Yawning Canine!

There is a definite distinction between an animal yawning when he is tired and an animal yawning not through tiredness. Yawning in mammals increases the flow of oxygen to the brain and increases the heart-rate. All mammals can be seen yawning under nearly any circumstance, not just when they are tired or bored. In fact, because of the physiological impact of a yawn, some researchers believe that a yawn is used as a way to prepare the body for impending action. For example, many dogs that compete in agility competitions are seen yawning on the starting line, as if they are excited by the impending start and are giving their body an extra physiological boost prior to start. Similarly, a stressed dog can frequently yawn, as if they are maintaining readiness for unpredictable events - many dogs frequently yawn during obedience classes where they find the environment challenging and perhaps stressful.

Balanced Diet for your Tortoise

During the summer your tortoise must have a varied diet, but you will have to work out its own preferences. Most of the following will be appealing: cabbage, runner beans, cucumber, broccoli, grass, clover, dandelion, carrot and watercress. Bean-sprouts are useful when good grass in unavailable and bananas also make a good supplement. Some animal protein will be required maybe once a week in the form of a hard-boiled egg or a spoonful of cat or dog food. Ask your vet or pet shop for a suitable vitamin supplement.

Your tortoise must always have access to fresh drinking and soaking water. It is no coincidence that all tortoises that have these dietary requirements occur in very humid ecosystems. Dehydration is always a very serious danger to tortoises, and if untreated tap water is all that is available it is certainly better than none at all. However, distilled water is preferred. If this is not possible, water should be left to stand for 48 hours before use for excess chlorine to dissipate.

Love at First Sniff?

Pets seldom happily welcome the newborn baby in the house and it is often forgotten that your pets, too, need to be prepared for the new arrival. Preparation of the arrival of a baby should begin as soon as you know you’re pregnant: use a baby doll to determine how your pet may react to a real infant. While your pet’s watching, hold the doll in your arms and place it on the floor. If you don’t like your pet’s reaction you have to teach him/her how you like them to behave, by using the doll. You should consider that your pet’s general behaviour may need to change. Your pet won’t instinctively know to change its behaviour just because a baby is in the house. It is important to remember that your pet is not being naughty or stubborn but is just doing what it has always been allowed to do. So nip any behaviour you consider inappropriate around an infant, in the bud before your baby arrives. You need to teach your pet new rules; otherwise they are bound to make ‘mistakes’.

How to deal with puppy’s separation anxiety

Separation anxiety may manifest itself through barking, toileting, chewing or self-mutilation. A traumatised pet, be it a new puppy or an established pet, may display these symptoms and a vet check-up may certainly be in order then! Here are a few guidelines to help them (and you) deal with their anxiety: For young dogs, gradually familiarise them with long periods of time alone. Precede these periods with quality time. Don’t make a big issue out of coming in and leaving the house. Leave your pet with something desirable, that it may only have on its own, such as toys or food balls. Always be sure to reward good behaviour. Most damage is done during the first ten minutes of you leaving, so change your routine to dispel your pet’s anxiety. Don’t punish your pet unless it has been caught in the act of doing something wrong. Punishment may increase your pet’s anxiety.

Eight Steps to building a relationship with your Cat (Part 2)

5: Establishing a grooming routine for your kitty.

If your cat has long hair he/she should be groomed everyday. If, on the other hand, your cat has a short-haired coat, then he/she only needs to be groomed twice a week.

6: Always look out for any signs of sickness!

While grooming your cat, have a look for fleas, ticks or any other parasites. Also look for any skin disorders, lumps, bumps, or skin lesions and treat it accordingly and a soon as possible.

7: Set some ground rules for your kitten and stick to them!

Ground rules help prevent your kitten from developing bad habits, as it teaches your kitten the difference between right and wrong.

8: Make sure that you start litter box training as soon as possible!

The litter box should be placed in a secluded area so that your kitten associates that area with having to ‘do his business’. Also, it is important to keep the box clean as cats don’t like to use soiled litter.

Eight Steps to building a relationship with your Cat (Part 1)

1: Ensure that your kitten has enough human contact!

Handling your kitten frequently during their first month increases and improves their learning ability.

2: Take time out to play with your kitten as it aids in development.

This teaches your cat about its environment and how to negotiate it. It also encourages instinctual behaviour in your kitten.

3: Make sure that your kitten pays a visit to the vet as soon as possible.

It is vital to ensure that your kitten is vaccinated against diseases and worms, and ask your vet for diet advice while you are there.

4: Make sure that your kitten is receiving a balanced diet.

A balanced, and nutritional, diet is vital to the development of your kitten – it ensures that he/she has enough nutrients to develop physically and mentally and makes for a strong and healthy immune system.

Happy Hygienic!

Keeping your house clean with animals can be a daunting job but we have to maintain a hygienic environment at home for our health, and this is amplified by the inclusion of animals as a dirty house can lead to a number of illnesses for both parties.
Here are a few handy tips when dealing with a few pesky problems.
• When dealing with pet hair, its always good to vacuum as often as possible, spray furniture with a mixture of fabric softener and water or sprinkle your furniture with a bit of baking soda, to make the hair come off easier.
• Use ammonia free detergents as they will not encourage pets to spray and mark their territory.
• Potty train your pet at a young age.
• Groom your pet regularly and make sure that they are tick, flea and worm free,
• There are numerous odour removers and stain removers on the market that are specifically designed to get rid of pet related problems.

Animal know -how: your pet's collar and leash

Some animal help can be very valuable as choosing a collar and a leash for your dog or cat can sometimes prove to be a little trickier than one would think. Sometimes you can pick out a leash and collar and slip it right onto your pet and other times you have to fight to get them to wear it and a great battle of the wills can ensue – with the results very often being in favour of the animal’s will! With a little bit of animal help we can give you some good advice that can aid you in choosing the right collars and leashes for your specific pet.

Having a collar and a leash itself can provide great animal help – the security of knowing that your pet is ‘labelled’ as it were with your contact details and is securely fitted to a leash and won’t run off is some of the greatest animal help we as pet owners can ever have. But we must be able to choose a collar and a leash that is suited to our pet’s to be able to have the security of this animal help. If your pet is easy about their collar and leash then consider yourself blessed, certain dogs and cats refuse to wear them and provide no animal help themselves by scratching at the collar to try and get it off. If this is the case try out a few different types of collars – but most importantly make sure you have the right size fitted onto your pet!

Pet Advice

Pet advice comes in many forms and when applied in the best of ways pet advice can often go a long way in adding great improvement to you and to your pet’s everyday life. Pet advice does need to be practical and useful but there are times when pet advice can be useful, practical and great fun as well…

So have you ever wanted to zhoosh up your pet’s look? Do you want to get your pet to stand out in a crowd and be ooh-ed and aah-ed over with constant compliments and great attention? Well then the best pet advice is to get hold of a great designer or very funky clothing item to do the trick. Yes, yes, of course your cat or dog is already cute enough without any extra added items of clothing but this little bit of well groomed pet advice can be a great way of sprucing up their look and creating a fashionable repertoire for your pet that is sure to keep them looking fantastic!

An added incentive to this pet advice of dressing your little dog or cat up and will even keep them warm and cosy in the cooler Autumn and Winter months! So not only can your pet don the latest fashion trends but they can be well protected and comfy all at the same time.

Pet Insurance: a good idea

Insuring your pet’s good health is the least that you can do as a pet owner to be sure of your animal’s health and of your financial security should your cat or dog ever need medical attention. A good pet health insurance package will cover you for veterinary visits and medication to any operation that your pet may need resulting from an accident or health problem. Along with the financial security offered to you by pet health insurances packages you will also receive the peace of mind knowing that your pet can and will be looked after when they most need to see a vet.

Medipet’s insurances packages offer you all of the benefits of reliable cover and peace of mind and offer you extra assistance in other and unexpected times of need. This includes helping you to offer a reward and advertise for your pet’s safe return if your beloved animal were ever to go missing. Medipet’s insurance package will also cover the cost of vet prescribed foods for up to six months. Covering your pet with a good insurance package means that you can take care of the routine vet visits and that you do not have to worry about the costs of any unexpected trips to see a vet.

Cat food concerns

Organic foods and healthy living is at the front of so many issues at the moment and with our pets as affected by the foods they eat as we are by the foods we eat maybe we should be looking around to see what healthier foods are available to us for our cats and dogs. Dog and cat food has for while a while been standardized into tins and pellets. But that is definitely not all that is out there for them to feast on.

There are more and more studies going into the affects of over processed and unnatural foods and as responsible dog and cat owners it is our duty to make sure that we are aware of what we feed out animals. With new products continually entering the dog and cat food market all we can do is be sure to check labels, talk to our fellow pet owners and consult our animal’s vets about the new and better foods to be feeding our pets.

Whether your pet is healthy or dealing with a medical concern a large part of their mental and physical well being relies on the food that they eat, so be sure to find out what is in your animal’s dog or cat food and check with a vet which food is best for your pet to be eating as a regular part of their diet.

Great pet advice

Vet advice plays an important role in us taking good and proper care of our pets. Whether our beloved animal is a cat or a dog we know that our vets are passionate people who have dedicated their lives and their work to looking after and ensuring the best health and medical responses possible for our animals.

Along with health specific advice many vets are now also advising pet owners to take out pet health insurance as cover for their pets. The pet insurance means that the vet is assured of being paid what is owed to him or her after having taken care of your animals well being and so gives the vet security as well your pet – who will be assured of health cover from a reliable and trustworthy vet, while the insurance also protects you in that your financial situation is not vulnerable to any unexpected accidents, illnesses or other visits to the vet regarding your animal and their health.

Pet insurance offers a situation where all the parties involved in looking after your pet will benefit. It is an all round win-win situation that keeps you secure, your pet healthy and your channel to good vet advice open.

Pet Vet

Hi everyone,

Chenna is right about finding a good vet. People who love their pets like a member of the family need to make sure that they know where the best local vet is in their immediate area. I also find it incredibly helpful to have an account with my vet so that if anything has to happen to Milo or Butters then I just nip down and have it sorted out. There is nothing worse than having to hang around filling out forms when your pet is in medical trouble! By having a vet account you just walk in, get the problem sorted out, and worry about payment later.

This is especially a good idea if you have pet insurance. Pet insurance costs very little from a reliable insurance provider like MediPet SA, and you can be sure that you will always have enough to cover the unexpected hip replacement or other ailment. In fact, it really does just cost you the price of two single movie tickets a month to get your cat insured. Just let your favourite vet know about your account details, and everything will get sorted out for you the next time you have to rush to the vet.

People take for granted that there are people-hospitals in their nearby vicinity, and everyone knows how to get there, but don't fall victim to panic and confusion when something happens to your pet and you have to get it sorted out quickly - if you don't prepare before hand you can end up spending valuable hours searching for a vet that is open after hours. (We had to do this for the people in my family the other day, and I was so sorry that I didn't know of any doctors around here that were open after hours!)

Anyway, as the saying goes: it's better to be safe than sorry.