Although training is more traditionally associated with dogs, you can also teach your cat a few tricks, too! Your moggy can learn to recognise their name and come to you when you call them. To help your pet pick up these skills, it’s important to train your kitten from an early age and as soon as possible. Teaching your kitten social skills Training kittens starts with their social skills – the more they are exposed to at a young age, the less will shock or surprise them as they get older. From almost as soon as they can walk around without mum’s help, kittens will approach new situations with the confidence and curiosity that cats are so famous for! Kittens will be at their least fearful between the ages of 3-7 weeks, so will be more open to and accepting of new experiences and changes in their environment. After this age kittens will become more cautious, so it’s important that your breeder or rescue shelter introduces your pet to as much as possible before you collect them, ideally between 8-13 weeks old (depending on their breed and breeder). Of course, your kitten's emotional development doesn't just stop at 12 weeks old, so you can continue to train your kitten once you’ve got them at home. Try some of these tips to help your kitten develop even further: • Invite a variety of friends to your home to help your kitten get used to all sorts of different people – different ages, genders, heights, hair colour and more! • If you don't have children, invite some along, making sure you let them know to take care around the kitten, especially when they meet them for the first time. • You may know someone with a cat-friendly dog. If so, ask them to bring their pet to meet your kitten. The dogs must be well trained and able to “stay” – even in the excitement of meeting a new friend!

Our pets are our loyal family members and as such, it’s only natural that we want our children to share a strong bond with them too. Find out how to teach children to care for dogs and cats with our guide. Pets are members of our families, and the bond we share with them is one we also want to nurture in our children. Here are some things you can do now to help strengthen this bond and give your child a sense of purpose by involving them in the care of a family pet. Let Children Play a Part in Pet Training and Games Time at home creates an excellent opportunity to get older kids involved in training family pets. According to Purina behaviorist Dr. Annie Valuska, “This can be a trick, like high-five or roll over, or something you’ve been meaning to work on, like getting your pet used to nail trims, their pet carrier, that new harness, the vacuum cleaner or finally conquering loose-leash walking.” Just as with human friends, playing together brings kids and pets closer. We suggest games to play with your dog or cat, such as hide and seek or the cup game, in which the pet has to find a treat hidden under one of three overturned cups. Empowering kids to lead pets in these games creates an excellent development opportunity for everyone. Once your pet and child figure it out on their own, you will see the ‘Eureka’ moment in action with lots of tail-wagging, jumping around and excitement! Encourage Responsible Treating When it comes to training and play, different pets need different types of encouragement. While treats are usually popular with pets (and kids enjoy giving them) it’s important to teach kids that for pets, too many treats each day can be unhealthy. As an alternative to always handing out treats, encourage your child to discover other things that might motivate your pet; it might be time with a specific toy, or social interaction, such as petting or praise. Give Children a Role in Pet Exercise With families spending their days at home, taking breaks for exercise is essential for everyone’s mental and physical health. This is a great opportunity to let older children take charge of some of the exercise for family pets. This can be as simple as choosing the route for a family walk or run or setting the time when it will take place. If a park is involved, be sure to confirm whether the facility is open.

As a cat-lover, you’ll know how tempting it can be to give your furry friend treats and titbits to eat alongside their main meals. Scraps from the table or food fed by hand are, for lots of people, a way of showing affection to your cat. As lovely as it is getting your dear feline’s attention and having them eating out of your hand, literally, cat treats are best used sporadically and within certain limits. Here is how to get treat time right, how many treats a day to feed your pet and what to avoid. Which cat treats to choose? When it comes to treats for cats, your intentions may be good, but the fact is that human foods can be very high in calories and salt, and often lack many of the essential nutrients your cat needs. What this means is that you run the risk of overfeeding and/or upsetting the balance of your cat’s diet. The good news is that many manufactured cat treats are also available - these may be designed to support digestive or dental health, or as an extra special treat or reward for your feline friend. How many cat treats a day? Cat treats contain calories and are usually not complete and balanced. They’re meant to given just as an occasional treat. It’s therefore important that whenever you give cat snacks to your pet, you reduce their main meal by an equivalent calorific amount. You should also limit feline treats to no more than 10% of their total daily calorie intake, so that you don’t unbalance your cat’s overall diet.

If your dog does develop a skin condition, there’s no need to worry. They are often common and very treatable with the right care. Here’s a guide to what to look for. What should my dog’s skin look like? Your dog’s skin is unique, just like their personality, but there are lots of general things that should be the same for all dogs with healthy skin. • Your dog's skin should be pink or black, depending on the pigments common to their breed or their individual genetic history – both are entirely normal. • It should be free of crusting, itching, scaling, black or white spots, and infected or hot and inflamed areas. • Their coat should be lovely and thick (although exact thickness depends on their breed) and shiny with no broken hairs, bald patches, dandruff or pesky fleas. • Your dog can shed their hair all year round, but it normally moults the most in summer and autumn. • Their skin should be smooth, and their coat should be clean and in good condition. What should I look out for? • Look out for excessive scratching, scabs on your dog’s skin, and your dog pulling out fur, which can all indicate skin disease. • A poor hair coat with any scurf or dullness may indicate an underlying illness. • Skin covers not just the outside but also the inside of your dog’s ears, so any ear problems could be linked to dog skin problems. • If you see brownish discharge or redness in your dog’s ears, or they keep shaking their head, you should pay a visit to your vet. Dry skin on dogs and dog skin conditions

No dog owner ever wants to think about putting a dog to sleep, but it’s a decision that you may find yourself making towards the end of your dog’s life. Although heart breaking, dog euthanasia is sometimes the kindest option for your pet. It’s never easy having to put your dog down, but doing your research before the sad day arrives may help you to understand it all a little better. Should I put my dog down? It’s the decision no one ever wants to make, but if your dog’s quality of life is suffering with no sign of getting better, you may find the kindest option is to put your dog to sleep. It’s a very hard choice; on the one hand you want to spend as long as possible with your friend but, on the other hand, you want to make the right decision for them. You will normally have a bit of time to think things through, and we always recommend you talk to family and friends and consult your vet as part of the process. Whilst you and your family will be able to tell if your dog is acting out of character or seems to be struggling, your vet will have a good insight into how this will affect their quality of life. Consider your pet’s mobility, appetite, breathing, comfort, toileting habits, mental capacity, happiness and response to treatment. If you notice any of these failing, then seek further advice from your vet. Ultimately, the decision to put your dog to sleep will be yours, but remember that sometimes the kindest and most responsible decision is to let them go, especially if they will suffer if they keep going. Deciding to put your dog to sleep is hard for the whole family, especially children. If you can, try to sit down as a family and discuss the decision together, being honest about your reasons and what it will mean for everyone, including your beloved pet. Of course, it will be an upsetting conversation, and there may be tears, but try to focus on it being about what’s best for your dog – after all, you all want to do the right thing for them.

Putting a cat to sleep is a heart breaking thought, and a time that any pet owner dreads, but at some stage you may have to consider this as the kindest option for your cat. For example, this may happen if their quality of life is suffering due to illness, injury or old age, and there’s no sign of them getting better. Making the decision Knowing when to put a cat down is always difficult and intensely personal. In making the decision, you have to weigh up your own desire to spend a little longer with them against your cat’s best interests. Unless they’ve been in a serious accident, you may have a bit of time to think things through, and we always recommend you talk to family and friends and consult your vet as part of the process. Unlike other animals, including humans, cats often hide their pain - but as their owner you will usually know when they’re acting out of character, and your vet’s knowledge and experience will be invaluable. Ultimately the decision to put your cat to sleep will be yours, but remember that sometimes the kindest thing can be to let them go, especially if their quality of life is suffering. However hard the decision is for you, it will be equally tough for your family, particularly if you have children. It will come as less of a shock if you can all sit down and discuss the decision together, being honest about your reasons and what it will mean for everyone, including your beloved pet. Of course it will be an upsetting conversation but it can help children come to terms with what’s happened later if they understand that your decision is based on putting your cat’s needs first.

Keeping your cat at a healthy weight is important for their wellbeing. But sometimes it is difficult to tell what that ideal weight should be. Discover an easy, step-by-step tool to check your cat’s current and ideal size. Cats come in all shapes and sizes so it’s sometimes tricky to determine whether yours is the right weight or not – after all, you love them regardless of any extra kilograms! But size does matter when it comes to health, and excess weight on your cat can cause problems. So, what is a healthy cat weight? What is the average cat weight? The ideal cat weight varies from breed to breed. According to Web MD, the average cat weight is about 4.5 kilograms, but while smaller breeds can be happy and healthy while weighting as little as 2 kilograms, larger breeds such as the Maine Cooncan be 9 kilograms and happy. This is where cat weight charts and body condition tools come in handy for checking the healthy cat weight for your pet. Why is keeping a healthy weight for a cat important? A healthy cat is a happy cat, and one much less prone to illness and health problems. If yourcat is overweight, they may not live as long as their healthy counterparts, and they’ll be less able to enjoy themselves when they’re exercising and playing, because of potential joint problems.

New puppies are exciting, but there’s lots you need to do to prepare! Get ready for the excitement (and hard work) of puppy ownership with our guide. Preparing for your new puppy is such an exciting time. Pretty soon you’re going to have a small ball of fur (and joy) running around the house and you’re thinking already about all the fun times ahead. But are you also prepared for the hard work and the time-consuming, sleep-depriving part of welcoming a puppy into the family? Very few puppy owners realise just how much their life is about to change. This might all sound a bit scary – but don’t panic! There are also plenty of amazing moments only a dog owner can experience. Here are some of the things no one tells you before preparing for a new puppy, plus a few things to look forward to.

Playing with your energetic dog is an invaluable part of your relationship with them and what’s more, playing together on a daily basis helps both of you stay physically and emotionally healthy – what more excuse do you need? Your dog will love nothing more than interacting with you, and the fun they have when playing is a reward in itself! Keep reading to find out about playing with your dog as Purina’s Pet Behaviourist explains what games our pets love to get up to. Playing with your dog Play isn’t just a fun part of living with your dog. It’s actually an essential feature of how we all stay emotionally and physically healthy. So it’s important for both your physical and social wellbeing to play with your dog on a daily basis. Of course, the games you play depend on whether you have a cat or a dog, and if you have a dog, what type of dog you have. Retrievers like to retrieve, Collies like chasing, and Hounds like to use their nose to follow scents and find their toys. And of course, many dogs enjoy tug and chew toys and playing ‘hide and seek’ with you outdoors. Feeding dogs should also be more of a game than simply filling a food bowl. Use some of your pet’s daily rations as rewards in regular training sessions, either to teach obedience in dogs such as rolling over and playing dead. Place a proportion of your dog’s food in special foraging toys, available in all good pet stores, and hide them in different locations around your home every day. Your pet will have to seek out the toy, and then manipulate it to obtain their food. It’s a much more challenging, stimulating and rewarding prospect than simply visiting the food bowl. Above all, whatever game you play, have fun. Why should you use find’n’seek food games when playing with your dog? Our resident Pet Behaviourist explains why find’n’seek food games are so much fun. Your dog will also love playing these games as part of dog playtime – after all, every clever animals loves a challenge. In short, your dog has a lot of natural intelligence that need to be exercised in order to keep them satisfied – and one of the best ways to do this is by making them ‘hunt’ for their food. A dog that has their food given to them in an easy or ‘boring’ way will want to occupy themselves in another manner – perhaps by chewing the sofa, vying for your attention, or playing with things you don’t want them to, all of which might develop into a behavioural problem without care. Bored pets may also sleep a lot – which makes them more lethargic, which in turn makes them want to exercise even less, leading to more weight gain. Rather than enter that vicious circle, a good find’n’seek food game will combine eating with exercise, just as your dog would do in the wild. In fact, making your dog’s meal a form of playtime means they’ll never be bored by their dinner – and you’ll probably have tonnes of fun into the bargain!