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Archive for April 13th, 2010

Relief from heat does not come easily specially for our furry friend. They do not have sweat glands so they cannot sweat to cool off. Most dogs will just simply give up the comfort of their bed and stretch out in the bare floor to cool off. Panting also help to cool them off but this is not sufficient. Dogs with thick, double-coats are more susceptible to heat stroke. Dogs can experience some serious discomfort during summer and hot months. A cooling pet bed is the ideal solution to this. Canine cooler bed can provide an ongoing therapy for your furry friend. It can be very helpful and bring much relief, especially if your dog suffers from bad joints, hips or one of many skin conditions affecting pets from all walks of life. A cooling pet bed doesn’t have to be expensive either, and can be used all year around, especially in those hot summer months.

Some dog have thicker fur than others, which makes it hard to keep cool. Unfortunately this can be the cause of your pet’s lack of energy, skin irritations, breathing difficulties and a variety of other concerns. Although they can lie down on the bare floor to cool off, this can bring other medical problems to them such as arthritis especially for aging dogs. Sleeping on the cold hard floor can cause chronic pain and additional discomfort.

There are two common types of dog beds, the cooling water bed and the cooling pads. Cooling water beds are filled with water provide a great relief during summer. Cooling pads are more like a thick mat that a fluffy mattress type of bed. The cooling pads are designed in such a way that they do not absorb heat thereby making the bed hot, but repel the heat so that your pet can always stay cool. Some of these pads are also the thermo-regulating kind, which means that they can be used as cooling dog beds in the summer, as well as heated dog beds come winter time. Make sure that the bed you get for your dog is made of high-quality and non-toxic materials.

The simple answer to the question can I give my dog heartworm meds without checking is you should not do this even if you can get the meds online without a prescription.  Heartworm medications can produce harsh side effects. But the good news is that you can use alternative prevention methods without having to obtain a vet prescription. 

You are smart enough to know that vet bills are getting more expensive every year and just like in humans many alternative methods and home remedies are being used to prevent and treat a variety of illnesses and ailments. Did you know that garlic is being used to help prevent heartworms? Imagine being able to safely and effectively prevent heartworms and save some money in the process.

First let’s look at a few facts.

WHAT CAUSES HEARTWORMS IN OUR PETS

Heartworms are caused in our pets when our pets are bitten by mosquitoes which have become infected with heartworms from biting other infected animals.  A number of animals can be host to heartworms. They include dogs, cats, wolves, coyotes, foxes, ferrets, sea lions and even humans.  When the infected mosquito bites our pets the mosquito deposits larvae into the skin of our pets. The larvae are from the parasitic roundworm known as dirofilaria immitis. The larvae migrate to the heart and within 6 months they hatch or transform into worms that look like pieces of thread. The heartworms can be found in the chambers of the heart and in the two main arteries leading to the heart (Pulmonary artery and vena cava). From there they move to other parts of the body including the lungs and liver.

Now let’s understand that many medications use insecticides to kill off the larvae that already in our dog’s bloodstreams. These medications can have side effects so let’s look at those for a moment.

SIDE EFFECTS FROM HEARTWORM PREVENTATIVE MEDICATIONS

Side effects from use of heartworm preventative medications include diarrhea, convulsions, vomiting and general tiredness or weakness. Your pet’s body recognizes the chemicals in the heartworm pills as poison and uses their immune systems to try and fight off what they see as foreign bodies. Therefore, when on these medications your pets will have weakened immune systems which allow your pet to get sick easier. Therefore, you should have your answer to the question of can I give my dog heartworm meds without checking.

The use of garlic is because when our pets consume garlic they put off a pungent odor on their skin that insects do not like. The garlic is being used to avoid the mosquito bite from an infected mosquito which is the culprit in heartworms for our dogs.

Now we get to the alternatives.

ALTERNATIVE PREVENTION FOR HEARTWORMS

Because many veterinarians now recognize that long term use of preventative medications can cause side effects in our pets many people are turning to alternative methods to prevent heartworms. The methods will help overall but you should discuss using them with your vet.

• Provide a healthy diet. Many people are now avoiding commercial pet food and feeding their pets natural vegetables, fruits, and raw meat
• Boost your pet’s immune system
• Strengthen your pet’s heart and circulatory system
• In areas where heartworms are prevalent think about regular de-worming
• Black walnut extract and garlic are also being used as preventatives
• Prevention is much cheaper than treatment at the vet’s office

Natural home remedies are safe, easy to use and cost a lot less money than conventional medicines. Many of these will be in your home already. Click on the links below and find out the secrets you need to treat your pet and save money.

Parakeets are small, vibrant and lively birds that can be a wonderful addition to your family. While some parakeets learn to talk without coaching or training, some will require encouragement to get their beaks speaking. Some parakeets only start talking when their owners let them hear specific phrases, words and sounds. If you successfully train a parakeet to talk, you and your family will love your pet even more.

A nourished and well cared pet will more likely demonstrate an interest in repeating sounds as well as talking. A parakeet that is watered, well-fed, and has a mirror and other plaything in his cage is the best aspirant for speech training. This is for the reason that loved pets will want to gain knowledge on how they can communicate effectively with their master and provider.

It’s important to note that the male parakeets are distinguished as good talkers. So if you want to have an outspoken pet, it’s best to adopt a male parakeet. This doesn’t mean that female parakeets just make sounds and do not talk, but in general the female birds are slower in adapting new words and training a female bird might not give you the results you are looking for.

Remember, even if you choose to train a parakeet that is a male, it doesn’t give you a guarantee that it will talk. Some parakeets only become skillful in whistling, but talking is not a talent every bird of this kind desires to learn. You should be patient enough to see results. Some breeds of parakeets that are more likely to utter words are the Alexandrine, Australian, English, Plum-head and Ring-necked parakeets. They are also known for having the ability to distinguish individual objects and even people.

Parakeets find it easier to repeat or reiterate words exhibiting hard syllables. You should examine what words are more difficult to speak than others. One of the common phrases parakeets speak is “pretty birdie”. This specific phrase encloses hard syllables that make it effortless for talking birds like parakeets to repeat or mimic. You should think of words and phrases containing hard syllables and say them to your bird frequently.

Birds respond well with a dark surrounding. So when you start your training session, you should darken the room to get your parakeet’s full attention. Begin saying a phrase or word and repeat it several times. Teach your bird three times a day for about fifteen minutes each. Don’t get disappointed if your bird didn’t talk immediately. Put in mind that most birds take several days or even weeks before it speak the phrase or word you’re teaching.

If you go to work during weekdays, consider making speech training sessions on a recorded tape and leave it to someone who stays in your house. This will not only save you time and effort but the training will be more consistent with this strategy.

If you follow these steps to train a parakeet, your pet will start repeating sounds and words in no time. This will also make your pet the center of attention in your home, making you the proudest mentor ever.