Pet Information

There are some items which no cat owner should be without. Cats require relatively little maintenance but there are some things which are necessary to have if you want your pet to be happy, healthy, and safe, the first is food.

When your cat is still a kitten, it’s important that you feed it food specifically designed for kittens. Their digestive systems aren’t fully matured yet, so they can’t handle adult food. As it gets older, you can switch to adult formula food, and when your cat reaches its later years you should switch to foods made specifically for elderly felines. Avoid giving your cat milk on a regular basis. While it’s one of cats’ most favorite treats, milk can give them urinary problems. Also, don’t feed your cat exclusively with scraps and people food. Cat food is designed to provide complete nutrition, and giving your cat something else may deprive them of essential nutrients.

You’re going to need food and water dishes for you cat, of course. Almost any bowl or dish will work so long as you clean them regularly. You may want to invest in a mat to place underneath the bowls to help contain spills and messes.

The litter tray is an all-important cat accessory. You can train your cat to go to the bathroom outside, and even cats accustomed to litter boxes will do this on their own, but if your cat stays indoors then you need to invest in a litter tray. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some have hoods which give your cat some privacy and protect you from having to see them going about their business. Plus, these hoods help contain odors. There are even automated litter trays which scoop the litter for you.

Cat litter is another important and necessary product for cat owners. Cat litter has come a long way in recent years. Now the most popular brands are designed to clump to make removal easier and better contain annoying odors.

A scratching post is a very good idea if you don’t want your cat to tear up your davenport. Cats need to scratch in order to stretch out and keep their claws in top shape. Scratching posts are usually made from rope or carpeting. If you have a larger cat, you’ll want to make sure that the scratching post is big enough. There are also pads made from corrugated cardboard infused with cat litter which no normal cat can ignore. These kinds are replaced whenever the cat totally tears them apart, which they will! They’re cheap and available at pet stores and your local super center.

Toys are a good idea to keep you cat occupied. Favorite cats toys usually have catnip inside.

Flea control is important, especially if you have an outdoor cat. Collars are effective, but make sure you get one that’ll break away or stretch so your cat doesn’t get strangled. Sprays work, too, but these can freak out your cat. Medicines which require just a few applications to the back of the neck seem to work best. They subject your cat to very little stress and last a long time.

You’ll want to get a comb or brush for you cat. Make sure the teeth on it are rounded so you don’t irritate their skin. Grooming your cat will help reduce shedding and encourage a healthy coat.

Cats are a great pet and will provide years and years of happiness and joy for their owners. With just a few essential products for your cat, you’ll have a friend for life.

There are several different stages to dog training and in some cases they are very specific stages that you will need to undertake because your dog has developed certain habits or characteristics. However, starting basic obedience training from an early age not only sets excellent foundations for future training but it is also very beneficial to the dog itself. While dogs are animals and will behave like animals if left unchecked they are also clean animals that like to please their owners.

Without good dog training, most dogs will develop unwanted traits that can become more difficult to correct when they reach a more mature age. As the saying goes ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.’ While this isn’t strictly true with some breeds it may be true of your best friend. Unwanted activities include excessive barking, soiling in the house, chewing and destroying furniture and digging up your freshly tended garden.

However, none of these traits are essential in any dog and by introducing fun but guided training you can help your dog channel these natural habits towards more acceptable behavior. The key to this is to make it fun for both you and your dog. A happy dog is an obedient dog and the training you give will be seen as a time to please you and have some fun in the process. In the same way as children learn well when they have fun, dogs quickly pick up the habits that are rewarded and avoid those that lead to vocal reprimand.

Obedience training will also help you show your dog that you are in charge. This is an essential step to owning a dog, because if they believe they are in charge then they will also believe that they can behave however they like, whenever they want. It isn’t necessary to teach them extreme submissive behavior but some simple submissive acts will quickly let them know that you are in charge.

Taking control away from your dog not only means that you can control their actions but it also helps your dog. A dog that believes they are in charge of your family will feel stressed and worried because they need to protect the family from harm and keep them safe. This is why some dogs become aggressive toward strangers; it is not true aggression it is usually protection. If they sense danger and they believe you need protecting that is exactly what they will do. As you can see, training your dog is a vital part of ownership.

Dental care for your dog can get lost in the shuffle of daily life. Even if you really love your dog and give your dog great dog care, it’s easy to slip up on dental care for your dog.

When was the last time you checked your dog’s teeth?

I know—the inside of the mouth isn’t the cutest part of your dog. But it can tell you a lot about your dog’s health.

Contrary to what non-dog people may think, not all dogs have bad breath. Bad doggy breath, in fact, can be a sign of disease.

To look for signs of disease, check the color of your dog’s teeth. White is really good. Brown is really bad. You’re aiming for at least somewhere in between.

Check for broken teeth, pus or bleeding gums, and look for any unusual growths. If you see anything that looks unhealthy, please take your dog to the vet.

If you’re in a metropolitan area, you may be able to find a vet who specializes in dental care. Check the American Veterinary Dental College’s site to see a list of their graduates.

You can find dog dental care products at nearly any pet store. The easiest way to keep your dog’s teeth healthy is with dental chews. The more your dog chews, on something meant for chewing (not on something like your furniture), the better dog dental health your dog will have.

There’s been some debate about the safety of the well-known chews, Greenies. I’ve never given my dog Greenies, but some dog parents say they’re great. Be aware, though, that according to a CNN investigation, since 2003, 40 dogs have had to have pieces of Greenies surgically removed, and 13 of those dogs died. Of course, that’s a small number given that over 750 million Greenies have been sold since 1998.

Better than chews are rinses or pastes that you put on your dog’s teeth and gums. Even better than that is brushing your dog’s teeth. You can find tooth brushes especially for dog dental care at any pet supply store.

If you take just a little time to get the right supplies and just a bit of time to use them, you’ll be doing your dog AND you a big favor. Your dog will be healthier (and have fewer expensive problems) when you get dental care for your dog.

After searching long and hard, you’ve finally found the perfect dog. So what’s next?… Finding the perfect dog name of course!

Considering that over the course of your puppies lifetime his name will be used over 30,000 times, and that 1 in 5 new dog owners want to change their dogs name in the first year, choosing the right puppy name should be given as much care and thought as you showed when finding your pooch in the first place.

Below I’ve listed 10 dog naming tips taken from my website to be mindful of when looking for the right name, they are…

1. Avoid names that sound like common commands such as Go, Stay, Sit, etc. This might cause confusion for your puppy when trying to train it.

2. Be mindful that your dog might outgrow it’s name. The name Buttercup might be appropriate for a cute puppy, but not when it becomes a full grown Great Dane!

3. Choose a name with one or two syllables. Dogs not only learn it quicker, but it makes them easier to train as well.

4. Watch out for trendy names that might cause embarrassment once the trend is passed. Do you want people to realize from your dog’s name that you were once a big fan of Disco?

5. If you’ve adopted an older dog, it’s best to keep her current name so that it doesn’t become confused. If for some reason you must change it, consider a name that sounds similar or rhymes.

6. Beware of the common trend to name dogs after people. Though doing so is not a bad thing in itself, if you name your pup after a friend or family member, they might take offense. Although you might think naming your dog Sally after your favorite Aunt is an honor, Aunt Sally might not. Also, be kind to your dog and name her after someone you like.

7. Does the dog name rhyme with something negative? Or maybe with the name of a family member or friend? Once discovered, you might be one of those 1 in 5 people who want to change their dogs name!

8. Stay away from potentially embarrassing names. The name “Pee Wee” might be funny at first, but as the joke gets old, how will you feel in a year or so when you have to call “Pee Wee” home at night?

9. Pick a name that matches your dogs own unique appearance or personality. The name Electra might be a good name for an energetic pooch, but not for one that like’s to sleep all day.

10. Ask your dog what he thinks! Since it’s going to be his name, you might want to narrow your search down to your own 5 favorite names, then try them out on your dog. You’d be surprised how well he responds to some, yet yawns at others.

Keeping in mind the above tips when searching for dog names will not only ensure a long, happy friendship with your dog, but also help to avoid a mid-life name change.

Training older dogs is no different than training younger dogs - well, there IS one difference: you need more patience.

The old adage about teaching an old dog new tricks has no meaning in the world of dog training. I have seen cases in which older dogs - dogs in their double-digit years - become dog obedience poster dogs!

It all depends, like I said, on how much patience you have. Repetition and clearly communicated commands are the key!

In some rare cases, where the older dog has been allowed free rein as the leader of your family unit “pack”, you may find some stubbornness and “passive aggressiveness” to the training.

But for the most part, the commands for training older dogs are the same as for younger ones.

The Sit command is an excellent indicator of how well the older dog will respond to training. With a pinch collar in place around the dog’s neck, pull up with your right hand (reaching across your body) and push down with your left hand on the dog’s rump.

This should create an irresistible position for the dog. When training older dogs, be aware that you may well lose your standing as their best friend for a few days until the order of command changes. There may even be a bit of doggie “sulking.”

But the repetition, coupled with five- to ten-minute training sessions should take most of the control battles out of the picture.

In the end, both you and your older dog will reap the rewards of a closer bond!

When it comes to understanding your horse, some simple common sense can take you quite a long distance when it comes to knowing if he or she is ready to work with you on some basic horse training. Actually, understanding whether your horse is in a receptive mood to easily learn what you want to teach him is much like understanding yourself when it comes to learning something new.

Think about it and ask yourself this… when you are run down and tired or you have just come through a situation that was emotionally draining, are you ready to take on any kind of concentrating, learning, or lots of physical activity? And even if you muster the energy to make an attempt, are you able to enjoy it?

Your horse feels much the same as you would in the above circumstances if he has been ridden for awhile or is tired from other training or is in bad shape for any other reason. Simply put, he is not going to be able to respond to you as well as you would like him to.

Like humans, your horse will do much better if he has a healthy and vigorous body with steady nerves. In that case, his brain can retain much more of whatever you attempt to teach him.

However, if your horse seems to feel dull or listless, it’s always a good idea to warm him up gently and take the horse training slowly. Keep the training sessions shorter under these circumstances, as well. If he’s just too tired and worn out, your efforts will be mostly in vain.

Again, think about how you feel when someone is trying to teach you something new. When they speak soft and kindly rather than speaking harshly and threatening you with punishment like a whip, you have a much different reaction… true? (Unless in an instance such as being in military training of some kind!)

Remember the famous old proverb: “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

In human terms, this means that you can win people to your side more easily by gentle persuasion and flattery than by hostile confrontation.

In terms of basic training of a young horse — or a horse of any age, really — he will respond much more eagerly to encouraging words in a pleasant voice and with gentle caresses or rub downs rather than with loud words or screaming and harsh actions such as hitting, whipping, and yanking on his bridle. Just like it would for you, such mistreatment simply saps your horse’s energy and makes him your enemy.

Therefore, if your horse just isn’t responsive to your efforts at training or he seems dull, listless, or down, then try simply talking gently to him while leading him around for a little while, letting him warm up to you a bit before attempting any heavier training. If he seems to become less tired and more alert, he’ll be much more likely to give you his attention and your horse training efforts will actually produce good, lasting results.

If some gentle warming up doesn’t seem to make a difference, it would probably be best to give it up for the day and allow your horse to rest. If the dullness and listlessness seem to persist, check into all the factors that may be contributing and make adjustments until he regains his spirit and willingness to learn. Then, you’ll both really enjoy your horse training sessions and you’ll accomplish much more in far less time.

Separation anxiety is a behavioral problem that manifests itself in a number of different ways. When left alone some dogs will whine, bark, or destroy your stuff. Separation anxiety, at its root, is caused by stress. When your dog is not able to be near you it is a source of such stress that is causes these irritating behaviors. It is important, though, to understand the cause of this dog behavior problem so that you can attack it effectively.

Dog owners who have dogs afflicted with separation anxiety often worsen the problem because they don’t understand the cause.

Understand that correcting your dog, yelling, or other such traditional forms of discipline may backfire with separation anxiety. As I mentioned earlier, separation anxiety is caused by stress. Actions that add more stress will not help but hinder your progress in dealing with this dog behavior problem.

Take a sensitive approach to correcting this problem. Understand that fixing this dog behavior problem will require a shift in your dog’s perception of the world. Right now his perception tells him that not being near you is a cause of fear, panic, and worry. Proper training for separation anxiety will show your dog that being without you is not something to fear.

The best way to approach this problem is by doing proper crate training. You need to show your dog that it is possible to be alone and to not feel stress.

Start out by putting your dog in the crate, closing the door, and sitting in front of the crate. Your dog may whine, cry, and bark. Do not pay attention! If you pander to his whining you will succeed not in fixing his separation anxiety problem, but will train him to whine uncontrollably. Just wait him out. As soon as he has calmed down sufficiently, let him out of the crate.

Repeat this process over and over. Each time insist that he stay crated a bit longer and gradually increase your distance. Stick to your guns! It is going to be tough to listen to his whining but you must stick it out.

Let’s examine this process from your dog’s point of view. He knows that being separated from you causes huge amounts of stress, yet you put him in his crate and cause him stress. Invariably he feels stressed and manifests it by whining and crying. He feels that these actions will alleviate his stress. They don’t, however. His screaming does nothing to help his situation because you don’t pay attention to him. Eventually, he tires of this. When he spends a few moments in the crate being calm you are actually training him. You are showing him that there are other ways to deal with stress. Before he only believed that he could deal with stress in one way, now, being calm is an alternative. If you persist in this course of training you will create a new pattern or new behavior. You will slowly train him to be calm and to accept not being near you.

When you have accomplished your dog being calm in the crate while you are at home, start venturing outside. Leave the house and wait for only a few minutes. Gradually increase the time until you can leave for hours and your dog is fine in his crate. When you have accomplished this, you have trained him to know that being without you doesn’t cause stress.

When you have arrived at this point, you can gradually wean your dog off the use of the crate. Allow him more freedom when you are home and when you are gone. I would recommend that you always keep the crate handy and use it a few times a week, even when your dog is cured of his separation anxiety. This will help to maintain the training you have done.

Separation anxiety is a dog behavior problem that can take time to fix, but is definitely within the scope of your capabilities.

Every dog loves a tasty biscuit to chew on and what better way to show your dog that you care than to make homemade dog biscuits for him. Dog biscuits are excellent for maintaining your dog’s dental health and when you bake homemade dog biscuits you can provide additional nutritional value in these biscuits.

Many commercial prepared dog biscuits are very high in fat. This fat content is what makes the biscuits so appealing to dogs. Baking homemade dog biscuits provides you the opportunity to make a healthier version of dog biscuits. When you make your own homemade dog biscuits, you have the flexibility to eliminate or reduce the amount of high fat ingredients in the biscuits. You can also opt to replace the fat found in meat with the healthier forms of fat that is found in peanut butter. Both sources provide your dog with a source of protein but the fat in meats is not as healthful for dogs as the fat found in peanut butter.

You also have the option of including vegetables in your homemade dog biscuits. Whether or not the recipe calls for vegetables you can always grate a few vegetables into your homemade dog biscuits to provide additional nutritional benefits to your dog. Incorporating vegetables into these homemade dog biscuits gives the treat an added flavor as well as many of the same health benefits that humans derive from consuming vegetables.

Its scary when you first know your cat has diabetis but once you start understanding the disease and get more used to the monitoring it becomes easier for you and your kitty.

Informing yourself of the disease is crucial, its not the same as human diabetis and its a complex disease that you need to inform yourself about.Don’t feel overwhelemed by the amount of information. Get all the info printed and make it a point to read them every night until you basically have learned the info by heart.

First of all, Feline diabetes is extremely difficult to regulate. Feline metabolism is simply not designed to be diabetes friendly. By “regulate,” we mean finding the correct insulin dosage for steady, healthy blood sugar levels.Feline metabolism is built specifically for short, fast bursts of power and speed, not long chases, unlike dogs. It can take a very long time to find the right dose of insulin, and the “right” dose can change on you with little or no notice. Stress, even things that don’t appear to us to be stressful, can set off sugar spikes in cats.

Thus, you MUST monitor your cat at all times. At any sign of trouble,at least call your vet. You’ll get better over time at recognizing what needs immediate attention.

Signs of trouble (over-insulin) include:

Balance loss, unsteady walking (they’ll act drunk ̷
Head shaking

Sudden craziness - this is different from the regular feline nightly run around and be active craziness. Sometimes, the cat might let out a horrible witchy yowl at top voice, spin madly around chasing its own tail 4-5 times, jump in the air, fall on the sides, pant and ultimately even lose consciousness.

So, in such instances have a light corn syrup handy. If you over-insulin (which is all too easily done) you will need to get come easy sugar into your cat FAST.

The insulin is given subcutaneaously, that is, directly under the top layer of skin, and NOT into the blood. What you’ll do is lift your cat’s skin somewhere around the scruff or near that area, just as you would do to check hydration (something you’ll want to do daily, by the way ̷ You’ll then have a little tent of skin lifted off from the body. You’ll insert the the needle along the long line of the tent (think of a long pole supporting the tent like a roof line) rather than from side to side of the tent. Inject and you’re done. You’ll get to where you can do it easily.

Never give another shot if you think you missed the shot (sometimes you can make a mistake and give the shot to the fur.. which isn’t helpful at all!) but its always best for your kitty to skip a dose than have a double shot.

Eating is crucial - and it is equally crucial that your cat eats something immediately before or after the insulin shot (just like human diabetics). This can be difficult, as cats often don’t eat when they don’t feel well, so start finding all the creative treats you can find that will entice your cat.You can probably try home-made (no salt or spices) chicken broth, which gels when cold; baby food (all meat, NO spices, particularly onion powder, which is poisonous to cats); wet food (from the vet, particularly made for kidney problems); TUNA (the special favorite.) Experiment, but don’t go overboard, and remember that however ‘underboard’ is more dangerous.

As the diabetes progresses, be on the watch for other complications; Joint problems , need for heat, blindness. You’ll need to make environmental changes to accommodate such things as they develop. Some cats can come down with renal failure as a secondary condition to the diabetes. These are all treatable, but it will add to the adjustments you and your cat will need to make.

Find out where your nearest emergency animal hospital/clinic is NOW before you need that information. Because you will need it.Unless you are extremely blessed, there will be at least once or twice that you will need to rush your cat for immediate care, because he goes into diabetic coma (the warnings I mentioned above.) Keep the number someplace where you can find it at a moment’s notice.

Towels are your friend. They can be used to wrap a cat who struggles when given shots; they can be used to put under a cat who is retching to catch the vomit (towels, unlike rugs and floors, are easily thrown into a washing machine!);they can make emergency beds as the cat’s ability to navigate the environment changes. They can be used with plastic to catch extraneous urine around the litterbox (again - washable!).

Periodically ,talk to your vet about cat’s diet. He may already be on lower-protein food. If not, it may be time to introduce it. Kidney problems necessitate lower protein foods than normal

This can be a harsh statement, but to be realistic, Diabetes in cats is fatal — you may have weeks or years, depending on how well your cat’s blood levels regulate. Now is the time for the two of you to come to an agreement about what constitutes a quality-of-life threshold. Only you and your cat can decide when that is for the two of you. But it is a conversation you should start, now,while you can still enjoy yourselves together as you have it.

With more and more of us owning pets it has become increasingly important for us to clean up effectively after we have let out beloved pets roam all round the house and lay about on our carpets and furniture. This means more work for the person clearing the house as cleaning up all the hairs and possible pet mites is no small task. What is needed is a pet specific cleaner and with so many different cleaners on the market today we need to find out what is the best vacuum for pet hair.

There are so many cleaners on the market today and manufactueres have listened to their customers and now provide a whole host of attachments and even ones specific to cleaning pet hair off of carpets and furniture.

The main rule of thumb is that upright cleaners tend to be a lot more effective than cylinders at cleaning pet hair. They have motorised brush heads that are better at prising fur away from carpet fibres. Cylinders don’t usually have motorised heads but some models have turbobrushes or electrobrushes, which are designed specifically for this task.

So which model vacuum cleaners should you be looking at?

Dyson DC14 & DC15 Animal - Has a mini turbine head for picking up pet hair

DCO8 Telescope Wrap Animal - Has a mini turbine head for picking up pet hair

Eureka Boss 4D - Has a turbo brush attachment for cleaning pet hairs

Roomba Discovery - Deep clean mode does all the hard work for you

Miele TT5000 Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner, Cat & Dog

All of the above model vacuum cleaners have had very good customer reviews and should make your short list. However the two cleaners that keeps coming up at the top of reviews is the Miele Cat & Dog and the Dyson Animal options on thri DC14, DC15 & DC08 models.

Looks like both Dyson and Miele have really listened to their customers and come up with cleaners whose main purpose is to help clean stubborn pet hairs while at the same time offering a great all round vaccum cleaner.

The Miele has not one but ‘two’ turbo brushes which makes the job of pet hair removal a simple task while the Dyson Animals have a mini turbine head that cleans pet hair and dirt from confined spaces such as upholstery, stairs and car.

Whatever cleaner you decide upon make sure and do your homework and find reviews of all the cleaners on your list. We have narrowed down your search to 2 great cleaners so make sure and check these out first.