What a day! I really felt for my poor animal friends who suffer from thunderstorm phobia today as we kicked off the working week with some very loud atmospheric hijinks – a trifecta of thunder, lightning and rain. I also had a good chat with Kelly from Armadale on my Talking Animals slot on 96FM who had a young female border collie who has started obsessively humping her cat around 10 or more times a day. Once any medical reason, like dermatitis, has been ruled out through a vet check up, I suggested that it was likely that the behaviour was a by-product of general anxiety. Along with starting a behaviour diary to record and work out the triggers for the behaviour, saying “NO!” to the food bowl was another important strategy. Making Kelly’s dog work, problem solve and seek out food from all over her environment will undoubtedly diminish the behavior. Using my favourite environmental enrichment toy, the Kong is one option, but you can freestyle with whatever you have around the place, like old cereal boxes, toilet rolls or milk cartons (with the tops removed) filled with food. Hats off to Kelly for bravely discussing a topic on air that most wouldn’t! Equal thumbs up to 96FM Breakfast’s Blackers, Carmen and Fitzi for keeping it relatively clean! Looking forward to what Perth pet owners have in store for me on the show next week. Don’t forget to tune in at around 8.40am on Mondays on 96FM.
Kalmpets