parks or doggy day-care.
“We don’t know if the environmental factors we measured caused the health outcomes, so we don’t want to make any strong statements about what owners should or shouldn’t do,” Snyder-Mackler said. “The study just looked at whether you had other animal companions in the house. But it does suggest that having more furry friends is linked to better health outcomes.”
Scientists not involved in the study pointed out that not all dogs respond similarly.
“Some dogs may find social interactions stressful,” said Clara Wilson, a postdoctoral researcher in the Penn Vet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, “and it may not be in the dog’s best interests to force these interactions.”
Courtney Sexton, postdoctoral researcher at Virginia-Maryland College of Vet Med — and who contributes other research to the Dog Aging Project — said her dog would rather play with a ball than with other dogs, and it’s the pet parents’ “job to pay attention to the signals dogs give us.”
Several findings were surprising, the study authors said.
Children may be detrimental to the health of dogs because of resource allocation, the researchers suggested. “It’s not that kids hurt the dogs or directly affect their health,” said Layla Brassington, a doctoral student at Vanderbilt University, who worked on the study as a master’s student at Arizona State University. “The more children or time that owners dedicate to their children likely leads to less time and effort they can dedicate to their furry children.”
The authors theorize that wealthier households have better access to medical care, and pet parents might seek veterinary services more frequently, which leads to identifying more diseases.
The ages of the dogs also affected the findings, with younger dogs seeming to be “more tuned into the age of their owner and how it impacts their well-being,” McCoy said.
The researchers did not specifically look at the effect of breeds — they did not have enough detail on individual breeds — or exercise, Snyder-Mackler said. (The Dog Aging Project recently released a study that found physical activity is associated with a better cognitive outcome in dogs.) “What we did see was that the strength of the relationship between the environment and health was similar when we looked separately at mixed-breed versus purebred dogs,” he said.
They also acknowledged one study limitation — the sample consisted of mostly high-income dog parents. A more diverse set could help “unravel the true magnitude of certain variables’ influence on canine well-being,” McCoy said. “It is possible that the effects we found in this study would be even stronger if we had a more varied and inclusive population.”
Most of the pets in the multi-animal households were dogs, and the scientists said there was insufficient data to distinguish between the effects of having additional dogs vs. other species.
“It could be that having other pets — even cats — provides health benefits through companionship,” Snyder-Mackler said.
Source: Washington Post
Posted in dog care, dog ownership, Dogs, research
Tagged companionship, Dog Aging Project, health, Washington Post
Earlier this week, the liquidators were called in to oversee the final days of Pet Central, a South Island-based pet retail chain.
I hate to hear when retail staff lose their jobs; they don’t get paid much as it is and they work longer hours at the times of year when most of us wouldn’t (think pre- and post-Christmas). In the pet care business, staff are also predominantly female and so a loss like this one is also an issue for women.
New Zealand’s economy isn’t that great right now and businesses are failing. The good news is that good staff are hard to find and so I wish the best for the retail workers, the groomers and those who staffed the day care. I hope they find work quickly.
And now I put my business hat on. Here’s why I am not particularly surprised at Pet Central’s demise:
But here is the good news, pet owners probably won’t miss Pet Central for long because you can find products elsewhere. As I said, every pet store has to buy from the same distributors in New Zealand for a lot of the product lines. It’s one reason why customers who reported no stock at Pet Central in recent weeks could easily go and find what they needed somewhere else.
For services like grooming and day care, there are other businesses where these services are core business and not an add-on to retail.
And here’s the gem: there are a lot of niche and great products that you can buy from smaller retailers and online. Christchurch and Canterbury are well-served, for example, for raw pet food suppliers. Take the time to research and you will find what you need.
A lot of very good products are not sold to large retailers because they want unrealistically low wholesale prices which they can mark up. A niche product/producer can’t survive at the margins that big retail expects. Smaller businesses are often more agile at sourcing new products for consumers, too.
If you want to support Made in New Zealand, get shopping online and find the many products available to you. You don’t need big retail for this.
There will always be a place in a modern economy for big retailers; you’ve still got choice. In another year, Pet Central will be a distant memory for many, a fond memory for some, and a sour one for those who have not been paid.
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and canine fitness, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted in dog-friendly shops, Dogs
Tagged animates, big retail, Buy NZ Made, nz made, pet central, petstock, small business
Families come in all shapes and sizes. And for a majority of Americans, family includes their pets.
Most Americans (62%) own a pet, including about a third (35%) who have more than one. And nearly all U.S. pet owners (97%) say their pets are part of their family, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
About half of pet owners (51%) not only consider their pets to be a part of their family but say they are as much a part of their family as a human member. Groups that are more likely to say this include:
The share of pet owners who think of their pets as part of their family as much as a human member doesn’t vary notably by age, race or ethnicity.
Pet owners’ family situation is also related to how they think about their pets. Unmarried pet owners and those who do not have children younger than 18 at home are the most likely to consider their pets to be as much a part of their family as a human member.
What about dog owners versus cat owners? The difference is narrow, but those who only have dogs (53%) are more likely than those who only have cats (48%) to think of their pets in the same way they think of a human family member.
Most Americans own pets, but some groups stand out as being more likely to do so:
To a lesser extent, women and people in middle-income families are also more likely than others to own pets. People younger than 65 are the age group most likely to have pets.
Dog ownership is more common than cat ownership in the United States.
Among all pet owners:
Most pet owners with only one pet say that pet is a dog (69%). Among those with multiple pets:
We asked Americans how they think pets are treated compared with people in the U.S.
Some 26% of Americans say there is not enough emphasis on the well-being of pets, and an equal share say there is too much. Roughly half (48%) say there’s about the right amount of emphasis on the well-being of pets.
Pet owners are twice as likely as non-pet owners to say there is not enough emphasis on pets’ well-being. Non-pet owners are about twice as likely as pet owners to say there is too much emphasis.
Among pet owners, 51% of those who say their pet is as much a part of their family as a human member say there isn’t enough emphasis on the well-being of pets. Just 13% of those who say their pet is a part of their family but not as much as a human member say the same.
In turn, 32% of those who say their pets are part of their family but not as much as a human member say there’s too much emphasis on pets’ well-being. Just 6% of those who see their pets the same as a human member of their family say this.
Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.
Source: Pew Research Center
We’ve all seen it. Many of us have done it.
We treat dog walks as a chance to accomplish two (or three) things at once, leading our pooches around the neighborhood while gazing at our phones, chatting with a friend, listening to a podcast or pushing a stroller.
The more ambitious among us even incorporate dogs into our exercise regimens, jogging or biking while our pets trot alongside.
It’s understandable. In today’s overscheduled world, this kind of multitasking can feel extra productive. And walking a dog twice a day around the same streets can get boring.
But animal behaviorists say that at best, dog walkers who aren’t paying full attention can confuse or frustrate dogs by giving them conflicting signals. And at worst, they can endanger the dog’s safety — and their own as well.
“It’s kind of like the dog-walking equivalent of distracted driving,” says Leslie Sinn, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in Ashburn, Virginia. “You’re not paying attention to the signs that your dog is uncomfortable … and if you’re missing all those clues because your head is elsewhere, that’s a problem.”
Matt Semrad is an avid reader and devours audiobooks from the library — about one a week. He also spends several hours each day walking his two black doodles, Sirius and Sonny.
So to maximize his reading time, the suburban Atlanta resident listens to books on his dog walks.
“I would be bored just walking the dogs,” he says.
Semrad says he doesn’t worry much about his dogs’ well-being on walks because they’re well-behaved and he watches them closely when they pass other dogs on the street.
Other dog walkers may not be as vigilant. CNN spoke to a handful of animal behaviorists who say they routinely see people walking dogs in their neighborhoods who are on their phones or pushing strollers and appear to be largely ignoring their pets.
This can pose a safety problem for several reasons, dog experts say. Research has shown that only a small percentage of people can multitask effectively. Distracted dog walkers may not notice potential threats: bicyclists, joggers, cars or unleashed dogs, experts say. By the time a person looks up from their phone, their pet could be in an altercation with another dog — or worse.
“You need to be alert at all times,” says Jacob Hollier, founder of Crate Escape, a dog-walking and pet-sitting service based in Atlanta. “If there’s a car out of control or a scooter coming on the sidewalk … at any given moment, it could be dangerous and possibly be fatal.”
Hollier says he requires his employees to stay off their phones while walking dogs — except to snap photos of the dogs to send to their owners.
“I work with an 180-pound Great Dane, and I have to be watching him at all times,” he says. “He’s bigger than me.”
It’s not just the dogs that are at risk. Experts say they have seen distracted dog walkers injure themselves tripping over sidewalks or even their own dogs. One study found that humans’ injuries while dog walking increased more than fourfold from 2001 to 2020.
Also, dogs are notorious for eating stuff that’s bad for them, experts say.
“If you aren’t paying attention, dogs can pick up and eat things QUICKLY — chicken bones, cigarette butts, dead/poisoned rats, etc.,” says Amy L. Pike, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in Fairfax, Virginia.
“If you didn’t see it, you won’t know to take them into the vet. Or if you do take them in because they are sick, you won’t know what they ingested, which helps your vet treat them.”
Physical safety is the most urgent concern, but distracted dog walking also can be detrimental to a dog’s behavioral training and even mental health, experts say.
A multitasking dog owner may be missing an opportunity to reinforce basic training — sit, come, stay and other commands — in a practical setting, says animal behaviorist Mary R. Burch, director of the American Kennel Club’s Family Dog program.
Someone buried in their phone also may not notice when their dog becomes agitated or shows signs of fatigue or an injury.
“Your dog ‘speaks’ primarily with their non-verbal body language,” Pike says. “If you aren’t paying enough attention to what they are ‘saying,’ you won’t know how your dog feels.”
Walks are about more than physical exercise for dogs — they offer mental benefits as well, says Valli Parthasarathy, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist at Synergy Veterinary Behavior in Portland, Oregon. Parthasarathy says dogs like structure and consistency on their walks.
If their owner is just marching forward or not paying full attention, the dog could become confused by conflicting signals — for example, being allowed to sniff one bush but jerked away from sniffing another.
Dogs experience much of the world through their nose, and can become frustrated if they’re not allowed some latitude to explore, Parthasarathy says.
“My ideal walk for a dog is one where they have a lot of time to sniff and take in their environment,” she says. “They have their own doggy priorities. Using the nose is their enrichment … it’s like they’re reading the news.”
Parthasarathy says she’s even seen oblivious dog owners yank on the leash while their dog was in the middle of peeing.
A distracted walker also may be missing an opportunity to bond with their dog, says Burch of the American Kennel Club. “Interacting and having fun together forms a bond that can last a lifetime,” she says.
Some dog owners try to multitask during walks without sacrificing their animal’s wellbeing. Teddy Thomas of suburban Atlanta likes to listen to music or audiobooks on his walks with Stella, a tan-colored rescue mix.
“I don’t feel like I look at my phone all that much while I’m walking her,” he says. “I’d say she has most of my attention — maybe not 100% of it, but enough to keep us both safe.”
Parthasarathy says she understands why some people multitask while walking their dogs. Some overworked parents can’t leave their kids behind during dog walks, so they bring the kids along. Other parents don’t have time for separate outings each day.
“Everyone’s trying the best that they can,” she says. “But going for a walk with your dog should be about building that relationship and focusing on what your dog needs. That may be the only time he gets out of the house that day.”
Source: CNN
My two cents
If you have reached the bottom of this article – congratulations and thank you. I had to share it because the reporter has done a good job of seeking commentary from a number of experts and in a range of contexts.
In my practice, I employ a standard intake questionnaire which includes behavioural questions and observations by owners. The more you observe, the better information we have to adjust your dog’s programme and to understand what is going on with your dog in the first place. I often ask owners to record their observations which helps us discern trends.
The dog trainers I work alongside often ask for recorded observations, too.
If you use a dog walker, you can ask them to observe your dog but remember that most walkers undertake group walks and have many dogs to look after. Please take the time to walk with your dog (without multitasking) to enhance your bond and to watch them!
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted in animal welfare, dog care, dog ownership, Dogs
Tagged distractions, dog behavior, dog care, dog walking, mental health, multitasking, observations
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