Pets

Puppy socialisation is the process of introducing a puppy to a variety of different experiences, environments, people, and other animals in order to help them become confident and friendly adult dogs.

​Kitten socialisation is the process of introducing a kitten to a variety of different experiences, environments, people, and other animals in order to help them become a confident and friendly adult cat.

Adoption events with reduced fees are proven to increase adoptions, but there are many myths surrounding the removal or reduction of those fees. As an evidence-based organisation, SPCA examines the research to explore these myths.

Training your dog to wear a muzzle is a great idea. Why? Training your dog to wear a muzzle is a responsible and proactive step for any dog owner. While many people associate muzzles with ‘aggressive’ dogs, muzzles can be actually be useful in various situations.

Dogs die in hot cars. If you love them, don't leave them.
Every year, our Inspectors receive hundreds of welfare calls about dogs that have been left inside hot cars. Over the last summer, these calls accounted for approximately 11% of all welfare calls made to SPCA. Sadly, the message around the dangers of leaving your animals inside cars doesn’t seem to be sinking in. SPCA has created downloadable resources including posters, a flyer and a social media tile to help you to share the message.

Older animals tend to find the cold weather over winter a bit of a challenge, especially those with arthritis. Arthiritis is inflammation of the joints and can have many underlying causes including prior injury, degenerative disease and developmental disorders.

While many people enjoy the fireworks festivities, some animals can become highly distressed by fireworks.

When the weather begins to turn and the chill sets in, it's important to make sure your pets will be comfortable and well fed during the long cold winter months.

Please be extra vigilant about what your pets eat over the festive season. Refrain from sharing human food with your pets, and think twice about leaving food in places that might be easily accessible to pets.

Recent natural disasters both here in New Zealand and around the world have shown that we all need a plan for emergency or disaster situations.