It's Polite Pets Month!

This March the Australian Veterinary Association (www.ava.com.au) has launched the initiative of Polite Pets Month and we think its such a good idea we are going to run it through until the end of April!

Having awareness months are a great idea but those of you who have ever had an anxious dog or a pussy cat who urinates in the wrong place know that these behaviours need constant attention and don't go away at the end of the month!

Most behavioural problems in dogs and cats arise from fear and anxiety rather than deliberate naughty behaviour.
Yes some dogs bite because they are aggressive but the overwhelming majority of dogs bite because they are scared or feel threatened.
And cats don't pee throughout the house because they are disobedient teenagers, they do it because they are trying to tell you that they are anxious about something in their environment. Cats can even develop serious medical conditions such as urinary tract problems from anxiety and stress!

The aim of Polite Pets Month 2012 is to raise awareness about the importance of dog training, puppy socialisation and dog bite prevention.
Dog training and socialisation themselves lead to well adjusted dogs that are better at adapting to stressful situations and consequently tend to bite far less often.

Polite Pets Month is sponsored by Ceva Animal Health who make 2 excellent products to help both dogs and cats deal with stressful situations and therefore be better behaved.

Adaptil is a product that contains D.A.P. (Dog Appeasing Pheremone). D.A.P. is the synthetic equivalent of the pheromone secreted by bitches to reassure their pups on contact. D.A.P. helps dogs handle stressful situations better (separation, weaning, transport, fear of noise, firework displays, etc.) and enables them to adapt to new situations. It is therefore indispensable during the socialisation period of puppies. Adaptil is available as a spray, a diffuser or a collar.

Feliway^® is a similar product for cats that is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone, used by cats to mark their territory as safe and secure.

By mimicking the cat’s natural facial pheromones, Feliway^® creates a state of familiarity and security in the cat's local environment.
As a result, Feliway^® can be used to help comfort and reassure cats, while they cope with a challenging situation and/or help prevent or reduce the stress caused to a cat during a change in their environment.

So for March and April we will be supplying you with information on dog and cat behaviour as well as giving discounts on both Adaptil and Feliway.

The promotions are as follows: -

Adaptil

• Buy 2 Adaptil collars and receive 15% off (that's $20 off!)
• Buy an Adaptil diffuser and a second refill and receive 15% off (that's $20 off!)
• Buy an Adaptil diffuser and an Adaptil collar and receive 15% off (that's $25 off!)

Feliway

• Buy a Feliway diffuser and a second refill and receive 15% off (that's more than $20 off!)
• Buy a Feliway diffuser and a Feliway spray and receive 15% off (that's more than $20 off!)

Stay tuned for more updates from Polite Pets month!