There isn’t much we can say to make you feel better about the loss of a beloved pet, but know that you’re not the only person to ever experience this. Everyone – with a heart – understands how painful it is. It’s only human to mourn, whether it’s for a day, or for weeks or maybe even months. Anyone would be distraught when something important is snatched out of their lives by old age or illness so don’t feel bad about it. The most important thing to do is to keep yourself busy; work, family, friends, errands, trips out, maybe even a holiday. Try not to think too much about it, as impossible as it sounds. The longer you do this, the less apparent your grief will seem and sooner or later you won’t feel quite so terrible. That’s not to say you won’t still desperately miss your pet, but eventually you will be able to deal with it a whole lot easier. Try to always think of the fondest memories. Put a photo up. Regal your friends with stories of their antics and, most importantly, remember that they aren’t suffering anymore.

Over the new few weeks, we want to clear up some mysteries and help you to understand your pets needs and emotions a little bit better with a breakdown of some common and uncommon bits of behaviour from a few of our furry friends.

This week is the turn of man’s best friend, the canis (or simply ‘dog’ to you and I).

Dogs

1. Tail between its legs – everyone should know this one, but just in case you don’t, a dog holding its tail between its legs is usually frightened or nervous. It may also arch its back, bend its legs and its ears will likely lie flatter. A dog that shows these signs is likely to snap at someone or something it’s are afraid of. Its pupils also tend to dilate.

2. Wagging tail, panting, erect ears – these indicate the dog is a very happy, relaxed and confident pooch that is probably having fun.

3. Lifted paw and flattened ears – this often suggests fear and submission.

4. Twitching or pricked ears, tail low – the dog is likely to be listening for something so is attentive, but not necessarily frightened. Dogs tend to be curious about every little sound they hear, especially if it’s new to them.

5. Tail erect or curled – this is a sign the dog is confident, happy and relaxed. Its ears will probably also be erect or pricked, though it is difficult to tell with some dogs.

6. Rear end in the air, upper body to the floor – this is called ‘baying’ and dogs normally exhibit this behaviour when feeling playful and happy.

7. Rolling over - a dog that exposes its belly is often being submissive to either another dog, or to you. It doesn’t  want to show any aggression.

8. Maintains eye contact, ruffles fur, stands tall, growls – this behaviour suggests a show of dominance either directed towards another dog, or to a person. It can be dangerous for both if not handled with care. Any dog exhibiting this behaviour towards a person should be dealt with cautiously. The dog may also start to bear its teeth and lunge. Experts suggest you maintain eye contact and calmly back away.

Stay tuned for next time when we’ll tell you all about cat communication!

According to research carried about out by Nicholas Christenfeld and Michael Roy from the University of California, dogs and their owners often have a tendency to look alike (minus the furry muzzle and walking on all fours – as far as we know, at least. There are always exceptions).The full study appears in ‘Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners’ in the journal Psychological Science. The catch here is that it is only purebred dogs that seem to resemble their owners.

Now, after a quick whip around the adflyer office for desired breed of dog to own, we’ve heard ‘husky‘, ‘belgian shepherd‘ and ‘daschund‘. Does that give you a decent picture of the type of people we have working here? Do you think any of us would share the looks and personality of each of those dogs? Does ‘husky’ bring to mind a silver haired individual with bright blue eyes and an excitable personality? Does ‘Belgian shepherd’ make you think about striking locks and a loyal, calm temperament? Does ‘daschund’ conjure the image of a short, stout person with black hair and chocolate brown eyes, always walking quickly?

Christenfeld and Roy’s study involved a number of volunteers being shown a selection of photographs; half of dogs, the other half of their owners. There was a mixture of purebred pedigrees and cross breeds amongst the dog photographs. 16 of the 25 purebred photos were correctly matched purely based on physical resemblance. This was theorised to be due to the owner subconsciously choosing a puppy that closely resembles themselves, rather than the dog eventually growing to look similar to their owner. The look of a pedigree puppy is much easier to determine than that of a cross-bred dog, eliminating the possibility of cross breeds resembling their owners and explaining why they don’t share this unusual symmetry.

Safe to say, the study didn’t go into great levels of details and no conclusion was reached about whether people naturally prefer a dog that shares their personality traits or looks. Either way, from now on we’re probably going to be closely observing owners and pets from now on just to determine how true the study results are.

Is it only dogs that resemble their owners though? Maybe you have a pet cat, pet rabbit or pet rat-like friend or relative… We wouldn’t mind seeing pictures!

One of the most important things to do is ensure that anything you don’t want to be chewed to teeny tiny pieces is well out of harm’s way. Dogs, young or old, love to tear things apart no matter how many hundreds of pounds it cost you. Puppies have no concept of value. You have to establish the boundaries and most importantly you have to stick to them, otherwise the poor thing is going to get confused and you’re going to get angry when he or she doesn’t understand what they’re doing wrong.

Give your puppy plenty of toys to chew, a warm bed and of course, food and water. It’s also a good idea to place newspaper or any old paper on the floor until the puppy is well potty trained. Make it feel safe and secure. For the first few nights it’s probably going to whine and cry, but it will get used to the idea of being alone and learn that this is not something to be frightened about.

Patience and understanding are the most important things. Your pup might not get things straight away, but remember to keep trying. It will get it eventually!

There are also plenty of puppy books and accessories to make puppy training just a little bit easier.

By now you must be wondering what today’s question is! It’s one that many people have asked, but it’s rare to find someone who can actually answer it: Why are white cats so often deaf?

We know this is quite a scientific question to get us started off, but we’ll put this as simply as we can. Deafness in white cats is often caused by a specific pigmentation gene. This at least explains why not all white cats are deaf as different genes can be responsible for the white colouring. Research also suggests that cats that have blue eyes as opposed to orange, green or yellow have a greater chance of being deaf because of what is known as the ‘Dominant White’ gene. This particular gene has an affect on the development of the ear canal and more often than not is seen in cats that are white in colour and blue-eyed. In cats with odd-eyes, one blue and one green, for instance, there is a high chance that the cat will be deaf on the blue-eyed side.

It’s something to take into consideration if you’re thinking about getting a cat or kitten. Be sure to check out any health concerns you have for the cat with the breeder before making any long term commitments. All the same, though it may seem like a huge challenge taking care of any deaf animal, a cat with hearing difficulties will get by in life just fine by honing their many other finely tuned senses. Be aware that deaf cats can be easily frightened, will often ignore you, and will have slightly more difficulty hunting, but none of these things are taxing to deal with. Just remember a deaf cat needs just a little bit more love and attention than one that can hear.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: is there really that much to write about pets?  Well, yes there is!  With nearly one in two homes in the UK owning at least one pet, and the pet industry being worth nearly ￡2 billion, pets are obviously a big part of our lives.  So, it’s a good thing that we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about pets.  Plus, to keep you entertained during life’s daily drudgery, we’ll even throw in a few interesting, yet completely useless nuggets of information for you.  We’re nice like that!

At the time of writing this, the blog is still being developed by our resident computer geeks.  But, there are already a veritable myriad of ideas for blog entries in the pipeline.  For example we’ll be getting the debate going about buying Christmas presents for your pets: is it an essential part of the Christmas shopping rigmarole, or should it be left to crazed cat ladies suffering from cabin fever?  You’ll also be treated to entries on hard-hitting topics such as cats versus dogs; the world’s weirdest pets; and is dressing your pets in clothes a do or a don’t?

But, if all this sounds a bit too intellectually challenging, don’t worry: we’ll have a few fun pieces on here too!  Why not follow the adventures of Dougal and Derek, the cheeky little dog and cat who are the best of friends and get up to all sorts together?  Given the ridiculous scrapes these two get into, it promises to be a great, entertaining read!

You’ll also be able to see the latest pet ads uploaded to adflyer in real time whilst browsing the pets blog.  So, when it comes to finding the perfect pet for you, you won’t miss a thing.