Cattle

Archive for August, 2010

If you are planning on owning a baby ferret, there are some facts that you might like to know.

Female ferrets (or Jills as they are known) have, on average, around 6 – 10 baby ferrets in each litter. A baby ferret is known as a ‘kit’. They are born blind and their eyes only start to open at about six weeks old.

A kit should not be separated from its mother until it is at least 10 weeks old. Parting a kit from its mother before this time is not recommended as in the first few weeks of its life, the kit needs to bond with its mother and is also dependent on her for its food.

Depending on where you bought your young ferret will determine whether or not you need to arrange vaccinations. Typically, an adopted ferret will have had his initial vaccinations already as these can be administered at 9 weeks. Ferrets are normally vaccinated against canine distemper.

A kit needs the right kind of diet to give it the best start in life. Baby ferrets require a high protein diet, so choose a specially formulated ferret food. Avoid giving your kit any cat food as this won’t have the right amount of protein. Aim for a food that has at least 35% protein and 20% fat. Provide fresh water for your kits at all times.

Switching a ferret’s diet quickly can cause problems, so find out what your young ferret was eating before you brought him home and wean him off that and onto what you plan to feed him with.

You can train your new ferret to use a litter tray. It’s a good idea to find out what litter he has been using at the pet store, the breeders or the shelter and use that to start with so that he feels familiar with it. Some litters are dangerous for ferrets, so avoid any of the clumping, silica based ones. Wood shavings are not recommended either. The best type to go for is compressed newspaper pellets or wood pellets. Praise your ferret for using his litter tray and reinforce the desired behaviour. It’s a good idea to keep your ferret’s toilet area well away from the area in which he sleeps.

Ferrets emit a natural odour that’s quite unpleasant. You can help to reduce the intensity of the odour by having your ferret neutered and de-scented.  A young kit may smell more pungent on his first day at home with you for a number of reasons. Firstly, baby ferrets simply have a strong odour. Also, as they get excited the smell can become more intense. If you have had your ferret de-scented and neutered or spayed, the smell will lessen as the ferret gets older.

Ferrets love to play, so make sure you spend some time each day having fun with your new family member. Ensure your home is ferret friendly by hiding any exposed wires (he’ll want to chew them!) and putting away anything your young kit may swallow.

Did you know that cancer is the leading cause of death in American dogs; 1 in 4 dogs die of cancer here in the United States. News of your dog’s cancer diagnosis can be as devastating as any other family member’s diagnosis.  First, of course, is the thought of potentially losing your loved one.  Next, you worry about the efficacy – and expense – of the treatment options available.  The good news is that veterinary medicine continues to research canine cancers, both from a treatment and prevention standpoint and great strides are being made on both fronts.  Of course, these treatments (which often involve chemotherapy and radiation) can be costly, which is why a good veterinary pet insurance policy that covers cancer treatments is a wise investment.

One of the most common cancers in American dogs is canine lymphoma (lymphosarcoma.) Fortunately, it is a very treatable canine cancer; roughly 50% of dogs with lymphoma can be put into remission.

Cancer is an immune dysfunction disease, regardless of the species. The lymph system circulates the white blood cells and most importantly, lymphocytes, which are specialized cells involved in immune function found throughout the body. In normal healthy dogs, these cells are manufactured in the bone marrow, with a life span of about one month.  Then, they die off and are re-absorbed into the body or eliminated through waste. With lymphoma, there is an overproduction of these cells, or the “old cells” live on, monopolizing the other blood cells. High white blood cell count and swollen lymph glands are the characteristic signs of this disease, followed by lethargy, loss of appetite and leading eventually to death unless treated.

Chemotherapy is the first line treatment for dog lymphoma, and because lymphoma generally affects young to middle-aged, otherwise healthy dogs, it is well tolerated. Sometimes the effected lymph glands are surgically removed as well. After surgery, some type of chemotherapy drug (again, generally covered by a good pet insurance policy) is usually recommended to clean up any remaining cancer cell not removed by the surgery.

As is the case with any cancer, the earlier the lymphoma is diagnosed the better the outcome.  Just as the human members of the family should have a physical every year, so should your pets…and their annual visits are also covered under most veterinary pet insurance plans, so the early detection of lymphoma is possible!  Treatment success is dependent upon a myriad of factors, including your dog’s age, diet, medical history, the location of the cancer, and how extensive it is and what major systems are involved.

Homemade dog food is definitely an important part of the dog diet. This is because many of the commercial branded dog food products actually contains food ingredients that are harmful to the pet health such as artificial food colors and even synthetic flavoring. Such ingredients can be a cause of sickness or even death to our beloved pets.

Unlike the preservatives found in the commercial pet food products and usually unsuitable to dog health, homemade dog food is healthier and even tastier if done properly by the pet owner. Likewise, if we know that our dogs are sick, we can control the type of food that they receive by giving them the nutritious stuff that need to eat such as limited protein consumption for those dogs with renal condition.

Especially if our pets suffer from certain types of diseases, homemade dog food are a great way of help the health condition of the animals improve by giving them only the food diet that is best for them. To go with this food is lots of water in order to ensure correct and normal metabolism.

There are instances when homemade dog are prepared with freezing or cold methods in use in order to protect the food from germs and other harmful elements. Natural vinegar can be added to meat items in order to maintain freshness.  Likewise, you can also add vitamin and mineral supplements that can be obtained from fish oils and fruits.

Remember, when it comes to the overall health and welfare of our pet dogs, we must try to provide with the best, pet vitamins, regular grooming and nutritious homemade good food. Our love, care and pampering will certainly make our dogs lively, happy and amiable pet companions that we want them to be.

For more articles and discussions about homemade dog food and everything else about our beloved pets, do visit our Pinoy Pet Blog.

Being able to own a dog can be an extremely rewarding and life changing experience. There are millions of dollars spent every year by dog owners to help in taking care of their treasured four legged friends. Some of the most important things that you will end up purchasing for your dog are of course the items that you are going to need to keep them properly groomed.  The following are some tips about selecting the best grooming tools for your dog.

You want to start out by finding a quality shampoo and conditioner for your dog. You never want to use your own shampoo to clean them as the shampoo will be way too harsh for your dog’s very delicate skin. You need to find a shampoo and conditioner that are made for your dog’s unique fur texture as well as skin.  This way you can be positive that your dog will be properly cleaned without having to worry about irritating their skin.

Getting a quality set of nail clippers for your dog is essential. You want to make sure that the nail grooming equipment that you get for your dog should be appropriate for the size of your dog. When you want to clip your dog’s nails you only want to clip the part of the nail that is protruding from the nail bed.  This is why you need to make sure that the size of your nail clippers is appropriate for your dog. You do not want to risk clipping more of your dogs nail and possibly injuring your dog. To help soften up your dog’s nails before your clip them you can soak them first in water to make them softer.

The next grooming item that you will want to purchase is a brush. A high quality brush will help you rid your dog of excess fur and dust from their coat. A good brush will also help you keep your dog’s fur from getting all knotted up. The type of brush that you get for your dog will greatly depend on the breed and texture of your dog. It would be a very smart choice to get a recommendation from a professional dog groomer or your veterinarian as to what type of brush you should get for your dog.

Other grooming tools that you could get for your dog will vary due to the type of dog that you have. There are combs that you can get to manage different types of  coats and there are scissors that help maintain certain styles of dog coats. There are electric razors that can also help maintain the coats of different dogs like a poodle for example. Dogs will have different grooming needs depending on what activities that their owners do with them. You will need to purchase the grooming tools that will best meet the unique needs of your dog.

Your dog is an important member of your family and you want to make sure that you take the best care of him as possible.  Taking the time to purchase the best grooming tools possible for your dog will help to keep your dog happy and healthy.

I must have been asked this very simple question more times than I care to remember so lets cut to the chase.

In this example we will use reward based training for your puppy.

These techniques will also work with an adult dog.

• Start the training as SOON as you have bought your puppy do NOT leave it a few days and then start training.
• Remember that a puppy will have zero attention span – One minute he will be giving you those puppy dog eyes gazing at you lovingly and next he will be attacking your shoes.
• Be patient – he’s just a baby.
• If you are working with an adult or older puppy/dog – remember you may be dealing with years of bad habits, and will take time to unlearn or undo these habits. Be patient while he learns your new rules.
• You may find the initial training a bit tedious – but stick with it.

 Ok lets get the environment ready for the training process – SUPERVISION

• You are in charge – so get the environment right – this will tell your puppy/dog who’s in charge and set the right tone. You don’t want him to have the chance to practice behavior you don’t want.
• If your puppy/dog never has the chance to eliminate inside you are creating a positive, consistent education environment.
• He will get into the habit of going outside to eliminate and you will reward him every-time.
• You have created the environment so it;s up to you to make sure that he never has the chance to eliminate in the House/environment.
• To prevent accidents – you need to watch him like a hawk – If you have a toy breed it won’t take a second for him to pee – so I mean it watch him like a hawk.
• For every accident that your puppy/dog has inside he is practicing behavior that YOU don’t want – and you are both taking a step backwards.
• Even a few seconds without supervision could set back the training process- I know it sounds daunting but it will work.
• Once you have created your environment, it will become a habit for you to watch your dog and manage the environment.
• You will be learning the routine together

In part two I will go further into the puppy training process and will introduce the crate.