INDUSTRY EVENTS
SPONSORSHIP opportunities are now available for the following events!
AusGroom & AusBoard National Conferences & Trade Show (ABAG 2008) –Twin Towns Resort Coolangatta QLD July 29-Aug 1
PetExpo 2008 – PIAA’s major industry event for the year – Darling Harbour Sydney Sept 11-13
Exhibitor information for both events will be released soon!
ATTENTION SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Pencil in your diary now the date of 5th April – your chance to see and meet personally your industry suppliers and see what is new to the market all under 1 roof!
- Anne Saunders, AnEvent Management
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2 million free training DVDS to those who adopt from animal shelters in the US
Animal Planet Pet Video (APPV), a producer and distributor of pet-training videos in the US, announced earlier this week the launch of its Shelter Helper program, offering 2 million free DVDs to pet parents in conjunction with Bayer Animal Health, the program’s major sponsor.
The APPV DVDs titled “Training Your Adopted Dog” and “Training Your Adopted Cat,” are an important how-to manual for new pet parents, supplying them with tips on how to care for their new pet as well as how to address common issues that often lead to the return of the pet back to the shelter, including issues such as house training, crate training, chewing, jumping, mouthing and teaching manners for dogs, and litter box training, playtime, scratching and spraying for cats.
“We’ve developed these family friendly, reward-based training videos for adopters and their newest furry family members,” said Kellyann Conway, APPV trainer and President for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
“Providing new pet parents with these fun and educational training videos help them develop a fantastic bond from the moment their new pet arrives home.”
The program will be the first of its kind, providing 500,000 free dog- and cat-training DVDs per quarter to parents of newly adopted pets through participating shelters.
“I wish every new pet parent had the Training Your Adopted Dog and Your Adopted Cat DVDs,” said Betsy Saul, Founder of Petfinder.com. “It is so much more than training and pet care. Their positive training methods lay the foundation for the relationship between pet parents and the new member of the family. They teach communication skills through fun and play that will ensure not only a successful transition for the new pet, but also a life-long trust. Nothing beats that awesome bond.”
Source: PR Newswire (US), Feb 2008
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UQ researchers’ use a unique method to collect dolphin skin samples
Dr Guida Parra from The University of Queensland’s School of Veterinary Science has been using a very unusual method for collecting skin samples from dolphins in Moreton Bay – by firing darts at the humpback and bottlenose dolphins using a rifle.
His technique may sound extreme, but according to Dr Parra it is “the safest, most straightforward, cost-effective, and commonly use method of obtaining skin samples from live dolphins.”
The rifle has been designed so that the dart bounces off the dolphin on impact while retaining a small sample of skin tissue, all without hurting the animal or causing infection. The darts then float to the surface, ready for the researchers to collect and analyse.
“DNA extracted from these skin samples can then be used to determine the sex of the animals sampled, their social relationships, the genetic variability found in the population and their dispersal patterns,” Dr Parra said.
Information provided from sampling along the Queensland coast will allow UQ researchers to establish the amount of genetic interchange that is occurring among populations of humpback and bottlenose dolphins in Queensland waters.
“Rapid urban growth and development in this region threatens the long term-survival of humpback and bottlenose dolphins in Moreton Bay and ecological studies are of great importance in guiding their conservation and management,” he said.
Source: University of Queensland, Feb 2008
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