Stuffed Animals

     Rabbits

     You probably saw all those cartoons where rabbits enjoyed eating vegetables. In most cases, rabbits will have to eat food like carrots and lettuce on a regular basis. A lot of people give their rabbits only pellets but this type of food doesn’t have enough fibers and can make the rabbit become obese. If the rabbit is to remain healthy, he will need to eat vegetables, hay and pellets.

     Dogs

     Should a dog be fed with food that is meant for humans? The origin of dogs comes from wolves, which means that they have to eat meat on a regular basis. Even if human food has meat in it, it doesn’t mean that it’s the right type of food for a dog. However, it would be much better if you would give him food especially prepared for dogs, that has meat as its main component. But, it shouldn’t be some substitute that is processed, but real meat. Read the rest of this entry »

     Many people confuse the American bison with the buffalo. However, there is a significant difference between both of them. The basic difference between the bison and the buffalo is that the former is found only in the North American continent; whereas the latter is found in Asia and Africa. Another significant difference is the fur on the bodies of the bison and the buffalo. The buffalo has very short hair on its skin, whereas the bison has longer hair on its body. The bison is often described as a shaggy animal. It is also larger in size as compared to the buffalo.

     The basic diet of the American bison is a herbivorous one that includes plain grass, herbs, shrubs and twigs. The food is many a times regurgitated and again chewed as cud before the actual digestion.

     The bison lives on the plains and many times have to flee from hunters. Despite their enormous weight, the American bison is able to carry itself at a speed of 40 miles per hour. Read the rest of this entry »

     So, what does an equine dentist do, and which horses could benefit from their practices? An equine dentist basically equilibrates a horse’s teeth in a number of ways. Horses in the natural state do not usually require dentistry, the same as they do not require a furrier. Free-roaming horses eat a lot of hard plants with a high woody content, as well as grasses with silicates. These are abrasive substances, which wear down the incisors as the horse tears at the grass stalks. Hay-fed horses do not need to use their incisors in the same way, with the result that these do not get worn down and eventually get so long that the horse cannot close its mouth sufficiently to use the molars to grind its food.

     All horses could benefit from the services of an equine dentist, although only a small proportion receives them. Even if your vet checks your horse’s teeth every half year, the chances are very high that there are points on the outside of the upper premolars and molars which are causing either constant discomfort or digging ulcerations in the cheeks. A thorough oral examination requires the use of a full-mouth speculum and a mild sedative or relaxant. Read the rest of this entry »

     Animals as per their natural instinct would be scared when approached by humans. Horses would also tend to feel bit intimidated unless you have really spent a long time with the horse. The first and foremost about horse training is making the animal comfortable in your presence. This would obviously be a gradual process.

     How you treat your horse is the base of horse training. Here you would need to treat the horse like a child, it needs to be told which actions are to be performed for a particular instruction. There are two things you would need to consider for horse training, either the horse agrees to do it or blatantly refuses the same! There are certain ways to go about this process. You need to make the horse get used to your commands at a steady pace everyday. A change in routine can be possible when the horse acclimatizes itself to the entire training session.

     The first step in horse training would be to teach him about longeing also known as ground training. This should be done once your horse is old enough to begin training. This kind of horse training is done with a long rope. The line is attached to the horse and it can travel in a large circle of movement. Read the rest of this entry »

     One cannot stress any less on the fact that owls are wild birds of prey. They have sharp beaks and flesh-tearing talons to complement their cute, cuddly, feathery looks. They are armed with the weapon of stealth and can pounce and kill any victim, before the victim even knows that it has been spotted. Owls eat all sorts of small mammals and will have no compunction going after your latest pet addition either, if you let it wander out, unattended. These birds require large areas to fly in and have fairly large wing spans too. They are the masters of the art of noiselessly pouncing on their prey, in the dark hours of the night. Though unfortunately symbolic of dark witchcraft, owls are magnificent birds that just happen to be nocturnal killers. An owl’s specialty is that it can turn its head around, three quarters of the way and back. This compensates for the fact that they cannot rotate their eyeballs. These beautiful birds usually mate for life and are extremely attached to their family and nests. Knowing this, would you still want to reduce these birds of prey into becoming domesticated by keeping owls as pets? If you are of the bend of thought that almost all domesticated animals were initially wild and so shall be with an owl, here are some ‘owls as pets’ facts that should bring you around.

     Owls as Pets

     It is illegal to keep owls as pets in many countries, including America. Owls kept as pets are only allowed if you have a permit to keep them and permits are only given to those who keep owls for breeding or educational programs. Fully trained and licensed individuals can keep owls temporarily for treatment and rehabilitation but never as pets. Keeping owls is also allowed for falconers, but again not as pets, and this is so only because the birds are free and they retain their abilities to hunt in the wild. Since large owls survive till 50 and the smaller ones outlast their twenties, when considering owls as pets, it is wise to consider the lifelong commitment one needs to give to them, in the forms of time, energy, love and money. Here are some of the reasons why it is strongly advocated not to have owls as pets. Read the rest of this entry »