Animal Progress - Dr Sally Nixon

30/06/2025

Is your cat’s scratching becoming a problem? 🐾
Understanding the reasons behind this natural behaviour can help protect your furniture while supporting your cat’s well-being. Learn effective solutions to manage scratching and create a comfortable environment for both you and your feline companion.🐱

Cats scratch to maintain healthy claws, exercise the muscles in their front legs and spine, and as a form of territorial communication or marking behaviour. Kittens start to scratch from around 5 weeks of age.

30/05/2025

🐶Understanding Dog Communication

Ever wonder what your dog is trying to tell you?
🧐Dogs are constantly communicating with us and each other - even when they are silent. Learning to read their body language can deepen your bond and prevent misunderstandings.

👂Ears back? Might mean they're nervous.
👃Sniffing everything? They're gathering information - like reading the news!
🧠Yawning or lip licking? Could be stress signals, not sleepiness or hunger.
🐕Tail wagging? It doesn't always mean they're happy - it depends on how it's wagging!

The more we learn their language, the better companions we can be.💛

Dog Body Language 101 https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/video/dog-body-language-101/

05/05/2025

🐶☕🩵Dogs, like people, have emotional needs that are vital to their well-being. Meeting our dog's needs helps them to feel safe, secure and connected.

04/04/2025

🐾 When an animal starts to behave in a way that is a problem or seems strange, people often disregard that there may be a medical issue underlying the cause. Behaviour can be influenced by many factors; for example, the behaviour exhibited can be a response how the pet perceives the surrounding environment or how comfortable the animal is in him/herself.

https://animalprogress.com/why-is-it-important-that-your-pet-is-vet-checked-if-its-behaviour-changes/

07/03/2025

🐱Stress in cats🐱

Stress plays a significant part in most common cat behaviour problems and some disease. For this reason, it is important to be able to recognise the signs of stress in your cat and act accordingly.

🫵Click on the link below to learn more about stress in cats.
https://icatcare.org/articles/stress-in-cats

☎️If you are worried that your cat could be suffering from stress, contact your veterinarian for help.

28/02/2025

🐈Teach Your Cat to Love the Carrier🐈

Visits to the vet clinic for regular health checks are an important part of caring for your cat. However, the process of travelling to the vet clinic can be a very stressful experience for many cats.

👆Click on the link below to learn more about how you can help make a trip to the vet easier for your cat.

Visiting Your Vet https://icatcare.org/resources/cat-carer-guide-taking-your-cat-to-the-veterinary-clinic-.pdf

20/01/2025

🐈🐾Cats are loving companions with unique needs that go beyond food and shelter. To truly keep them happy, it's essential to understand their behaviours, preferences, and natural instincts. Here are some ways to ensure your feline friend thrives.
Meeting a cat's needs https://animalprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Meeting-a-cats-needs.pdf

13/01/2025

🐩🐾Dogs are more than just pets; they are loyal companions who depend on their caregivers for physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Meeting a dog's needs is essential not only for their happiness but also for fostering a strong, trusting relationship.

Meeting a dog's needs -https://animalprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Meeting-a-dogs-needs.pdf

30/12/2024

🎆Happy New Year🎆

New Year's celebrations can be such a fun and happy time, but for many dogs, cats, and other companion animals it can be a very distressing and scary time 🐶🐱🐰🐴

Here are some tips to help your pet cope with tonight's celebrations:
👉Let your pet be in the place where they feel most comfortable.
👉If your pet comes to you appearing to need attention, then give your pet the reassurance they need.
👉For some pets massage and long strokes along their back can help them to settle.
👉Block out the noise and lights of the fireworks as much as possible by closing blinds and windows.
👉Use calming music such as classical, reggae, or soft rock to drown out the noise of the celebrations.
👉Avoid taking your dog out to the New Year's celebrations.
👉For cats who have access to the outdoors, keep them safely indoors.
👉For those hosting parties, give your pet a safe place where they can retreat to without being disturbed. Strangers and change can be very distressing for some pets.
👉Offer your pet a treat such as a food filled KONG, Lickimat, or long lasting treat to help distract them from the celebrations.

🩺If you have a dog, cat or other companion animal who is fearful of fireworks, loud noises, and/or thunderstoms, we recommend that you speak with your veterinarian. Appropriate treatment for your pet’s problem early is so important to stop further progression of the behavioural illness.

Happy New Year and we hope that you all have a safe and fun 2025 🎉🎊💙

Thunderstorm and fireworks fears https://animalprogress.com/thunderstorm-and-fireworks-fears/

24/12/2024

🎄🎁Merry Christmas🎁🎄

We want to thank all of our wonderful clients and their pets for another year of trust and support, and to all the veterinary clinics for your continued support and referrals.
We wish you all a safe and relaxing season filled with joy, love, and of course plenty of tail wags and purrs! 🐶🐱

♥️Sally & Bec

16/12/2024

Collaborative Care - Help your pet enjoy their veterinary care 🧑‍🦱👩‍🦰🐱🐶

🤷‍♀️What is Collaborative Care? Traditionally, animals have been restrained for their veterinary care. Although some animals tolerate restraint, many become fearful. Collaborative care is about teaching animals ways that they can consent to their own care. Restraint for treatment becomes unnecessary.

🤔Why use Collaborative Care? When an animal feels that they can say “no” and move away, the animal is less likely to become fearful. With collaborative care, animals are less likely to say "no" when they have choices and predictability.

🧠Learning with Animal Progress
Work with a veterinarian and veterinary nurse with many years of general practice experience. We understand the practicalities and difficulties associated with providing health care to fearful animals.

🤓Skills
Develop important skills so that you can teach your animal consent-based behaviours. Learn about species-specific behaviours that help you understand your pet’s individual needs.

Benefits for all!
⭐️Fun for the animal
⭐️Increased bond between pet and owner
⭐️Fun for the pet owner
⭐️Confidence building for pet and owner
⭐️Improved safety for veterinary staff

IMPORTANT POINTS
📌For those animals who are not already fearful of the veterinary clinic, taking a trip to the vet to learn these new skills can be fun and rewarding, and can be a great way to learn that the veterinary clinic is a fun place.
📌Unfortunately, it can be a lot more complicated for those who are already fearful of the veterinary clinic. Animals need to be calm and engaged to learn new skills that can then later be taken to the veterinary clinic, when the animal is ready. Animal Progress is a quiet and calm place where animals can find it easier to learn these new skills.

🫵Click on the link below to book a session, or feel free to email [email protected] or call 0432 670 582 for more information.

Collaborative care consultations for veterinary treatments
https://animalprogress.com/behaviour-modification-consultations/

What is Collaborative Care? And why should you train it?
https://animalprogress.com/what-is-collaborative-care-and-why-should-you-train-it/

03/12/2024

🐾❤️🩺Happy Vet Visits can be your pet's first step towards long-term behaviour change.

To book your session with a qualified behavioural trainer who will guide you so that you can help your pet learn to cope in the veterinary clinic, just click on the link. https://animalprogress.com/happy-vet-visits/