Daily Record

THERAPY FOR PINING POOCHES

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A MAN jailed after coughing on two police officers during the pandemic has had his sentence more than doubled.

Appeal court judges said Iain Lindsay’s sentence was “unduly lenient”.

He admitted culpably and recklessly coughing in the faces of two constables “to the danger of their life” at a police station in Inverness in April.

He was not displaying any symptoms of Covid 19 but both officers were left alarmed and distressed.

Lindsay was jailed for four months but the Crown appealed the sentence.

Appeal court judges in Edinburgh and extended it to 10 months.

DOGS could be traumatise­d coming out of lockdown and may need training, it was claimed yesterday.

Pet guru Mat Ward says owners should prepare their pooches for them returning to work and seeing less of them.

With many people working from home, dogs and cats have become accustomed to fulltime attention.

But as the lockdown is eased off, pet owners can help their pooches acclimatis­e to being

BY SARAH WARD home alone again by taking small steps to help them adjust.

Mat, 42, has worked as a pet behaviouri­st since 1998 and has been carrying out video consultati­ons during lockdown.

The dad-of-two, based in Edinburgh, advised that dog owners begin spending time apart from their pooches as they prepare to return to offices. He said a range of

“stressed” behaviours could be exhibited in dogs – and to a lesser extent cats – used to full-time human company.

Mat said: “I think it has been a good time for pets but when people go back to work that’s when the constant contact and interactio­n ends.

“For some dogs, it is going to be stressful for them particular­ly, some dogs are more socially dependent than others.

“There will be a spike in separation concerns with people and their pets.

“There is a range of separation related behaviour, such as howling or destructiv­e behaviour like clawing carpets.

“My concern is when this wonderful period for pets is over, that it is going to be quite a contrast for dogs.

“It is good to introduce short separation­s, preparing them for oncoming separation­s - it is training, or vaccinatin­g them for oncoming separation.”

 ??  ?? PAMPERED Petted dogs
PAMPERED Petted dogs

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