Dog Illnesses

All pet dogs should be treated as members of our family and adequate attention must be paid to the canine's health. Sometimes dogs become sick but may not look so. It is very important to recognize and understand dog illnesses symptoms.

Since prevention is a better cure, we must learn something about dog illnesses and symptoms so we can better understand their conditions. This will help us recognize some common dog illnesses. If appropriate and adequate vaccinations are administered to the puppies, most of the common dog illnesses can be easily prevented.

Some elementary observations are useful to recognize certain common dog illnesses. Dogs take a lot of sleep but their sleep is marked by alertness. If a dog is sluggish then there may be various causes contributing to it, right from anemia to old age. If the dog is limping then you should check for prospective painful areas using a firm and yet gentile hand. Check out for any signs indicating lameness from time to time.

The appetite of the dog is bound to be affected by ill health. Look for any signs of loss of appetite. An important sign of dog health problems is excessive thirst. A pronounced weight loss is also an indicator of ill health. Check the eyes for any ulcers, discharges, veins or sores.

The mouth of a healthy dog is pink. There should not be any discoloring or cavities in the teeth. Look for signs of discharge from ears. It is advisable to clean the ears from time to time. The dog's head should be regularly checked for sore patches, hair loss, or deep wounds.

Investigate the limbs and trunk for the same signs. If the dog is vomiting, there may be various underlying problems. If the body temperature of your dog is not between the range 38 to 39 Celsius it is an indication of some kind of illness. Check the female dogs for any kind of foul smelling vaginal discharge, which needs attention of a vet.

The symptoms of pain and discomfort experienced by a dog can give us many clues about the possible underlying illness. If the dog is suffering any abdominal pain, it may be due to canine hepatitis, enteritis or it can be a simple case of constipation. The abdominal swelling dogs indicate canine bloat and roundworms in puppies. Aggression of the dog may be caused by rabies. Roundworms, tapeworms, and whipworms my cause anemia in dogs. Any behavioral changes in dog can be an indicator of hookworms, tapeworms, whipworms, canine arthritis, heart disease, canine, or parvovirus.

Kidney diseases sometimes cause blood in urine. Eye infections and entropion cause bloodshot eyes in dogs. A ruptured diaphragm, obstructed airway, lungworm, bronchitis, pneumonia, food poisoning, heatstroke, allergies can cause respiratory problems in dogs.



There are various reasons of sudden change in weight of dogs like heart disease to heartworms. Hernia might be caused due to long term constipation in dogs. Allergies, parvovirus, hepatitis, lungworm, TB, pneumonia or distemper may be one of the reasons of coughing in dogs. Cannine parvovirus can also cause dehydration in dogs. Any pancreatic disorder, food poisoning can give rise to diarrhea in dogs. The dog may suffer from hair loss due to mange, red mange demodectic, scabies, cheyletiella mange, or cushings syndrome.

If dog indicates any signs of failing genital bleeding, persistent constipation, projectile vomiting, fainting, hair loss, seizure, stumbling, trauma, trembling, mouth bleeding, rectal bleeding, lethargy, shaking, urinating problems contact a dog care specialist.

How to Choose the Best Cat Scratching Trees for your Cat

Is Your Cat Scratching Up all your nice Furniture?

Tips before you Buy a Cat Scratching Tree Or Cat Furniture!

First of all, when thinking of buying a cat scratching tree, you should determine which cat scratching tree would be best for your cat.

This all depends on your cats size, your cats climbing abilities and your cats age.

What size cat scratching tree is good for kittens? What is better for cats? Huge Cat scratching trees or small cat
scratching trees? For kittens, I recommend you to buy a small, wide cat scratching tree, since most little cats (especially kittens) are careless and jumpy and can easily fall of a tall cat scratching tree and get hurt.

Make sure when buying a kitten scratching tree, that your cat tree doesn't have narrow, high ledges that the kittens can fall off... Therefore, I recommend to buy a great, fun, wide scratching tree for kittens and cats that is safe and provides lots of entertainment!



How will the Cat scratching tree entertain my Cats and Kittens?

By playing, jumping and scratching cats and kittens have a GREAT time on cat scratching trees.

Not only do cats ENJOY to be high up on a tree, (like in nature) but they also enjoy the fun of climbing up a cat scratching tree, scratching up the cat scratching tree and playing catch-me if you have 2 or more cats.

For almost all cats, (especially kittens) it is recommended to have many hanging mice and cat toys on the cat tree, so that especially the young kittens will get loads of entertainment, since they often get bored and restless.

If you have a BIG cat, you might want to get her/him a large cat scratching tree so that she will have plenty of room to climb and scratch and be able to exercise him/herself on the cat scratching tree.

You don't want a fat cat do you?

For older, lazier cats, a climbing tree with more room, more ledges for them to hang of and sleep on and more places to scratch.

What Color Cat Scratching Tree Matches My home best?

When getting a cat scratching tree, you can mostly choose what color you want it in too.

Try choosing a color that will best match your house.
If your walls and furniture are light, then you can take a lighter cat scratching tree.

However if your walls and chairs are dark wood, you might want to choose a dark cat tree.

WARNING: Never buy a cat scratching tree that doesn't have a cover/material over the ledges.

This means that there is no material covering the wood. This is cheaper but worse and dangerous for your cat since splinters can get into it's paws and injure it! Also, a cat tree without any covering material is ugly, plain and unpleasant for your cat to sit on.
Therefore, buy a good cat scratching tree that has a material covering to it!

Here's a recommended site for cheap cat scratching trees.

California Natural Cat Food? Is California Natural Cat Food Good for your Cats or Dogs?

What is California Natural Cat Food made of? Why is California Natural Cat Food so healthy for your Pets? California Natural Cat Food is made only of what is needed for a healthy diet for cats, nothing more. California Natural Cat Food is created with lean meats, essential vitamins and minerals, full meats and tasty extras. California Natural Cat Food has balanced ingredients like herring oil and sunflower oil which have the health supplements Omega 6 and 3 fatty acids which make your cat a shiny coat and healthy skin. California Natural Dry Cat Food combines wholesome and healthful ingredients to provide the perfect key to good health, long life and shiny coat as well as good digestion. California Natural Cat Food? Is California Natural Cat Food Good for your Cats or Dogs? California Natural Cat Food contains NO additives, chemical preservatives, or fillers and has a taste cats love! Not only are most our cats fussy when it comes to eating cat food, but they also need nutrition supplements to make their coat and skin shiny and healthy. There for, California Natural Cat Food has a healthy, nutritious and tasty formula.



California Natural Canned Cat Food has the right amount of vitamins and nutrients. California Natural Canned Cat Food uses pure protein sources to satisfy the nutritional need of your cat while providing it with a flavor your cat won’t be able to forget. The entire line of California Natural Cat Food is made with only wholesome, natural ingredients. Even in taste tests, California Natural Cat Food was liked best by cats over all the other leading cat foods. California Natural Herring And Sweet Potato Formula Cat Food California natural cat food is healthy and good! California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato Formula Cat Food provides a unique single source animal protein that will sure to please even the most selective cat. California Natural Cat Food contains 100 percent Herring and Herring Meal, used as animal protein source. California Natural Cat Food doen't have any ground bones, chemicals, or crap inside that could eventually make your cat sick or caus diherria. California Natural Cat Food is all healthy, natural (as already the name says),tasty and healthy,for your cats! Is California Natural Cat Food Good Even If My Cat Has Dietery Problems? Yes, for california natural cat Food can meet the dietary needs of cats that cannot tolerate normal cat food ingredients. . California Natural Cat Food is as good as anything you would demand for yourself. Pamper your cat like you'd pamper yourself! get it here: http://catlovingcare.com/california-natural-cat-food



What is California Natural Cat Food made of? Why is California Natural Cat Food so healthy for your Pets?

California Natural Cat Food is made only of what is needed for a healthy diet for cats, nothing more. California Natural Cat Food is created with lean meats, essential vitamins and minerals, full meats and tasty extras.

California Natural Cat Food has balanced ingredients like herring oil and sunflower oil which have the health supplements Omega 6 and 3 fatty acids which make your cat a shiny coat and healthy skin.

California Natural Dry Cat Food combines wholesome and healthful ingredients to provide the perfect key to good health, long life and shiny coat as well as good digestion.

California Natural Cat Food? Is California Natural Cat Food Good for your Cats or Dogs?

California Natural Cat Food contains NO additives, chemical preservatives, or fillers and has a taste cats love!

Not only are most our cats fussy when it comes to eating cat food, but they also need nutrition supplements to make their coat and skin shiny and healthy. There for, California Natural Cat Food has a healthy, nutritious and tasty formula.

California Natural Canned Cat Food has the right amount of vitamins and nutrients.

California Natural Canned Cat Food uses pure protein sources to satisfy the nutritional need of your cat while providing it with a flavor your cat won’t be able to forget.



The entire line of California Natural Cat Food is made with only wholesome, natural ingredients.

Even in taste tests, California Natural Cat Food was liked best by cats over all the other leading cat foods.California Natural Herring And Sweet Potato Formula Cat Food

California natural cat food is healthy and good!

California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato Formula Cat Food provides a unique single source animal protein that will sure to please even the most selective cat. California Natural Cat Food contains 100 percent Herring and Herring Meal, used as animal protein source.

California Natural Cat Food doen't have any ground bones, chemicals, or crap inside that could eventually make your cat sick or caus diherria.

California Natural Cat Food is all healthy, natural (as already the name says),tasty and healthy,for your cats!

Is California Natural Cat Food Good Even If My Cat Has Dietery Problems?

Yes, for california natural cat Food can meet the dietary needs of cats that cannot tolerate normal cat food ingredients. .

California Natural Cat Food is as good as anything you would demand for yourself. Pamper your cat like you'd pamper yourself!

External Parasites and the Health of Your Pet

Flea Basics
Fleas thrive when the weather is warm and humid. Depending on your climate, fleas may be a seasonal or year-round problem. Your pet can pick up fleas wherever an infestation exists, often in areas frequented by other cats and dogs. Adult fleas are dark brown, no bigger than a sesame seed, and able to move rapidly over your pet's skin.

Adult fleas live their entire lives on your pet. Female fleas begin laying eggs within 24 hours of selecting your pet as a host, producing up to 50 eggs each day. These eggs fall from your pet onto the floor or furniture, including your pet's bed, or onto any other indoor or outdoor area where your pet happens to go. Tiny, worm-like larvae hatch from the eggs and burrow into carpets, under furniture, or into soil before spinning a cocoon. The cocooned flea pupae can lie dormant (inactive) for weeks before emerging as adults that are ready to infest (or reinfest) your pet. The result is a flea life cycle of anywhere from 12 days to 6 months.

Risks and Consequences
You may not know that your pet has fleas until their number increases to the point that your pet is obviously uncomfortable. Signs of flea problems range from mild redness to severe scratching that can lead to open sores and skin infections. One of the first things you may notice on a pet with fleas is "flea dirt" — the black flea droppings left on your pet's coat.

Fleas bite animals and suck their blood; young or small pets with heavy flea infestations may become anemic. Some pets can develop an allergy to flea saliva that may result in more severe irritation and scratching. Also, pets can become infected with certain types of tapeworms if they ingest fleas carrying tapeworm eggs. In areas with moderate to severe flea infestations, people may also be bitten by fleas. While fleas are capable of transmitting several other infectious diseases to pets and people, this is rare.



Treatment and Control
Your veterinarian will recommend an appropriate flea control plan for your pet based upon your needs and the severity of the flea infestation.

Fleas spend a lot of their time off of your pet and in the environment. In addition to treating your pet, reduce the flea population in your house by thoroughly cleaning your pet's sleeping quarters and vacuuming floors and furniture that your pet comes in contact with frequently. Careful and regular vacuuming/cleaning of the pet's living area helps to remove and kill flea eggs, larvae, and pupae. You may also have to treat your house with insecticides to kill the fleas; consult with your veterinarian about products safe for use around pets and children.

With moderate and severe flea infestations, you may be advised to treat your yard in addition to treating the inside of your home. Your veterinarian can recommend an appropriate course of action and suggest ways to prevent future flea infestations.

Ticks

Tick Basics
Hosting a tick is the price dogs or, less commonly, cats may pay for investigating shrubbery, brush, or wild undergrowth. Ticks have a four-stage life cycle, and immature ticks often feed on small, wild animals found in forests, prairies, and brush. Adult ticks seek larger hosts like dogs and cats who venture into these habitats. Tick exposure may be seasonal, depending on geographic location.

Risks and Consequences
Ticks are most often found around your dog's neck, in the ears, in the folds between the legs and the body, and between the toes. Cats may have ticks on their neck or face. Tick bites can cause skin irritation and heavy infestations can cause anemia in pets. Ticks are also capable of spreading serious infectious diseases (such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and others) to the pets and the people on which they feed. Disease risk varies by geographic area and tick species.

Treatment and Control
Prompt removal of ticks is very important because it lessens the chance of disease transmission from the tick to your pet. Remove ticks by carefully using tweezers to firmly grip the tick as close to the pet's skin as possible and gently pulling the tick free without twisting it. After removing the tick, crush it while avoiding contact with tick fluids that can carry disease. Do not attempt to smother the tick with alcohol or petroleum jelly, or apply a hot match to it, as this may cause the tick to regurgitate saliva into the wound, increasing the risk of disease.

Pets at risk for ticks should be treated during the tick season with an appropriate tick preventative. Your veterinarian can recommend a product best suited to your pet's needs. Owners who take their pets to tick-prone areas during camping, sporting, or hiking trips should examine their pets for ticks immediately upon returning home and remove them from their pets. If your pet picks up ticks in your backyard, trimming bushes and removing brush may reduce your pet's exposure to tick habitats.

Ear Mites

Mite Basics
Ear mites are common in young cats and dogs, and generally confine themselves to the ears and surrounding area. Mites are tiny and individual mites may be seen only with the aid of a microscope. Your pet can pick up ear mites by close contact with an infested pet or its bedding.

Risks and Consequences
Ear mites can cause intense irritation of the ear canal. Signs of ear mite infestation include excessive head shaking and scratching of the ears. Your pet may scratch to the point that it creates bleeding sores around its ears. A brown or black ear discharge is common with ear mite infections.

Treatment and Control
Treatment of ear mites involves thorough ear cleaning and medication. Your veterinarian can recommend an effective treatment plan.

Sarcoptic Mange Mites

Mite Basics
Microscopic sarcoptic mange mites cause sarcoptic mange, also known as scabies. Sarcoptic mange mites affect dogs of all ages, during any time of the year. Sarcoptic mange mites are highly contagious to other dogs and may be passed by close contact with infested animals, bedding, or grooming tools.

Risks and Consequences
Sarcoptic mange mites burrow through the top layer of the dog's skin and cause intense itching. Clinical signs include generalized hair loss, a skin rash, and crusting. Skin infections may develop secondary to the intense irritation. People who come in close contact with an affected dog may develop a skin rash and should see their physician.

Treatment and Control
Dogs with sarcoptic mange require medication to kill the mites and additional treatment to soothe the skin and resolve related infections. Cleaning and treatment of the dog's environment is also necessary.



Demodectic Mange Mites

Mite Basics
Demodectic mange caused by demodectic mange mites is mainly a problem in dogs. Demodectic mange mites are microscopic, cigar-shaped, and not highly contagious. A mother dog, however, may pass the mites to her puppies.

Risks and Consequences
Localized demodectic mange tends to appear in young dogs as patches of scaly skin and redness around the eyes and mouth and, perhaps, the legs and trunk. Unlike other types of mange, demodectic mange may signal an underlying medical condition, and your pet's overall health should be carefully evaluated. Less commonly, young and old dogs experience a generalized form of demodectic mange and can exhibit widespread patches of redness, hair loss, and scaly, thickened skin.

Treatment and Control
Your veterinarian will discuss treatment options with you. Treatment of dogs with localized demodectic mange generally results in favorable outcomes. Generalized demodectic mange (demodecosis), however, may be difficult to treat, and treatment may only control the condition, rather than cure it.

Important Points




* Look for fleas, ticks, and coat abnormalities any time you groom your dog or cat or when you return home from areas that are likely to have higher numbers of these parasites.



* See your veterinarian if your pet excessively scratches, chews, or licks its haircoat, or persistently shakes its head. These clinical signs may indicate the presence of external parasites or other conditions requiring medical care.



* Prompt treatment of parasites lessens your pet's discomfort, decreases the chances of disease transmission from parasite to pet, and may reduce the degree of home infestation.



* Discuss the health of all family pets with your veterinarian when one pet becomes infested. Some parasites cycle among pets, making control of infestations difficult unless other pets are considered. Consult your veterinarian before beginning treatment.



* Tell your veterinarian if you have attempted any parasite remedies, as this may impact your veterinarian's recommendation.



* Be especially careful when applying insecticides to cats, as cats are particularly sensitive to these products. Never use a product that is not approved for cats, as the results could be lethal.



* Follow label directions carefully.



* Leave treatment to the experts. Your veterinarian offers technical expertise and can assist you in identifying products that are most likely to effectively and safely control your pet's parasite probl

Pet Finder - the Easiest Way to Find a Lost Pet

During the terrible destruction of hurricane Katrina and other storms over the past year, thousands of animals were separated from their families during evacuation efforts. This was either because evacuations are set up primarily to save the lives of humans, not their pets. Secondly, even if families evacuated on their own and could have brought their pets, many might not have been able to find them during the chaos of natural disasters.

In response to this important need to reunite families with their pets, Petfinder.com and the Maddie Fund formed the Animal Emergency Response Network (AERN). According to the AERN website, 3,200 animals caught in the destruction of hurricanes Katrina and Rita were united with their families, or were relocated to new homes, thanks to the AERN database.

What is Petfinder.com?

Any organization that would do such wonderful work to save animals across the country deserves recognition. So what is Petfinder.com? Petfinder is a wonderful service that provides an online database of animals across the North American continent which need a home. It includes, and is supported by, over 10,000 animal shelters and adoptive organizations. Petfinder essentially serves as a central database for the country’s lonely and homeless pets, and a wonderful method for families who have loving homes for such pets to easily find a perfect pet that would fit into the family.

Surprisingly (because the website is so professionally done, and the operation is so well managed), Petfinder is a non-profit organization that consists of professionals and members of the public who volunteer their time to update and maintain this database. This is proof that there are some very good people out there.

How Does the Petfinder Database Work?

The Petfinder database provides searches through thousands of pet listings using various criteria including:


* Animal

* Breed

* Age

* Size

* Gender

* Location


And an advanced search section provides searches based on:


* Animal type and breed

* Age

* Pets with a certain name

* Only particular pets such as special needs, declawed, or only those recommended for children.


The results will return the name (if appropriate), the breed, gender, and even a photo. Clicking on the link will take you to the shelter or rescue organization which listed it.

A Pet Portrait Featuring Your Pet’s Name

If you are an organization considering listing a pet, one very unique way to provide an image of the pet that will really get noticed is to have a portrait done of the pet’s photo. Not only would this attract a great deal of attention, but you could also offer the portrait as a bonus to the lucky family who takes this animal back to a loving home. Pet portraits are sweeping the country as a very popular form of recognizing how pets mean to families.

The best pet portraits in the country are created by artist Nikky Hughes of Los Angeles. Nikky was classically trained at the Mission Renaissance art school, and she focuses on capturing not only the beauty, but the unique character of each animal. She will accept photos through the mail of pets, and then create stunning portraits from those pictures. Pet portraits are ideal because they can be done from a photo (as apposed to getting the pet to “pose” at a studio.)

Other Options at Petfinder

Petfinder provides other great services at their website, including a monthly newsletter that you can receive monthly. Just click the “Sigh up today!” button on the lower left part of the web page. There is also a search box to find Animal Welfare groups in your local area. There is an online library where you can learn more about the various breeds, a section where you can learn how you can personally volunteer locally to help pets, a training section with dog and cat training videos, lost and found pet classifieds, a blog and forum community, a shop where you can find animal-oriented gear, and even a “fun” section for kids where there are free Ecards and some fun games.

Petfinder isn’t only a website where you can go to find a pet, it’s a place that does a great service for communities across the continent, and it’s also a website you can go just to spend some time and take part in activities that are available for animal lovers from around the world.