Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/326223
39 maltatoday, Sunday, 8 June 2014 Events Well socialised or well traumatised? There is a big hype in the animal welfare world trying to convince people to socialise their puppies and older dogs. Quite rightly so be- cause socialisation at a young age is the best way to ensure your puppies learn the doggy language and to ac- cept new dogs without much hesita- tion. As every other good thing, puppy socialisation is gaining relevance to the local service providers. Dog schools, vet clinics, pet shops and clubs may start offering puppy so- cialisation classes. People might start organising their own or rely- ing on the local dog park. Without professionals guiding these sessions, the danger is that the puppies will be traumatised instead of socialised. A scenario we've observed way too often in dog parks is a bigger or same-size dog bullying another, while the owners watch without in- tervening. The victim of the bully- ing is giving all these signs it is not happy; hiding its tail between the legs, blinking frequently, moon-eye, some defensive snapping amongst others. We've even observed such dogs looking at their owners hoping they will intervene, sadly with no suc- cess. Lo and behold a few weeks later that same victim becomes the bully, picking on smaller or more vulner- able dogs and the owners seem to have no clue why their sweet lit- tle ball of fur has grown up into a thirty-kilo bully who is impossible to control around other dogs. If your dog is being picked on, it is your job to intervene and stop the cycle. Getting the help of the other dog's owners is of course a means to educate them. Some will shrug off your complaints and say you are be- ing overprotective. Pay no attention to people who refuse to learn and take your dog elsewhere. If your puppy has had the advan- tage of being raised with the Puppy Plan it will have better bounce-back skills after such an experience, but this is not to say they can endure all the bullying in the world. The park should not be somewhere you take your dog to while you have a chat on your phone. If you want your dog to stay that sweet, friendly and cheer- ful pup you adopted or bought you need to make sure they never have a reason to be anything but that. If you want to learn more about the appropriate way to socialise, visit www.dogtrainingmadeeasy.org Puppy Plan tab. The section for the new owners has a very good guide on how to select the right socialisa- tion class for your puppy. Ozone launches new IP PBX offer During the months of June and July Ozone will be offering a free Sam- sung Tablet, supporting both Wi-Fi and 3G, or the latest Samsung S5 when purchasing an IP PBX System. Using Asterisk open source soft- ware, Cisco and HP hardware our IP PBX has become the ideal and most cost effective solution. It is ideal for all types of businesses, being small, medium or large. Sup- porting many features and extensive flexibility makes it ideal for Call Cen- tres and the Hospitality sector with Financing also available. Captain Phillips among host of movies premiering in June on GO Stars CAPTAIn Phillips, starring Tom Hanks, will be one of several mov- ies premiering on GO Stars this June. The movie, partly filmed in Malta, which retells the events in April 2009 when cargo ship captain Richard Phillips surrendered him- self to a group of four Somali pi- rates and was subsequently rescued by US navy SEALs, will be shown on Friday 20 June at 9.00pm. Other movie highlights on GO Stars during June include the ani- mated adventure Despicable Me 2, to be shown on Sunday 29 June at 7.25pm; 42, starring Harrison Ford, which tells the true story of base- ball great Jackie Robinson and the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers man- ager Branch Rickey. The latter signed Robinson in 1946, breaking Major League Base- ball's infamous colour line, to be broadcast on Saturday 28 June at 9.50pm; coming of age story, The Way, Way Back which will be broadcast on Saturday 21 June at 9.50pm; and the animated comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 which will be shown on Wednes- day 18 June at 6.50pm. Isabella Farrugia from GO's TV Content Team at GO, said, "GO is the undoubted home of premium TV and June will be another month packed with action, drama, and comedy with some great movie pre- miers on GO Stars. All this will be in addition to several popular TV series which will also be broadcast during the month." Other movies premiering on GO Stars during June include three part mini-series The Last Weekend, Admission, Over/Under, Under- ground: The Julian Assange Story, Drinking Buddies, The World's End, Percy Jackson: Sea of Mon- sters, We're the Millers and Layer Cake. More information on GO Stars which is available from as little as €6.99 per month can be ob- tained from all GO retail outlets and exclusive resellers, by calling Freephone 80072121 or visiting www.go.com.mt Citadel goes green on World Environment Day CITADEL continues to be at the forefront of promoting a healthy environment through its exclu- sive eco products and initiatives organized each year. One of the commitments of its Corporate and Social Responsibility strat- egy is to safeguard the environ- ment and encourage the general public to follow suit. For the second year running, customers visiting Citadel's branches on the 4, 5 and 6 of June were offered a plant. Fur- thermore, on the 5 June, Citadel sponsored 50% of the cost of the rides on the Electric Cabs in Val- letta. Citadel Insurance is also the first and only insurer in Malta to provide direct cash savings on both its eco motor and eco home insurance. During the month of June, clients who purchase an eco insurance policy will also get a chance to win their money back (terms and conditions apply). Angela Tabone, Managing Di- rector of Citadel Insurance plc said, 'We invite all our valued clients to join us in this initiative and do their part in safeguarding our environment'. For more information about Cit- adel's eco insurance you can visit their website w w w.citadelplc. com or any of their branches in Malta and Gozo. Regulated by the MFSA, Citadel Insurance offers a full range of insurance products, from car to travel, home, marine, business and life. TWEnTy-nInE young dancers placed first in The GEF World Festival of Cre- ativity in Schools, Category C Competition that took place recently San Remo in Italy. These talented danc- ers, boys and girls aged 7 to 14, represented ArtsExcel and St Michael School. They competed in this category with a neo clas- sical Spanish Dance entitled 'Inside' under the artistic direction of Mari- sha Bonnici who was accompanied by Annemarie Carabot, also a director of ArtsExcel. Dancers from various countries like Turkey, Italy, Poland, France and Uzbekistan competed in this festival. This was an international event for these young upcoming danc- ers. It is a challenging world of dance, with high standards and they were given the chance to experience it and win. The Maltese contingent partici- pated in workshops with Ms Gillian Hurst, Senior Cecchetti and Spanish Examiner and Tracy Baxter, an Inter- national Choreographer prior to their trip. Bonnici is proud of her dancers and their achievement. She feels that this experience is of great importance to her students and looks forward to preparing them for further projects in the near future. For more information log on to: artsexcelinfo@gmail.com St Michael's dance students excel in Italy