It may surprise you to know that while price can hint at quality, a high price does not always mean a good quality pet food. There are many factors that determine what the final price tag on a bag of pet food will be. To note, we are primarily talking about dry kibble as for cats and dogs in this article.
 
The Ingredients are a big contributing fact to the price of a cat or dog food. Quality ingredients drive a price up, cheap ones, enable the manufacturer to sell the food for less. We will not discuss every ingredient here, just some of the most common.

Be aware that ingredients… From: Pet Food Prices Why Are Some Cheap and Others Expensive

Incoming search terms:

• symptoms of cheap dog food (2)
• keep dog out of cat food (1)

Technorati Tags: dog, dog food, dogs, pet food, pets dogs

Everyone Knows how I feel about Puppy Mills. My Abigail came from a puppy mill and worse yet, we didn’t even find that out for weeks after we purchased her. It was one of those situations where she was sold by a puppy mill to a dog broker who supposedly is reputable, then he sells to individuals and to pet stores. Well no matter how you white wash it, it is despicable, and needs to be stopped.

A friend of mine over at Associated Content fro Yahoo, Michele Starkey, has written an article that really needs your attention. Here is an excerpt. Please got to the article because at the end is a link to a form you can fill out to speak to your legislature no matter where you live, to help put a stop to this nightmare.

I’m counting on you, the puppies need us.

According to the ASPCA and several members of the U.S. House of Representatives, there is a giant-sized loophole in U.S. law concerning puppy mills. Breeders who sell to puppy brokers and pet stores have to be USDA
licensed but those who sell directly to the public are NOT monitored by the USDA.

The Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act has appeared in past Congressional sessions, but has always timed out. Why has the Congress let this Act time out? Inquiring minds want to know.

read the rest of this article

Incoming search terms:

• puppy mill shut down 2012 (3)
• symptoms of puppy mill dog (2)
• puppy mill shut down in 2012 (2)
• stoppuppymillsspca@yahoo (1)
• signs of a puppy mill (1)
• signs of a mill puppy (1)
• puppy mill symptoms (1)
• puppy mill article feb 2012 (1)
• missouri puppy mill shut down jan 2012 (1)
• missouri puppy mill jan 2012 (1)

Technorati Tags: dogs, legislature, petition, pets dogs, puppies, puppy mill, puppy mills, puppy rescue

Why is it that people frequently fail to think of their dogs as living breathing creatures that require the same care to stay alive as they do? At least this is the way it seems when you hear on the news how someone has again left their dog in the car with the windows up and the temperature outside is 90 degrees.

Dogs do not have the ability to sweat and discharge that excess heat that has built up in their bodies. They can only pant which is their way of exchanging the hot air for cooler air, but what happens when the temperature on the outside is the same or worse than the inside? This is when heat stroke occurs a deadly and painful condition.

Heat stroke is an emergency. If you intend to save your pet you must act quickly. You must get the body temperature down below 104 degrees F. Do this by cooling them with cool water, not freezing, set them into a cool bath for a couple minutes then put them in front of a fan. Put cool cloths on their abdomens, groins and arm pits. Dip their feet into cool water or put cool cloths over the feet as well.

Keep checking the rectal temperature every ten minutes and when you have it down below 104 degrees F. get the dog to the vet, there are many complications that can occur after the heat stroke has occurred and been dealt with.

If you have a dog or pet and you love them, you must exercise that part of you that would do anything to save a child. Learn about heat stroke and how to prevent and in the worse case scenario how to treat it.

Please take a moment to look at more detail in the recognition of the symptoms of heat stroke and the treatment in my Factoidz Article regarding this very subject.

Incoming search terms:

• how can dogs be peventd (1)
• stroke in dogs (1)
• symptoms of dogs in heat (1)

Technorati Tags: dehydration, dog, dog health, dogs, dogs health, dogs symptoms, heat stroke, heat stroke in dogs, hyperthermia, pets dogs, sweating, treatment

This is so precious. It reminds me so much of my own Golden Retrievers, Nicholas and Abigail. They both loved all our cats. I even had a big old black and white cat that we named Rocky. The Goldens loved to play with the cats and this video just made me relive some very nice moments. I wanted to share with you. I hope you smile.

Incoming search terms:

• gabriel & stanley (1)
• golden retriber and black cat video (1)
• standely reteviers (1)
• www symptom colli choroba wp pl (1)
• www symptom colli wp pl (1)
• www symptom collie wp pl (1)

Technorati Tags: cats, dogs, friendship, golden retrievers, pets, pets dogs

We know what to do if we have a handicapped person. For instance a blind person has many resources. School for the blind, Braille, Seeing Eye dogs.

But what about a handicapped dog?

I’ve already told you about my paralyzed dog Isabel. And of course she now has many resources available to her because we love her and made sure we got as many as possible for her so her life is normal.

Well I found this incredible article while “stumbling” the other day about a seeing eye dog for a blind…dog. How wonderful is that? It brought tears to my eyes it made me so happy for Clyde and Bonnie, Get it? Bonnie and Clyde. They are adorable and this blind dog could not want for more. It is a great story, I hope you enjoy it too.   Guide dog leads blind pooch – two are inseparable.

Seeing Eye Dog Bonnie for her Blind friend, Clyde

Incoming search terms:

• dog leading blind dog (6)
• blind dog picture (4)
• bonnie and clyde dogs (4)
• blind dog (3)
• a blind dogs seeing eye dog (2)
• seeing eye dog for blind dog (2)
• why are seeing eye dogs beneficial (1)
• where can i get a cop of the story of Bonnie a seeing eye dog (1)
• seeing eye dog (1)
• dog leads blind dog (1)

Technorati Tags: dogs, Dogs Illness, handicapped dogs, pets dogs

So many of us love our pets especially our dogs to the point of distraction. We would do anything for them, we even give up our privacy and our time with our human partners. Well is it healthy?

This question is nicely answered in an article I wrote for Factoidz. I think you’ll enjoy it.

We live in a country of animal lovers and statistics show that many of us sleep with our beloved pets. According to a recent survey of pet owners by the American Pet Products Association, nearly half of dogs sleep in their owner’s beds. The survey found that 62% of small dogs, 41% of medium-sized dogs and 32% of large dogs sleep with their owners.

The survey also found that 62% of cats sleep with their adult owners, and another 13% of cats sleep with children.

But is it healthy to sleep with our pets? Of course obviously if you are allergic to your dog or cat you should certainly n… From: Is It Healthy to Sleep with Your Family Pet

Incoming search terms:

• is it healthy to sleep with your dog (2)
• dogs sleep with owners (1)
• should dogs sleep with their owners (1)
• is it normal to sleep with a dog (1)
• is it normal to sleep by your dogs (1)
• is it healthy to sleep wiyh fan on (1)
• is it healthy to sleep with a dog? (1)
• is it healthy to sleep with a dog (1)
• is it healthy to sleep in the heat (1)
• is it healthier to sleep with your dog (1)

Technorati Tags: dog, dogs, dogs health, pets dogs

My Isabel, the paralyzed Belgium sheepdog mix that I have spoken of on this blog is ten years old now. She is doing remarkably well for a paralyzed dog in diapers. And I am happy to say that I am doing well too.

Isabel, My Paralyzed Dog

We have all well-adjusted to life with a paralyzed dog. It isn’t as difficult as you might think. After the initial shock and learning curve were behind us, we have sailed right through with about the same number of problems you might have with a dog with all four walking.

But the main problem we continue to have is Urinary tract infections. Which I am happy to report is better controlled now than they were in the beginning. But a dog in diapers is bound to have these issues. Well a few of you have been interested in what it is I have done to improve on this situation.

As you know, I am a nurse, and I have taken care of many paralyzed patients. Whether by spinal injury or Multiple Sclerosis or whatever the cause. All these people must have bowel and bladder routines. We actually train their bowel and bladder to empty on command, by habit almost. Well it occurred to me, why wouldn’t this work for Isabel? Well it does.

When you bring your paralyzed dog home from the vet, after surgery or after healing from whatever injury caused the paralysis, they will have taught you how to express the bladder. It is always good to do this after your dog has been incontinent of urine, making sure the bladder is empty. This helps cut down on UTI’s. But instead of waiting until after the incontinence, I empress her bladder two or three times a day, before she is incontinent. Completely emptying her bladder and also keeping her dry. Of course, there will be accidents, but the goal is to dramatically cut down on urinary incontinence.

Now let me tell you another secret. As your dog continues to wear diapers. The hair around her bottom end will recede, making it much easier to keep her clean. You may even consider giving her a trim to help with the cleaning issues. But no matter, when the area is free of hair, you will notice that the bladder is easily stimulated by a rubbing pressure right next to the anus. Repeated effort at each session will completely empty the bladder without any problem. Also I learned that gentle pressure right on the anus, (I use the baby wipes or rubber gloves to keep me separated from her skin and clean from her urine and feces) will stimulate a bowel movement. Repeated pressure after each elimination will assure you have emptied the vault of her colon, thus keeping her clean until the next time you help her eliminate. I do this twice a day, morning and night.

So by emptying her bladder and bowel before she is incontinent, I make my life easier and cleaner and her life with less frequent urinary tract infections. I know this is not a preferred topic. But it is essential to a healthy and long life for your loved pet. It is not their fault they are paralyzed and it is better for you both if someone has control of the situation.

So you can see why I say it takes a special person to take care of a paralyzed dog. I have known people who simply couldn’t face this “disgusting” task and they just allowed their animal to be incontinent and felt cleaning up afterwards was more appealing. Hmmmm. I disagree. Or they had their pet euthanized because it was simply too difficult for them to deal with. This very much saddens me. I’ll admit a medical background did certainly help me. But my powerful love of animals would have gotten me over the hurdles, and anyone motivated can learn all this care. I hope you will have an easier road with your beloved paralyzed animal with this new knowledge.

Incoming search terms:

• paralyzed (6)
• dog in nappies (5)
• hips broke on a puppy (3)
• paralyzed dog bowel movements (3)
• bladder of a dog (3)
• חיתולים לכלב (3)
• how to express bladder on a dog (3)
• life with a paralyzed dog (2)
• paralyzed dog fecal care and cleansing (2)
• she was completely bladdered (2)

Technorati Tags: bowel and bladder care, dog, dog health, dog illness, dog on wheels, Dog Paralysis, dogs, dogs health, paralyzed dog, pets, pets dogs, urinary tract infections, UTI's

There are many reasons dog owners cannot keep their pet. If you are in a position where you cannot keep your pet dog there are many factors to consider and many options, some might even be legal requirements.

Original Owner/Breeder
Contact whomever you got the dog from. If it is a purebred animal from a reputable breeder they will want it back. In fact most reputable breeders have contracts stating that any unwanted dog be returned to them. As well if the dog was adopted from a proper animal shelter they probably had you sign a contract stating that the dog would be returned to them if it co… From: How to Get Rid of an Unwanted Pet Dog

Incoming search terms:

• can no longer keep dog (2)
• I can no longer keep my pitbull (2)
• What do I do with a pit bull I can no longer keep? (2)
• what to do with dog when no longer keep (1)
• what to do with pets you no longer can (1)
• what would you do if you could no longer keep this dog (1)
• where can i give a pit bull that i can no longer keep (1)
• where can you give a pit bull that you can no longer keep (1)
• where do you take a pet you can no longer keep (1)
• what to do with a pet you can no longer keep (1)

Technorati Tags: dogs, Forever homes, pets, pets dogs