Keeping your dog physically stimulated and in good shape is an important part of dog wellness, but it is also crucial to provide them with mental stimulation and enrichment.
Thanks to a better understanding of dog behaviour there is a vast array of enrichment toys and puzzles available in pet shops for you to buy, but you can also make your own enrichment toys or activities at little, or no, cost.
The kennels staff ensure that the dogs in our care benefit from a variety of enrichment resources.
Cardboard boxes are a firm favourite. They can either be used as dens, or filled with shredded paper and toys to make a canine ‘lucky dip’. Kitchen rolls and paper bags can also be filled with paper and toys (or treats) and they provide hours of fun, although sweeping up afterwards is not so much fun!
Plastic bottles are another free resource that dogs love to play with, but they come with lots of health warnings: you must make sure the cap and the plastic ring below it are removed, and you must place a hole in the body of the bottle.
Another firm favourite with our dogs are ice cubes with pieces of fruit or vegetable inside. And for when we get warmer weather, try freezing pieces fruit and vegetable inside a large block of ice for your dog to enjoy in the back garden, and maybe add their favourite treat too.
A combination of the ice melting and the dog licking will keep your dog occupied for hours. A variation on the theme is to freeze ‘kongs’ instead of ice cubes, and to use a meat stock in the water.
Lovely Lola, the five year old English bull terrier, enjoys all the aforementioned enrichment activities but her favourite pastime is playing with the humans in her life. Vigorous and energetic play in short bursts is a typical trait of her breed, as is the need to be stimulated because bull terriers can become easily bored.
Therefore Lola needs to be homed with an active family who will be able to spend a considerable amount of time with her and enjoy her affectionate and playful personality.
For more information about the breed, see www.thebullterrierclub.org.
We have several ‘Manxies’ in the cattery at the moment. The two young sisters, Sophie and Sian, are breathtakingly pretty with enormous round eyes.
They are still quite nervous around people but they are learning to trust, not least because our wonderful volunteers spend so much time socialising with them, and they will make rewarding and entertaining companions.
Equally lovely are the Manx brother and sister, Fenella and Fintan, who were left abandoned in a house when their previous owner moved away. They are very friendly and affectionate, if a little timid, and would be suited to a quiet household. Please come and meet these lovely cats and see for yourselves.
We would also love you to come along to our giant charity car boot sale on Saturday May 21 at the Fun Farm in Onchan, 10am to 4pm, which is being organised by the Friends of the ManxSPCA. All the proceeds will benefit the animals at the society, and so the bigger we can make the event the better. If you have unwanted household or garden items that you would like to sell why don’t you set up a stall for just £10 per pitch? There will be lots of people on hand to help, and a really friendly atmosphere, and so if you have never sold items at a car boot sale before this could be a good one to try for the first time. Please contact Rosie on lairdscott76@gmail.com for more information and to book your pitch.
Bookings for our boarding kennels are coming in thick and fast, and so if you have arranged your holidays please contact us as soon as possible to ensure we can accommodate your dog.
The kennels had their annual inspection last week and passed with flying colours, and so we can justifiably call our provision ‘top class’. We are particularly suited to looking after dogs with additional medical or health needs, with round-the-clock supervision and veterinary attention readily available.