Dr Bobby Ortiz is the Head of the Exotics Service at Veterinary Specialists Ireland and Ireland's only Advanced Practitioner in Zoological Medicine.
You can see him on RTÉ’s The Big Pet Project sharing expert advice and fun animal stories with audiences across the country. Here, he gives pet owners five great gift ideas for their beloved animals.
1. Toys
No matter what your pet is, enrichment is important for all animals. That's right at the top of my list. For lots of people, that might mean they are just going to get my dog a bunch of tennis balls or something, but more enrichment is better.
To expand on that, I think the biggest thing is food enrichment. That's one of the easiest things to go for. There are lots of dog puzzle toys that the dog has to solve in order to get their food.
There are even sniff snuffle maps or sniffle maps, they call them, where you hide the food inside of it, and it just gives them time, and they're using their brain power and mental capabilities to literally fight through the food and figure out a puzzle. There are a lot of different ones out there to choose from.
But there's also the same for cats, like cat food toys, as well, that are really good. I work mostly with exotic pets, but I do see animals like rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas, who all like foraging games.
That's really important for them, as they're more like wild animals. Birds would be foraging all day long. So, buying gifts for them would be things that you could hide their food in and that they can destroy.
And the same thing with rabbits, they make lots of different things like hay-based food. Foraging activities like that allow them to eat and play with throughout the day. So, I think for nearly all pets, that's important.
2. Treats
Animals, like us, love treats. So, buying or making healthy treats is important. It's great to have different types of treats, but I always say we should try to make them a utility rather than just being a treat.
By getting really good training treats and ones that can be healthier, rather than some of the cheap ones, if possible.
There are treats that are out there that can be used for joint health, and that can be used for skin, and even dental - dental chews are great. So, I always find things, I don't know if the word is utilitarian, they can be used for multiple purposes.
Being able to reward your dog for good behaviour, or any of your pets for good behaviour, while also giving them something a bit healthier - again, go for the good treat. Tis the season and all that, but keep them healthy.
3. A New Harness
Dogs especially need to be brought on walks, so a good lead or harness is a great thing to purchase. And specifically, the leads or harnesses that actually connect to the front of the dog's chest.
The big thing is that if you can imagine a sled dog, think of a husky that's pulling a sled, they'll have harnesses on that is bolted to the back, between their shoulder blades, and that's the prime spot for a dog to then push and pull.
That's why when people get these harnesses, they hate them because they say, "My dog just pulls all the time." But they make harnesses specifically that will attach to the front of their chest. So, when the dog pulls, it actually kind of pulls them back, and they face you. It's a better type of harness than others. There are also leads that they make that have clips on both sides.
You can have a lead that wraps around your waist. You can have a lead that you can adjust the length of, but I absolutely do not recommend the retractable leads. Those super long ones that have on that spool, I don't recommend those at all.
4. Clothes
I have a jacket for my dog, and he's fine with it. Bodhi doesn't like getting wet, but some dogs love it and spend most of the time outside and won't care at all. But think about keeping them clean, so if you're trying to keep them clean and they're coming indoors, a jacket is good.
When you go outside, and the dog gets soaking wet, every time, even just to go for a quick wee, that can be a problem. So, I'm a fan of the vests or things that will go over their back. I think that's fine.
I think it does get a bit silly, and I think that dogs can kind of struggle when you see these ones with like umbrellas over their head or like completely head-to-toe. You know, at the end of the day, they are still animals. I think we need to be careful with the types of clothes that we're putting on them.
Animals emote their behaviours and communicate through emotion, through physical action.
Their tail wagging is good, but on the flip side, if the hair on the back of their neck or their ears are sticking up, then that's a different sign. And if another dog can't see this, they can't read if the dog is happy or sad or angry or is warning them to say, "hey, stay away from me", there are issues.
And that's where, around this time of year, and especially around Halloween, we see animals that get into fights. It can be from that one dog with an outfit on, and the communication between the animals was limited.
5. Beds
A comfy bed is something everyone likes, even we humans get a good mattress - it's something that we love, and pets are the same.
Obviously, hopefully, most people can have them inside at this time of year. There are lots of different ones, and even they make orthopaedic beds for older dogs that might be suffering from arthritis. So, they're comfier and cushier for them to lie on.
Cat beds as well, that's something else that's really popular. And they even make cat ones that can be bolted to the wall. So, they have these cat ones that people make. They are like obstacle courses for them to run along the wall.
And they make these ones that they can sit on because cats like to be in higher places. So, if you purposely build one or get one that's meant for them to be higher, that can be a bit safer for them, too.
Dr Bobby Ortiz, BA, BSc, MVB, GPCert/PgC (ExAP), MRCVS, is the Head of the Exotics Service at Veterinary Specialists Ireland and Ireland's only Advanced Practitioner in Zoological Medicine. With 15 years in the veterinary world, Bobby brings expertise and down-to-earth enthusiasm to his work.
On The Big Pet Project, Dr Bobby is there to tell us more about some of his unusual patients. It's the show with everything from surfing dogs and painting ponies to goal-scoring turtles, as hosts Demi Isaac and Adam Beales hit the road to meet your weird, wacky and talented pets - it's pure chaos and cuteness!
The Big Pet Project is streaming here now on RTÉ Player.
