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It is their passion and sometimes they forget just how much of a passion it is until they’re able to help someone with a problem. Behaviour enrichment is slowly starting to be recognised as an important part of managing animal behaviour.
The founder and director of Pets Need A Life Too, Gillian Shippen became interested in behaviour enrichment for a variety of reasons. Firstly, she welcomed a Rottweiler into her family at a time when the breed was gaining a bad reputation in the media. She felt she had a point to prove that they were a great breed in the right hands – just like any breed of dog (she grew up with Chihuahuas – also a very much maligned breed). She was determined her boy would be a nuisance to no one and so taught herself about behaviour enrichment at a time when enrichment was not focused on.
Her education at that time involved attending any behaviour-related seminar or conference she could possibly get to – all of which made her realise she would be utterly hopeless at training people to train their dogs. Training animals she could do, training people – not so much!
But her passion for behaviour enrichment has only grown and she can now wax lyrically about how an animal interacts with items within their environment and why. She loves watching an animal work out their new behaviour enrichment toy and seeing their body language change as their confidence grows. It’s an even better feeling when the pet owner reports back on the delight and change in an animal’s demeanour
She also rejoices in seeing the change in demeanour when she helps pets regain their mobility with wheelchairs – mobility and disability support to her is an integral part of behavioural enrichment.
Pets Need A Life Too specialises in figuring out which toy would best suit an individual animal’s needs – Gillian doesn’t just want to sell her favourite toys, because she understands that her favourites (or rather her pet’s favourites!) may not work for a different animal.
Unlike pet stores that do not really know the enrichment value of their products – Pets Need A Life Too understands how each item works, its benefits and its pitfalls. Gillian is able to advise pet owners on how to get the best use out of any item.
Pets Need A Life Too offers a free consultation service to help people choose the right toy for their pets. This process starts with questions to find out what their specific goals are for their pet: is the owner after something they can “set and forget” or are they after something they can work with their pet together? What do they already do to provide behaviour enrichment and how does the pet respond? What kind of property does the owner have? How much space do they have inside and out?
Then moves on to questions regarding the pet: breed, age, sex, what kind of diet they have, how they interact with things in their environment, how they play with existing toys, their confidence levels, reaction to noise, etc. All of this information is essential in gaining the right information so the most appropriate toys can be suggested for that pet.
Pets Need A Life Too also stocks wheelchairs and other products, services and support for disabled, injured and aging pets. Gillian believes that our aging, disabled, and injured pets are family and deserve to live happy healthy lives so for veterinary clients who are caring for an aging, disabled, or injured pet, Pets Need A Life Too is the right place!
They also stock many disability support products to make your client’s life easier while keeping their pet mobile, safe, healthy, and ready to enjoy life! Their range is constantly expanding as the need for disability support for pets is becoming much more widely and readily accepted.
Pets Need A Life Too pride themselves in their honesty in the information and recommendations they provide to clients with respect to both their toys and disability support aids. Gillian is a veterinary nurse with over 25 years’ experience, which means veterinarians can be confident that she will assist their client referrals by suggesting the best disability support to suit the needs of the patient and their client.
Pets Need A Life Too stocks the very best enrichment toys, mobility and disability support aids so veterinary clinics do not have to.
Every veterinary clinic has only so much room for merchandise display and only so much time to discuss the merits of the merchandise, so you don’t want to waste precious space on stock that moves slowly. Pets Need A Life Too stocks a wide range of niche and therefore often slow-moving behaviour enrichment and disability support products so you can free up your merchandising space to be more productive.
You can feel secure and confident in the knowledge that the behaviour enrichment, mobility and disability support needs of your patients will be properly seen with compassion, dedication and honesty.
Over a 35-year veterinary nursing career, Gillian Shippen developed a special interest in animal behaviour enrichment and in 2006 began her business Pets Need A Life Too, dedicated to behaviour enrichment. In 2012 after recognising a growing need in the pet industry, she incorporated mobility aids and in 2020, established HandicappedPets Australia. She believes that pets are family and whether disabled, injured and/or elderly, they deserve to live a happy and healthy life. HandicappedPets Australia offers the largest online selection of products to improve animal mobility. Gillian works with veterinary teams and pet owners to help keep pets mobile, safe, healthy, and ready to enjoy life! Be Happy. Be Together. Be Amazed. Be Moving. Be the Next Miracle.
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