Marching in to Autumn – Tips for pet owners
The days grow shorter and the leaves turn yellow, and there’s more rain than you’d like but still, there’s something lovely about Autumn, right?
Let’s take a leaf out of the expert’s book this season and ensure a healthy and happy Autumn for pets and their owners! Experts in their field share tips for pet owners for the upcoming season.
DOGS
The sun rises later than usual and twilight comes earlier; be careful walking your dog at your regular hours. It is harder for cars to see your dog. There is an increased chance that you’ll run into other animals and reptiles that are out and about foraging for food to fatten themselves up for the coming winter making this a bad time of the year to be off the leash, as you do not want your dog chasing after one of the critters!
KZN Animal Training tips for pet owners:
– Stay visible when you’re out walking your dog by making use of reflective collars & leads
– Make sure your dog is on the leash
– Be consistent with your training to ensure positive experiences when going out with your pet
Contact KZN Animal Training
Address: 29 Protea Hill Drive, Drummond
Telephone: 076 658 2574
HORSES
As the weather turns, the temperature drops and the nights become longer, horses naturally begin to consume less water. A lack of water can lead to dehydration and cause serious health problems for your horse. For proper and efficient digestion of feed, it is important that you give lots of water to your horse. Horses consume between 20–55 litres of water in a 24-hour period. With the change in season on the horizon, Dr Sumaraj shares a few tips to keep your horse happy and healthy:
Baker Mcveigh Equine Vets
– Dr Andrea Sumaraj’s tips for horse owners:
– Ensure adequate availability of water. If you know your horse is a fussy drinker, the addition of a handful of coarse salt to the diet or a salt lick can be beneficial. Not only does salt help with creating thirst it also helps the horse retain water.
– Make sure your horse is up to date with their deworming. This can be done with a consultation with your private veterinarian guided by a worm egg count. Avoid blanket deworming unnecessarily as this can lead to increased drug resistance.
– Supplement roughage in the paddocks if the grazing becomes inadequate during the dry periods.
– Add electrolytes to their water and provide wet or soaked food to your horse. This is an easy and quick way to make sure your horses hydration levels are improved.
Contact Baker Mcveigh Equine Hospital
Address: D391 Littlefields Farm, Summerveld
Telephone: 083 271 1607
LIVESTOCK & DOMESTIC PETS
Autumn tends to be one of the worst times of the year for parasite infestations. While there may be a lot less tick and flea activity compared to summertime, the risk of infestations, biliary and tick bite fever are still very present in the Autumn and Winter months.
Camperdown Veterinary Clinic
– Dr Van Tonder’s tips for pet owners:
Insect populations have built up during the wet summer therefore autumn is the worst time of year for insect-borne diseases like African horse sickness and insect bite dermatitis in horses, Buetongue and Rift Valley Fever in sheep, Lumpy Skin Disease and Three Day Stiff Sickness in cattle.
– Keep your pets protected against ticks, fleas and worms with regular treatments
– Ensure your animals vaccinations are all up to date
– Consult with your veterinarian for preventative measures and treatment
Contact Camperdown Veterinary Clinic
Address: 27 Bishop St., Camperdown
Telephone: 031 785 1512
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