Cattle

Archive for April 11th, 2012

We like to take our pets on daily walks. After all, we are concerned with their health and should want them to remain in good shape. But beware of the unseen health risks to your pet that can be associated with the summer heat.

Presently I have 4 dogs in our kennel that are being watched this month. They range in age and their general health conditions vary, and each must be considered when taking these dogs for their walks.

The current makeup consists of 2 puppies only 3-4 months of age, an 8 year old but overweight German shepherd, and a 13 year old mix breed.

A single walking session shows the effects that summer plays on each dog’s individual condition. The two puppies are young, vibrant and full of energy, and do not hesitate at the prospect of a 20 minute walk through the woods. The 8 year old shepherd and the 13 year old mixed are also looking forward to the same walk.

Within a few moments of walking into the woods, (the woods are about 100 yards from the kennel), you can notice a considerable change form the harsh daily sun to a much cooler shaded area of the woods. At this point each dog is holding their own on this simple and short walk.

At the halfway point, now 10 minutes of walking, we take a momentary rest, more for my sake then that of the dogs. Each dog is panting quite regularly at this stage. None of them look at all tired, and none have stopped to drink any water from my bottle.

Due to a recent rainstorm the night before, we have come across an occasional puddle or two for them to wade in. This has helped them stay a little refreshed.

As we head past the 3-quarter mark of this trail, there is a considerable difference in the overweight shepherd’s desire to lead the pack. At this point, the older 13 year old mixed dog, is actually keeping a stronger pace then the young puppies, even though the puppies have stopped a number of times to rest and take on water.

By the time we reach the stretch of trail back to the kennel area, the fours dogs are showing signs of being both tired and thirsty. The last 10 feet lead straight to a waiting pool filled with fresh cold water. The older dogs take a few moments to grab a quick drink while the puppies play and splash around happily. All four dogs are taking a well deserved rest.

By and far they all show some signs of being tired. But keep this in mind that they each have reacted differently to the same walk, under the same conditions. The puppies did tend to pull more on their leashes, which will cause them to put additional stress on their collars and breathing. The overweight 8 year old, while younger showed more signs of fatigue then the older 13 year old. The mixed dog is not carrying around a lot of excess body fat. The extra weight and fat is putting additional stress on the larger dog’s legs, chest and his heart.

Be careful of walking your pets in the hot summer months. Take then out during the early morning or later evenings when it is cooler. Make sure to take water with you, for the pets and yourself, if you’re going to be walking any kind of long distance. When they get back, give them fresh clean water from a hose or kiddies pool. They have thick fur coats and only cool down through their tongues so please let them relax in the shade and take a break during the walk to make sure they are not getting to overheated.

Be careful to avoid heat strokes or other conditions that can be avoided with a few simple steps. Bottom line is that you should not risk your pet’s health simply because it is the summertime and you went for a walk.

Animals attract people by their strange, amazing, funny, sad, and interesting facts. The world of animals tends to magnetize a lot of interest, no matter what age you are. A strange fact about animal is that: animals see details that people do not see. Animals are totally detail-oriented creatures. This has to be noted as the most important thing to know about the way animals recognize the world.

Even the myths and mysteries of odd and small creatures make them captivating. This makes the learner to explore the recent findings, common misconceptions and amazing adoptions about them. Many living things are found in the world.Vertebrates (with a backbone) and invertebrates (without a backbone) are the two main classification of the animal kingdom. In the total species of the animal kingdom only 800,000 species are known to the world. When it comes to the animal kingdom people usually think about cat, dog, tiger, and etc. jellyfish or an earthworm are not considered as an animal. But they also belong to the kingdom of animals. The science of classifying organisms according to their characteristic is called taxonomy.

In order to easily study about the living things in the world they are classified according to its: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.An animal is named by its genus name followed by its species name. Hence man is called Homo sapiens, meaning wise man.

Until today all the animals in the world are classified in to five kingdoms. Animalia made up of animals; Plantae made up of plants; Protista made up of protests (single celled organisms invisible to human eyes); Fungi made up of mushrooms, mold, yeast, lichen etc; and Monera made up of bacteria.
Phylum is the next classification and each kingdom has several phyla. In phylum animals are divided from the smaller ones to more familiar groups. Animals with back bone (fish, birds, mammals, reptiles) belong to the chordata phylum. Arthropoda (spiders and insects), Mollusca (snails and squid), Annelids (segmented worms) and Echinodermata (star fish and sea urchins) are some of the best known phyla.

The category that makes up the phylum is the class. Class breaks animals into more familiar groups. For example phylum chordata is divided into Aves, Reptiles, Amphibian, Mammalian and many more.

The next category in the animal kingdom is the order. One or more orders make up a single class. Rodentia, Primates, Chiroptera, Insectivora, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artidactyla, and Proboscidea are the orders of the mammalian class.

Following the order comes the Families the next category. Canidae, Felidae, Ursidae, Hyaenidae, Mustelidae and many more form the families for the carnivore order.

Genus is the next category. The felidae family can be broken down into acinonyx, panthera, neofelis and felis.
The last category is the species. The panthera can be broken into panthera leo (lion) and panthera tigris (tiger)

Animals ranging from few cell organisms to animals that weigh many tons are extinct in this world. Approximately 9 to 10 million species of animals live all over the world. This is only a rough estimation; the exact number is not known. Researches and invention in and around the forest areas and seas add a new species to the animal kingdom.

By far the insects are the most found species in the animal kingdom. They have mollusks and nematodes as their groups. They live along with us even in the winter months. Among all known animals in the world 85% belong to this class and are the largest animal phylum in the world.  

The most interesting animal in the world are the arthropods. Any animal that have more than four legs or jointed legs are arthropods. They can fly, creep and even crawl. From ants to bumble bees and crabs to crayfish and spiders to centipedes all belong to this category.

Two life animals are called amphibians. They are capable of living in land as well as in water. With gills and tails amphibians begin their life in water. Later they produce lungs and legs for their life on land. Amphibians are capable of maintaining the same temperature on land and in water. Hence they are the cold blooded animals. Research continues on the relationships of the major animal groups.