Leashes to Litterboxes

Do you live in Clifton?  Do you have a dog that continually barks when you’re not home?  Well beware the city is planning on fines of up to $250 if your dog barks for more than 30 minutes 2 days in a row. 

So what can you do about your barking canine?  Well here are a number of training tips found on these websites:

Barking Mad                    AboutDogs                    Purina

Placerville Vet                    ASPCA                        PerfectPaws

SSPCA                           DogGroups

I personally find that the citronella collars work great but on the first few days expect to refill the collar a few times and to have the aromatherapy of citronella wafting through your house.

Tags: dog, barking, behaviour

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I just read about this on Steve’s blog, Doggie News.  Essentially you can send a picture of your pet or whatever and Kleenex will personalize your kleenex box.  It’s not available in Canada yet but soon.

Tags: pet, supplies

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I just read this from Associated Press…….

An outbreak of contagious diseases at a shelter where officials admit they kept animals for too long without destroying them has forced the killing of about 1,000 dogs and cats, officials said.

Visiting inspectors from The Humane Society of the United States discovered the outbreak of the diseases — distemper and Parvovirus in dogs and panleukopenia in cats — Lied Animal Shelter spokesman Mark Fierro said.

The mass culling, which began Feb. 9, is believed to be the largest in the city’s history and has prompted shelter officials to change their methods of caring for animals.

I talked about parvovirus in an earlier post……it is a deadly disease.  I hope that the shelter does change its vaccination protocol and hopefully this mass cull deals with the problems at the shelter and that no more lives are lost needlessly.

Tags: parvovirus, animal shelter, dog, cat, disease

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As I was flipping the channels last night I watched a bit of Wife Swap.  What does this have to do with a pet blog?  Well one of the families on the show ate a raw food diet, including meats, and I thought I would jot down a few things about the diet.

The most popular raw food diet for pets is called the BARF diet (biologically appropriate raw food).  Now when I was first introduced to this diet as an animal health technologist I was against the diet.  I mean why would anyone think that feeding a raw food diet would be appropriate.  There are so many commercial diets available that are nutritionally complete and who would want the risk of salmonella or campylobacter problems.  Then, working at a skin specialist veterinary clinic, I saw the benefits.  We had a malamute that was allergic to almost anything under the sun (including the sun) and once the owners put him on a homemade raw diet the dogs coat improved immensley and his energy level tripled. So I think there is a place in the pet nutrition area for a raw diet.

I have included a list of sites that talk about this diet:

BARFWorld the official BARF diet site.  It talks about the diet, some pros and cons (take it all in with a grain of salt please)

BARFpictorial Aunt Jeni talks about some of the recipes she uses to feed her dobermans.

Canismajor a post about raw food.

Seefido.com a summary of the BARF Diet.

Ability.org a site with links for recipes.

AVMA and their stance on the raw diet.

A word of caution:

Please ensure that you clean your prep area, food dishes and wash your hands!!!

Tags: dog, cat, raw diet, BARF diet

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I found a great article on choosing whether your family would benefit from a puppy or older dog.  Meg Charendoff talks about the pros and cons of each which can make your decision a little easier.

If you are looking for a purebred dog there are some really cool sites that help you make the right choice when looking for the right dog.  I really liked the following sites: Selectapet, Purina, Petplanet UK, Peteducation.

Tags: dog, breeds

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Well it’s about time someone has realized that a labrador has different nutritional requirements than a yorkshire terrier.  Eukanuba has launched its breed specific dog food targetting 5 out of the 7 most popular breeds in the US.

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I found a great post on how to travel with your pet on an airplane. How To Do Things has some perfect tips on how to make your pet a little more comfy on their flight.  The most important thing to remember is to check with the airline and make sure that your pet is healthy enough to fly.  And remember that the cargo areas are not as warm and as well pressurized as the cabin so unless your pet is an absolute nut then I would not recommend any type of sedatives as they tend to lower body temp.

Tags: travel, pet, dog, cat

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As a follow up to my previous post…..Winterize Your Pet….I thought I would talk specifically about our furry friend’s feet. Winter can be brutal on those little tootsies especially if you live in an area that uses salt and sand to get rid of ice.  After each walk with your dog you should immediately remove any snow and salt.  Flushing with a lot of warm water and then blow drying the hair on a low heat will help to prevent skin irritation from the salt or other chemicals.  If you have a long haired dog another thing you may want to do is trim the hair around the toes and pads.  Snow will tend to ball up the hair and can be irritating or will keep the feet moist for a long time.  Moisture and dark areas can set up for some nasty skin infections. 

Another thing to watch out for is frostbite.  Frostbitten skin is a red or gray color and the skin could actually slough off.  Apply moist, warm towels to the paws to thaw out the skin slowly until the skin appears flush.  Contact your veterinarian as soon as possible for any further care.

Tags: dog, care, feet, pet

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Was passed along this blog that had a crafty solution to making an inexpensive pet bed.  It does look comfy.

Check it out on Crafty Daisies.

Tags: dog, cat, pet, bed

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As a follow up to my earlier post, Pet Cloning Company Closes Its Doors, I found another article on pet cloning.  A South Korean scientist has cloned 3 female afghans since June of last year.  Lee Byeong-chun of Seoul National University was a former member of a research team that cloned the first male dog a year earlier.  He and the rest of the team are on trial on charges of misappropriating research funds. 

At a University in Texas a cloned cat had a litter of 3 kittens in September of 2006. 

This leads to the question of how far are people willing to go?  Would you consider cloning your pet? 

Tags: pets, cat, dog, cloning

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