Recent observations by Veterinarians show that the average lifespan of their patients is getting longer. We know that humans are living longer then they ever have. With healthier living options and medical science we are now seeing many people become centenarians. Just the same is applying to your pets. Pets now have more medical options, they are less likely to just be left loose to run the streets and owners have become more aware of how to give their pets a healthier life.

Now more dogs are living up to 15 and 16 years old who in the past would not have made it nearly that far. The smaller breeds tend to have a bit longer life span then the larger breeds while the giant breeds have the shortest and the toy breeds the longest. The most common killer of dogs is cancer, and some if detected earlier enough can even be cured.

Even the cats are extending their 9 lives to 20 years or even more with Siamese and Abyssinians living the longest. The most common killer of cats is liver or kidney failure in their older years.

Perhaps there is some parallel in that pets and humans both are living longer. Maybe it’s the love and comfort of their pets that keep the elderly aging and the pets still around because of the bond they share together.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Sometimes travelling with your pet can leave you in a quandary because you just don’t know where to stay. Some hotels only take certain size pets while others won’t let you have any, or charge an arm and a leg extra to let them stay in the room with you.

One hotel is an exception to both those. At Motel 6, they let you have your pets with you and actually welcome you to bring them along. There is no additional charge for your pets; however there are few rules to follow.

If you must leave your pet alone in the room it must be crated. Also, housekeeping will not service a room if you pet is in there alone.

When walking your pet, you must clean up after it.

Any pet that is considered to be a risk will not be allowed. That is for the safety of staff, guests and other pets.

You must declare ALL pets upon check in. Only a certain amount per room is allowed.

Pets must be on a leash and under control anytime you are out of your room

These all seem like pretty reasonable requests to me in exchange for letting you bring you pet with you.

Also, they now have a special discounted rate. If you want to book ahead, use this link and save 10% off your booking with code CP546994.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

It’s not always possible to take you pet on vacation with you; in fact, sometimes it is nice to have a little vacation away from them, even though we love them dearly. But, it’s best not to upset their routine too much when you can’t take them. Here are some tips to help make your vacation a little easier on your pets.

From the time they are young, let them know that you will be returning home and don’t make a big deal out of leaving. A little thing like a smile, pat on the head and “guard the house” or a little catch phrase they are use to will make them feel at ease.

Be sure they have plenty of food and water for the time that you are going to be gone. If you have someone coming in to care them, make sure they know exactly how much food and what food which pet eats.

Make sure the sitter has a phone number to reach you and your veterinarian and your local emergency vet clinic just in case there should be a major problem. Leave a note with them that says you will accept all financial responsibility if they have to rush them into the vets or prearrange it with the vet.

Make sure they have a clean place to potty, enough litter boxes or familiar area that they should use.

Leave them a few toys to play with, even leaving the radio on for them to keep them company will make their time alone more enjoyable and seem more normal to them then having dead silence.

Be sure they are familiar with the sitter and there is no chance they won’t keep the sitter from entering the house or their housing area. Do several trial runs before leaving them alone with a pet sitter for an extended period of time.

Most of all do not make a big deal of it and show them how bad you feel. They will pick up on that and it can create more anxiety for your pet.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Some people really can’t explain where they came up with their pets name or why.  Maybe the pets appearance was the reason, where they found it or bought it, or maybe they just like that name. Some people like to just get really creative. However, more and more pet owners are giving their pets human names. The names like Fido and Lassie are no longer popular, but Max, Buddy and Lucy top the lists of dog and cats names.

Perhaps the thought behind the human names is that people are associating their pets with being more of a family member then how it use to be.
According to Petfinder.com, the 10 top dog names are:

1. Buddy (805)
2. Max (620)
3. Daisy (588)
4. Jack (520)
5. Lucy (496)
6. Molly (476)
7. Charlie (431)
8. Sadie (415)
9. Jake (407)

Accordingly, the top 10 cats names are:

1. Lucy (354)
2. Molly (328)
3. Oreo (320)
4. Kittens (318)
5. Smokey (315)
6. Princess (312)
7. Shadow (310)
8. Tigger (310)
9. Angel (309)
10. Missy (301)

However, the top 10 most unusual names are:

1. Woe Izmee
2. Gwyneth Poultry (a duck)
3. SoSueMe
4. 54cent Swee’T
5. Iamaredneckwoman
6. Angry Chef Soup
7. Ms. Cornflake Especially
8. Bon Jo Flea
9. McLovin
10. Joe the Plumber

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

It’s getting to be that time of year again when we are preparing for Football season. Flags are being hung outside the house, stickers and license plates and magnets are being put on the cars and menu planning for kickoff is starting. Lets not forget our four legged friends this year when getting ready.

There are a lot of merchants out there that have some great NFL pet gear, but one that I like best is Dicks Sporting Goods. Not only do they have some awesome NFL pet jerseys, but they also have NFL collars and matching leads to go with them. They even have an NFL pet mat to keep your pets food and water area clean.

If you aren’t so much in to NFL, but you’re still a sports fan and MLB, NASCAR, NHL or NBA are more your style, they also have quite a variety of fan items for your pets too. Whose dog wouldn’t look awesome in a St Louis Cardinals bandana and matching collar, or a pink Dale Earnhardt Jr collar for the lady dogs.

So while you are gearing up for your favorite sport, be sure to gear up your pet too. Check out the sports pet gear at Dicks Sporting Goods and get your dog in on the action.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Today on the news was a very sad story about a K-9 police dog which died in the line of duty while chasing a suspect. The high heat index across the country is a huge concern for all pet owners for both indoor and outdoor pets, so I wanted to remind everyone about the extreme heat the country is experiencing and precautions that need to be taken with your pets.

For outside pets, make sure they always have a shady area. Not just an area where when the sun is at certain point they will have some shade. It has to be a consistently shady area. Also, make sure they always have plenty of cool water. Loading their bowls up with ice cubes is a good way to ensure that the water will stay cool. Make sure that their food and water bowls are also in a shaded area and not crawling with ants. Pets can become dehydrated very easily. For indoor pets, make sure they too also have access to plenty of water. Just because they are inside does not mean that they can’t dehydrate from going in and out to potty.

Walking your dog is good exercise, but again, in the summer, precautions need to be taken. First off, is the asphalt or concrete too hot on your pet’s feet? They can burn the pads. Also, you might want to think about lessening the walk time so your pet doesn’t get overheated, and slow down the pace in hot weather. Since your pet is closer to the hot ground, they do heat up quicker than you do.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Several animal rescue  groups will remain in Haiti to continue the Haiti an governments efforts to spay and neuter pets and vaccinate them. Prior to the earthquake, the Haitian government had trained more then 80 veterinarians and  vaccinated over 100,000 dogs and cats in a large scale vaccination and pet population program.

The lives of many animals have been lost and confused, homeless and starving animals are now wandering the streets of Haiti.

The Christian Veterinary Mission has been in Haiti for 30 years, and there were actually two vets on staff when the earthquake hit. They immediately began to help families and their pets. The HSUS has been monitoring the situation along with the AVMA to see where they need to go to be most effective.

Currently, the Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti is on ground in Haiti to help the animals as well as raising money for them.  Organizations that form this group are WSPA,  IFAW, AHA, ASPCA, Best Friends and United Animal Nations.

According to Best Friends website, at this time ARCH is no longer asking for donations to help the animals stating that they have effectively raised enough funds through peoples donations to contain the animal situation. They are gathering up the animals, vaccinating, applying flea control and restoring health to the animal victims.  They are currently seeing between 25 and 50 animals a day.

Scheduled to arrive  today  in the Dominican Republic is a mobile animal unit  which will then go on to Haiti  and should arrive in several days.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Many times the medicine in your home can be used for pets, however, its best to always check with your veterinarian first. Its also imperative that you use the correct dosage for you pets. I’ve made a list of safe medicines, dosage and what they are for. Remember though, if your pets symptoms persist, you will need to take them to veterinarian. 

Benadryl – Itching, scratching or allergy symptoms

Dogs- ½ to 1 mg per lb, max 2 mg per lb every 8 hrs

Cats – ½ mg per lb every 8 hrs

Buffered Aspirin (Ascriptin) – Pain relief, anti inflammatory

Dogs – 5 mg per lb every 8 hrs

Cats – do not use

Dramamine – For motion sickness

Dogs – 12.5 to 50 mg every 8 hrs

Cats – 12.5 mg every 8 hrs

Hydrogen Peroxide – Use 3% to induce vomiting

Dog and Cats – Use 10ml by mouth, repeat in 15 minutes if no vomiting

Imodium AD – For Diarrhea

Dogs – 1 ml per lb (liquid) or 1 mg per 20 lb of tablet

Cats – do not use

Kaopectate – For Diarrhea

Dogs and Cats – 1ml per lb every 2 hrs

Mineral Oil – For Constipation

Dogs – Up to 4TBS daily

Cats – Up to 2 TBS daily

Canned Pumpkin – For Constipation

Dogs – 2-3 tsp every 8 to 12 hrs

Cats – 1 -2 tsp every 8 to 12 hrs

Pepto Bismol – Gas, Diarrhea

Dogs – 1 tsp per 5 lb every 6 hrs

Cats – do not use

Robitussin DM – Coughing, Hacking

Dogs – 1 tsp per 20lbs every 8 to 10 hrs

Cats, do not use

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Any animal lover out there can agree that pet over population is a problem. We can all agree it starts with spaying or neutering your pet. We know that goes along with responsible pet ownership. But, there are times when a pet just can’t be kept any longer. Personally, I’d eat one meal a day to make sure my animals had one too, but that’s just me. Everyone isn’t that way. Then there’s illness that strikes a family, or death or this economy which can sometimes leave the family with no choice as to whether they feed their children or their pets. I get that. What I don’t get is an SPCA that lies to you about killing animals.

In the Tampa Bay paper online today, I read an extremely disturbing article about the Tampa Bay SPCA passing themselves off as a no kill when in reality, they are killing baby kittens, dogs and adult cats at a higher rate then they are adopting them out. Their kennels are not filled, some of their cat cages are empty and volunteers are being asked to sign a confidentiality statement so that they can’t relay to anyone what they see going on there.

My guess is that the 3 million they take in every year from unsuspecting donors would not nearly be that much if they showed their real statistics of euthanasia. Sure, everyone that donates to a shelter doesn’t do so because its a no kill, but, I would suspect that the majority of their donors have also been misled, just like the public and those dropping off pets to be adopted out.

Now, you say, what kind of person drops off pets and should they even have a say if they drop them off. Yes, while I don’t always understand their reason for the abandonment of a pet you’ve had since it was a baby, I certainly can respect the fact that they are attempting to find it a home instead of just leaving it behind in an abandoned apartment or house or letting it loose on the streets like so many others are doing. They are doing so under the assumption that their pet will be given the chance to find another home.

Tampa Bay SPCA says they check the animals for health problems, aggressiveness or cats that won’t use litter boxes. These animals are euthanized. So, you are telling me that someone won’t take a chance on a dog that has a little medical problem or a cat that maybe doesn’t like the litter the SPCA uses? Obviously.

How many other "no kill" rescues are using this same facade to hide behind? It’s disturbing to me to know it’s going on in my hometown or anywhere for that matter.

If these shelters and rescues put as much effort into adopting out the animals as they do in hiding the truth of all the euthanasia, they would have a much higher adoption rate and much lower euthanasia rate. But, from what I’ve seen in the past,  for the most part, that’s not their goal. Their goal is to just run a shelter, dupe the public and hope that a few animals are adopted to at least show their feeble attempts at being a rescue shelter.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

After years of being the only baby in the house, your pet is not going to be the only baby anymore. Was your first reaction to perhaps call the local shelter or find another home for your pet? If so, that isn’t necessary. Below is a list of tips for introducing the newest baby in your family to the one you already have, the one that sheds his hair, drinks out of the toilet, and races around the living room looking at you when he wants to go out to potty. The first thing I want to stress is obedience. If you have not already completed an obedience class with your pet, now is the time. It will be good exercise for you both as well as a great prelude to bringing home baby. With obedience training, your dog knows just what you expect of him.

Lets start with before baby is born

Set up the playpen, toys, crib etc. Let your pet get used to these items. That way, you aren’t introducing too much new stuff at one time. Let him smell the items.

Play baby crying noises, or invest in a baby doll that cries. Let him get familiar with that sound (and you, too).

Sprinkle baby powder around; the scent will become familiar also.

Have your friends and neighbors and relatives expose their baby to your pet so he can get used to those little people.

If your pet is a cat, you can purchase a mesh cover for the crib incase you plan on leaving the nursery door open so that the cat cannot jump into the crib on the baby. For that matter, it will keep those small bouncing dogs out of the inside of the crib also. If the nursery is going to be a pet free zone, close the door and whenever you do open it, make sure your pet understands not to enter. That way, he won’t associate not entering the room with the baby.

After the baby is born

Before bringing home baby, take home a blanket from the hospital with baby smells on it so your pet can familiarize himself with those smells and not be so curious.

When mom or dad walks through the door with baby, greet your pet, call his name, and let the introductions begin. Reward Fido for his good behavior with baby.

When singing songs to the baby, incorporate your pets name into the songs also.

Keep your pets routine as close as possible to the way it was before baby.

Play with your pet not only while baby is sleeping, but while baby is awake also. Reward your pet when it plays well with the baby.

.

Including your pet in the joy of having a new baby is the key. Do not make him feel like he is an outsider now. Reward, reward, reward.

Following these few simple lessons can make the difference between a smooth transition for your household or an upset one.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.