For I’m a vet working with pets in the Australian state with the slackest rules on owning native animals and I see the results. I also hold a Masters degree in Wildlife Medicine and Husbandry and have worked in zoological medicine.

I hope that by the time you finish this, you’ll understand why there are some animals who are uniquely suited to being pets, and others that almost never are. I’ll also debunk some common myths about keeping native animals everywhere, not just Australia.

Why Only Some Animals Are Pets

The biggest mistake that advocates of pet native animals make is to think that all animals are equal. So what makes a good or bad pet? It’s in their genes.

Their fundamental error is to confuse domestication with taming. A good pet is programmed to like you.

• Domestication is a process of gene selection over thousands of years that made an animal less fearful of humans, more obedient and often drawn to human contact.
• Taming is the process of taking very young animals and habituating them to a human presence. It involves no structural changes.

There’s a very good reason that you can turn a young feral kitten into a loving house cat. Because every cat in Australia descends from animals who had adapted to live with humans over thousands of years.

On the other side of the coin, you can take a wolf puppy but no matter what you do they will never be a dog. Not even close. How do you know if such an animal is even happy?

A List Of Possible Pets

Here is a list of species known to be domesticated. We think that dogs, cats, mice and rats did it all by themselves whereas it happened to others by either being farmed or trained. The way it works is that animals who feel less fear are able to take better advantage of what humans have to offer, and have a competitive advantage.

• Dog
• Cat
• Domestic rabbit
• Guinea pig
• Ferret
• Brown rat
• Mouse
• Pig
• Sheep
• Domestic goat
• Cattle (5 species)
• Water buffalo
• Donkey
• Horse
• Domestic camel (2 species)
• Llama & Alpaca
• Chicken

Even within this group, bad things will happen without a good understanding of husbandry needs. However, they are more likely to experience low levels of stress around humans, and probably even happiness. It is my strong view that keeping any other mammal is only for specialist institutions who can replicate their needs in the wild.

As an aside, this is why I also have little time for extreme animal welfare views that say no animal should be a pet.

But a lack of adaptation is not the only problem.

Why Pets Can Never Prevent Extinction

Advocates of native animals as pets say that they can be an ark against the risk of extinction. Here’s why this is naive wishful thinking:

• Pets undergo rapid genetic drift away from the genes necessary for survival in the wild. Within 30 years, they are likely to be unreleasable. Do we really want natives to only survive as pets?
• Furthermore, humans have an irresistible urge to look for novelty. Just look at what aviarists have done to native birds. God forbid any of these mutations are ever released back into the wild (except that they have been!)
• Pets pick up diseases and then transmit them back to the remaining wild populations. This has happened devastatingly with Orange Bellied Parrots being artificially fed in Tasmania.
• Keeping natives as pets will make us complacent about what really matters: protecting habitat and removing introduced pests. It’s hard enough as it is to get funding.
• Having a legitimate sales outlet for native animals will inevitably increase wildlife poaching. Just look at how much of the supposedly ‘legal’ ivory is actually from poached elephants.

And that’s still not all.

Why Some Pets Do Better Than Others

Those with experience know what would really happen if there was open slather on keeping native pets. Many people attracted to these animals are motivated by cuteness and novelty.

These are short-term feelings. Against these are the very real technical difficulties in providing care for highly specialised species. All with animals who are unlikely to communicate their health needs the way a cat or dog does.

You can see what will happen, because it already does. After a few years, the kids get bored, and the animals live in a cage. Eventually they die of a preventable husbandry-related illness.

In the most recent article about keeping wildlife, the interviewee even admitted that his quoll had died unexpectedly entirely due to his mistakes. Yet somehow he still thinks he’s right. Like this isn’t going to happen all the time.

This happens now with most rabbits, even though they are a much easier species to keep. Whenever an animal won’t tell you they’re hungry, thirsty, hot, cold or unwell, you’ve got to be on top of your game all the time.

What About Rescued Wildlife As Pets?

One of the true horrors of South Australia’s rules is how easy it is to ‘rescue’ an animal and then keep it. Except this is a travesty of any real rescue.

I have seen this too frequently: animals kept in completely unsuitable environments either alone or with the wrong species. Often they are in pain and have never fully recovered from what allowed them to be caught. They are wild-born and so live a highly stressed and unhappy life.

These people often call themselves rescuers but from afar their motivations appear more selfish. This is wholly in contrast with professional wildlife carers, who properly assess welfare, treat or humanely euthanase those needing it, and provide appropriate habitats for the survivors who cannot be released.

Keeping native animals is a specialist skill, and it should stay that way. Talking about wild animals as pets is dangerous, because human acquisitiveness will always make some people have to own something to enjoy it. The next time a media organisation wants to encourage this urge they should at least get the view of the people who see what harm it does.

Related: Here’s an old article on the same subject

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

Right now you’re either in one of two camps. Either you’re nodding because your breeder has already warned you, or you’re thinking, “how ridiculous!”

The truth is that this is a myth, and a dangerous one. I have spent 25 years watching dogs’ coats be shaved and regrow in regular cycles and instead of harm, only seeing good in our climate. Yet many owners of breeds with thick hair are too scared to ever touch their dog’s coat.

I don’t blame them; it’s the myth that needs tackling. So in a minute I’m going to give you the proof you need to give your dog a haircut. But why would we want to clip a dog’s coat anyway?

Why Dogs Need Haircuts

There are at least five reasons why a dog may need their coat clipped off:

1. To prevent or treat matting
2. To maintain good skin hygiene
3. For medical reasons
4. Grass seed prevention
5. For temperature control

The first four are obvious, but what about keeping cool? Believe it or not there’s even a myth about this.

You will hear otherwise sensible people tell you that a double coat helps keep a dog cool by insulating them. Once again, ridiculous. That might be true if dogs were lizards, but the constant production of heat by the body has to go somewhere.

You’ve only got to look at how much perkier a dog gets in an Australian summer after clipping. As I’ve said before, dogs can’t sweat and most aren’t bred for hot weather.

Not that I’m a clipping fanatic. If you can keep your dog cool through summer, I’m perfectly fine with a thick coat. But I see huge numbers of dogs that would be so much more comfortable, if only they could be shorn.

And by winter time, when they need it, their coat has grown back just fine.

The Proof Of Hair Regrowth

There’s nothing like seeing it with your own eyes. So what I’ve done is to trawl through online image folders, looking for the same dogs. As people post pictures over their dogs’ lives, you can see their coat come and go with the seasons.

In each case, the picture with hair is taken after the one with the haircut. If this doesn’t convince you that the coat grows back properly, click on the source links at the end and check out the dogs themselves.

These dogs look funny, don’t they? That’s often the hardest thing for an owner to accept. I repeat: these are the same dogs!!!

Other double coated breeds might be Old English Sheepdog, Bearded Collie, Newfoundland or Spitz (see more at the link below). I sometimes think that more people would keep these handsome dogs if they knew that they could clip them each summer.

Of course, vets know that areas they shave (e.g. for surgery) will regrow in time to become indistinguishable from the surrounding coat. Note that shaving in a dog sense means close clipping, not the use of a razor!

One potential downside of clipping a dog may be increasing the chance of sunburn. I haven’t seen it, but it could happen easily for the first few weeks after clipping if your dog is a sunbather. The same of course applies to the more commonly clipped breeds like poodles.

One last comment is that clipping is not an alternative to good coat care. All the other things that are required to keep your dog’s coat in good condition still need to be done.

Why Dog Hair Doesn’t Regrow

Sometimes, after grooming or clipping, the hair doesn’t grow back properly. It’s these events that have created the myths around haircuts.

With certain diseases, the hair cycle shuts down completely, but the hair doesn’t fall out. It just stops being renewed. You’ll only know this has happened by either:

1. The coat looking shabbier than usual, or
2. Failure to regrow after clipping

If it happens to your dog, don’t blame the clipping, look for the disease. There’s nearly always a hormonal imbalance like cushing’s disease or hypothyroidism at the heart of the problem. By fixing it, your dog won’t just have a better coat, they’ll feel a whole lot better.

Related: All About Dog Grooming | A List Of Dogs With Double Coats

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

Note: comments are now closed but you should find many common questions already answered below!

Image Credits

Without these dedicated dog lovers, none of this would have been possible.

Border Collie before
Border Collie after
German Shepherd before
German Shepherd after
Collie before
Collie after
Chow Chow before
Chow Chow after
Husky before
Husky after
Pomeranian before
Pomeranian after
Samoyed before
Samoyed after
Bernese Mountain Dog before
Bernese Mountain Dog after
Malamute before
Malamute after

Also don’t forget the Pyrenean Mountain Dog at the start (called Great Pyrenees in the USA). Image credits: before & after.

It’s the classic case of sitting in an ivory tower making the rest of Australia feel guilty for doing what comes naturally. It also says some fairly silly things. So before I give you some simple tips for a proper home burial, let’s clear them up.

Q: Is the concentrated anaesthetic used for euthanasia dangerous to other animals?

A: Not if pets are buried according to our advice.

Q: Should their remains be enclosed in a container that prevents animals accessing the body?

A: No. This will inhibit the normal decomposition process.

Q: Could the diseases they died from spread to other animals or people?

A: If a pet dies of a contagious disease such as Parvo, home burial is not recommended. However, this is now exceedingly rare.

Q: Is your dog or cat’s body useful to science?

A: Rarely. I encourage donations for research and training (see below). However, universities are neither willing nor able to accept the sorts of numbers involved.

Q: Do local councils have restrictions on pet burial

A: Not to our knowledge. I rang my three local councils, and visited many other websites. I am not aware of any council in Australia that has rules against pet burial. Many even give sensible ‘how to’ guidelines.

Pros & Cons Of Home Burial

Reasons why home burial may be right for you include:

• Grieving- no two people respond to the loss of a pet the same way. For some, having them buried at home is a great comfort.
• Environment- done well, a pet burial will be carbon neutral and your animal goes back to the soil.
• Cost- we have to be realistic about what people can afford.

However, home burial is only an option, and these days less people do it. I suspect the reasons are:

• Difficulty- a good home burial is both physically and emotionally draining.
• Availability- many people don’t have access to suitable land, especially if they are renting or live in an apartment.
• Preference- the Animal Welfare League here provides a good cremation service that most owners find very comforting.

Another potential problem (as discussed in the comments below), is leaching of the pentobarbitone from the body into surrounding soil. Euthanasia drugs appear to persist for a long time in the environment. This is of particular concern if food crops are being harvested in the vicinity.

How To Bury A Pet Well

Follow these simple guidelines for a responsible pet burial.

• Choose an area set aside for ornamental plants, not food crops. Be aware of locations of utilities such as power and water, and future plans for the area.
• Put your other pets away until afterwards and do not let them see the burial.
• Dig a hole at least one metre or three feet deep
• Wrap your pet’s body in something biodegradable like a cotton pillowcase or woollen rug. Avoid synthetic fabrics, plastic bags or sealed containers.
• Lay them in the hole and cover with all the dirt, tamping it down periodically to make it hard to dig.
• Mark the location. To be extra sure, place a slab or stones over the top.

Just a warning: it’s very hard to do. Having done this several times, I now wish I had asked someone who wasn’t so emotionally attached.

Importantly, commercial species such as chickens and other poultry cannot be legally buried. Contact your council for advice on options other than cremation in your area.

Alternatives To Cremation & Burial

Pet cremation services are available which allow for a wide range of choice, from special urns and keepsakes all the way to plastic containers for scattering the ashes. We use our local Animal Welfare League; costs are usually around $300 and go towards supporting their animal shelters.

I have enquired with the Companion Animal Health Centre at the Adelaide Uni veterinary school. They are willing to accept donations, mainly for student teaching, but aren’t able to guarantee they could always say yes. The answer will depend on storage space and current student needs.

Another disadvantage of donation to a teaching school is the lack of availability for most Australians. Even here in Adelaide, it’s a long drive.

In saying all this I haven’t asked you how you’re going. I hope the loss of your pet hasn’t been unbearable,. If you’re having trouble, you’re not alone. I’ve written some advice here on bereavement after losing a pet that I hope you find useful.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

However, there are some persistent myths that get in the way. One of the most common is the idea that offal and organ meats are essential ingredients. As useful as they can be, (even with vegan diets!), they aren’t a cure all.

A Balanced Raw Diet

First, some background. I started my career working in the local zoo, where one of the jobs was developing diets for our carnivore guests. What we did was easy: look at the wild diet and copy it.

Actually, not easy at all. We had a very special supply of whole, ungutted, unplucked chickens that we would literally just throw in, feathers and all. Even then we still had to add supplements to bring it up to balance.

You see, many carnivores have evolved and adapted to a specialised diet. Their bodies have stopped making things that should be in the diet. Miss these essential nutrients and they will suffer.

Here is the crux: a balanced raw diet for an obligate carnivore must include nutrients from bone, skin, brain and especially the gut and its contents, all in the same proportion as a wild diet.

Offal In Dog & Cat Diets

So what I read constantly are people claiming that all we need to do is add organ meats and the diet is balanced. This is an oversimplification and misunderstanding of whole prey feeding.

Have a look at this analysis of just such a dog diet, as advocated by a very charismatic online personality. I certainly would not want my dogs or cat anywhere near this.

The truth is that offal or organ meats aren’t actually all that different from meat. They don’t contain unique nutrients.

What they do have is a different balance, but unless you feed them like nature intended (about equal quantities with meat, but please don’t do this), the overall dietary composition won’t change much.

The Danger Of Offal

The reason you shouldn’t feed too much offal is that some nutrients are actually in excess. This is especially true for Vitamin A in liver and thyroid hormone in trachea (often minced into ‘offal’). Manufacturers of pet offal supplements rightly say they should not exceed 10% of the diet, which is sensible advice.

At this level, the contribution they make to overall dietary balance is negligible.

The Taurine Myth

Mixed up in the offal discussion with cats is a major misunderstanding about the sources of taurine.

Taurine is an essential amino acid of cats, but not many other species. Early in the history of cat foods, this wasn’t known and diets were accidentally made without it. That caused a serious heart problem called dilated cardiomyopathy.

This has led to a myth that cats need to be fed heart muscle as a source of taurine. The truth is that taurine is plentiful in all muscle as well as many other tissues. Any normal diet will contain far more than a cat needs.

There is almost certainly nothing special about raw hearts. From the cat’s standpoint, they are probably exactly the same as any other muscle, just chewier.

How To Make A Balanced Raw Diet

So I’ve given you a lot of warnings, now let’s make some safer diets.

A Raw Dog Diet

Dogs are relatively easy. Visit this link for a raw dog diet I’ve constructed that’s as balanced as possible. Even then, I can’t promise it’s perfect.

You’ll note there are a lot more vegetables and rice than you see elsewhere, as well as a special vitamin/mineral supplement. You’ll also note there’s no offal at all, and a perplexed comment from someone asking why. Hopefully, now you know.

I don’t recommend it for puppies, but you can read what raw foods may help a puppy’s diet here. As for dog cancer diets, click here.

A Raw Cat Diet

Cat diets are hard, because cats are more specialised. This page gives you the closest thing to a raw diet for cats that I think is safe enough to recommend.

If you try to feed a completely raw diet in any other way than we did at the zoo, it’s very likely that the diet is missing something. I’m sorry, this is just the truth. To see this we have to go back to when cat foods weren’t widely used.

My parents were young vets in the 60’s and they tell me that kittens had it tough. The number one cause of death was panleucopaenia, or feline enteritis. We vaccinate for this nowadays.

The number two cause of death was nutritional disease. Caused by people trying to feed their kittens from what they had, with no support.

That leads me to one last suggestion. If you really want to make your cat’s diet from scratch, there is one way you can do it safely, but it’s not cheap. We can order you a diet from real nutritionists (not the bogus ones online). At last check it cost around $300.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

OK, let’s try that again. Imagine a universe where cats actually look after humans. I can just hear the sorts of things they would say:

• You really must get one, they’re so cute.
• Have you seen how they carry things around with their cute little hands?
• They beg so adorably for ice cream or chocolate.
• I train mine using those horrible smelly sweets.

Then there would be the responsible cats who say that you should never give your human any chocolate, ice cream or sweets. It’s just not good for them and shame on you other cats for spoiling your human so.

Now back to reality. Hopefully, you can see what I’m doing. A Google search will tell you that cats are lactose intolerant and that milk causes gastrointestinal upsets. All this is true, in theory. In practice, it’s all about the individual cat and the amount you give.

Why Give Cats Treats

Cats aren’t dogs. I don’t feel any need to give my dogs treats because everything they get is a treat to them. Crumbs? Awesome! You dropped a piece of banana? Double awesome! An unguarded cat litter box? I’ve died and gone to heaven!

Cats don’t work that way. Cats aren’t going to give away their appreciation for just any old thing. You’ve got to earn it.

Getting a cat to do a trick or even just to come when called feels like a major life achievement. That’s why most cat owners when asked will admit to feeding treats to their cat. Things like meat offcuts, fish, or odd personal tastes like Grendel and his seaweed rice crackers. So what about milk?

Can Cats Drink Milk?

In practice, cats love milk and I have never known a problem with an owner feeding it. Yes, I’m sure it’s possible to give them an upset tummy but we aren’t exactly running milking sheds here. It’s usually only a small amount on offer.

Of course, some cats will suffer food allergies to any ingredient. If you look at this data on cat food allergies you’ll see why I stop dairy and fish in any cat with skin or gastrointestinal problems. Then there are kittens, who should never be given milk containing lactose. However, these are the exceptions to a generally harmless treat.

Is It OK To Give Cats Milk?

As long as you only feed a treat-sized amount and your cat is healthy, you are doing no harm. Like most things, it’s better to give the same amount regularly than causing big changes in the diet each day. This allows the gut to adapt.

As for lactose, small amounts are tolerated by most cats. If you’re worried about the lactose you can buy special lactose-free pet milk, or use yoghurt which has a naturally lower lactose level.

How do I give Grendel a milky treat? Every morning I froth milk for our coffees and ‘somehow’ there’s always too much froth left over. The warm frothy kitty-cino is probably only a splash of milk but it’s one of the many highlights of his day.

What Treats Are Bad For Cats?

The good news is that cats generally are clever enough to avoid problems. This list of dangerous foods for dogs is also true for cats if they actually ever ate them. As for foods that might just be too rich or unbalanced, the solution is in the very word we use: ‘treat’. If you keep them to under 5% of a lean diet the only risk you take is that your cat may become more demanding, not any less healthy.

Related: How to keep cats from getting overweight

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

I’ll be frank. Vets are horrified by this. I want you to know enough about dental hygienic procedures so that you can see what it is that scares us.

First though, I need to talk about the reasons why this service exists in the first place. Vets, myself included, aren’t doing a good enough job in three key areas:

• Explaining the importance of dentistry
• Overcoming fear of anaesthesia
• Cost

The importance of dentistry is easy for vets to see, and also easy for pet owners to see after major dentistry. However, it’s very hard to explain why a preventative clean (which is much cheaper and less painful) will stop us having extractions and a painful mouth later. Prevention just isn’t sexy.

Fear of anaesthesia is widespread and understandable. I’ve written about how vets monitor anaesthetics before, but let me add two things:

1. Like at most vets, no pet at Walkerville Vet has ever died during or after a dental procedure. That’s despite the fact that dental patients are older than average and often have heart or kidney problems.
2. It’s probably more dangerous going for a walk

Cost is a tough one. It’s true that good dentistry is expensive but there may be ways to reduce the cost. You can discuss with your vet whether it’s safe for your pet to opt out of intravenous fluids, X-rays and blood testing. Feel free to discuss with your vet ways to spread or reduce the cost; we really don’t mind.

Current costs of anaesthetic free dentistry in Adelaide are actually higher than many vets currently charge.

What’s Wrong With Anaesthetic Free Dentistry?

Stress, Anxiety and Fear

Try this next time you’re at the dentist.

You’re simultaneously try to keep your mouth open, tolerate the scraping and probing and avoid swallowing the foul stuff in your mouth. Your civilised and educated self is firmly telling your primitive mind to stay still and not worry, but it’s not buying that story.

As you lie back gripping onto the chair like it’s a lifeboat, think about your dog or cat.

The practitioners of non-anaesthetic dentistry claim that their procedure is gentle and stress-free. I really want to know how they can tell.

Seriously, I have tried a number of times to do dentals without anaesthetics. Each time the dog was calm, fearless and only had tartar on the very front teeth. I always used an experienced nurse. Each time I had to give up due to the stress I was causing and the substandard job that resulted.

Will pets become ‘head-shy’ or aversive to handling around the face? That will make future assessment very difficult

Incomplete Cleaning

In my opinion the only way to make the procedure stress-free is to not do a complete job. Have a look at the earlier video of a standard dental procedure and ask yourself: is it really possible to scale these areas in a conscious animal?

Then have a look at the picture from a Melbourne service. I’m hoping it’s just not a very flattering photo but I can’t easily imagine what else that brown area could be.

The most important area to clean is where the gum attaches to the tooth. This is where the active gum recession and infection occurs, and how teeth are lost. This is also the hardest area to clean, especially if there are already gingival pockets (see the diagram). It hurts.

Tartar sitting exposed on a crown is just a cosmetic issue by comparison. This might be why anaesthetic free pet dentals are often advertised as ‘cosmetic’ or ‘hygienic’. Remember that bad breath should completely disappear after dentistry.

Failure To Remove Bad Teeth

The video also shows a common trap: the pulp exposure. This tooth required a complex extraction involving a nerve block and stitches and the dog is already more comfortable. Leaving bad teeth in the jaw causes chronic pain, and often a tooth root infection which can spread elsewhere.

The anaesthetic free dentistry people state that they send dogs and cats needing extractions to vets. Read veterinary guidelines on when teeth are extracted and you will ask: how do they know?

I usually don’t know whether a tooth needs removal until I’ve probed the periodontal pockets and looked for pulp exposure. If they can do this conscious they are better than me.

This is one of the reasons dentistry gives vets a bad name- the dreaded phone call when we say the job we thought was a routine clean is now including extractions. Sorry- we really hate extracting teeth too.

The Five Stages Of Dental Grief

• Denial – “They aren’t infected roots and a cavity, I’m imagining it.”
• Anger – “This was supposed to be a routine scale and polish, it’s just not fair!”
• Bargaining – “Maybe If I just take out these really loose teeth, the others won’t seem so bad.”
• Depression – “This isn’t why I became a vet; why can’t I just see puppies all day?”
• Acceptance – “There goes lunch: may as well stop grumbling and get on with it.”

Infection Control

Will procedures be infection-free between patients? I read a few websites and noticed a few didn’t seem to understand the difference between disinfection and sterilisation.

It’s essential that strict hygiene is monitored for every patient.

The Challenge

To finish I want to put out three challenges: to vets, pet owners and anyone cleaning teeth without anaesthetics.

Challenge 1: To vets. Let’s allow pet owners to watch our dentistry. I’ve done it twice (both times they were dentists who were interested) and it wasn’t too distracting.

Challenge 2: To pet owners. Has your pet had a dental clean without anaesthetic within the past month? Would you like to be sure? I will offer your pet a free examination with or without anaesthetic as long as you let me record the procedure. You can stay and watch the whole thing.

Challenge 3: To anyone cleaning teeth without anaesthetics. If you truly believe what you do isn’t stressful, then let the owners stay and watch. Go on pet owners!- ask them and see what they say.

Related: Keeping Dogs Teeth Clean | Dental Diets For Cats | All About Veterinary Dentistry

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

What Staffies Are Really Like

I need to declare a conflict of interest: I love these dogs. They have an ‘old soul’ way of looking at the world that’s totally at odds with their reputation. Despite their size they love nothing more than to be near or on their favourite person for as much of the day as possible. Most of them would rather walk through the gates of hell than knowingly disobey their owners.

Maybe the Jack Russell Terrier owner in me just wants a rest.

Not that I get to see them much. I reckon along with working dogs they must be among the healthiest and least prone to the common illnesses of purebred dogs. Most of them just seem to visit me once a year for their annual checkup. That’s what you get for all that ‘outbreeding’.

Of course these are terrible generalisations, and you can be unlucky. Some dogs get atopic dermatitis, and others have behaviour problems like any breed. Inter-dog aggression is probably higher than average for example.

Why Did Staffy Crosses Have A Bad Name?

I think it’s mostly about the breed name. People would hear Staffy and think ‘aggressive’. There are two problems with this:

• Breed of origin is a very poor predictor of aggression.
• The breeds we think they are probably wrong anyway.

Thanks to recent DNA testing, we’re starting to realise that the so-called staffy cross is not what it seems. The tests we’ve done so far show very mixed origins with a low level of any particular breed.

It’s early days, but I’ll bet the more we look the more complicated it gets. Just like life!

Are They Pitbulls?

No. Have a look at these dogs commonly confused with crossbreeds.

Staffordshire Bull Terrier

The tallest they get is 41 cm at the shoulder and weigh up to 17 kg. There’s really no obvious similarity in either size or build with the clients’ dogs we’ve featured in this article.

American Staffordshire Terrier

The Amstaff is like the Staffordshire Bull terrier but generally taller and heavier. Although these dogs superficially resemble some Staffie crosses, we’re seeing low percentages in our DNA tests.

Bull Terrier

These are fine dogs, but nothing like Staffie crosses.

Pit Bull Terrier

The media don’t seem to know what a Pit Bull looks like. The breed is ‘prescribed’, meaning there are very strict rules on its ownership and breeding.

Whenever they want to talk about Pit Bulls they seem to use a photo of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier or a Staffie cross. Which only adds to the prejudice.

The photo shows what Pit Bulls generally look like, though you will see another picture of an American Pit Bull Terrier here. They resemble taller, long-legged and skinny Staffordshire Bull Terriers with a remarkably smooth coat. Of course this one has had something unspeakable done to the ears.

What Is A Staffie Cross Then?

It often seems that the dogs called ‘staffie crosses’ are the result of really just being labelled by their size and shape. The thick-headed dogs, mainly. I’m guilty of doing this as well but I’m trying to change.

Are we just giving in to a very human tendency to have to put a label on everything? Why can’t they just be dogs?

What if the dog we call a ‘staffy cross’ is actually just a version of the dog that’s been with us all along. The breed that exists under the radar, taken for granted, but always there being awesome. Just like moggies are in the cat world.

Maybe trying to fit them to any breed is the problem. Since the only thing they all have in common is a boofhead, perhaps we should call them the Australian Boofhead.

These aren’t my ideas; most rescue organisations are now either avoiding breed labels or making up their own.

Why These Dogs Need Homes

I think that a lot of the behavioural issues can be blamed on the terrible raw deal they often get. These are the dogs most likely to be surrendered to a shelter, the most likely to get parvovirus in our clinic, and generally the ones less likely to get what they need in terms of care and socialisation.

And the ones most likely to be on the other side of the wire in dog rescues and shelters.

The dogs that turn up in shelters and on rescue sites so often just don’t fit the desired breed for so many dog owners. This means many come away disappointed.

I can’t blame people: they aren’t for everyone. Their looks are definitely an acquired taste, and thanks to the media’s obsession with ‘pit bulls’, they get a lot of bad press. But I suspect more people would take them if they knew what they were really like.

If you see a dog called a Staffie cross and feel a connection, don’t ignore it. Check with the shelter about the history and known problems with that dog. Sit with him or her for a while and take the shelter’s advice on how to make the best assessment.

If things are still good, see if the shelter allows you to take dogs home on trial and don’t feel bad if it doesn’t work out. After all, you’re at least giving a needy dog a chance.

If you take that dog, a good dog training class is essential. These dogs are hard to walk if untrained, but then all dogs and owners benefit from training. Start with a checkup with your vet and follow their recommendations on where your dog would do best.

In the end, as we all know, it’s not the label on the box that matters. It’s what’s inside.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

If there’s one thing that always makes me sad it’s ‘hard rubbish’ time. I ride my pushbike to work past the unwanted gear piled up on the kerbside and it gets an animal lover down.

It’s not the waste or mess that bothers me; it’s something common and very specific that we vets don’t usually get to see. These things.

These two were on the same street. Once you notice them, you’ll see them everywhere.

You see, here’s the depressing thing: these hutches are the only sign of the forgotten majority of rabbits. We see lots of well-cared for rabbits, but none of them live in outside hutches like these.

These rabbits are probably bought as pets for children. Sometimes the thinking goes: dogs and cats take a lot of commitment, and live a long time, so why not get an animal that’s easier to keep. Other times, the children (or even adults) actually preferred a rabbit and just didn’t understand the needs of this species. These people believe some or all of these myths:

• Rabbits are easier to look after than dogs or cats.
• You can keep a rabbit in a small outside hutch.
• Rabbits only live for 6 to 8 years.
• Rabbits don’t need to go to the vet.
• Rabbits are good pets for kids.

Here’s The Truth About Rabbits:

Rabbits are much harder to look after than any other common pet.

Rabbits require very specific feeding and housing. If you are thinking of looking after a rabbit, don’t be put off: nothing worthwhile is easy. Please read our Guide to Rabbits and you’ll see it’s not rocket science; it’s just not what you’ve always been told.

Rabbits need exercise and stimulation just like everyone else.

Rabbits are smart, social animals. I have no doubt they are as intelligent as any dog or cat if you give them the chance. They often look less intelligent because, as a prey species, they are easily scared. Those who have socialised a rabbit have a fun, house-trained pet as funny and full of personality as any dog, cat or ferret. Read our Guide to Rabbit Husbandry for more information.

Rabbits can live to well over ten years of age.

It’s actually true that most rabbits die between the ages of six and eight. Sometimes it’s no-one’s fault, but in order to give rabbits a long life they need:

• Prevention of calicivirus and myxomatosis
• Protection from extremes of temperature
• Good rabbit nutrition

Even more than for humans, a good rabbit diet is important for a long life. Most rabbit diets are frankly terrible; read our Guide to Feeding Rabbits to learn how to give them what they need.

It’s not just that we often see rabbits older than 10 years of age. Recently a though occurred to me that makes me certain that I’m right about their lifespan. All large mammal species at their full lifespan get arthritis, but the rabbits under 8 don’t seem to have it yet. We usually don’t treat arthritis in rabbits until about 9 or 10 years old.

Regular vet care is just as important for rabbits.

Rabbits should get checkups at least every year. Early in life, we’ll help you get their diet and health care in perfect shape. We’ll desex them, vaccinate against calicivirus, check their teeth and nails (rabbits’ teeth actually grow) and monitor their weight. Later, we’ll be finding and treating age-related problems. Read three rabbit stories from our clinic here.

I know I’m preaching to the converted here but perhaps you will meet someone who has rabbits or is thinking of getting one. Rabbits are unlucky to have been given the label of the easy kids’ pet that can be confined in small spaces. We wouldn’t do this to a dog, cat, or even a battery hen, and neither should we to any other species.

Once you read our guides you’ll probably agree that rabbits also aren’t a good children’s pet unless an adult takes responsibility for their care and supervises their handling. But to those who know, they are one of the secret treasures of pet ownership. Our clients who have been lucky enough to live with a tame house rabbit discover a special relationship few others get to see. Not ‘just a rabbit’ at all.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

“He’s too old to have an anaesthetic. It’s too dangerous.”

What utter poppycock. These poor animals were living with painful and easily treated problems.

However, before I carry on ranting, please stop me to remind you that these attitudes are increasingly rare . Nearly all vets will agree with what I am about to say.

That is: Age is not a disease. What matters is your pet’s health status.

There are a few common myths we hear about anaesthetics:

• Too many anaesthetics are dangerous. Each anaesthetic is independent, and there is no cumulative effect if the effect of the last drugs have worn off. This can be within a few days.
• You can’t anaesthetise sick animals. If this was true it would be very bad news for many dogs we see.
• Anaesthetics aren’t safe in old animals. Ditto.
• Sedation is safer that anaesthesia. Not always. The airway is controlled by an ET tube under GA, and gaseous anaesthetics are easier to control and monitor.

So What Does Make Anaesthetics Risky?

No question, sometimes we will advise you avoid an anaesthetic. Here’s when:

• No recent checkup. We could be sleepwalking into a disaster. Please understand if we ask for another checkup before surgery if it’s been too long.

  

• Untreated diseases. These can include anaemia, heart disease, cushing’s syndrome etc. I have no trouble with anaesthetising these animals once they are treated.
• Very young or underweight animals who can rapidly lose body heat or suffer low blood glucose.
• Repeated unnecessary or cosmetic procedures. Don’t worry: we’ll give our honest opinion. However, if a dog needs daily anaesthetics (for example for burns dressing changes) we can do it. We just don’t want to do it needlessly.
• Or simply if we haven’t enough nurses to monitor. That’s why we won’t do routine procedures on Saturdays or after 5pm. Sometimes we’ll even reschedule procedures if nurses call in sick.

What Can Vets Do To Make Anaesthetics Safer?

• Thorough patient evaluation. We don’t perform a pet anaesthetic without a recent, full physical examination. We need to know about cardiovascular and respiratory function, plus any other health issues that may be relevant. Often we will defer an anaesthetic until we have investigated or stabilised a problem we find.
• Preanaesthetic blood testing. This simple and inexpensive test will identify a wide range of hidden diseases. We recommend testing on all animals, but if we see a specific reason for concern, our recommendation will get a little pushier.
• Planning. Each patient is different, and anaesthetics are tailored to suit each animal’s needs.
• Trained and motivated staff. Our greatest resource is our nurses. They have to be highly trained and updated, and empowered to have their concerns listened to.
• Heat conservation. Our nurses not only wrap their patients before surgery, they also bed them on a forced air patient warmer. This is really effective. By doing this we can prevent significant heat loss in almost all animals.
• Up to date monitoring equipment. We routinely monitor blood oxygen saturation (pulse oximetry), blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and core body temperature.
• Fluid therapy. All our patients receive intravenous fluids during their anaesthetic, to maintain blood pressure and provide a quick route for emergency drugs.
• Post operative monitoring. In a recent UK survey*, although total deaths were small, over half of these occurred after the operation had finished. We have strict monitoring protocols to ensure a patient is never left alone after surgery.

It may help you to know that most of our anaesthetics (except desexings) are in elderly patients. Old animals do get more health problems. Rather than that being a reason to not give them anaesthetics, it actually means we need to do it more often to maintain their wellbeing.

Anaesthetics are a wonderful invention. Ever since Queen Victoria used them for childbirth, anaesthetics have saved animals and people from immense pain and suffering. Nowadays, pets get similar drugs and monitoring to human anaesthesia. Risks exist, but they can be minimised by following simple protocols. The next time your pet needs an anaesthetic, trust the vet if they tell you the risks are small. They care deeply about their patients and only want what you want: a pet with the best quality of life they can get.

*Brodbelt, D. C., Blissitt, K. J., Hammond, R. A., Neath, P. J., Young, L. E., Pfeiffer, D. U., & Wood, J. L. (2008). The risk of death: the confidential enquiry into perioperative small animal fatalities. Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia,35(5), 365-373.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

Before we talk about what works, how do we know what causes good and bad mouths? Simply because every time we see your dog we can’t resist looking. Whenever possible, we also ask about your dog’s diet and what else you do for dental care. After many years, we have built up a picture of what works and what doesn’t.

For dogs on regular dog foods, we see no difference between dogs on soft food versus dogs on hard biscuits. Both accumulate plaque and tartar and both get gingivitis at the same rate. This shouldn’t be too surprising; the causes of bad teeth and gums are the same in dogs and people, and we would never expect similar foods to help our teeth.

The secrets of a good dental health program for dogs

Here are my opinions after 20 years of observation. Please, please don’t try these before seeing a vet if your pet may have sore teeth.

Inspect regularly

How often do we (myself included) look properly in our dogs’ mouths? Have a look at how we are doing it in the picture above, then have a look at the model. Hard as it is, you should be able to gently expose all the teeth by stretching the lips back.

Only by looking can we see the problem early enough. How about having a thorough inspection every three months when worming is due?

Physical tooth cleaning works the best

A layer of plaque forms on tooth surfaces from a combination of food particles and bacteria. If it’s left there it causes gingivitis and eventually the periodontal ligament that holds the tooth in place starts to be destroyed.

Physical methods to remove plaque include special dog foods, raw bones and tooth brushing. More on these later. All of them rely on physically rubbing the tooth and gum surface until it’s free of plaque.

Avoid strategies that seem too easy

I see many in-water additives or drops claiming to keep teeth clean, and new products are released frequently. I even try some of these, and I will be trialling a promising new one soon. However, up to now, I have seen no dog on these products receive any visible benefit.

When you understand periodontal disease, it’s not easy to see how simple products like these could work without being too harsh to the mouth. I’m not saying they don’t work, just that I can’t see it.

The danger of using these products is that it creates a false sense of security while the problem silently progresses.

Regularity is the key

Plaque doesn’t muck around. if you leave it there for a few days, it starts to mineralise from salts in the saliva into a substance called tartar or calculus (from the latin for ‘stone’). That’s the brown stuff you can see in the picture at the beginning and in any mouth where nothing is being done to prevent it.

Removing it usually requires veterinary help. Therefore, start your dental care plan early and keep it regular. Most strategies need to be done daily.

Act quickly

If a cleaning strategy isn’t working, and you can either smell your dog’s breath, or see staining on the teeth (or worse, red gums), come and see us straight away. There may not be a second chance.

Gum recession and periodontal ligament loss are irreversible. Recessed gums are harder to clean, gum pockets harbour infection and so the disease tends to accelerate as the gums recede. Remember that dogs with tooth pain don’t complain.

Read here what we can do for bad teeth. Our aim is to get involved before any gum recession occurs. Sometimes we can make suggestions for you to do at home and other times we will recommend an ultrasonic scale and polish. Those who’ve been to the dentist recently will understand why no normal dog would tolerate this process without an anaesthetic.

Ways To Keep Dogs’ Teeth Clean

So here are what we think work.

Raw Bones

Those who visit us will already know that we support the feeding raw bones to dogs. It has been shown to be the only in-home treatment that can remove tartar accumulations. It is also appears to reduce the progression of periodontal disease, although this has never been studied. It just happens to be a lot of fun too.

The problem is that feeding raw bones requires care, and understanding of the potential dangers. For that reason, we only advise on raw bone feeding once we have assessed your pet and discussed your dog’s behaviour around food and other dogs. Some mouths also require treatment of painful or diseased areas before hard chewing can commence.

Bones won’t always clean all the teeth. The common appearance of a bone chewing mouth is of excellent premolar and molar health but tartar accumulation on the upper canine teeth. For these patients we recommended a quick dental procedure to remove the tartar followed by continuing raw bones and just brushing the upper canines each day; quick and easy in most dogs.

Read more at our pages on How to feed bones to dogs and Where to buy bones for dogs.

Tooth brushing

It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds to brush a dog’s teeth. The plaque and tartar mostly only accumulate on the outside, so we don’t ask you to brush the inside of the teeth. If you do it every day, your dog should settle into the routine after some initial resistance.

You mainly need to focus on the gum line, but you do need to brush right to the hind-most molars. As they are usually out of sight it’s mostly done by feel.

It’s important to use dog-specific toothpastes (which we have) but it doesn’t matter what brush you use as long as it can reach all the areas. These dog toothbrushes are quite cheap, have well-shaped heads, and an angled stem so you don’t knock the nose when you brush the back teeth.

Visit this page for a more detailed explanation of how to brush a dog’s teeth.

Dental Chews

We observe that Pedigree Dentastix work well for most dogs. Greenies also work well, especially for small dogs. The Supercoat curly dog chews may also work, but we haven’t seen enough dogs using them yet to be sure.

All these need to be fed every day.

Dental Diets

There are some effective dental diets, but not many, and they should make it clear on the label. We sell and recommend Royal Canin Dental Support, Hills Vetessentials and especially Hills t/d diets. All of these usually help but it’s fair to say that on their own they won’t stop your dog needing dentistry, just make it happen less often.

If you use dental diets, you can see why they work. Unlike ‘normal’ dog biscuits, which just break when the crown of the tooth comes in contact, these biscuits have a softer texture. When chewed, the tooth penetrates the biscuit and the tooth and gum is lightly rubbed in the process.

Other Products?

I wish there were more options available. The Kong Dental Stick is probably the best of the chew toys, especially if smeared with something tasty.

If you come across any other products, read the fine print. A good thing to remember is that anything sold in the USA or Europe has to have shown evidence in support of any therapeutic claim. Therefore, products from or sold into these areas have already jumped a major hurdle and their claims are likely to be reasonably accurate.

Many mouth rinse and in-water teeth cleaning treatments are sold.  Most of these have poor evidence and we are uneasy about the safety of some. When necessary, we use and recommend Maxi-Guard.

We care about your dog’s teeth because their health and wellbeing depends on having a mouth free of infection. If you have another strategy that has helped your dog, let us know by adding your comment below! If you need help, please contact us.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.