Winter is the season of cold and for some areas, numbing wetness. Make sure your pets stay safe and warm by following these simple guidelines.
Planning a Trip with Pets Who Get Car Sick
Many people have experienced “that look” with their pets. The one where it’s like he’s trying to say, “What? You’re leaving me?!?” No matter how many times you try to explain it to him that he gets sick in the car and he’ll be miserable if you take him along, he doesn’t understand what you’re saying. All he knows is that you’re going on a vacation, and he’s not.
Having a dog who gets car sick when traveling can definitely present its challenges, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t all enjoy the holiday vacation together! Here are a few helpful tips for traveling with a pet who gets car sick.
Cold Weather Activities for Pets
Does this cold winter weather of you and your pet feeling a little antsy? If you’re used to spending time outdoors, then chances are you’re both probably starting to feel a little restless by now.
Making an effort for both you and your pet to stay indoors this winter is great for the mind and body. Your pet will enjoy and appreciate the chance to play and be able to stay active and healthy at the same time. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Fall Weight Management Tips for Your Pet
It is officially Fall! This means shorter days, changing leaves, a crisp breeze, football, holidays and food. And with food comes the seasonal weight gain. We seem to find more and more excuses to stay inside our homes as the temperature drops. Add this to the holiday celebrations with the natural tendency to crave comfort food for the colder months, and you have the perfect combination for seasonal weight gain.
Overweight pets face many of the same health issues and concerns as people, including: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, bone and joint problems, various forms of cancers, and a shortened life expectancy, just to name a few. Fortunately, with a few simple modifications, you and your pet can avoid the seasonal weight gain.
Could Your Dog Have Fall Allergies Too?
We’ve all seen or felt it before: the sneezing, the itching, the watery eyes, the irritated nasal passages and so on. But your dog is now exhibiting signs of the typical behavior for fall allergies in humans. Could your dog have allergies too? Is this even possible? What are the signs and symptoms you should be concerned about, and when is the appropriate time to call the vet?
Fall Hazards for Pets
Halloween Holiday Health Hazards for Animals
From the Texas Department of State Health Services, Zoonosis Control
With the arrival of the candy-laden and trickster-oriented holiday of Halloween, there are some risks and health hazards that are of concern for animals, particularly pets like dogs and cats. To avoid unfortunate mishaps and tragedies, keep in mind the following tips:
Continue reading Halloween Holiday Health Hazards for Animals
Environmental Enrichment for Birds
Although owning a pet bird may seem like an easy and fun endeavor, there are many challenges associated with maintaining happy and healthy birds. Some pet birds are caged most of their lives and get rather lonely without the stimulating contact between people or with their instincts. Adding this sort of stimulation to your birds life can improve his or her overall happiness, and being in a cage all the time won’t seem so bad. Significant aspects of natural behavior are denied to varying degrees for birds kept as companion animals. Examples of these include flocking, social interaction with other birds, foraging on a variety of foods, and flight. Birds are social, loud and messy. When kept in captivity they deserve the owners’ tolerance to exhibit these normal behaviors.
Canine Rabies: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment
Continue reading Canine Rabies: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment
Feline Rabies Treatment and Management
Feline Rabies is an inflammatory infection that specifically affects the gray matter of the cat’s brain and its central nervous system (CNS). The primary way the rabies virus is transmitted to cats in the United States is through a bite from a disease carrier: foxes, raccoons, skunks, and bats. Infectious virus particles are retained in a rabid animal’s salivary glands to better disseminate the virus through their saliva.
Once the virus enters the cat’s body, it replicates in the cells of the muscles and then spreads to the closest nerve fibers, including all peripheral, sensory and motor nerves, traveling from there to the CNS via fluid within the nerves. The virus can take up to a month to develop, but once the symptoms have begun, the virus progresses rapidly.
