Category: Helpful Hints

There is no doubt that Covid-19 has impacted everyone, our furry friends included. Our pets may have loved having us at home during lockdowns, however as we start to return to our places of work, separation anxiety in pets is on the rise.

So you may be wondering, if your pet can barely cope with you leaving the house, how will they be able to handle a plane trip ? The truth is, it will be a new experience for them, but they will be OK. And we have some tips to help prepare them for their trip.

Tips for Dogs travelling on planes  

1. Crate train prior to travel so they are familiar with a crate environment. Associate their crate with positive things such as play and treats
2. Exercise – ensure they have an opportunity to go on big walk before hopping into their crate
3. Familiar Scent – pop an old piece of your clothing into their crate (please note this may be removed and discarded).
4. Stay calm and relaxed – our pets feed off our emotions
5. Place an Adaptil Collar on your dog prior to travel. Adaptil Collars release pheromones to help relieve stress

Tips for Cats travelling on planes  

1. Crate train your cat, let them explore a crate environment prior to travel
2. Consider our PP60C crate with inbuilt kitty litter – cats are clean creatures and feel more at ease when they have somewhere to do their business
3. On the morning of travel, ensure your cat is kept in an enclosed area where it easy for you to retrieve them. Nothing worse than chasing around a stressed cat!
4. Familiar Scent – pop an old piece of your clothing into their crate (please note this may be removed and discarded).
5. Stay calm and relaxed – our pets feed off our emotions
6. Spray Feliway Spray in their crate – this is a pheromone helps to keep cats calm and relieves stress and anxiety

When you speak with our Pet Travel Consultants to book your pets travel, they will ask about the temperament of your pet. Please let us know if your pet is particularly anxious, so our gentle and experienced Pet Handlers know how to best handle your loved one (the more cuddles the better we say!). Call us on 0800 311 742 to discuss your pet relocation requirements.

There’s nothing better than heading to a dog-friendly cafe on the weekend for a hot date with your favourite woofer. Rather than tieing them up outside while you rush in and out with your order, these Wellington cafes welcome humans to bring their furry friends along for the day.

Discover these pet-friendly cafes in and around Wellington

Beach Babylon

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.3/5

Address: Ground Floor/232 Oriental Parade, Oriental Bay, Wellington 6011

Providing beds and water bowls for four-legged friends, Beach Babylon is a cult beachside favourite amongst pawrents. To top it off, they even have a dedicated “K9 Menu” complete with delicious pup-friendly food and doggy drinks – you won’t need to deal with your doggo’s woeful eyes while you’re selfishly scoffing down your human meal. Facing the gorgeous harbour, humans can tuck into brunch, lunch and dinner, whatever you fancy.

Prefab Eatery

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.6/5

Address: 14 Jessie Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011

Image: @ardiesavea

The flagship cafe for ACME & Co’s daily house-roasted coffee, Prefab Eatery is a 180 seater inner-city cafe is a great date spot for you and your furry BFF. As long as your pup is well-behaved, they’ll be allowed inside and outside as long as you follow a few reasonable rules. With fresh bread baked daily and a focus on seasonal produce, their menu is full of delightful goodness, from Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs to Seafood and Bacon Chowder.

Cafe Polo

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.6/5

Address: 84 Rotherham Terrace, Miramar, Wellington 6022

Image: @cafepolo

With outdoor seating for your paw pal, this unassuming cafe serves up a ripper menu with great food, wine and smiles all around. Sourcing the best local produce including additive-free products, free range meat and eggs and organic fair trade coffee, they have their very own in-house, four-legged taste tester that responds to the name “Ralph”.

The Botanist

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.4/5

Address: 219 Onepu Road, Lyall Bay, Wellington 6022

Image: @rocky.on.the.rocks

Bringing you the very best in organic vegetarian and vegan fare with stunning views of the sea, The Botanist is a dog-friendly cafe on the south coast of Wellington. Located right across from the biggest dog beach in Wellington, you and your pup can choose from sitting in the fenced area out back or out the front. They also provide dog beds so your furbaby can wait for you to accidentally drop some morsels from a comfortable vantage point.

Lola Stays

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.4/5

Address: 106 Oriental Parade, Oriental Bay, Wellington 6011

One of the few dog-friendly cafes that allow well-behaved four-legged guests inside (not just outside), this relaxed seaside hangout is brought to you by a team of doggo enthusiasts. While you chow down on your smashed avo and Havana coffee, your furbaby can enjoy organic, homemade biscuits from the counter – it’s a win-win!

Customs by Coffee Supreme

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.6/5

Address: 39 Ghuznee Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011

Image: @shannonharris0n

Passionate about specialty coffee sourced from all over the word, Customs is at the heart of the Wellington coffee scene. Located on the trendy Ghuznee Street with their dog-friendly seating out front, this cosy cafe also offers a menu of toast with seasonal toppings and delicious donuts on the weekends.

The Bresolin

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.5/5

Address: 278 Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011

Image: @thebresolin

Born from a love of all things delicious and awesome, The Bresolin dishes up flavourful food alongside eclectic drinks, seven days a week. From buttermilk fried chicken share plates to the mouth-watering slow roast pork knuckle, there’s something for every appetite. And according to their Facebook page, they LOVE dogs and welcome all furry friends to join their humans in their dog-friendly courtyard.

Chocolate Fish Cafe

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.5/5

Address: 100 Shelly Bay Road, Maupuia, Wellington 6022

Image: @j_dog_the_stalker

With plenty of outdoor seating and water bowls for furry friends, the Chocolate Fish Cafe offers an extensive menu for humans from breakfast options to flash sammies, salads, burgers, bagels and more! A venue with a laidback Kiwiana vibe, this cafe is open seven days a week for you and your fluffy BFF to enjoy hearty food with good views of Shelly Bay.

Scorch-O-Rama

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.5/5

Address: 497 Karaka Bay Road, Karaka Bays, Wellington 6022

Image: @amcsviatko

Located right across Wellington’s Scorching Bay Beach, Scorch-O-Rama is beachy cafe that dishes tasty brunch classics alongside vintage-styled shakes for a blast from the past. Littered with nostalgia and nerdery, their menu reflects their casual vibe with names like “Beercan Benny” and “Scorch No Harma LLama Meat’s Wrong G”. With dog-friendly outdoor seating, you can enjoy your meal with Fido right by the sea, no questions asked.

Cafe Thyme

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.4/5

Address: 238 Middleton Road, Glenside, Wellington 6037

Image: @harlequinpug

Famed for having the best eggs benedict in Wellington, Cafe Thyme is a renovated 1950s villa with a giant courtyard for furry friends to accompany their pawrents. Tucked next door to the local garden centre Twigland Gardener’s world with plenty of parking spaces, enjoy the standard breakfast fare amongst a beautiful herb garden and flowers.

The Larder

Google ⭐ rating to date: 4.8/5

Address: 133 Darlington Road, Miramar, Wellington 6022

Image: @richiemcpaw

A casual suburban eatery that serves up a menu of innovative dishes sourced locally and directly from their close network of growers and suppliers, The Larder has a philosophy of ‘nose to tail eating’. Perfect for those with an adventurous palate (note: the delicious gremolata crumbed lambs’ brain), bring your furry friend along  to their dog-friendly outdoor area and enjoy an unforgettable dining experience at The Larder.

With summer here, there’s no better time to treat your pet and yourself to a little R&R getaway. But as the weather heats up, it’s important to remember to keep our furry companions as cool as possible while out and about. Typically releasing heat by panting, this can be inefficient when it comes to protecting them from getting overheated.

We’ve put together our 8 top tips to help keep your pets cool this summer

Tip 1: Freeze water bottles for crate travel

Frozen water bottles will not only cool the overall temperature in the crate down but will also keep your pet nice and cool while they’re travelling in the car. You can also freeze the water in their drinking tray so it melts slowly as the weather warms up, keeping them hydrated with cold water.

Tip 2: Make delicious frozen treats

Looking for a way to occupy and refresh your furbaby? You can freeze their favourite treats to keep them pre-occupied! Easy frozen treats include frozen watermelon, frozen banana bites and frozen dog-friendly yoghurt. You can even freeze peanut butter in a Kong toy or their favourite kibble in a mixture of water and chicken stock in an ice cream tub and let them work away at it.

Tip 3: Place a cooling mat in their corner

Whether it’s on the couch or by the window, you can purchase a cooling mat that activates once your pet lies down on it. The mats usually contain a cooling gel which helps to keep your dog cool by absorbing its body heat and dissipating into the environment. Just make sure you keep an eye on your furbaby when you first introduce it, especially if they’re a chewer.

Tip 4: Get a cooling vest or collar for walks

Using similar technology to cooling mats and beds, cooling collars and vests can also help keep your furbaby cool for a few hours. There are also other varieties that don’t use cooling gel technology, but can be activated by soaking in water and wringing the excess off.

Tip 5: Playtime in the pool

Is your pup a water baby? An ingenious, budget-friendly option is to purchase a kiddie pool, get out the garden hose and fill it with water. Your dogs can splash around in it and even enjoy a bit of a drink, if they’re thirsty.

Tip 6: Safe exercise

We know how important it is to keep your furbaby active and mentally stimulated, even if the sun is beating down outside. Consider taking your dog for a walk in the early morning or late at night when the temperature is cooler and the sun isn’t out. If it’s still too hot, turn the air conditioner on and play a few rounds of fetch down the hallway – that’s sure to get them tired out and ready for a nap once the fun’s over.

Tip 7: A case of cold feet

Since they don’t sweat, cats and dogs regulate heat and their body temperature through their feet and paws. Consider dipping their feet in water to help cool them down.

Tip 8: Bring collapsible water bowls when you’re out and about

Sometimes an occasion calls where you have to bring your furbaby along, whether it’s for a road trip or a quick duck out to the shops. Invest in a collapsible water bowl that you can fill on the go, keeping your furry BFF refreshed wherever you may be.

We all love dressing our pets up in cute outfits and with the arrival of winter, you now have another great reason to get shopping! Winter is the best time to have fun and choose fashionable outfits for your pets to keep them warm and stylish throughout the cooler seasons.

With the exposure to harsh temperatures during the day and freezing cold nights, it’s important to protect your furry friend with extra layers that are practical and fashion-forward.

Many smaller breeds who have light layers of fur may have difficulty keeping themselves warm in cooler times of the year, especially when outdoors. This also applies to our senior companions who can have difficulty regulating their body temperature. That’s why it’s vital to dress them in functional clothing to protect them from the cold and keep them happy and stylish during winter.

Need some advice on what to dress your pets in this winter? Read on below for the winter essentials your pet needs now.

A Jacket:

You can’t go wrong with a great jacket for all pets big and small. For those very cool days that are spent outdoors, a thicker waterproof jacket that covers your pet’s stomach and the majority of their body is best, however for days spent indoors a lightweight jacket or jumper will suffice. Have some fun and choose styles with cute colours and prints including leopard print, cameo, stripes or bold geometric shapes. Just make sure you steer clear of jackets with zips, buttons or additional detailing that your pet may chew off.

A Jumper:

If you are spending the day indoors, a jumper is a great alternative to a jacket for your pet. There are many options to choose from, like a classic knitted sweater, to a too-cool for school hoodie. A wool blend jumper is a great option for all pets as it keeps them nice and warm without irritating their skin. For comfort and practicality, a hoodie is ideal for active pets. The hood can keep their ears and head warm and the stretchy fabric makes it easy for them to play and exercise no matter where you are!

A few things to remember when buying an item of clothing to keep your pets warm this winter include:

• Ensure that the item cannot be easily pulled off
• Check the size, making sure it fits your pet correctly and is comfortable to wear
• Check the item doesn’t drag on the ground
• Ensure it isn’t too tight, especially around the neck
• Check that it doesn’t get caught on anything during normal movement and activities

Does your pet have a favourite piece of clothing that they love to wear in winter? Comment and share what it is with us on Facebook.

With the cooler weather well and truly upon us, we are often asked by owners about their pet’s needs in winter.

So we thought we’d clear things up! Here are the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions…

Q: Is it important to exercise our pets in winter, even when it’s freezing outside? 

A: Winter activities will vary widely depending on what kind of pet you have, their personality, and the severity of the weather. When it comes to dogs, they really need to get out all year round, even in colder weather. Dogs who really enjoy the outdoors and colder temperatures can have just as much exercise in the winter as the summer. You can keep your walks shorter for those who don’t enjoy the winter weather as much.

Q: Are coats and jackets a good idea for pets who spend time outside during winter?

A: Some dogs with thin coats will benefit from a jacket, and find freezing temperatures much more enjoyable with the extra layer!

Q: Does my dog or cat need to eat more in winter to help survive the cold?

A: Because people and animals often are less active in the winter months, we often find that people need to feed their dogs less during the winter. If you and your dog are very active, or if your dog is primarily outside, then you may need to increase their food proportionally.

Q: Does my pet still need lots of fresh water, even though it’s cold outside and they may not be as thirsty?

A: Fresh water is always necessary, even if your dog isn’t drinking as much as during the hot summer.

Our Top Winter Tips:

Cold winter days can be particularly uncomfortable for slim, younger or older dogs when it comes to nap time. We suggest elevating their bed off the ground where possible, and placing a hot water bottle (with warm not boiling water) into their bed or kennel. This will soon make for a comfortable place to rest