Cattle

Posts Tagged ‘weather’

It is important to minimise any trips to the vet for many reasons – and this can be achieved by ensuring your pet stays fit and healthy. Regardless of the type of pet you own, maintaining your pet’s physical and mental wellbeing is simply a matter of good grooming, exercise and diet – supported by regular health checks.

It’s difficult to resist feeding your pet scraps, but it’s more important to provide your pet with a balanced diet. Feeding them good quality food with all the nutrients they need can aid development, prevent obesity and ensure a good immune system. If you don’t maintain a healthy diet for your pet then this will only lead to poor health.

Some pet snacks are specifically developed to reduce tarter and plaque build up. Cat and dog owners may still need to take their pets to the vet for regular dental checks, as bad dental health can adversely affect the overall health and wellbeing of your animal.

Active pets are healthy and happy pets – and maintaining a sensible exercise routine can help those pets with excess flab lose weight. Walking and running are great exercises for dogs and will increase flexibility and stamina. In addition, fun toys can keep both cats and dogs entertained by turning exercise into quality playtime.

As the warm weather approaches, it’s important to be prepared for nature and its effect on the health of your pet. Warmer weather brings insects that could harm your pet or cause discomfort; therefore, be aware of bees and wasps, as a sting can be distressing to cats and dogs. What’s more, flea infestations can affect both pets and your family, so remember to regularly treat your pet and home with a flea preventative.

In addition to showering your pet with love and affection, regular grooming can help your pet stay trim and healthy. Washing your pet will not only help reduce germs and prevent diseases, but it also ensures you are properly examining for potential problems that may cause pain and discomfort to them.

Keeping up-to-date with check-ups and vaccinations is essential to maintaining the health of your pet. It’s also wise to take out pet insurance, as emergency healthcare or prolonged health problems can be costly. The knowledge that your veterinary bills are taken care of can leave you free to concentrate on the wellbeing of your pet.

Being a responsible pet owner means taking care of your pet’s safety, health and cleanliness – and it is important to remember that taking good care of your pet doesn’t have to be a chore.

Dogs dig because of a number of reasons and to put an end to your dog’s destruction of your backyard requires that you understand why your dog is digging in the first place.

Digging For Prey:

Some dogs dig to root out prey such as snakes, gophers and even bugs. When they do this, they are acting instinctively and not out of a malicious desire to upset you. Some dogs will even try to dig out buried trash and dead animals and proudly present you with the results of their “hunting”.

Due to their keen senses of smell and hearing, dogs can detect things underground and a good indication that your dog is digging for prey is if the dog is digging by the roots of a tree or in a specific area.

Dogs that dig to get at some coveted “buried treasure” can be persistent and putting an end to this type of digging can be quite difficult. If your dog is digging to root out gophers or moles, your best option is to get rid of the prey. Ask your local garden shop for advice on how to get rid of grubs as these are a mole’s favorite food. If you get rid of the mole’s food source they will eventually move away. Never try to poison these animals or your dog may end up ingesting the poison.

If getting rid of garden pest isn’t a feasible option you should consider fencing off an area of the yard to restrict your dog’s access. Try to provide the run with a concrete or wooden floor to prevent your dog from digging his way out of the run. Always make sure you give your dog ample exercise before placing him in the run. Taking your dog on daily walks will not only provide him with the exercise he needs, but it is also a great way to keep your dog mentally stimulated.

Digging For Shelter:

Some dogs dig to make a shelter for themselves. Dogs are originally den animals and digging a shelter is a natural thing for them. You can usually differentiate prey digging from shelter digging by the size of the hole. If the hole is large enough for the dog to lie in this generally means it was dug for shelter purposes. Dogs will dig a hole to lie in during hot weather. They seek the cool, moist earth to escape intense heat. In winter dogs will dig to provide themselves a shelter from the wind and rain. If your dog is digging a shelter you should provide him with an appropriately placed dog house. The dog house should be placed close to the home in a shaded place. In cold weather areas the doghouse should be insulated to provide sufficient warmth for the dog. Some dogs dig shelters even when  provided with a doghouse and this usually means the location of the doghouse is unsuitable. For example a dog that digs under a porch does so because he wants to be as close as possible to his owners, if this is the case then placing the doghouse closer to the home may prevent further digging.

If you live in a hot part of the nation you should provide your dog with sufficient shade. An insulated doghouse in a shaded area near the house is an ideal location for your doghouse. Provide your dog with a wading pool filled with fresh water. Water loving dogs such as Labradors, Golden Retrievers and Newfoundlands will especially appreciate a wading pool. Always make sure fresh, clean drinking water is freely available for your dog.

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.

Getting home from a hard days work to be greeted by a Siberian husky is a great stress reliever. With their joyous attitudes and great energy huskies are very kind and loving animals. You will often find them full of excitement and howling like a wolf upon your arrival.

Huskies eyes are often blue or brown in color. Often times they may have one eye blue and another brown. Originating from extremely cold weather Huskies do very well in hot climate areas. Typical lifespan for huskies range from 12 to 14 years all though with good care they can last many more.

With a history of being guard dogs Huskies will often run and hide and not guard at all. Huskies do very well around children and will protect them if necessary. With their dominant stance and intimidating presence they often howl and hide during thunderstorms. I highly recommend Huskies as house pets but a play yard is highly recommended. If a yard is not available walk them frequently and see their excitement when you reach for the leash.

Always verify the history of the breeder. Huskies could be very sensitive pets and lots of attention is required. Be patient with them and discipline will come with time. Never leave them alone for a long period of time or destruction will be inevitable. Huskies will destroy furniture and any other items they can get their teeth around. If leaving them home for long periods of time is inevitable I would recommend finding them a companion.

If you are looking at chicken coops for sale one of the first things you will realize is how many different kinds are available. But which one you actually choose to install in your garden is dependent on how much space you have in it and the number of chickens you want to keep.

It is important that the chicken coop you select for your garden is one that will ensure that it provides the hens with ample protection both from predators and the weather. The happier and healthier your chickens are the more likely they are to lay good quality eggs for you. Below we offer some pointers to help you with selecting the right chicken coop for sale for you.

Point 1 – If space is limited for your coop then rather than going for a traditional ground based one opt for those that are above ground. As well as meaning you won’t need to have much space to place it on, it provides better protection for your chickens against predators such as rats.

Point 2 – You must ensure that the coop allows for ample amounts of fresh air to circulate through the coop during the day and at night. This will ensure that the levels of ammonia and moisture in it don’t become too great otherwise it will have a serious effect on the health of your chickens. As well as causing damage to your chickens health excess moisture and ammonia can lead to the chickens laying poor quality eggs. Also as the majority of chicken coops for sale are made from timber they may rot easily if the ammonia and moisture builds up within it.