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Understanding Pet Astrology

Monday, September 15th, 2008
 

While the concept of pet astrology may seem odd to many people, there are many people who believe that the date of birth of your pet, related to astrological signs of the planets, the sun, and the stars, have a significant impact on the basic behavior and mood of their pets. There are particular character behaviors that are associated with each zodiac sign for pets. These include all of the following:

Aries: Aries pets are known to be very active and also hypersensitive to the environment around them.

Taurus: Taurus pets seem to have a passive nature normally, but if they are ever caught in a fight where they need to defend themselves or family members, they will not give up a fight.

Gemini: Gemini pets tend to be extremely intelligent, so they are usually very easy to train. But their intelligence also means that they can require a lot of attention, and always need to be in the company of their owners.

Cancer: Cancer pets are extremely sensitive. Because of this, when they get attached to a person, they are loyal to that person for life.

Leo: Leo pets tend to be very independent and almost always end up leading the pack. These pets will be more difficult to train, as they won’t want you to take the role of leader. Be persistent, and the Leo pet will eventually succumb.

Virgo: Virgo pets have a multitude of wonderful characteristics and behaviors that make them perfect human companions.

Libra: Libra pets tend to be extremely easygoing. This means they will make fantastic family pets for families that aren’t very active. Unfortunately this also means that Libra pets are typically somewhat lazy and eventually get overweight without being forced to exercise.

Scorpio: Scorpio pets are extremely possessive of their owners. While this typically makes for an extremely loyal pet, it can also become a problem if the pet believes their owner is being attacked and they aren’t. They can be overprotective at times.

Sagittarius: Sagittarius pets make great pets because they are both fun loving and very intelligent. However, their energy level can be difficult for families that aren’t used to active pets.

Capricorn: Capricorn pets tend to remain very young at heart, and remain very playful even into their old age.

Aquarius: Aquarius pets are extremely intelligent, but for some reason that intelligence can come across as a level of stubbornness that makes them appear ill-tempered and sometimes difficult to handle.

Pisces: Pisces pets are very introverted and extremely gentle. However, their sensitivity means that they can easily sense the moods of their owners. This pet is perfect for people who are naturally calm, but not so good for people who can be very emotional.

Astrology.com

The family section of astrology.com features a great section on pet astrology that lets you select your pets sign from a drop down list in order to get a detailed description of the personality of your pet, how to manage their personality and traits, and how to care for them while taking into account the natural inclinations that are a part of their personality because of their astrological sign.

This website also features fun quizzes, such as “What kind of dog would you be?” or “Are you a cat or dog person?” Additionally, you can find a “pet grid”, which rates several personality traits including “affectionate”, “energetic”, “friendly”, and “loyal” on a scale of 1 to 3 for each zodiac sign. This grid helps you to determine which traits your particular pet is likely to have. There is also a chart that helps you to determine what sign your pet is based on their birth date.

Express Your Pet’s Sign With a Portrait

When you fully educate yourself regarding your pet’s zodiac sign, it may be something that makes you very proud of your pet. You may wish to commemorate your pet and his or her zodiac sign through a painted pet portrait utilizing an astrology theme that integrates the pet’s zodiac sign.

Pet portraits are very popular and sweeping the country. Nikky Hughes, of Los Angeles, offers amazing pet portraits that utilize unique backgrounds and themes. She is always happy to do portraits on request, and a pet’s zodiac sign would easily fit into the creative and witty existing portfolio of pet portraits that are displayed at her website.

Nikky was classically trained at the Mission Renaissance art school, and she focuses on capturing not only the beauty, but the unique character of each animal. Pet astrology can provide a great deal of insight into the behaviors of your pet, but it also brings great pride in knowing how your pet fits into the cosmological universe. Feature your cat in a beautiful painted portrait that incorporates the zodiac, and you have an astrological masterpiece that will last a lifetime.

 



By: Nikky Hughes: Pet Portraits

About the Author:

I’m a Los Angeles based oil painter. I specialize in Pet Portraits. I currently teach art and paint for a living. I’ve enjoyed combining my love for pets, with my love for the arts. You can find my online portfolio at: Pet Portraits by Nikky



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Pets for Kids – “10 Essential Reality Checks!”

Friday, September 12th, 2008
Essential Reality Check No. 1 – The Type of Pet for kids

The type of pet you can take into your household will depend on a whole host of things such as follows: How much will the pet costs be – not just to buy – but to care for on a daily basis? The ages of your kids – a two year old child will probably not be able to handle a pet gently and certainly won’t be able to care for the pet….. What size of pet does your child want? – What space will be needed? A hamster does not take up much space but guinea pigs, ferrets and rats need much larger cages. How much time do your kids and you as a family have to give to the pet? Will your family be safe with the pet?

Will the pet be safe with your family? If you have a larger pet such as a dog, cat, or goat what effects will it have on your family, friends and neighbours? How will your pet be cared for during your holidays. Will your family be able to cope with the eventual death of a pet? Some pets will sleep most of the day and be awake at night. Hamsters can be very noisy at night! If your child wants a dog you will need to look into the breed, size and exercise needs of the dog. Do you already have another pet, what effect will it have on that pet. For instance will your dog be ok with a cat or rabbit or bird? .

Essential Reality Check No. 2 – True Costs of Pets for Kids

Some pets are very cheap to buy for instance hamsters, guinea pigs, goldfish. gerbils, fancy rats, fancy mice and rabbits and even ferrets. You will still need to consider: The cage set up ( this can be very expensive when looking at the cage sizes that most pets need) in fact they need the largest cage you can manage Food costs per week Bedding Vets bills if your pets become ill. e.g. Ferrets need a yearly injection against canine distemper. Holiday care – you will need to pay for this of course if you cannot rely on friends and family.

Bigger pets such as goats, and dogs and pedigree cats are far more expensive to buy initially, some costing hundreds of pounds. You will need to consider: Bedding and a cage (if buying one for your dog or cat) Leads and collars for dogs. Food bills Vets bills (dogs should have yearly check ups with a vets) Toys Holiday care (kennels can be very expensive) Flea treatment Ongoing veterinary costs if your pets becomes chronically ill.

Essential Reality Check No. 3 – Ages of your Kids

As the parent or carer you will need to decide if your child is old enough to handle and care for a pet. How often have parents heard the cry “oh but we promise we’ll take it for walks everyday” Or “we’ll clean it out mum, we promise”. How will you feel in a years time when you find yourself caring for the pets because the kids are busy with friends or away on a school trip or inundated with homework or just plain bored with the poor thing You will need to decide on a pet that is suitable for the age of your kids. For instance in most cases it would not be wise to buy a hamster for a two year old child who is still adapting to the world around them and may not know or be able to handle the hamster gently.

Do you want to give your kids some responsibility in caring for an animal. Some kids are very responsible and will be able to manage this. Other kids, well the sight of a baby animal is just too appealing, after all who can resist a cute puppy or kitten or baby hamster? At first you may need to help your kids, as caring for a pet is a very responsible job. As a parent or carer you will always need to oversee a pet’s care.

,Essential Reality Check No. 4 – The Space Required

Even small pets for kids such as guinea pigs, fancy rats and ferrets need a lot of cage space for a happy life. They will need the biggest cages you can find space for. These pets also need space to exercise out of the cage. Cats take up very little space, as do small breeds of dogs. Dogs will need a decent sized garden as well as walks to keep them well exercised.

Essential Reality Check No. 5 – Time for your Pets

Do you and the family have time for a pet. For smaller pets for kids you will need to have them out of the cage and being handled daily for at least 2 hours a day. Do you have time to clean out your pet at least once or twice a week, or even daily? Some pets will certainly need the toilet corner of their cage cleaned more often to avoid a foul smelling cage and pet. Water bottles and food bowls will need cleaning and refilling every day.

Will you be able to walk your dog at least once a day? – dependent on the breed some need more! Are you willing to look after your pets for the many years some can live? (From 18 months to 2 years for a mouse up to 15 years for a dog) If you are out at work all day and the kids are at school all day your pets will need and will demand attention when you return home

Essential Reality Check No. 6 – Your Pet and Family Safety

You will always need to ensure your kids safety when they are spending time with any pets for kids. Even little pets can bite and leave a wound. Dogs should not be left unattended with your kids as they are unpredictable. Even a faithful dog will bite and even attack a child if they are in pain or afraid. It happens rarely – but it does happen. You will also need to ensure your pets safety: Is your child able to handle a pet safely without hurting it. Is your pet safe with any other pets in the home? – if you have young children and a dog …. you will need to make sure the dog cannot escape because a door is accidentally left open.

If you have a dog you need to ensure visitors safety as you can be sued if your dog bites someone on your property (or even off your property) Make sure that when pets are having free time out of cages that: Other pets cannot hurt them They cannot chew electrical leads They cannot fall into toilets or baths of water. They cannot escape through gaps in walls or floors They cannot get outside without supervision

Essential Reality Check No. 7 – Effects on Family and Neighbours

The whole family needs to be in agreement if you are getting pets for kids. Pets can be noisy and messy having an effect on family living. What effect will a pet such as a dog have on Granny who suffers with an allergy – will that mean she cannot come to visit anymore? If you get a dog will it bark and howl when you leave them for any length of time and will this annoy your neighbours. Will the dog bark when your neighbours are in their own garden. How will your neighbours take to having your pet cat mess in their garden? You will need to keep your yard free of dog mess to ensure it does not smell -particularly in summer months.

Essential Reality Check No. 8 – Holidays and Care for Pets

If you have pets for kids what will happen to them during your holiday times. Do you have family or friends who can care for your pets while you are away. If not you will have to pay for your pets care. This will be expensive for dogs, cats and larger animals. Even for little pets, holiday care can be expensive.

Essential Reality Check No. 9 – Loss of a Pet and Grief

Some children are really sensitive and will be distraught when their beloved pet eventually passes away, or is lost in some way. This is especially distressing if the pet has died as a result of an accident or illness. How will you manage this? The kids will need to grieve, grieving is a healthy part of a loss reaction. We can suffer losses every day in a small way such as not getting something we want, this causes a loss reaction and part of the healing for this is grief. If your child or other family member struggles with the grieving then look at the following and see if it applies. The grieving process has seven stepping stones through which people move. Your family member may not go through them in order or spend long on any one.

The stepping stones are: Shock, Denial, Guilt, ,Anger, Depression Bargaining, Acceptance Your child may want another pet this is called bargaining and is one of the stepping stones through the grief process. If your child cannot have another pet, break down the hidden losses that the death of their pet has caused. Could there be a loss of your child’s self worth or self esteem. Have they lost their only companion. Has your child lost the only one who listened to them. By chatting try to find out how your child is feeling and help them to work out their losses and then work through to acceptance by doing some healthy bargaining.

Would your child be able to regain their sense of worth or self esteem another way? Perhaps helping out with a friends pet for instance. For some children it may be helpful to have a burial service, so they can say goodbye properly. (My son kept some hair from his beloved dog) Our kids have managed the deaths of their pets really well and have gone on to have other pets, for other kids though it has more of an effect so you will need to decide when or if to replace your child’s pet.

Essential Reality Check No. 10 – Pets for Kids are GOOD FUN!!!

Pets for kids are for the most part a great addition to the family.. They are often good company for your kids especially if the kids are lonely. Kids can learn a lot from caring for pets and by having pets even when they are lost naturally. Dogs can encourage the family out to get exercise as they walk the dog. All our kids love their pets and they are an important part of the family. So whatever pet you decide upon have fun and enjoy



By: Lesley Munnings

About the Author:

Lesley and her husband are parents of 18years to four great kids and co authors of parenting-our-kids.com
For more information on pets visit best-pets-for-kids



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How to Find Free Pets

Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Anyone who has ever started looking around for an animal to add to the family knows that getting a new pet can be very expensive, and it seems almost impossible to find a free pet. Many breeders ask for several hundred dollars, even for the smallest dogs or cats. Golden Retrievers are usually $700 to $800, Maine Coon cats can cost up to $900 or $1000, and rare exotic animals run much higher.

However, considering all of the pets in the world who are currently homeless, and are living in animal shelters without a loving family, it seems unreasonable and nonsensical to spend hundreds of dollars for a pet when there are so many who need to be saved.

While there are a number of animal rescue organizations and pet shelters around the country, there is only one resource which you should always start with, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Healthy Pets Aren’t Always Free

Before we examine why it’s best to start with the ASPCA, which does charge some fees for adopting and rescuing pets, it’s important to note that it is possible to find a free pet, if you are careful and follow a few important guidelines.

Searching through the classified ads in the newspaper or online classified ads like PetsAds or PetsClassifieds.us, you can locate listings for free pets that people are giving away. It’s critical to understand that most free pet ads are from people who are giving away their pets for the following reasons:



They are moving to a place that doesn’t take pets.

They can no longer afford to have a pet.

They found a stray, but can’t keep it.



These are usually well-meaning people, but keep in mind that if they have a pet that they can no longer afford to keep, the pet may not be 100% healthy. If you do decide to take the classified ad route, just remember that most of the things that the fees pay for at the ASPCA, you will have to pay for anyway – including all shots, medical checkups and neutering.

It is perfectly okay to find free pets on your own, just remember that pets are never “free”. You will need to pay for the up-front (and continuing) health care for the rest of it’s life.

ASPCA and Pet Adoption

The ASPCA is a wonderful organization that helps to promote animal shelters and rescue organizations that take excellent care of animals across the country. At the ASPCA Website, you can adopt and save homeless animals in the following ways:

Find a Shelter

By clicking on the “Find a Shelter” link, you are taken to a search page where you can search for local animal shelters by city and state. The ASPCA doesn’t technically endorse the shelters listed by this utility, but it provides the search function to animal lovers who need a resource to find local shelters.

This is a very comprehensive National Shelter Directory, and it is a service to help families with lots of love to offer to connect with animals that need the love. Buying a pet from a local shelter is essentially like getting a free pet, because the fees to adopt a pet cover many of the upfront medical costs you were incur if you’d picked up the animal as a stray or free from a classified ad. Animal shelters take care of the upfront health concerns, so that when you adopt a pet from a shelter, you can be certain that the animal is healthy and well cared for.

In addition, many shelters offer a unique incentive for people to have their pets properly neutered by offering a discount or refund for the procedure with local vets.

ASPCA Adoption Center

The ASPCA Adoption Center provides listings of hundreds of cats and dogs who need a home. The main page of the adoption center explains everything you will need in order to adopt a pet. This is good to read even if you aren’t going to the ASPCA, because most shelters require the same information. Things you will need if planning to adopt a pet:

· Two forms of identification with your address on it (at least one picture ID)

· Two personal references who can be reached by phone

· Proof of vaccination for the pets that you already own.

· Proof of income

While this may seem excessive to some people, it’s important to understand that there are a lot of people out there who would not think twice about harming or being cruel to animals. The job of the ASPCA and all animal shelters across the country, is to protect animals from cruelty, and to make sure that animals are placed in homes where they have the best chances of being as loved and cared for as they deserve to be.

The benefits of adopting through the ASPCA (many animal shelters offer these same benefits):



14 days of free follow-up vet care

A leash, collar, and pet carrier to help bring the animal home

Educational literature about pet behavior and pet care

Free spay/neutering, vaccinations, microchipping and registration, all provided as part of the adoption fee.



 

Obviously, the only good option for finding a free pet is going through the ASPCA, or through a local animal shelter. This will ensure that you are getting a healthy pet, and you can feel good about doing your part to save an animal from a live without a home, and without love.

Support Animal Rescue Efforts With a Portrait

When you adopt your new pet, show people how much you love your new furry friend by having a pet portrait done by professional artist Nikky Hughes of Los Angeles. Nikky was classically trained at the Mission Renaissance art school, and she focuses on capturing not only the beauty, but the unique character of each animal. She will accept photos through the mail of pets, and then create stunning portraits from those pictures. Pet portraits are ideal because they can be done from a photo (as apposed to getting the pet to “pose” at a studio.)

The great thing about Nikky is that she’s a pet lover herself, and this is reflected in how she runs her business. Nikki donates 5% of every commission to an animal rescue foundation. This is a wonderful way that you can help to support the cause of animal rescue – and receiving a stunning portrait of your new pet in the process.



By: Nikky Hughes: Pet Portraits

About the Author:

I’m a Los Angeles based oil painter. I specialize in Pet Portraits. I currently teach art and paint for a living. I’ve enjoyed combining my love for pets, with my love for the arts. You can find my online portfolio at: Pet Portraits by Nikky



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Pet Finder – the Easiest Way to Find a Lost Pet

Saturday, August 30th, 2008
 

During the terrible destruction of hurricane Katrina and other storms over the past year, thousands of animals were separated from their families during evacuation efforts. This was either because evacuations are set up primarily to save the lives of humans, not their pets. Secondly, even if families evacuated on their own and could have brought their pets, many might not have been able to find them during the chaos of natural disasters.

In response to this important need to reunite families with their pets, Petfinder.com and the Maddie Fund formed the Animal Emergency Response Network (AERN). According to the AERN website, 3,200 animals caught in the destruction of hurricanes Katrina and Rita were united with their families, or were relocated to new homes, thanks to the AERN database.

What is Petfinder.com?

Any organization that would do such wonderful work to save animals across the country deserves recognition. So what is Petfinder.com? Petfinder is a wonderful service that provides an online database of animals across the North American continent which need a home. It includes, and is supported by, over 10,000 animal shelters and adoptive organizations. Petfinder essentially serves as a central database for the country’s lonely and homeless pets, and a wonderful method for families who have loving homes for such pets to easily find a perfect pet that would fit into the family.

Surprisingly (because the website is so professionally done, and the operation is so well managed), Petfinder is a non-profit organization that consists of professionals and members of the public who volunteer their time to update and maintain this database. This is proof that there are some very good people out there.

How Does the Petfinder Database Work?

The Petfinder database provides searches through thousands of pet listings using various criteria including:



Animal

Breed

Age

Size

Gender

Location



And an advanced search section provides searches based on:



Animal type and breed

Age

Pets with a certain name

Only particular pets such as special needs, declawed, or only those recommended for children.



The results will return the name (if appropriate), the breed, gender, and even a photo. Clicking on the link will take you to the shelter or rescue organization which listed it.

A Pet Portrait Featuring Your Pet’s Name

If you are an organization considering listing a pet, one very unique way to provide an image of the pet that will really get noticed is to have a portrait done of the pet’s photo. Not only would this attract a great deal of attention, but you could also offer the portrait as a bonus to the lucky family who takes this animal back to a loving home. Pet portraits are sweeping the country as a very popular form of recognizing how pets mean to families.

The best pet portraits in the country are created by artist Nikky Hughes of Los Angeles. Nikky was classically trained at the Mission Renaissance art school, and she focuses on capturing not only the beauty, but the unique character of each animal. She will accept photos through the mail of pets, and then create stunning portraits from those pictures. Pet portraits are ideal because they can be done from a photo (as apposed to getting the pet to “pose” at a studio.)

Other Options at Petfinder

Petfinder provides other great services at their website, including a monthly newsletter that you can receive monthly. Just click the “Sigh up today!” button on the lower left part of the web page. There is also a search box to find Animal Welfare groups in your local area. There is an online library where you can learn more about the various breeds, a section where you can learn how you can personally volunteer locally to help pets, a training section with dog and cat training videos, lost and found pet classifieds, a blog and forum community, a shop where you can find animal-oriented gear, and even a “fun” section for kids where there are free Ecards and some fun games.

Petfinder isn’t only a website where you can go to find a pet, it’s a place that does a great service for communities across the continent, and it’s also a website you can go just to spend some time and take part in activities that are available for animal lovers from around the world.



By: Nikky Hughes: Pet Portraits

About the Author:

I’m a Los Angeles based oil painter. I specialize in Pet Portraits. I currently teach art and paint for a living. I’ve enjoyed combining my love for pets, with my love for the arts. You can find my online portfolio at: Pet Portraits by Nikky



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Choosing a Name for Your Pet

Thursday, August 21st, 2008
 

How to Choose a Pet Name

Coming up with good pet names can be very challenging sometimes, especially in a very large family where everyone has their own ideas about what the best name for a new pet would be. For other people, names like “Spot” or “Fluffy” get very old after a while, and people are looking for something unique and new. There are some wonderful websites online that can help with the process of selecting a special name for your new pet that reflects their character and personality well.

Bowwow Pet-Names With Personality

Bowwow is a website that is truly dedicated to the quest for the perfect pet name. There are a multitude of search options, including:



Top 20 names

Names of the month

Visitor suggestions

Single name search

Paired name search

Alphabetical search



There’s even a dog age calculator and e-Cards! You can search in categories such as cartoons, movie stars, or personalities for names of famous people that you might like to name your pet after. The website even features a “pet name search engine.” If you want to have fun with pet names, you should definitely make this one your first stop.

World Wide Pet Names Project

The world wide pet names project provides a list of favorite names that website visitors have submitted. You can even submit your own suggestion if you have an idea for a favorite pet name. Because it’s primarily user-driven, this list has grown exponentially to almost 7,500 pet names. If you simply want a comprehensive list of names to rattle off, hoping that one simply sticks out as the perfect name for your pet, then this is the website to visit.

Pet Names World

Pet Names World is another very fun pet name selection website. It is definitely geared toward children in that it features fun cartoon images and a cute poll where kids can select what animal the name “Ruth” best fits.

The list of names on this website is also fairly comprehensive. They are listed in alphabetical order. But one of the unique things about the list on this website is that the list also includes whether the name is intended for a male or female, the origin of the name (Latin, Hindu, Hebrew, etc.) and also the meaning of the name. This website is fun to browse just to learn the meanings of some of these names.

Cat & Dog Names

Cat & Dog Names is a somewhat simple website that allows you to browse through dog names, cat names, or mixed pet names. The unique thing about this website is that it also allows you to view lists of suggested names that are based on the appearance and features of your pet. Some of these lists are extremely long, and cover categories such as popular Irish dog names, unique Australian dog names, stray kitten names, and black cat names. There is a huge variety of other categories.

Cat Names

Cat-Names.us is a fairly large database of over 5000 unique cat names. This database allows you to search using a category of appearance or behavior, a sub-category if appropriate, and gender. These search criteria offer a list of names in the database that match those characteristics. The names in this database are actually fairly unique. Additionally, this website also offers visitors a free “custom naming guide” which walks pet owners through the process of selecting the perfect name for their cat.

Dog Names

Dog-Names.us is also a large database of over 6000 unique dog names. This database also allows you to search for dog names the same way the cat name search works. The names in this dog database are unique as well.

A Pet Portrait Featuring Your Pet’s Name

Once you’ve decided on a name that represents your pet’s personality and characteristics, there is no better way to celebrate this new name than with a painted pet portrait.

Pet portraits are sweeping the country as a very popular form of recognizing how much your animal friend means to you and your family. Pet portraits are an ideal way to preserve the name of your pet by asking that the name be placed somewhere on the portrait.

The best pet portraits in the country are created by artist Nikky Hughes of Los Angeles. Nikky was classically trained at the Mission Renaissance art school, and she focuses on capturing not only the beauty, but the unique character of each animal. Nikky is more than pleased to accept requests for incorporating the pet’s name somewhere in the picture. Such a beautiful portrait of your family pet would become a family heirloom that would stretch for generations.



By: Nikky Hughes: Pet Portraits

About the Author:

I’m a Los Angeles based oil painter. I specialize in Pet Portraits. I currently teach art and paint for a living. I’ve enjoyed combining my love for pets, with my love for the arts. You can find my online portfolio at: Pet Portraits by Nikky



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External Parasites and the Health of Your Pet

Monday, August 18th, 2008
Fleas

Flea Basics

Fleas thrive when the weather is warm and humid. Depending on your climate, fleas may be a seasonal or year-round problem. Your pet can pick up fleas wherever an infestation exists, often in areas frequented by other cats and dogs. Adult fleas are dark brown, no bigger than a sesame seed, and able to move rapidly over your pet’s skin.

Adult fleas live their entire lives on your pet. Female fleas begin laying eggs within 24 hours of selecting your pet as a host, producing up to 50 eggs each day. These eggs fall from your pet onto the floor or furniture, including your pet’s bed, or onto any other indoor or outdoor area where your pet happens to go. Tiny, worm-like larvae hatch from the eggs and burrow into carpets, under furniture, or into soil before spinning a cocoon. The cocooned flea pupae can lie dormant (inactive) for weeks before emerging as adults that are ready to infest (or reinfest) your pet. The result is a flea life cycle of anywhere from 12 days to 6 months.

Risks and Consequences

You may not know that your pet has fleas until their number increases to the point that your pet is obviously uncomfortable. Signs of flea problems range from mild redness to severe scratching that can lead to open sores and skin infections. One of the first things you may notice on a pet with fleas is “flea dirt” — the black flea droppings left on your pet’s coat.

Fleas bite animals and **** their blood; young or small pets with heavy flea infestations may become anemic. Some pets can develop an allergy to flea saliva that may result in more severe irritation and scratching. Also, pets can become infected with certain types of tapeworms if they ingest fleas carrying tapeworm eggs. In areas with moderate to severe flea infestations, people may also be bitten by fleas. While fleas are capable of transmitting several other infectious diseases to pets and people, this is rare.

Treatment and Control

Your veterinarian will recommend an appropriate flea control plan for your pet based upon your needs and the severity of the flea infestation.

Fleas spend a lot of their time off of your pet and in the environment. In addition to treating your pet, reduce the flea population in your house by thoroughly cleaning your pet’s sleeping quarters and vacuuming floors and furniture that your pet comes in contact with frequently. Careful and regular vacuuming/cleaning of the pet’s living area helps to remove and kill flea eggs, larvae, and pupae. You may also have to treat your house with insecticides to kill the fleas; consult with your veterinarian about products safe for use around pets and children.

With moderate and severe flea infestations, you may be advised to treat your yard in addition to treating the inside of your home. Your veterinarian can recommend an appropriate course of action and suggest ways to prevent future flea infestations.

Ticks

Tick Basics

Hosting a tick is the price dogs or, less commonly, cats may pay for investigating shrubbery, brush, or wild undergrowth. Ticks have a four-stage life cycle, and immature ticks often feed on small, wild animals found in forests, prairies, and brush. Adult ticks seek larger hosts like dogs and cats who venture into these habitats. Tick exposure may be seasonal, depending on geographic location.

Risks and Consequences

Ticks are most often found around your dog’s neck, in the ears, in the folds between the legs and the body, and between the toes. Cats may have ticks on their neck or face. Tick bites can cause skin irritation and heavy infestations can cause anemia in pets. Ticks are also capable of spreading serious infectious diseases (such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and others) to the pets and the people on which they feed. Disease risk varies by geographic area and tick species.

Treatment and Control

Prompt removal of ticks is very important because it lessens the chance of disease transmission from the tick to your pet. Remove ticks by carefully using tweezers to firmly grip the tick as close to the pet’s skin as possible and gently pulling the tick free without twisting it. After removing the tick, crush it while avoiding contact with tick fluids that can carry disease. Do not attempt to smother the tick with alcohol or petroleum jelly, or apply a hot match to it, as this may cause the tick to regurgitate saliva into the wound, increasing the risk of disease.

Pets at risk for ticks should be treated during the tick season with an appropriate tick preventative. Your veterinarian can recommend a product best suited to your pet’s needs. Owners who take their pets to tick-prone areas during camping, sporting, or hiking trips should examine their pets for ticks immediately upon returning home and remove them from their pets. If your pet picks up ticks in your backyard, trimming bushes and removing brush may reduce your pet’s exposure to tick habitats.

Ear Mites

Mite Basics

Ear mites are common in young cats and dogs, and generally confine themselves to the ears and surrounding area. Mites are tiny and individual mites may be seen only with the aid of a microscope. Your pet can pick up ear mites by close contact with an infested pet or its bedding.

Risks and Consequences

Ear mites can cause intense irritation of the ear canal. Signs of ear mite infestation include excessive head shaking and scratching of the ears. Your pet may scratch to the point that it creates bleeding sores around its ears. A brown or black ear discharge is common with ear mite infections.

Treatment and Control

Treatment of ear mites involves thorough ear cleaning and medication. Your veterinarian can recommend an effective treatment plan.

Sarcoptic Mange Mites

Mite Basics

Microscopic sarcoptic mange mites cause sarcoptic mange, also known as scabies. Sarcoptic mange mites affect dogs of all ages, during any time of the year. Sarcoptic mange mites are highly contagious to other dogs and may be passed by close contact with infested animals, bedding, or grooming tools.

Risks and Consequences

Sarcoptic mange mites burrow through the top layer of the dog’s skin and cause intense itching. Clinical signs include generalized hair loss, a skin rash, and crusting. Skin infections may develop secondary to the intense irritation. People who come in close contact with an affected dog may develop a skin rash and should see their physician.

Treatment and Control

Dogs with sarcoptic mange require medication to kill the mites and additional treatment to soothe the skin and resolve related infections. Cleaning and treatment of the dog’s environment is also necessary.

Demodectic Mange Mites

Mite Basics

Demodectic mange caused by demodectic mange mites is mainly a problem in dogs. Demodectic mange mites are microscopic, cigar-shaped, and not highly contagious. A mother dog, however, may pass the mites to her puppies.

Risks and Consequences

Localized demodectic mange tends to appear in young dogs as patches of scaly skin and redness around the eyes and mouth and, perhaps, the legs and trunk. Unlike other types of mange, demodectic mange may signal an underlying medical condition, and your pet’s overall health should be carefully evaluated. Less commonly, young and old dogs experience a generalized form of demodectic mange and can exhibit widespread patches of redness, hair loss, and scaly, thickened skin.

Treatment and Control

Your veterinarian will discuss treatment options with you. Treatment of dogs with localized demodectic mange generally results in favorable outcomes. Generalized demodectic mange (demodecosis), however, may be difficult to treat, and treatment may only control the condition, rather than cure it.

Important Points



Look for fleas, ticks, and coat abnormalities any time you groom your dog or cat or when you return home from areas that are likely to have higher numbers of these parasites.

See your veterinarian if your pet excessively scratches, chews, or licks its haircoat, or persistently shakes its head. These clinical signs may indicate the presence of external parasites or other conditions requiring medical care.

Prompt treatment of parasites lessens your pet’s discomfort, decreases the chances of disease transmission from parasite to pet, and may reduce the degree of home infestation.

Discuss the health of all family pets with your veterinarian when one pet becomes infested. Some parasites cycle among pets, making control of infestations difficult unless other pets are considered. Consult your veterinarian before beginning treatment.

Tell your veterinarian if you have attempted any parasite remedies, as this may impact your veterinarian’s recommendation.

Be especially careful when applying insecticides to cats, as cats are particularly sensitive to these products. Never use a product that is not approved for cats, as the results could be lethal.

Follow label directions carefully.

Leave treatment to the experts. Your veterinarian offers technical expertise and can assist you in identifying products that are most likely to effectively and safely control your pet’s parasite problem.



By: WoodCreek Pet Products

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4 Simple Steps To Buy Pet Insurance

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
If you have not already realized, the costs of veterinary care is escalating. By purchasing a pet insurance for our pets is also a wise choice to keep pet care costs within an affordable range. As pets become an important member of our family, purchasing a pet insurance is one of the ways to ensure our pets in getting the best care it possibly deserves.

Here are the 4 simple steps to purchase your pet insurance

1) Pet Insurance Online

Since most pet insurance companies have their own websites, one of the best ways to begin your research in pet insurance is to look for them online. When you do so, you will find a wide variety of insurance options and pricing. Some companies will even give you an additional discount if you purchase their pet insurance online.

However the first thing you should do is to select a number of pet insurance companies and make sure that you only deal with those reputable companies. Therefore check to see if each company is truly legitimate by going through them with The Better Business Bureau website.

Looking for a pet insurance online enables you to look for a policy that suits your needs faster. It is also more accurate because you have access to thousands of different sites. With this much information that can be gotten so easily you will able to make an informed decision in purchasing a proper pet insurance.

2) Pet Insurance Ratings

Since the internet is so easy to access, there will also be just as many scams regarding pet insurance companies. With thousands of pet insurance websites, there is also another method to get the best pet insurance that most suits your needs. That method is by looking at the pet insurance ratings.

By reading the pet insurance ratings you are able to tell which the best pet insurance company is and which insurance company to avoid. If you look at the pet insurance ratings, you can be sure to get what you pay for.

If you are wondering where to look for the pet insurance ratings, you can find most of them done online by independent companies. This is the best done by independent companies because you know that they aren’t biased and therefore they are going to give you great information.

3) Pet Insurance Quote

Pet insurance quotes are available since 1928. Today there are numerous pet insurance quotes for you to decide one that most suitable for you and your pet. Furthermore if you get a pet insurance quote with a complete explanation from several carriers will be a very wise choice to make.

i) You can start by getting a pet insurance quote from your veterinarian. In turn, your veterinarian may offer a discount plan intended specially for his clients, or he may recommend a locally based plan that would be more suitable for you and your pet. This sort of pet insurance may be better for you than one of the bigger plans, depending on both your financial means and the breed of your dog.

ii) You can also choose to shop around and ask for pet insurance quotes from different insurance companies. When you ask for different pet insurance quotes, you will have a solid basis when you compare the services and prices of the insurance companies.

One of the reasons for getting several pet insurance quotes from different companies is that often congenital and hereditary illnesses or pre-existing conditions are not covered by pet insurance. Therefore it is best that you do a thorough research and consult your veterinarian.

iii) After you have found reliable pet insurance companies that may meet you and your pet’s needs, narrow down to at least five of them. The reason being the more pet insurance quotes you have, the more difficult it is for you to make a choice. If you want to simplify things, you can narrow down your choices right from the start.

4) Compare Pet Insurance

Since there so many pet insurance companies, you will be faced with numerous options. Therefore for you to get the best value for your money you need to compare pet insurance options and policies to see which policy is most suited for you.

Before you start your comparison:

i) You must have a general idea about what options you need for your pet. For example, basic plans are the cheapest but they also cover only the basic emergency and illness care.

ii) You also need to look at things such as deductibles, copays, and lifetime limits.

iii) You need to find out how a claim is filed and how the claim is paid. It is also useful to know what items are excluded and what items have payment limits placed on them.

iv) You should find out if you are allowed to visit the vet of your choice or do you have to use a vet recommended by them.

v) Do also find out which ones cover after hours emergencies such as accidents and sudden serious illness and that if the accident or illness is serious and your pet may require a specialist.

When you find the policy that you feel is most suitable for you then all you have to do is fill out their form which gives them your pet’s information. The pet insurance company may also set up to accept payment online.



By: Cindy Heller

About the Author:

Cindy Heller is a professional writer. Visit pet insurance plan to learn how to buy pet insurance plan and find affordable pet health insurance.



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The Benefits of Pet Insurance

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Owning a pet can be far more expensive than most people realize. There are shots and physical exams, regular medications to keep them pest and parasite-free, boarding fees for those times we go on vacation and the unexpected expenses of illness or accidental injury. Despite all that, most pet owners will tell you unequivocally that their pet is worth every penny spent on them. Even if your pet is worth every penny you spend on health care – and then some – wouldn’t it be nice to spend less on caring for your pet’s health? With pet insurance, you can.

Whether you think of your pet as a valued possession or a family member, pet insurance only makes sense. Pet insurance offers many benefits beyond cutting costs on health care for your pet. Depending on the policy you choose, your pet insurance could also cover many of the common expenses of owning a pet.

Health Care for Your Pet

Few pet insurance policies cover routine care for your pet, but some do. In general, you will have to pay for regular physical checkups and shots. Beyond that, though, pet insurance will help pay medical expenses for illnesses and accidents. While few pet insurance policies will pay the entire medical bill if your pet becomes ill, it can be a hefty savings for you.

Pet insurance works just like health insurance for people. You pay a monthly premium to insure your pet. The insurance company pays out if your pet becomes ill or is injured. The average pet insurance policy will cost you less than $300 a year. If your pet is diagnosed with a long-term health condition, the health insurance will cut your vet and medical bill by thousands of dollars.

Many insurers do not cover hereditary conditions in breeds that are prone to them, so it’s important to check the fine print of the policies you choose carefully. Similar to human health insurance, most policies also do not cover pre-existing conditions, so again, be certain that you read the fine print carefully.

Accident Insurance

Illness is only one of the medical expenses that your pet may require you to spend. Pet owners in the US spend nearly $11 billion a year for medical treatment for pets who have been injured in accidents. It can cost over $3,000 to treat a broken hip incurred when a dog is hit by a car. If your pet swallows a foreign object that becomes lodged in his intestines, it can cost over $2,500 to remove it. Even after you subtract required co-pays and the percentage of the bill that your policy may require you to pay, a pet insurance policy can save you thousands of dollars in care over the course of just one accident.

Other Benefits of Pet Insurance Policies

Many pet insurance policies provide other benefits besides health and medical coverage. Some of the other benefits that you might find included in a pet insurance policy include:



Pet recovery expenses

Most pet insurance policies pay out a benefit to pet owners if their pet is lost. The pet recovery benefit will usually cover the cost of placing advertisements in local newspapers and copying expenses for posters advertising for your lost pet.

Insurance against theft

If your pet is stolen, some pet insurance policies will pay you the value of your pet. It won’t replace your pet of course, but it can help console a heartbroken child with a new kitten.

Death benefit

Your pet insurance policy may pay for burial or disposal of your pet’s remains if the animal dies while covered by the insurance policy.

Medical expenses for someone injured by your dog

If your pet injures someone other than a family member or household resident, pet insurance may cover medical expenses for their care. In most cases, there is a cap on the amount paid out for this benefit, just as there is with most other benefits.

Property damage caused by your pet

If Rover digs up your neighbor’s rosebushes or damages your rented apartment, the reimbursement for the damages will usually come out of your pocket. Many pet insurance policies will pay a percentage of those damages.

Boarding if you become ill

The last thing you should have to worry about if you become ill is how your pet will be cared for during your hospitalization. One of the lesser-known benefits offered by many pet insurance policies is a boarding benefit that will cover part of the cost of boarding your pet if you are hospitalized for an illness.



One of the most important benefits of pet insurance, though, is one that can’t be quantified – it’s the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you can afford the expense of caring for your pet if something unexpected happens. If your pet is a member of the family, knowing that you can afford the expense of an unexpected illness is invaluable.



By: Brian Jenkins

About the Author:

Brian Jenkins is a freelance writer who often writes about topics pertaining to the care of pets and health options for pets such as Pet Meds



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