animal psychology

The great Australian dream?

Changes in the way Australians are living may impact on community health according to the Planning Institute of Australia and the Petcare Information and Advisory Service (PIAS), who’ve announced an $8,000 award for best practice planning for dogs and public open space. According to Susie Willis from PIAS, ‘The recently released 2011 census data showed

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Care for pets with cancer

Just like for humans, learning our pet has cancer can affect us greatly. We can feel worried and overwhelmed with the amount of information to sort through and decisions we need to make about treatment and ongoing care. For Marrickville resident Gwenda Gray, learning her four-year-old Golden Retriever, Gomez, had terminal cancer turned her life

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Promise of the Wolves

Promise of the Wolves is a creative, thought-provoking novel about wolf life, human–animal relationships and the balance of nature. Set 14,000 years ago, it creates a world in which wolves can speak with humans and other animals, time is counted in phases of the moon, distance is measured in wolflengths and honour to the pack

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Miss Belle nose reds

Those of us who have dogs know they are pretty amazing creatures. Among others, we have assistance dogs, dogs for the vision and hearing impaired and dogs for rehabilitation. But Miss Bella shows us another use for dogs’ intelligence and that super-sensitive nose – by sniffing out dodgy reds! Seven-year-old Miss Louisa Belle, a red Bloodhound, has

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Socialisation is key

The number of dogs being put up for rehoming could be significantly reduced if owners paid greater attention to ongoing socialisation from an early age, says a leading animal behaviourist. According to Dr Kersti Seksel, a veterinary specialist in behavioural medicine, the number one reason owners surrender their dogs to shelters and pounds can be attributed to

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Peace of Mind

Ann Walker has lived with animals her entire life. She currently lives with three dogs, three cats, a pony and a donkey. Now in her seventies, many people ask what she’ll do with her animals once she ‘moves on’. But as Ann explains, thanks to a bequest program she no longer worries about her charges.

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A Seal’s Fate

A young fur seal has swum more than sixty kilometres to return to where he was hand-fed on fish, choosing a life with humans over that of one with his fellow fur seals. It’s a situation unwittingly created by humans, says relocation team leader Dr Katrina Gregory, and one that now has to be managed

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The Dove Whisperer

Like every great magician, Cath Jamison knows the secrets to an entertaining show. Sassy, bold and confidently funny, after 20 years it’s not surprising she’s the number one female magician in the country. Like many before her, Cath includes doves in her show, and as Lisa Louden discovers, this is where the magic really begins.

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