Featured Articles
Tip – 34 – Dog training – Desensitizing dogs
PROBLEM – AFRAID OF, OR DOESN’T LIKE, BEING TOUCHED:
The secret, is to desensitize the dog to reacting to being touched, especially when cleaning paws. Start by touching casually WITHOUT making eye contact since eye contact is always seen as …
Cryptorchidism in Dogs
Cryptorchidism is when one or both testicles fail to descend properly into the scrotum. But what does it mean to you, and to your dog, if your dog is diagnosed with cryptorchidism? It is a fairly straightforward condition. This article …
Autopsies on pets
Did you know that a person can have an autopsy done on their pet? Your first reaction may be to cringe; nobody likes to think about their pet being dissected. But autopsies provide information that no other test can. While …
White Cats
White cats, like all white animals in general, are both valuable – and vulnerable. The white of their coat is not a real colour but rather the absence of colour, which also means absence of protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. It is the variety and distribution of natural “dyes” in an animal’s skin and fur that explain different coat colours and patterns. One of these dyes is melanin, the chief protector of skin against ultraviolet radiation. The skin of white cats has either no melanin at all or very little of it, which is why they are far more vulnerable to sunburn and cancer of the skin than coloured cats. The “classical” wild-type cat is a brown tabby, which combines optimal protection from the sun with a camouflage pattern that hides it from predators.
Tip 60 – Cat wagging its tail
When a dog wags its tail in that familiar broad stroked side to side manner, it means the dog is happy and content. When a cat wags its tail it does not mean the same thing at all. A cat …
How Old is My Cat – Guessing a cat’s age – Pet tip 201
When people adopt a new cat or are thinking about buying a cat they often want to know how old that cat is. If the cat is a kitten this is usually easy. The original owner should know how old the kitten was or if you bring the kitten to a veterinarian, the vet should be able to tell how old the kitten is with a reasonable degree of accuracy. If good records were kept from kitten-hood or previous adoptions, again this is an easy task. The problem occurs when you are considering getting an adult cat whose age and/or history are unknown.
Intestinal Parasites in Dogs and Cats
We’ve all heard about intestinal worms. There’s heartworm, roundworm, hookworm, ringworm (which is actually a fungus, not a worm) and so many more. How do we keep them all straight? This article will introduce you to two of the most common intestinal worms that your dog or cat may encounter.
First of all, how do we diagnose intestinal worms? Sometimes you may see your pet vomit or defecate whole worms or worm pieces (especially roundworms). But most worm infections are not so visible. This is why the most common way to diagnose intestinal worms is by bringing a fecal sample to your veterinarian.
Unruly dogs “My dog is crazy” – Calm your dog down – Pet tip 213
Dogs can get really rambunctious or unruly when they are at home and this is especially true of puppies and breeds with high exercise requirements. The second they see you or someone else that they want to play with, they may want to interact with you by jumping on you or running back and forth all over the house. It sure is cute when they are little baby-puppies and it sure gets annoying as they get older and the novelty wears off. Rambunctious dog behaviour can lead to broken lamps or dishes, uncontrollable running, loads of barking, jumping on you or the kids and general chaos that you will want to control.
Caring for Newborn Kittens
Like a newborn baby, the care of a newborn kitten requires special attention and focus. For most cat owners though, this care is not usually required of them as kittens are typically adopted at approximately eight weeks of age, when they have been weaned from their mothers. However, there are several instances when newborn kittens may require hand-rearing, and in those situations, it is important to have a good understanding of what these neonatal animals need for proper growth and development.
The two most common situations where kittens may need to be hand-reared are either because they have been orphaned, or because their mother is not providing adequate care. This second point can be due to a variety of reasons, but the most likely cause is that the runt of the litter may be being overlooked by the mother in favour of healthier kittens.
