Most Commented Animals Blogs (472)

I got myself a new dog last week. Man do those things shed a lot of hair.
So of course with the new dog you have to spend a bit of cash and get other stuff.
A chewy dog toy, a brush, treats.
Well to cut a long story short, to deal with the hair on my floors I got a new hoover. I wasn't blown away when I turned it on; It really sucked

Missing man Scott van Zyl, a big game hunter & hunting website owner, has been found Inside two crocodiles Van Zyl who was regularly pictured next to the defenceless animals he'd shot & killed won't be pictured in front of the crocs that ate him as there isn't much left

My little apartment is being invaded and as it is, there is not enough space for me. The new invaders, mostly spiders and geckos are driving me up the bend.

I’m not scared of either of them but the geckos leave their droppings on my walls and the spiders spin their webs all over the show. Between removing cobwebs and cleaning my walls, I don’t get much chance do anything else. My sister said it happens every year about this time and the geckos are probably brought by the granadilla plant outside my bedroom window. This is why they do not let the flat to other people. A fine time to tell me about it!

Unlike mice, rats and roaches which I kill on sight, geckos and spiders are on my list of creatures that I don’t kill. Geckos, because I consider them harmless and spiders because they eat flies. Any creature prepared to follow a diet as humble as flies, deserves to live. But enough is enough! Anyway, they are at the wrong place because I seldom have a fly in my house.

But how do I get rid of them without using poison? I don’t like using poison and I fear that my cat may eat one of the poisoned geckos if I start a chemical war. Does this constitute weapons of mass destruction?

So for now I will try to tolerate them but knowing me as well as I do, I will soon get fed up and use action that is more drastic. Hopefully some of them have internet so they can read this blog and leave peacefully on their own accord. Or maybe somebody can reason with them? I would love to resolve this issue without violence.


Stay loose, it is weekend.

For your viewing pleasure...George Orwell's Animal Farm novella on video...Stephen King recognised the novella as a story about a political uprising of farm occupants much like the political rise of the Trump era in America regarding the working class...but careful what you wish for...there is a down ward spiral in regards to the treatment and collective equality on the farm...as they spiral into the abyss...truth is non-existent and power is the new king...submission to such demagoguery is paramount...in the end...the farm animals could no longer recognise the pigs from farmers or the farmers from the pigs...





Enjoy and beware....

People often tell me how lucky I am to have such a good dog but they’re wrong; there is no luck involved. My dog’s good temperament is the product of years of work. And if more people understood this, more people would have had ‘good’ dogs.

I’ve put a lot of effort into exposing him to other dogs, kids, loud motorcycles, noisy power tools, popping fireworks, loud music, and many other disturbances when he was still a puppy; and took him for regular rides in my car. I allowed him to see, hear, smell and feel these influences at his own terms and it paid off. He is comfortable with such disturbances around him and he loves kids.

It is easy to train a puppy. He responds to his name, you give him a treat. He comes when you call him, you give him a treat. He sits when he’s told, you give them a treat. And after a few months, you have a dog that knows simple commands. But this is when many fall off the bus. You have to keep it up as your dog matures. You have to keep your dog stimulated and it also helps him to keep up with you as circumstances change. A dog's training never stops.

A dog needs plenty of love and attention. When given enough of that, he will bend sideways trying to please you. He will protect you with his life… or lose it in an effort to do so.

Regular exercise is another must for your dog. A restless dog is often a sign of not enough exercising. When the weather allows it, I walk instead of driving the 2 km to the supermarket. He knows that he may not go into the shopping center but he also knows where to wait for me. That took a bit of training but eventually, he did learn to wait until I returned. He understands that the word ‘wait’ means that I’ll come back for him.

So, a ‘good’ dog is not the result of some lucky genetic draw; a dog requires a good owner and a lot of work to make him a ‘good’ dog.


So have you taken your dog for his walky, walky today?

Dogs don't like fireworks, sure, we all know that but reactions range from flinching to outright hysterics. Why?

We know hunting dogs cope with the fairly hectic sound of rifles. We know, or know of, dogs that are so distressed by gunshots, fireworks, thunderstorms, that they can die of shock.

The whole of Granada province is starting fiestas to celebrate San Antonio and the vanquishing of El Moros by El Cristianos and my town is already rocked by occasional exuberant rifles, it will be pretty hectic over fiesta time. Although my dog used to get angry during Guy Fawkes and Hogmanay and rush out through the dog flap to bark furiously, here she is ignoring the occasional bang and if there is a fusillade she heads to her basket and is hopefully going to cope. She wasn't bothered by 2018 NY fireworks, now that I think back. She and the cat both watch me anxiously during thunderstorms but while I'm calm, they're calm.

Her change of home has brought a change of reaction, is what I'm saying, and it made me wonder why different dogs react so differently anyway.

Roland Rat is actually a puppet !
I was a fan for years and years then I found out the truth.

"REAL Rat rapping" my arse

It is a risk. It really doesn't matter where you live, but the general consensus is the odds of death go way up if your house is near a road. Not only is there the routine death where the cat misjudged a car or truck's speed while innocently crossing the road, but there are dogs and mean humans too. All can be lethal. Add to this some cats think dodging a car's wheel is a game. So they will intentionally play it a few times, until they lose.

I live hundreds of yards from the nearest road and it doesn't get that much traffic anyway. So on the one level it seems safer. Also there are no other humans here. So, again, on the surface letting the cat outside on a country property seems safer.

The reality however is grimmer. Sure the cats are happy because they get to hunt mice, moles, baby groundhogs, and even snakes. However what can be forgotten by both them and me is there other critters. Critters to who the cat is either a food chain competitor or actual food. Weasels, raccoons, fox, coyotes, bears, and even possibly much larger cats.

Last night after their dinner I let my Tom cats out. There is still snow on the ground, but they don't care about that too much after they have eaten. Normally they go into the woods and don't come back for an hour or two. A half hour later when I looked. one of them was huddled under the chair outside the door and looking very worried. When he saw me at the door he demanded entry. This was unusual, but I let him in and he seemed quite happy to be inside. No sign of the other one.

About an hour later I heard a scream. It sounded like a scream of extreme pain, but only vaguely cat like. Grabbing a pistol and a Maglite I went outside in the dark and called for the one still out there. Usually within 4 or 10 minutes (depending on how far away they are) they come at my call. Nothing. I saw nothing. I walked around the house and called again. This time I clearly heard something running away in the woods. I called again and from several hundred yards away I heard something yipping then more brush noise slowly fading. No sign of the cat. Sometimes at night when I cast about with the light I will see two eyes gleaming back and know I have found him. Not last night.

I went back inside and at around the usual time of return, although I was worried, I looked outside a few more times and called his name. Finally he showed up. I half heartedly scolded him. He seemed fine, but he was wet. I put it down to snow and let him in.

This morning however his back was still wet. A quick taste, salty, blood. I washed his back in hydrogen peroxide (he hates that, but not today). Much foaming that blotted pink on a paper towel. Examination shows several punctures and evidence something had tried to grab him. He overall seems none the worse. Now however, I am wondering about what I heard. I think it was him screaming like that. I think the yipping was his attacker running away from me. There is enough time lag between the scream and my going out behind the house, that either the fight had already ended, or they had been locked in a wrestle hold till my very presence intervened and the other animal fled. I know this cat and I have seen him chase after other stray cats before when I break up the fight. I think whatever it was, the odds were about 50/50 and when the attacker fled, he pursued till he got tired of it and came home.

He may disagree, but I think he is very lucky and that I nearly lost him. I will not let him out tonight and will instead focus on his injury. Still he will be allowed out tomorrow.

Always when we let our cats out, there will be risk.

Vlog dealing with how to deal with dangerous crocs

Be gentle, its my first vlog!

Australia has the reputation of having the World's largest collection of poisonous, (and otherwise dangerous) wildlife. ALL of these animals should be treated with great care.....Most are found outside of urban areas...and do not present a problem to the average tourist....Enter their domain, however, and/or provoke them, and you are asking for real trouble!...particularly in a remote area, where it would be difficult for Emergency Services to access (we have a lot of those)....you've been warned!






Even the kangaroos seem to be getting out of hand!





Any comments, or questions, are welcome.............