animal care by animal people

<h3>Does my bird need to be microchipped?</h3> <p>Microchipping is a great way to identify and register your bird in case he ever flies off into the unknown. A microchip is also a permanent, more reliable method of identifying your bird than feet-rings which can wear out or become damaged and can even break and fall off entirely.</p> <p>Microchips for birds are smaller than those for cats and dogs but nevertheless sometimes birds require a light sedation to have them placed. Not something to worry about, though.  <img alt="" src="/graphics/ic_smiley3.png" height="15" width="15"></p> <p>Do be very aware that all birds will always need a microchip, and possibly other forms of identification, if they ever need to travel abroad.</p>

<h3>Do you offer a Collection & Delivery service for doggity-dog daycare?</h3> <div class="faq_ans_img"><img src="https://www.dkc.ae/images/faqs/faq_110.jpg"></div> <div class="faq_ans_text"><p>Well, you see, we just <em>can't</em> say "no" to you if you really REALLY want to do this, or really need to, but...</p> <p>In truth, we don't really recommend it. You see, we feel that if your dog is going to daycare, then she should be <em>in</em> daycare, not on the road in a vehicle travelling to and from your chosen daycare facility, which can take up quite a bit of time in the day. Playing in our yards is where it's at, baby!</p> <p>This said, if you really <span><strong>REALLY</strong></span> insist, then we'll make that happen for you!  <img alt="" src="/graphics/ic_smiley3.png" height="15" width="15"></p></div>

<h3>Is the canine cough vaccination absolutely necessary for my dog to board/daycare?</h3> <p>The canine cough vaccine is an additional vaccination generally needed only for dogs who stay in a kennels, daycare or any other community of dogs for any period of time. It is often referred to as "kennel cough" because people understandably associate the "cough", and therefore the vaccine, with kennels, but in fact it's an illness, similar to a human cold or flu, which can be caught and spread around in any community of dogs, much like a human cold caught by kids at school or adults in an office environment.</p> <p>This is because when dogs are in close proximity to each other and are barking and playing and running around, they can easily transmit, or get, the disease. Canine cough is a highly contagious but generally not very severe upper respiratory infection and causes a dry, irritating and hacking cough. Kennels facilities use the vaccination as a way to limit outbreaks and to prevent the spread of the illness if it happens to be brought into the facility by an affected pet. Most facilities will not accept a dog without this vaccination being up-to-date and it is a good idea to have it administered because it generally either prevents or reduces the severity of the disease if it is indeed contracted.</p> <p>If your dog regularly, or even annually, spends time in a kennels, daycare or dog park (or with any group of dogs in any situation), it's a real good idea to keep this vaccination current, even if not asked for or required by the facility you're using.</p>

<h3>Birds get bored??!</h3> <div class="faq_ans_img"><img src="https://www.dkc.ae/images/faqs/faq_pet_photo_124.jpg"></div> <div class="faq_ans_text"><p>Yes! Birds get bored!</p> <p>In fact, it's <em>very possible</em> that your bird is getting bored. You see, birds are highly intelligent, especially parrots of all sizes and types, and they truly do thrive with stimulation and interaction. If they don't have enough stimulation, they can become destructive and agitated, including self-destructive in the worst cases, such as plucking their own feathers and going through unwanted and unhealthy personality changes.</p> <p>So please DO take this seriously and make sure that your lovely birdie-bird has an interesting environment to live in, is connected to and engaged with the humanoids in your home, and even has a birdie-partner to live with, if at all possible.</p> <p>Who wants to be alone and bored, right?  <img alt="" src="/graphics/ic_wink.png" height="15" width="15"></p></div>

<h3>Does my bird need dietary supplements?</h3> <p>If your bird is eating a good quality, complete diet, including fresh fruit and vegetables, there is usually no need for extra dietary supplements. Yay!  <img alt="" src="/graphics/ic_smiley3.png" height="15" width="15"></p>

<h3>Does my dog have to be neutered to board or daycare with you? And can my dog socialise with others if not neutered?</h3> <p>Nope, your dog does not have to be neutered to board or daycare with us or to socialise with other dogs.</p> <p>But... (isn't there <em>always</em> a "but"?!)... there are some good reasons to neuter, so we'll offer some of them up for you here.</p> <p>We have found that dogs who are neutered tend to socialise better and also buddy-board better. Neutering your dog can help calm down his instinct to dominate, which of course can make being with other dogs a little more likely to be an agreeable experience, as you can imagine ~ once neutered, he'll likely (there are never guarantees!) be more interested in actual play than dominance. From a health point of view, it can also be a good decision to neuter. Spaying helps to lower the incidence of uterine infection and breast cancer in females which, when the latter occurs, is fatal in 50% of dogs and 90% of cats. And neutering helps to prevent testicular cancer and disincline males to marking their territory in your home. Finally (well, not "finally" as much as "this is everything we're going to tell you here!), unneutered little 'uns can often be more aggressive, or more easily triggered to aggression, while being neutered can help their (and your) focus on their human family.</p> <p>(Did we mention over-population?)</p>

<h3>Does my bird need exercise?</h3> <div class="faq_ans_img"><img src="https://www.dkc.ae/images/faqs/faq_pet_photo_123.jpg"></div> <div class="faq_ans_text"><p>BIrds can become very overweight, especially if they're not given a large enough space to move around in. This can be especially true for birds with clipped wings, who are more likely to end up rather sedentary.</p> <p>And so, yes, exercise for your bird is very important in helping them stay fit and healthy, to say nothing of reducing or eliminating boredom. Give them as much opportunity to fly as possible, if at all possible, with lots of perches around their environment which they can fly from/to. And if you're developing a good connected relationship with your bird, calling her to you from a distance will encourage flying and general activity. Even encouraging your bird to walk along the floors of your home can be fun, explorative activity, especially if you've got her looking for toys and food!</p></div>

<h3>Can my dog mix/socialize with others?</h3> <div class="faq_ans_img"><img src="https://www.dkc.ae/images/faqs/faq_36.jpg"></div> <div class="faq_ans_text"><p>Definitely yes.</p> <p>We love giving every possible opportunity we can to our dogs to mix and socialize with others, so when you arrive just let us know if this is something you and your dog would like ~ we'll make it happen. Safely of course, with lots of monitoring and control, but as much as possible. We're always evaluating all the dogs in our care to see which are good candidates for sharing playtime (and even sharing enclosures, if you like) with others, and then putting the right dogs together. If you want us to do this with your dog, then great. If not, that's just fine too.</p> <p>Take a look here for more info on this: <a href="/what-we-do/boarding-daycare/love-and-other-stuff-too#Socializing-Dogs" target="_blank">Love... and other stuff too/Socializing</a></p></div>

<h3>Can I have pictures of my pet while I'm away? Do you have a webcam?</h3> <p>Pictures? Yesssiiirrree! And not just that! We also do videos! (Don't get <em>too</em> excited, now.) We call it <span class="span_link cursorpointer" data-href="/pet-pics-and-videos">Pics &amp; Videos of the DKC Litter</span>. Take a look! If you let us know you'd like a dedicated set of pics or a video of your pet while you're away, we'll make an album for you and post on the page. But we don't stop there: we also post our "DKC Weekly Photo Shoot" on our <span class="span_link cursorpointer" data-href="http://facebook.com/dkc.animal.people">Facebook</span> page, which includes just a couple of pics of all the animals currently staying with us ~ including yours, of course.</p> <p>As for the webcam thing... sorry, no, we don't have webcams.</p> <p>(Did we just spoil it for you?)</p>

<h3>What's DKC's Collection & Delivery schedule?</h3> <div class="faq_ans_img"><img src="https://www.dkc.ae/images/faqs/faq_pet_photo_51.jpg"></div> <div class="faq_ans_text"><p>Sunday-Thursday and Saturday. We don't offer this service on Friday. (See our <a href="/about-dkc/two-legged-timings" target="_blank">Two-Legged Timings</a>.)</p> <p>We have a lot of customers asking for very specific appointments but this is often not possible, although we <em>do</em> try if we can, because each day presents its own unpredictable schedules, number of home-visits, number of pets and... traffic!</p> <p>However, we <em><strong>always call</strong></em> approximately 30 minutes before we get to you while we're doin' the rounds, so <em>do</em> feel free to go about your day as you need to and then, when you hear from us, you can return to your home to meet us.</p></div>

<h3>Will my bird have time outside her cage and some interaction with your handlers? What if she's staying in one of your offices?</h3> <div class="faq_ans_img"><img src="https://www.dkc.ae/images/faqs/faq_pet_photo_100.jpg"></div> <div class="faq_ans_text"><p>Yes!</p> <p>Actually, this is about larger birds, of course, because tiny little birds really do need to stay in their cages. BUT both large and small birds sometimes spend time in our offices with staff and if you ask us about this, we can usually arrange it so that they are in the offices all the time or often.</p> <p>As for large birds (cockatoos, macaws, African greys), if they tend to be very noisy (talkative?) then we need to be cautious in our promises to you because we also have to serve our other customers on the phone and in person, as you know, so a really "talkative" bird can make all that pretty difficult. But no matter what kind of squawker your bird is, all larger birds in our care get a lot of time out of their cages and with our handlers. We love birds! And we have a lovely aviary (for both large and small birds) where they have plenty of time to check things out and interact with staff, in addition to the regular feeding and bathing times.</p></div>

<h3>Should I be worried if my dog or cat has lost or gained weight during their boarding stay?</h3> <p>No and yes, depending.</p> <p>A little bit of weight gain or loss is very common. It doesn't happen to all pets during every stay in a boarding facility, but it does happen. Pet owners, understandably, often immediately feel that this must mean their pet has not been taken care of properly, but in fact it is more important to look at the entire context and the extent of the loss or gain.</p> <p>Commonly, pets staying in a boarding facility are not eating exactly as they do at home. They may or may not be eating exactly the same food (depending on the arrangements you've made with the kennel or cattery), and even if they are, they may not be eating exactly the same amounts because, despite every effort to get it just right, human beings differ and the precise amounts they provide may be a little different than you do when your pet is at home. So, all this small change can lead to weight gain or loss, in and of itself.</p> <p>More important and relevant than this, however, is that pets are generally much more active in a boarding facility than they are at home. Now <em>wait</em>! We're <em>not</em> saying that you aren't taking good care of your pet by not giving him or her lots of activity. No, not at all. It's just that in a boarding facility, especially one that has a good number of staff and lots of other animals around, the whole environment is very stimulating and there is a lot of exercise for dogs and lots of other general interest for both dogs and cats. And this keeps them more active and generally more stimulated, even if they're in their enclosures. And this, in turn, often leads to a bit of weight loss.</p> <p>And one more thing: In many cases, a little bit of weight loss for dogs and cats is a good thing and although we have many customers who do worry about this, we also have a great many who are pleased to see that their pet has lost a little weght in our care because, in fact, they came in to us a little overweight.</p> <p>But of course, everyone has a different perception of this, and if the weight of your pet is not medically bad, one way or the other, then we do try to maintain the weight your pet comes in with.</p> <p>This all said, too much weight gain or loss IS a problem and if you feel there has been too much either way, we truly hope you'll talk to us about this. We monitor this aspect of your pet's health very closely, with a weight check when they first arrive for boarding and then regular checking every week, or more often if we perceive a potential problem. And if there is a problem, we always let you know about it while you're away and take action when required by adjusting feeding or even consulting your vet.</p> <p>If you're interested in more insight about this important subject, take a look at our page, "<a href="/what-we-do/boarding-daycare/weight-loss-or-gain-while-boarding" target="_blank">Weight Loss or Gain While Boarding</a>".</p>