Cattle

Archive for January, 2011

The Collie is a wonderful family dog. They come in two varieties, smooth coated and rough coated. They are generally good with kids and other animals and love their adopted family. The most famous Collie is Lassie. They may not be suitable for an apartment as they need room to exercise. A properly fenced in yard would be ideal.

Approximate Adult Size

The approximate adult size (two years old or older) of the male Collie is 24 to 26 inches to the withers (highest point of the shoulder) and 60 to 75 pounds. The female ranges from 22 to 24 inches to the withers and 50 to 65 pounds.

Special Health Considerations

Most dog breeds have certain inherited health problems associated with that specific breed and the Collie is no exception. Be on the look out for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (inherited disease of the retina that can cause vision loss and blindness), canine hip dysplasia (genetic based looseness in the hip joint that can lead to arthritis pain and lameness), and they can be drug sensitive.

This disease list is an informative guideline only. Other diseases may also be significant threats, please contact your veterinarian for a complete list.

She should visit the veterinarian several times in the first year for shots, boosters and check up. Then, as an adult, she should visit the veterinarian yearly for shots and check up. As she gets older, six years and on, she should visit the veterinarian twice a year for check ups and shots. Remember; avoid feeding your dog sweets.

Grooming

The Collie comes in two varieties, smooth and rough. In general, the outer coat is harsh to touch and straight. The inner coat is soft and dense. She is prone to shed and should be brushed regularly. Brushing will help her maintain a clean and healthy coat, avoid mats and help you keep a closer eye on her health and strengthen your emotional bond with her.

Her teeth should be brushed at least twice a week with toothpaste and toothbrush designed for dogs. Brushing removes the accumulation of plaque and tartar which can cause cavities (rarely) and periodontal disease. Dog periodontal disease can lead to pain, loss of teeth, bad breath and other serious disease.

Her toenails may need to be examined for growth and clipped regularly. The toenails of the rear feet grow slower than the toenails of the front feet. Generally a guillotine type trimmer is the best for this chore and competent instructions to accomplish this can be found on the net.

Life Span

The Collie can live between 12 and 14 years with proper nutrition, medical care and excellent living conditions.

History

The Collie comes from the Scottish Lowlands as a sheepdog. They were first registered by the American Kennel Association in 1885.

It is estimated that over 25% of the world’s population travels with pets and according to the Airline Transportation Association, more than 500,000 animals fly each year. In fact, travelling with pets is becoming more and more popular. Consider these statistics.

Fun Facts about People Travelling with their Pets:
– 19% of dog owners take their pet with them when traveling (American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, National Pet Owners Survey)
– 67% of pet owners travel with their pet (American Animal Hospital Association)
– 42% of pet owners have traveled out of state with their pet (American Animal Hospital Association)
– Dogs are the most common pet to take on trips (80%), followed by cats, birds, rabbits or fish (USA Today, May 9, 2006)

While approximately 1/3 of pet owners leave their pet with a friend or relative when travelling, many take their pet with them.

Thus, it makes sense for hotels to have a pet friendly policy.

Finding a Pet Friendly Hotel:
To locate a pet-friendly hotel, you can easily consult an internet-based pet travel agency online. Many websites offer a free search by city and list hotels, bread and breakfasts, ski resorts, campgrounds and beaches that are pet friendly.

Fortunately for pet owners, there are many pet friendly hotels to choose from when travelling.

Finding Boutique Hotels that Welcome Pets:
If you are travelling to New York this summer and looking for a dog friendly New York City hotel, you are in luck. There are many boutique hotels in New York that welcome pets. A few hotels surpass expectations and openly welcome pets by offering services for your pet.

Hotel Services for your pet may include:
– Local dog walking services
– Grooming
– Cookies for special occasions
– Pet taxi
– Training
– Doggie treat

Other amenities may include food and water bowls, doggie sidewalk bags and kitty litter pans and easy access to a local dog park.

When booking your hotel, ask what services the hotel offers to accommodate you and your pet. Many boutique Manhattan hotels will go the extra mile to ensure that you and your pet have a pleasant stay.

Travelling with your Pet:
While most pet owners travel with their pet on the road, many pet owners take their pet with them on the plane. If you are flying with your pet, call the airline to check any regulations and requirements for pet travel.

If you are renting a car, it is suggested that you put together a driving map with a list of pet-friendly rest-stops and restaurants. Also make sure that the rental car agency is friendly.

Once you arrive at your hotel, the hotel should be able to provide you with a list of pet-friendly restaurants, as well as a list of local parks.

Summary:
Finding a pet friendly hotel is easier than you may think. The number of Americans traveling with their pets has increased over the years and more hotels are becoming pet-friendly in response to the growing “pets-as-family” trend.

To find a pet friendly hotel near your travel destination, ask your local travel agency for recommendations or search online. There are many online websites dedicated to travelling with pets and many offer hints and tips on where to stay and places to check out.

So next time you think about leaving your pet home, reconsider. There are many options for travelers with pets, and pet owners are no longer limited to campgrounds. Boutique pet-friendly hotels welcome pets and offer services to pamper and take care of your pet.

When one first sees the Puli, the question is always asked “How on earth do you give this dog a bath?” The answer is, obviously, “It takes a LONG time!”

The Hungarian Puli develops a “corded” coat as it ages. The coat tends to naturally gather itself together in ringlets which are very tightly curls and gnarled together into long cords. A mature coat takes a good 10 to 12 years to reach its full glory for the Show Ring, as a consequence there are Pulik (the plural of Puli) who are still in the prime of their show career at an age when most dogs are being shown in Veteran’s Class.

Among the other breeds which have a similar coat one finds the Komondor and years ago the Poodle. The tight cords protect the breed from weather and harsh elements. The preferred color is black, however there can be white, rust colored and various shades in between. The Puli was originally bred in Hungary as a herding dog and those with a black coat could be more easily seen by shepherds and thus be distinguished from the sheep.

Pulik are nimble on their feet and smaller than they appear, usually standing less than 20 inches at the shoulder. Like most herding breeds, they are built so they can move quite nimbly, nipping at the heels of the sheep to keep them grouped together. They are even known to run upon the backs of a tightly bunched flock of sheep.

This is not a common breed. Most folks who own Pulik do keep the short coat if they are not being shown, since a corded coat is difficult to care for and develops a strong smell if not kept clean. Which brings us to the question, “How are they bathed?” Usually the entire dog is immersed in a large tub filled with room temperature water and a bit of shampoo, the individual cords are squeezed by hand and the skin is gently massaged.

Care must be taken not to damage the cording or the individual cords will become tangled together and the show look requires that the long cords hang naturally and separately from each other. Once the shampoo has been squeezed through the coat, the dog is immersed in several tubs of tepid clear water as a rinse and also sprayed thoroughly and finally, toweled dry with the same squeezing process. A blow dryer can then be used, provided it is not so powerful that it “frizzes” the coat. The entire process usually takes a full day. Since the cords are long and reach to the ground, it is important to keep the dog from running in underbrush and that sort of thing.

One would question why this dog with this kind of coat can be running with sheep, but the fact is that this coat when it is in a natural state completely protects the dog from thorns and brambles. The thick wooly cords are also natural weather barriers to rain and snow, so that the body of the Puli is well protected from the elements of harsh weather. Furthermore a would-be predator can not sink its teeth into the flesh of this nimble dog and can only get a mouthful of hair. Thus the Pulik are naturally quite self sufficient out in the flock, needing little in the way of human care.

Their job requires a certain independence and they are not necessarily in need of a lot of human companionship. Pulik should not exhibit shyness or nervousness , usually are wary of strangers and should not be aggressive. They are energetic and require a job of some sort or plenty of exercise or the owner of a Puli will find that it is getting into all sorts of things, out of boredom.

A chicken tractor is probably the easiest to construct of all the types of Chicken Coops. All you need to have is some chicken wire and lumber. Make sure that you provided at least 4 square feet of space to the chicken inside the tractor, in order for the chickens to freely roam around the tractor. The reason why chicken tractors are commonly called chicken ark is because of the fact that the common shape of a chicken tractor is “A”. The tractor should not be any more than 3 or 4 feet long while being around 3 feet high. If you have more chickens, then add more space to your tractor.

Choose the correct size of the wire mesh for your tractor to be able to protect the chickens from predators. It should be 15 mm square at the largest. The tractor should be surrounded by a fence with wire mesh. The base of the tractor should be buried at least 30 centimeters below the ground to keep animals like rats and foxes from digging underneath it. Tractors should be well-ventilated but the chickens should not be directly in the wind. Include roosting poles too, because this is where chickens sleep. Place one nesting box per four or five chickens in a dark corner and a little off the floor. Put a plastic tray under the roosting pole to easily clean up droppings. Make the entire tractor easy to clean.

Keep the feeders and waterers filled up for the chicken. Bear in mind that you need to keep moving the tractor around your backyard for you to have the desired result. Observe how quickly your birds tend to operate so that you may determine the frequency of moving the tractor to new places. Remember that chickens take “sand-baths” which means, that if you leave them on a spot for too long they will probably scratch away quite a lot of the top layer.

Keep in mind all these matters for you to have a great chicken tractor.

For a step-by-step guide to Building a Chicken Coop, check out our site for more free tips, building advices, product reviews, and more blog updates. Need more details? Start with our Blog’s review on your blueprint on how to Build a Chicken Coop now.

Are you looking for one thing that cures kennel cough? Well the answer is that there is no one thing but many things that you can do to help your pet cure kennel cough. You obviously know that vet bills are getting more expensive each year and that we all are looking for ways to save money. Imagine being able to cure kennel cough at home where our pets are more comfortable and being ready for it the next time it occurs.

Your pet will likely contract kennel cough several times in their lives and the home remedies I will list for you will save you money time and time again. I will also list a link at the bottom so that you can find other home remedies for your cats and dogs but let’s first look at kennel cough.

WHAT IS CANINE KENNEL COUGH

Think of kennel cough as being like a cold or flu in humans. This respiratory infection in our pets is caused by bacteria and viruses. Here are the bacteria and viruses that cause kennel cough.

• Bordetella Bronchiseptica – This bacteria is thought to be the main culprit in causing kennel cough.
• Canine Parainfluuenza -3 – This is the same virus that causes distemper in dogs.
• Canine Adenovirus Type 2 – This virus causes colds in dogs.

Keep in mind that humans can catch kennel cough.  In humans it is called an upper respiratory infection. The good news is that most cases of kennel cough are mild and can be treated with home remedies.

Now let’s take a look a few home remedies to cure kennel cough.

HOME REMEDIES | CURES KENNEL COUGH:

• Pediatric robitussen is being used for puppies to help soothe throat tissues that have become sore due to the inflammation of the throat that occurs from the infection. Just like we would do for our children cough syrups are being used on pets.
• Certain herbal remedies are also being used to expel mucus. One is plantango lanceolata .
• Another herbal remedy being used to clear mucus is Bryonia C6 which is also reported to be able to soothe sore throat tissues.
• For small puppies many people also use honey to soothe irritated throats and treat dog cough. The honey can be mixed in the pet’s water bowl. Most report using this first before the cough syrups.
• Run a humidifier to help keep the air moist or boil a pan of water to add moisture.
• Give your pet a vitamin supplement to boost their immune system and practice good nutrition.
• Some people are reporting using Vitamin C but be cautious here as too much has been known to cause irritable bowel syndrome.
• Loosen collars – your pet’s throat is sore and irritated.

Want to lower your vet bills and learn how to treat minor illnesses at home instead of spending so much on vet bills? If so read on through the last paragraph and click on the links to find other home remedies that will save you a ton of money.