heart disease

Just like humans, as cats age they can develop many diseases that affect their heart, kidneys and other organs. In older cats, the most common diseases are are cancer, renal or kidney disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism (disease of the thyroid gland), dental disease and heart disease. Cats age seven times faster than humans and examinations done by your veterinarian twice a year will help detect diseases earlier while they can still be treated. Diagnostic tests such as blood work, ECG, ultrasound and blood pressure monitoring can help detect problems sooner.

A common heart disease that affects cats is hypertrophic cardipmyopathy (HCM). HCM is found in cats more often than dogs. HCM is an acquired heart disease that causes the muscular walls of the ventricles to thicken. As the heart walls get thicker, heart function decreases. As the walls of the heart thicken, they aslo stiffen and loose the ability to contract efficiently. The narrow heart chamber holds a smaller volume of blood, so less blood is pumped out of the heart with each beat of the heart., This results in the amount of blood that once filled the heart is less than it should be and the heart muscle can’t contract as well to move the blood out of the heart into the body. The diseased heart has to pump harder and faster than normal to keep the blood flowing throughout the body. The resulting pressure begins to back up the blood into the lungs resulting in edema leading to congestive heart failure.

Sometimes, the faulty heart will develop changes in the conduction system that tells the heart when to contract. Irregular heart beats may develop in the diseased heart resulting in sudden death, similar to young athletes that die during practice.

Cardiomyopathy can also cause feline aortic thromboembolism or FATE. Blood clots can form on the valves of the heart and they sometimes break off the valve and lodge in the aorta leading to the legs. The dislodged blood clot causes blockage of the blood flow to the legs resulting in severe pain and paralysis. The blood clot is sometimes referred to as a saddle thrombus. About 40% of the cats recover from a saddle thrombus with intensive therapy and may regain use of their legs over time. However, these cats can still risk develop another episode and will continue to suffer from the primary heart condition.

Cats are very good as masking underlying physical problems and early screening is key to helping these cats live a full life. Your fat and lazy cat may actually be hiding a heart condition. Of course not all fat and lazy cats a have heart disease, but the only way to tell is with health exams by your veterinarian. Laboratory tests, such as, EKG, blood pressure monitoring and ultrasound can help the veterinarian diagnose heart disease. Ultrasound is the only way to truly detect the thickened walls of the heart and is now used to screen our young human athletes as well.

Medications can help cats with their heart function, reduce the edema in their lungs and may help reduce the blood clot formations. The prognosis for a cat that has already developed the congestive heart failure is guarded, and even with medication, survival rates are 12-18 months after diagnosis and sudden death can occur at any time.

At your cat’s next health check, speak with your veterinarian about developing a wellness plan for yor cat. By diagnosing disease conditions earlier, small changes in diet and adding medication can help your cat live longer.

You can find more on Cat Health Care at LuvUrCat.com

training your dog

There has to be someone special in order to fill the job a dog trainer must do. Training your dog is an important part of developing a life-long bond with your beloved pet. You may never be a dog trainer for money but just giving your dog the basic dog commands is more than many people find themselves able to do. You can look back with a sense of satisfaction that your pet is a good example for others.

In order to be a dog trainer for your pet, you have to know some dog training tips. The first is having the proper knowledge on the dog breeding. Certain dogs are more laid back than others. Some dogs exhibit more aggression. As a dog trainer for your puppy, you must know its breeding. Once you have this knowledge ingrained then you will know what areas of difficulty you can expect as well as areas that will be easier.

Basic dog training starts off with teaching the pet how not to use the bathroom in your house. Dog books may recommend something called crate training to help with this aspect. Basically it begins with laying puppy pee pads out and into a crate designed to house your dog. There will be some rough times when the carpet gets more of the pee than the pad or crate does but as a dog trainer you must come to expect this. Eventually the dog will lean to use the bathroom correctly.

Crate training can also be used as a way to secure the dog at night when the rest of the family is asleep. You probably do not want to wake up and find your best shoes chewed up because Fido became irritated at you because you were not there for him or her when they wanted to play. Dogs are very smart. If you irritate them or abandon them, they will retaliate and the recipient is often a favored pair of shoes that become chew toys.

It is probably safe to assume that you have a set of shoes you wear often. It probably would not go over very well to come home and find them chewed up or defecated in. Dogs have a curious way to express their irritation. If you utilize crate training as a weapon in a dog trainer capacity, you can leave your pet safely ensconced within the cage when you are gone.

Animals can sense our emotions. They know when we are happy, sad or feeling frustrated. They experience the same things. There will be times when you will feel like giving up but it does get better. There are plenty of dog forums available to help you be a good dog trainer for your pet. The hard stuff will pass and soon you will be able to get a handle on everything.

What is a hermit crab? Well, hermit crabs are unusual pets for unusual people, maybe like you. Seriously, according to Wikipedia, these crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Actually, they are not that closely related to crabs. Sort of, in human terms, in-laws or far kins but they walk funny, too, sideways. They are commonly seen in the intertidal zone, for example, in tide pools. These crabs have the habit of abandoning their own shell overtime and will find a larger shell. This is why they are called “hermit crabs” and can you imagine that a lot of people have considered hermit crabs as pets. What’s more, because of this new found love in these animals, there are even sites out there that offer some Hermit Crab care and other valuable information vital for owning a crustacean. It is also important to note that some of these crabs can live among humans for 20 years or so. If you’re searching for a pet and you like to have a marine life in your living room, an aquarium, for example, why not try to have some hermit crabs on it?

For those who want to have a refreshing scenery inside his living room, an aquarium is one of the strongly recommended item that you can put on top of your TV set or in just one corner of your living room. You can complete your collection of marine life by having your own Hermit Crab pet. They can also provide some “cleaning” services for other occupants of your tank. You know crustaceans are, don’t you? They are also considered as “janitors” of the sea and they eat all kinds of small animals and bacteria on the ocean floor which makes the whole area clean and free from parasites. Who knows, with a Hermit Crabs pet, you might have the cleanest tank among your friends and you don’t even need to invest on cleaners for your aquarium. So, how you doing?

Spider the Horse Falls into Snow Covered Pool

Firefighters were called to rescue an 11 year old American Paint horse that had fallen through a snow covered pool cover into a swimming pool in Sherborn, Massachusetts.

When firefighters arrived Spider the horse was in the deep end of the pool shivering with cold and nervousness. Firefighters considered a number of rescue options, finally opting to cut through the ice and pool cover and lead the nervous horse to safety.

The horse had escaped from his barn while nobody was looking. Unfortunately the gates between the barn and the swimming pool could not be closed due to the snow which also obscured the inground pool.

Spider the horse walked onto the surface of the pool which was protected with a high strength swimming pool cover. Advertisers of this particular pool cover proudly indicate that it can take the weight of a small elephant. Unfortunately the pool cover wasn’t strong enough to take the combined weight of both the snow and the horse.

There were fears that Spider would succumb to hypothermia as the pool heaters were no longer in use and the water was covered in a layer of ice. But firefighters managed to successfully return him to his stable in about half an hour. He’d suffered a few minor scratches on his feet and ankles but the biggest concern was the cold.

Spider the horse was dried and treated to a vigorous rub down and warmed up with propane heaters. It was clear that he had not suffered any adverse affects from his cold, mid winter dip.

Pool owners are warned that their swimming pool covers may be able take a lot of weight but if there is already snow and ice on the cover and then it is walked on the additional weight can be enough to rip through the cover. Combine this risk with the camouflaging effect of the snow and you have an immediate danger. Pool owners are encouraged to put a fence around their inground swimming pools to prevent accidents like this.

Clicker Training Review

Would you like to Become a Super Trainer?

I witnessed a tragic event one evening when I was running with our family dog Rigby off leash. He was playing with several other dogs, a couple of labs and a border. Rigby is hopeless around water, and I mean absolutely one-eyed, as were his new friends, the only difficulty was, their boss didn’t want them to swim…. You can imagine what eventuated, the gang were in the water and loving it! 

The owner of the 3 dogs called in vain and when they finally came to him, to my shock… they got whacked svserely, after that Rigby’s playmates would not come near their master, and who would blame them. Rigby came and sat behind my legs shaking. At the time he was still quite young, so why was he happy to obey? 

We had discovered Clicker Training and had been using it for a few months and though still in the beginning stages, Rigby’s grasp was very clear and he knew that if he played the game, he would get a treat or some scrumbles. We still see the others occasionally but their master still doesn’t understand!

‘The 4 Secrets of Becoming a Supertrainer’ was our first serious introduction to commencing Clicker training, this superb publication is by far the most informative work on the Clicker Training technique. It’s technical mastery has also been recognized by other organizations and people:

It is compulsory reading for Guide Dog for the Blind Instructors in California

It is used for training Search & Rescue Dogs and Military Patrol Dogs

Clicker Training is employed in training marine Mammals

Many Professional Dog Trainers use it for Corrective Behavior Training

But this book is not only for professional trainers, it is terrific for every dog owner who would enjoy owning a well controlled dog; a dog everyone loves to have around.

The creators of  ‘The 4 Secrets of Becoming a Supertrainer’ have been involved in dog educators for many years, so this is not the work of a academic, it is founded on well researched practices and never employs any sort of admonishment.

The instructions are simple to understand, well laid out and you will quickly implement the training techniques. The more advanced trainers will also find a wide variety of ideas they can merge into their existing regimes.

I doesn’t  matter whether you own a dog, cat, horse or guinea pig, they will all respond to the clicker system, you will be amazed how you can adapt the instructions to your own training challenge.

To get your copy Click Here Now.

Concern over environmental pollution has also increased. Many citizens and some media reporters have made a sensation over dog litter, claiming that every disease from the common cold to bubonic plague comes directly from dog litter. Some people have gone a little too far by coming up with slogans such as “children before dogs”.

To be quite frank, dog litter does not present real medical concern to the average resident of a large city. The more serious health concern is to other dogs. Diseases such as hepatitis and distemper are passed from infected dogs to healthy ones through saliva and urine, while internal parasites are transmitted through the stool of infected dogs.

However, for a human to contract any disease from dogs would require that he walk the street barefooted or physically ingest dog waste or fleas which is, of course, highly unlikely. The argument of the “children before dogs” group is that children will unwittingly eat dog fleas and stool. We assume that parents would not let their young children to play unattended on public streets, parks and pavements; and when they are old enough to play unattended, they have been taught the basics of cleanliness and hygiene.

More likely to be of significant danger to human health is contamination of food by roaches, rats, and the common housefly, none of which seems to be exciting enough for these same people who are so concerned with dog litter.

But no matter who is right or wrong, most people will agree that dog litter causes an awful smell and unsightly pollution of our environment in an area that can hardly afford it. Every dog owner is responsible for the mess created by his dog. Whether it is a Great Dane or a Chihuahua, each dog does his share in contaminating natural resources and infuriating pedestrians.

It is puzzling that some dog owners with a backyard have no difficulty keeping it clean of dog waste; but these same owners will walk their dog allow her to litter a public street.

People who have never loved a pet do not quite understand the sensitivity to nature that many animal lovers feel. But the love and sensitivity must go beyond our pets and encompass our human neighbors. The rights and privileges of other people cannot be ignored. Our dogs are our responsibility and we should not expect other people to clean up after them.

We contribute to a substantially cleaner environment just by cleaning up after our pet. It is up to us to preserve decent cities to our pets as well as for ourselves and our neighbors.

Read more information about dogs.

Remember to stop by our online pet store.

Dogs And Separation Anxiety

The fundamental point of any dog training program is to establish that you’re the pack leader.  Doing this will nip a lot of dog behavior problems in the bud.  This is important because many dogs with separation anxiety think that they’re the pack leader, or alpha male.  In the wild, the pack leader may leave the pack for a while, but his followers never leave him.

If your dog thinks he’s the alpha male, he’ll get upset when you leave.  He feels responsible for you, and thinks something may happen to you while you’re gone. 

Another issue to avoid is allowing your dog to get too attached to you.When interacting with a dog struggling with separation anxiety, it’s important that you’re the pack leader.You should be the one who initiates the contact, not him. 

You want to encourage your dog to be more independent.To keep your dog from getting too dependent on you, have others in your household feed and walk the dog too.  Don’t let your dog sit or sleep within three feet of you.  This means no sleeping on your bed.  If he is already, train him to sleep at the foot of the bed, and then in his own bed.  Eventually move his bed out of your bedroom completely.

Don’t make a fuss when leaving or coming home.  It’s very tempting to encourage your dog to jump around and get excited when you return home, but it’s a bad idea because it reinforces your dog’s notion that your return is the high point of his day.

Dog Separation Anxiety Training

You’ll want to use positive reinforcement techniques to teach your dog that being alone isn’t a bad thing.  Do this by rewarding his good behavior and ignoring bad dog behavior.

An example of this is using the “sit-stay” command.This action can be repeated many times as the day passes.  What you want to do is to walk away from your dog and out of his sight while he’s in the “stay” position.When you come back, reward him with a favorite treat if he’s still in the “sit” position.  This teaches him that he can be in one place and be happy while you go someplace else. 

You can start this training very easily when you’re watching tv.  You get up for a snack, and tell your dog to “sit-stay.”  When you come back, reward him.  Repeat this as often as you can throughout the day.  Gradually increase the distance between you and your dog, and the length of time he waits for you to return. 

Always reward him with a tasty treat for waiting quietly for your return.  This is the positive reinforcement he receives for waiting quietly for your return. 

If your dog follows you, return him to the “sit-stay” position and work on him staying as you walk away.  Never punish your dog during these sessions, as it will only make him more anxious. 

A Good Dog Training Course Is Essential

It’s very easy to give your dog the wrong idea during dog separation anxiety training.  Be sure to find a course that will teach you how your dog thinks to avoid inadvertently teaching him the wrong things.

Now’s the time to start putting these ideas into action.

Learn more about dog separation anxiety training by visiting No More Bad Dogs, and find a dog training course that will help to solve your dog behavior problems.

Why Do Dogs Chew?

There are several reasons dogs chew on things.  The first is that chewing is instinctive for your dog.  Dogs play rough, and part of their play is to chew things up into little pieces.  If whatever they’re chewing on tastes good, that’s a bonus.

A bored dog, or one that’s anxious about something will chew on something to soothe himself, or to give himself something to do.It’s probably related to the reason people eat when they’re bored or upset over something.

Your dog needs lots of exercise to burn up his excess energy.  If he’s not getting the exercise he needs, he’ll find a way to use that energy, and he may turn to chewing on your shoes to do it.

Another reason that dog chewing problems surface is that you’re not giving your dog enough time and attention.  Your dog craves your attention, whether it’s good or bad.  If your dog only gets attention from you when he’s engaged in destructive chewing, you can bet that he’ll keep doing it.

Six Solutions To Dog Chewing Problems

Your dog needs lots of one-on-one time with you.  Play fetch with him, take him for long walks, spend time with him.  Lots of exercise will use up the extra energy he has. 

Dog-proof your home.  Put away things like shoes, cell phones, tv remotes, books, eyeglasses, and whatever other goodies your dog loves to chew on.  Dogs don’t resist temptation well, so don’t tempt him. 

Keep your dog’s size and agility in mind when you’re putting things away.  Can he jump up on the counter to get at something?  Or is he a climber?  Or is he big enough to just stand on his hind legs and reach it? 

Don’t leave your canine friend tied up in the yard all the time.If you leave him in a dog-proofed area all the time, your dog can’t learn what you expect from him.  He does need to push the boundaries when you’re there, so he can learn which toys are his, and which are off limits.

Speaking of toys, you’ll want to keep lots of toys on hand.  Give your dog two or three at a time, and swap them out every couple of days.  Dogs lose interest in the same old thing, just like we do, so give him lots of variety.

Don’t blur the boundaries.  Avoid giving your dog old shoes or clothing or towels to chew on. It’s unrealistic to expect him to know the difference between your old shoe and your new designer shoes.  To a dog, a shoe is a shoe.

The Seventh Solution - Catch Him In The Act Of Destructive Chewing

Now you have a teachable moment.  If he knows the “drop-it” command, use it.Get his attention if he doesn’t by clapping your hands or saying, “Ah-ah-aaah!” loudly.  In either case, give him an appropriate chew toy right away.  Praise him as soon as his mouth closes around it.  You’re training him that chewing on his own toys is fine, but yours are off-limits.

Punishment seldom works to stop dogs from chewing.If you can’t catch him in the act, he’ll have no idea why he’s in trouble.  And even if you do, he’s liable to just wait until you’re gone to chew on your things.

You can see how easy it is to inadvertently give your dog the wrong idea when training him.  The best thing you can do is to invest in a good dog training course, so you’ll avoid making mistakes and having to retrain him to stop dog chewing.

If you’re trying to stop dogs from chewing, visit No More Bad Dogs to learn more about a dog training course that will help you to solve your dog’s problem.

You have two goals with this training.  The first is to make your dog less dependent on you, and the second is to teach him that being by himself isn’t a bad thing.

Basics Of Dog Separation Anxiety Training

It’s important that your dog know his place in the family pecking order.  The dog should be at the bottom of the family heap, not the top.  Even if your dog sees you as the pack leader, it’s important that he doesn’t rank himself socially above the other members of the family.  Everyone in your home should be involved in dog training so that your dog understands that he needs to obey everyone in the house, not just you.

Your dog shouldn’t get too attached to you.  We’ve all seen the 90-pound dogs who always want to curl up in someone’s lap.  It’s funny at first, but it gets old fast.  It’s best to train your dog to sit or stay about three feet from you.He needs to learn that he can be happy even if you’re not there.

Don’t let your dog sleep in the bed with you.  If he’s already doing this, first train him to sleep at the foot of your bed.  Then encourage him to sleep in his own doggie bed, with the eventual goal of moving his bed out of your bedroom.This trains him to become a happier, more independent dog.

Make sure your dog gets lots of exercise to burn up the extra energy he has.  A long walk in the morning and again in the evening goes a long way toward keeping your dog on an even keel emotionally.

This sounds harsh, but don’t make a big scene when you come home.  Encouraging your dog to jump around, barking in excitement when you return, is only reinforcing the idea that he can’t be happy unless you’re there.Don’t pay any attention to your dog for twenty minutes or so before you leave, or after you return.

Teaching Dogs With Separation Anxiety To Be Happy When They’re Alone

Work on teaching your dog the basic “sit,”, “relax,” and “stay” commands.  He needs to know these basic commands so you can work on these steps.

Find a reason to leave the room if you’re watching tv.  Use the “sit-stay” command, and then leave.  At first come right back, and reward your dog with a tasty treat if he stayed and didn’t follow you.Gradually increase the amount of time that you’re gone.  Do this many times a day, so that your dog learns that when you leave, you do come back.  He also learns that if he sits and waits patiently for you, he gets rewarded. 

You’ll also want to find a room in your house where your dog can’t destroy anything.  Put your dog in there with a few favorite toys that he only gets when he’s by himself.  Stay with him a little while, and then leave without any fuss, and close the door behind you.  Come back before he gets upset, and reward him with a food treat.  Repeat this as often during the day as you can, gradually increasing the amount of time you’re gone. When you’re done with the training session, be sure to put these toys away.

What your dog is learning now is that he gets fun toys when you’re gone, and a treat when you return.  This is teaching him that being away from you isn’t so bad after all.

Your next step? To take what you’ve just learned and apply it.  You’ll want to look for a good dog training course, so you can avoid making mistakes as you use dog separation anxiety training to solve your dog behavior problems.

Learn more about dog separation anxiety training, by visiting No More Bad Dogs to find an effective dog training course that uses these principles.

Unlike the US, Europe has a union of fifteen nations that has established certain animal cruelty laws. These laws can include jail time for the human perpetrator if an animal is hurt, abused, neglected, or if an illegal puppy mill is found in operation. One of the most stringent laws in their treaty is that no one shall abandon a companion animal. This can carry severe consequences. The US has left the governing of the animal laws up to the individual states; therefore, the punishments vary greatly from state to state.

Farm animals are also covered by the animal laws that the European Union has set forth. When it comes to farm animals, the transport and slaughter of these animals in the European Unionis much more progressive and stricter than in the United States. They rarely have issues, whereas the US is regularily in the news for unethical treatment of a variety of animals waiting for slaughter.

The animal cruelty laws of the European Union are much more advanced than those of the United States. The main reason for this is because the European Union sees animals as having inherent value; the US sees them as only property. Just as slaves were once seen as being property, so too are the animals in today’s modern world. The only way to stop this from continuing is to become active in the fight for the prevention of cruelty to animals.

Animal cruelty is one thing that many individuals cannot comprehend. Why a person abuses a helpless animal is beyond the scope of understanding of most individuals. However, it is an evil that does exist in society. To better understand what constitutes cruelty to animals, there are actually two types to consider. Perhaps understanding the types will enable those who have a love of animals to aid in the prevention of cruelty to animals.

Dog Training