Tag: mimicking
From a parrot mimicking the doorbell to an anxious dog — your pet queries answered
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. He 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.”
Sean McCormack, head vet at tails.com, promises he can ‘help keep pets happy and healthy’[/caption]
Q) MY parrot Percy makes the sound of my doorbell all the time.
I’m up and down like a yo-yo. How can I make it stop?
Julie Mitchell, Penzance, Cornwall
Sean says: This is a tricky problem and quite common.
Why do they do it? Well, they are mimics, copying sounds around them.
And it probably makes life more interesting for Percy.
When he does it, you get up (that’s interesting in itself).
There’s nobody there so when you come back you probably have a little chat with him about how he tricked you.
He doesn’t care what you’re saying, but he’s happy you’re interacting with him.
Many parrots are bored so anything he can do to make things happen is fun. You need to try to ignore it.
You could disable the doorbell and ask visitors to knock.
You could also redirect the response to the doorbell, rewarding Percy to announce a visitor when it rings, but ignoring him when he “rings it” in his own voice.
Got a question for Sean?
SEND your queries to vet@the-sun.co.uk
Q) SHOULD I clip my rabbit’s nails?
They are getting long and I think they might need a manicure.
Ben Jones, Newport
Sean says: Short answer, yes. Long nails can alter how rabbits move and cause discomfort or mobility issues in the long term.
I’m guessing this may be a house rabbit.
Rabbits with access to hard surfaces and soil for digging should usually wear down their nails quite well.
But you do need to know what you are doing as there is a slight risk you could cut the nails too short.
Your best bet is to get your vet or vet nurse to show you how to safely clip them.
Bear in mind their spines are delicate too and safe handling is important.
Or just leave it to the experts and take your rabbit to have it done at the vet clinic on a regular basis.
Q) WHEN it rains, my eight-year-old border collie Jesse gets so scared he hides under the table or goes onto the landing.
I can only presume that once, while he was left alone, there was a thunderstorm and now every time he hears the rain he thinks he will hear loud bangs.
I’ve tried plug-in calming aids but they didn’t work.
Phil Shaw, Torbay, Devon
Sean says: Plug-in calming devices like Adaptil are an aid to anxiety issues, not a solution.
Once fear or anxiety is that ingrained, you really need to work on a programme of habituation (getting Jesse used to the triggering sounds) and desensitisation or response substitution (changing how he reacts to them by gradually increasing exposure or training him to do something else).
It would be best tackled by booking a session with an animal behaviourist.
For accredited ones in your area, look up the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors or the Animal Behaviour and Training Council.
Q) MY son and his partner have a ten-year-old dog called Smudge.
A few months ago he had diarrhoea, sickness and lethargy.
His protein levels were low and he was given tablets and a paste to put in some special dog food.
Recently he has been poorly again with the same symptoms and his tummy was bloated.
The vet wants to take blood samples again, but won’t that just show the same as before?
Eileen Lawson, Newcastle
Sean says: I’m very sorry to say that this sounds like a complex case and the details you’ve given me don’t allow me to make a diagnosis or give you helpful, meaningful advice.
If your son is confused as to what to do next, he should speak with his vet again.
Also, bloods are a snapshot in time.
His bloods today may not be the same as his bloods last week, let alone a couple of months ago.
Star of the week
AT 16-and-a-half years old, is Lily the oldest golden retriever in the UK?
Steff Cooke, who works at Pause Cat Cafe in Bournemouth rescued Lily in 2010.
Since then, Lily has helped the 41-year-old through serious health issues.
Steff said: “It wasn’t until I looked online to see how long they usually live (around 13 to 14) that I realised she could be the oldest!
“Lily and I have both stayed alive longer than expected. She’s got me through tough times.”
If your golden retriever is older, contact @PauseCatCafe or email vet@the-sun.co.uk.
WIN: £1,100 kennel
LEADING British manufacturer Benchmark Kennels is offering readers the chance to win an 8ft by 4ft single kennel from its express range, worth £1,100.
Quick to assemble, the kennel is ideal for single dogs and small breeds.
For a chance to win, send an email headed BENCHMARK to sundaypets@the-sun.co.uk by March 5.
SUPER CATS COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
SOME moggies have psychic abilities, according to new book Super Cats, True Tales Of Extraordinary Felines.
Author Ashley Morgan said: “Despite years of research into their behaviour and psychology there are still aspects of the ‘felis catus’ that remain a mystery.”
In 1944 a cat called Toto saved his owners from an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, by waking them up and scratching them in a way that was so out of character, they left their home.
In 1979 there were numerous reports of Californian moggies predicting an earthquake by acting out of sorts along a geological fault line.
Ashley says felines’ abilities aren’t limited to predicting natural events. She added: “During World War Two, many cat owners in London felt their pets could predict the approach of the German bombers.”
Along with their excellent hearing, kitties also have heightened senses due to the vomeronasal organ – a small tube of cartilage in the roof of the mouth.
Ashley said: “Cats suck air into the tube, where they can feel, taste and smell it.
“This triple examination of the air gives cats more information than a mere human nose can provide.”
- Super Cats, True Tales Of Extraordinary Felines, by Ashley Morgan, £8.99 (Summersdale), is out now.
An AI-generated TV channel is mimicking ’90s sitcoms to nightmarish effect
The Mimicking of Known Successes Is a Cozy, Holmesian Sci-Fi Mystery
Malka Older, the author of the Centanal Cycle, has a new book coming out. The Mimicking of Known Successes is both a cozy science-fiction mystery and an introspective slow-burn romance that comes together in startlingly tense moments of action. As Mossa and Pleiti work on a missing-person case together, the book…
This dangerous vulnerability tricks researchers by mimicking old threats
Possible Mimicking Bigfoot Unsettles Family in Remote Minnesota
A family, with a disabled son, rents a cabin along a remote lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. A possible Bigfoot begins mimicking the sounds made by the son. Very interesting account.
The following account was recently referred to me:
“We had traveled up near the Canadian border in St. Louis County, Minnesota a few summers ago. We rented a cabin off the grid in the middle of nowhere. Our son is severely disabled and while he’s nonverbal he definitely isn’t quiet. He makes very loud sounds. Guttural shrieks and whoops. This particular spot takes about an hour off-road to get to. It’s near logging roads but there are no people. Very rugged roads. The cabin is on 320 acres of lake and surrounded by well over 40 acres of forest. It’s just us there. Plenty more acres but that is just the acreage around the cabin.
That night my son was standing on the deck. It’s on the second level of the cabin. He was jumping and bashing and howling. The pounding of his jumping on the deck was reverberating throughout the forest. This was something we would usually worry about but not here. It felt great not to have to worry. This is the very reason we are here. No one to judge us or get upset by our sounds.
Off to the west, we began hearing something. It sounded as if it was mimicking my son. Just didn’t feel real at first. It was a “no way this is happening moment.” It mimicked him unbelievably well. It was loud and sounded as though it had the lung capacity of 20 men. It was definitely an animal. It didn’t sound angry at all or menacing. It was just a strong mimicking sound. I don’t really know how to explain it.
We went inside and did our best to ignore it. I felt the entire rest of the trip as if we were being watched. I couldn’t shake that feeling. It was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever felt in my life. I cannot explain it. Just thinking about it now makes me uncomfortable. There were other very odd things that occurred that week but I don’t really feel comfortable sharing. Almost supernatural. I know that sounds silly. Smoke alarms going off at night, etc. Just weird things.
We ended up going back the next summer as we didn’t let on to our other son who was asleep at the time that anything had occurred. We have had no incidents like that again. No feeling of being watched and nothing uncomfortable but that incident, that week, will always stay with me.” N
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Phantoms & Monsters Radio presents a Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research Roundtable discussion. We will be discussing current investigations and other cryptid / unexplained incidents & sightings. Joining Lon will be James West, Chad Redding, Kit Taylor, & Bernadette McDaniel.
James West is a 2-time Dogman experiencer, has had multiple encounters with the paranormal including shadow people/creatures, suspected demons, and ghosts, and has been physically possessed on one occasion by an unknown dark entity. James is also currently in the process of writing a nonfiction book about cryptid beings in the United States, entitled “50 Cryptids in 50 States.” In addition to this, James is a member of Phantoms and Monsters Fortean Research.
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Chad M. Redding grew up in the Pigeon Hills region of western York County, Pennsylvania. A lifetime of roaming the woods, hills, and hollows led Chad to develop his passions and skills as a woodsman. Very much an avid lover of old traditional ways and old things. His love of the forests and mountains know no bounds. For he has camped, rambled, gathered, canoed, and fished. In all 4 seasons.
As a lover of local history and folklore, wanderer of forgotten places, and life-long experiencer of the strange. Chad also contributes to and works with Timothy Renner of Strange Familiars Podcast.
Chad has also given back to the community, woodsman or otherwise. For as a traditionalist, he believes that knowledge should be passed on. From demos at various festivals, his foraging walks he gives regularly, on the various charity campouts he has organized. He has sought to help others and educate them.
Chad became the proprietor of Ruck Rabbit Outdoors a company that supplies old-style crafted, curated, refurbished, and surplus gear to the woods folk community.
Chad is a member of Phantoms and Monsters Fortean Research.
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Kit Taylor is a film and Television actor, writer, producer, and documentarian. His latest work includes a short documentary on the Fayetteville Incident (the Bledsoe Family story) titled “Burden of Truth.”
Kit was an investigator for MUFON and has recently become a member of the Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research team. Having first-hand, life-altering experiences, Kit’s approach to investigating is from an empathetic point of view and hopes to contribute positively, to the world of high strangeness.
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Bernadette McDaniel, Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research member will co-host this episode. Bernadette will soon be hosting ‘A Paranormal Life’ on Phantoms & Monsters Radio.
Join us on Friday, September 2nd at 9PM ET / 6PM PT
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, & SHARE – THANKS!
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Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the ‘Chicago Mothman’, ‘Chicago Owlman’ & ‘O’Hare Mothman.’ – Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map – Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com – your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.
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TODAY’S TOP LINKS
‘BABY FROM HELL!’ / DC SUBURB BIGFOOT / ‘WHITE’ DOGMAN – Lon Strickler (Host)
New Updates Captain Mark Richards: True Crime Meets The UFO Community, with Ryder Lee | Podcast #806
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