HE is on a mission to help our pets . . . and is here to answer YOUR questions.
Sean, who is the head vet at tailored pet food firm tails.com, has helped with owners' queries for ten years.
Is getting your dog spayed the best thing for them?
Sean McCormack, head vet at tails.com, promises he can 'help keep pets happy and healthy'
Sean says: "If your pet is acting funny or is under the weather, or you want to know about nutrition or exercise, just ask. I can help keep pets happy and healthy."
Q: IS it best to spay a dog? I am buying a Labrador puppy, Molly, who is currently four weeks old. I want to do the best for her.
A friend of mine had a 12-year-old female who needed an emergency op, as she hadn't been spayed earlier.
What’s really best for them?
Janet Doorman, Dewsbury, West Yorks
Sean says: If she’s not destined for breeding — and it’s a total myth that dogs should have a litter of pups — then, yes, it really is best to spay her, but crucially at the right time.
There are pros and cons to waiting a while, but on balance my advice is to wait until after her first season, but before her second.
That way she will have matured with the benefit of oestrogen and reduced the higher risk of urinary incontinence in later life had she not had any season before spaying.
But you’ll have drastically reduced the likelihood of mammary or breast cancers, the risk of which increases the more seasons she has over time.
Talk to your vet about any concerns.
This decision is not a one-size- fits-all but is beneficial to a female dog’s long-term health risks, as your friend has learned.
Q: I'M building a large pond in my garden. What are the best fish to keep in it?
I’m using a pump and will be including plenty of oxygenating plants.
It is 8ft by 6ft, with a depth of 5ft stepped down.
Should I net it or do anything else too?
Pete Jones, Tiverton, Devon
Sean says: That depends on your priorities.
If you want to attract wildlife, then no fish is the best option.
You’ll get plenty of entertainment and surprising visitors without predatory fish, which tend to eat all the bugs, tadpoles, larvae and wildlife.
You could attract dragonflies, damselflies, frogs, newts, toads and much more.
If it’s a very large wildlife pond, you might consider some small native fish like sticklebacks, which have a less detrimental impact than the likes of goldfish or koi.
If it is an ornamental fish pond you want, you can’t go wrong with some goldfish and shubunkins.
Koi are ornamental carp and grow absolutely huge, needing a colossal amount of filtration.
Netting the pond is one option to prevent your local heron stopping by for a fish supper, though some people have equal success putting trip wires around the edges to stop them getting in to take your fish.
Your local fish shop, or a garden centre with an aquatics department, are great places to get advice.
Q: MY cat Pepper keeps bringing live mice into the house through the cat flap.
We live in the countryside and I want him to be able to run free.
What can I do to stop his nocturnal hunting habits other than force him to be a house cat, which I think would make him unhappy?
I have tried a bell.
Chris Edwards, Boston, Lincs
Sean says: The main thing to do to reduce this is to keep Pepper in at dawn and dusk, when most small- mammal activity is happening and when cats’ hunting instincts really kick in.
Two bells are also far better than one, as cats find it harder to be stealthy and silent with a pair of bells clinking against one another.
It’s not about making him a full-time house cat, but limiting his freedom at times he’s most likely to do most damage to our wildlife — not just to mice but shrews, birds, reptiles and more.
With the high number of cats in the UK, and all the other pressures our wildlife faces, this small step would make a huge difference if even every second cat owner adopted it.
Nine lives and five personality types
THE charity Cats Protection has revealed kitties have five key personality types – and each needs specific things to keep them happy.
These are the Shy Kitty, Serial Snoozer, Playful Puss, Purrfect Friend and Fiercely Independent.
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