Pets Blog

Archive for the ‘Pet Tips’ Category

Dogs are human’s best friends – except when the tired, busy human is walking dogs, opening doors for them… If you have one small lap dog, or a full-scale dog breeding kennel, you know the feeling. No matter the size of your canine community, you implement a few simple measures to make your home or facility canine compatible. Begin with the most basic necessities and how to meet them with little or no effort.

Automatic watering simplifies your life, and prevents hazardous dehydration. Inside you can use a large dish with attached reservoir. For outdoors, there are a number of auto-filling styles if there is a faucet in the dog kennel. If you keep food constantly available, an automatic dog feeder will save you time and keep Fido well fed. If you feed a specific amount, set a schedule and stick to it. This is easier for your routine, and better for the doggie-digestion.

If you have to walk your dog(s) every time they’ve got to take care of business, you definitely need a dog kennel. They can enjoy fresh air and do their thing while you go on about your business. The simplest arrangement is a through-the-wall dog doors, leading directly to the dog kennel. This saves you the time and effort of walking, and of opening doors frequently. It saves your dog the discomfort of having to wait – and the chance of an accident.

Commercial kennels and boarding facilities should avoid carpet in areas frequented by dogs, due to sanitation and fleas. In your home, you might choose to let the dog in carpeted rooms. However, for ease of cleaning, keep indoor dishes and dog beds off the carpet. If there isn’t an appropriate vinyl or tile floor, use a washable mat under the dishes and beds. No matter what the flooring, you can easily prevent tracking of mud. Place large patio rugs in the dog kennel outside the dog door, and washable indoor mats just inside the dog door. A few easy steps can make you, and your best friends very happy!

A common reason for keeping a bird as a pet is to try and teach it to talk. Some types of bird are better than others, with the mynah bird and the African Grey parrot high up the list, but a lot of birds will learn to talk if trained patiently, especially if from young. You could take the easy route and buy one that already talks but then it may say things you are not especially fond of and in some cases may not pick up new words as readily, at least for a while, from you as his new teacher.

The best way to teach a bird to talk is to work directly with him. Start with simple words or phrases, and from as young an age as possible. Always use the same, calm tone of voice and repeat the word every time you deal with him. Birds seem to react well to words with the letter R in them, e.g. pretty bird. A higher tone than normal helps avoid bass tones in your voice, which some birds seem not to learn so easily from.

You may find after a short time that the bird is sitting seemingly making noises under his breath and this is usually a sign that he is practising the new sounds prior to trying them out loud. That’s a good sign; a bad practice is to swear or show too much emotion in your voice as the bird will inevitably pick up on it and you will find he suddenly starts repeating words you didn’t want him to. Should this be the case, to dissuade him ignore him completely and only praise him or give him lots of attention when he uses the words you prefer. This actually works in many cases.

If the bird doesn’t take to speaking, whistling is another alternative, from which the bird will soon pick up whole songs or melodies.

Rats make interesting pets. They are intelligent, learning how to solve puzzles based on food and this can be used to train them to show their dexterity and versatility in performing a variety of tasks.

They are very sociable and like to interact with their owners, enjoying being held if used to it from being young and enjoy being played with. Rats are also very sociable with each other and it is common for more than one to be kept in the same cage as pets.

Although white rats are the most popular as pets, as they have gained in popularity a wide variety of colours have become available and so classification systems have been developed to establish quality breeding standards.

Rat food

Rats will eat almost anything but care should be taken to give them a balanced diet to keep them healthy. They love fruit and vegetables (potatoes in any form are a favourite) but this should be balanced with a good amount of rat food. The kibble type of rat food, similar to dry dog food is especially useful as often it is hard which both helps check the continuous growth of the rat’s teeth as well as indulging one of their favourite activities, chewing.

Vitamin supplements are also useful to help maintain your rat’s health. These are often supplied in a liquid form so that they can be added to your pet’s drinking water.

Rat health

Domesticated rats are usually good at keeping clean and if they are provided with a clean environment, good diet and maintained at a reasonably stable temperature, they will thrive.

The rat’s coat provides the best guide to its health. It should be sleek and shiny. As the owner, it is worth keeping a daily watch on your pet’s condition. Excessive scratching or the appearance of bald patches or scabs, listlessness and dull eyes, tilting of the head to one side, mucous or excessive sneezing are some indications of possible illness. If you lack experience with rats, a trip to the vet will be required.

Problems with the rat’s fur are often mites or lice which can be treated. An allergy can also be the cause, which again can be diagnosed and treated. Infections of various types are also fairly easily treated if diagnosed early enough. Hence the need to observe them regularly.

Generally though, rats make a healthy, active and enjoyable pet.

The ingredients in your dog or cat food, be it packed, raw or organic, may shock you. What is even more surprising is that even the premium pet food brands don’t contain the right nutrients that will sustain your beloved pet’s health.

And what are some of these important components? For both cats and dogs, a nutritious pet diet must have vegetables and fruits. These organic foods contain antioxidants, as well as fiber, vitamins, and phytonutrients. Your pet’s food should also have direct-fed microbials which are commonly found in yogurt. Omega-3 fatty acids must be added in your list for they can keep pet’s coat shiny.

Don’t feed your dog with foods like corn, soy, or wheat, especially in large amount. Such foods are not sufficient sources of protein and your pet will get a hard time digesting them, resulting to colitis and urinary tract infections. As much as possible, purchase a nutritious pet food that has grain and uses ingredients like brown rice, oats, barley, or other easy-to-digest components.

Whenever you buy a pet food in the supermarket, make sure that it contains the “complete and balanced” label. These dog foods have met the standards established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).You can visit www.fda.gov to know more tips on selecting nutritious pet food

Small snakes are relatively easy to care for, making them low-maintenance pets. Milk snakes, as an example, are brightly-coloured because they have the same colours as larger, more dangerous snakes to protect themselves in the wild, so the colours are attractive as a pet snake.

Snakes use their tongue to sense what is around them, so that the flicking of the tongue in and out of their mouths is completely normal and not a reason for alarm.  Snakes have poor eyesight and poor if any hearing so the tongue-flicking is a vital activity.

If handling the snake, support the snake along the length of its body and not by its neck or tail to avoid breaking bones and causing serious damage. Many snakes, especially the smaller pet varieties, can be conditioned over time to handling by feeding them after handling. Snake handling should only be done rarely as a general practice as it can damage the snake skin.

Snake food varies by type from earthworms for many of the smaller types, through to small rodents and lizards for the larger types. The prey can be live or recently-killed and can be kept frozen, though fresh prey is advisable. Snakes usually only need to be fed once per week, but this should be checked when acquiring a new snake as there are variations.

Snakes are usually best kept in tanks often known as terrariums, with tree bark on the floor and a secure lid, often with lighting though heat is best administered through a heater panel under the floor of the terrarium so that the snake can lie in a warm or cooler area when required. When feeding the snake, it is a good idea to put it on paper so that none of the surrounding material is digested as well, which could cause problems.

Snakes slough, or shed their skin, less frequently as they grow older. Humid surroundings are especially advisable during these periods to help the skin shed.

As a general rule, though there are exceptions, keep snakes separate. They live solitary lives in the wild except for mating; left together for any length of time one may well be eaten by the other!

One of the behavior problems in parrots is when they bite or attack when you come near to their cage. this is a sign that you need to do something before the situation gets out of hand. Every parrot behavior problem can be fixed with the right methods.

A parrot with behavior problems could mean a lot of things. one is that you could be the one causing the bird to behave in the way it is behaving. A screaming parrot could be telling you that you have not been giving it the required attention and it needs more attention from you. Perhaps you have never thought about this – parrots love to socialize and feel safe in every home they are kept as pets. They love attention and want everyone to give them just that.

A good way to tackle a parrot’s behavior problem is training. Create time to be with your bird for training. The best time for this is before breakfast and dinner. make these training sessions regular. After some time you will discover that the bad behaviors will be eliminated.

Your attitude towards your parrot is important. how do you react when you bird offends you? Do you shout back? Do you show anger? Parrots are intelligent birds and study every move of humans. If you get angry and show anger towards your parrot, the bird will always scream and bite to show that it does not want to be in a hostile environment. Even when you are offended, try to put up smiles and leave the cage. After some time come back later and try to play with your bird and you will discover that there will be a change of behavior. A parrot needs to trust you and that trust will not come overnight. It takes time and before the time comes, you should expect all kinds of behaviors. With the right attitude from your part, things will be good at the end.

The best ways to handle parrot behavior problems are:

1. Hand treats – Move closer to the cage and offer a treat. The bird will read this gesture as acceptance and will regard the environment as friendly. This will then make the bird to respond in like manner.

2. Step up training – Move close to your bird cage and offer your hand for the bird to step upon. Invite her with the word “STEP UP” for the bird to step on your hand, possibly your finger depending on the size. Do this action repeatedly as you touch the bird’s abdomen until there is a response.

3. Talking – Start teaching your bird simple words backed with actions. Parrots are very intelligent and they learn fast. They learn every vocabulary and say the words at the right moment. Talking to your parrot creates a strong bond.

Eliminating a parrot’s behavior problem through training may not yield the desired results immediately but you need to persist. Don’t give up until you see results.