Stuffed Animals

The tabby or domestic cat suffers from many health problems like obesity, diabetes, conjunctivitis, urine problems, kidney failure, etc. Most of the problems can be treated if diagnosed in a timely manner.

Worms
The problem of worms is of common occurrence in cats. Different types of worms that affect cats are the roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms. Weight loss is one of the notable symptoms observed in cats with this problem. Presence of white specks in the stools and flea infection are other symptoms of worm infestation. In serious cases, cats are also infected by heart worms. Monitoring the health of your cat should help in citing the problem quickly. Worms can be treated with medications but if neglected, it leads to a fatal condition.

Obesity
It is one of the common cat health problems. Overeating is the cause of obesity in tabby cats. Owners of these cats need to monitor their diet. They should keep the food intake of cats to a certain level. Providing the cat with food at fixed timings of the day should solve this problem to some extent.

Diabetes
Cats suffer from diabetes mellitus when the insulin level in their body is unable to control glucose levels. Male cats are more prone to this disease. Laboratory tests for blood samples are conducted by veterinary doctors in the process of diagnosis. Diabetes is treated by giving insulin shots to the cats. Once again, the diet factor plays an important role in preventing problems like diabetes. A balanced diet should help in keeping you cat fit and fine. Read the rest of this entry »

☞ Facial Wrinkles
The folds on a pug’s face end up collecting a lot of muck. The reason being that teacup pugs spend a lot of time lolling around, with their faces on the carpet, in the garden, on the floor, and in their food bowls . The wrinkles trap grime, dirt and food particles, which tends to smell after some time. It would be ideal to clean the pug’s facial wrinkles at least twice a week. However, this part of the skin is very sensitive and will require immense amount of care while cleaning. You can clean the area using a cotton ball or a fluffy Q-tip. Do not use a hard bound Q-tip as this might injure the inner areas of the fold. You will need some warm water, a few drops of antiseptic or hydrogen peroxide diluted with it, and a paper napkin. Wet the Q-tip with warm water and then gently clean the inner folds. If you find the area wet or infected, you must use some more antiseptic and clean out the gunk. You will need to get your pet checked by a vet in case the infection shows no signs of relenting.

☞ Eye Corners
You should be extremely careful while cleaning the corners of a pug’s eyes. They have extra sensitive eyes, which need special attention. Wear a surgical glove and dip you little finger in warm water. Use you finger to gently slide the grime and mucus out of the corners of the eyes. If the grime has hardened up, wet it with some water and gently slide the muck out. You can use your fingers to clean the pug’s facial folds above the eyes as well, or repeat the process using a cotton ball or Q-tip. It would be best to finish all of this in one sitting, every once or twice in a week.

☞ Ear Cleaning
Clean the ears only when they are dirty and need cleaning, which would ideally be every once in a month. Pugs really have tiny ear openings, which is why all you need to do is to clean the area around the opening. If there is dirt inside the ear, take a soft Q-tip, wet it and gently slide the dirt out.

☞ Nail Trimming Read the rest of this entry »

Dominant Behavior of Dogs
★ Demanding
★ Stubbornness
★ Begging
★ Jumping or pouncing
★ Pushiness
★ Biting
★ Overpowering the weak dogs
★ Turning aggressive when eating food
★ Leading the way while taken on a walk or sometimes refusing to walk
★ Disobeying the commands
★ Dominant stance
★ Submissive stance (walking with head and shoulders down)

These are some of the common dog behaviors that are prevalent in different dog breeds. It includes lot of efforts in teaching the dog how to walk as per the owner’s will. Therefore, the temperament and the behavior plays an important role during such training sessions. In case you are the dog owner and want to know how to train a dog to walk beside you, follow these dog walking tips.

Dog Training
Basic training of the dog must begin when it’s just a pup. When a pup goes through obedience training, it begins to understand the various commands and attempts to obey them. Either the owner or a professional dog trainer can plan effective puppy training sessions. Training a dog is a long process and must be pursued very thoroughly. Level of training must change, while the pup is growing up. During the process of growing up, dogs are likely to pick up certain bad habits out of their dominating instincts. It is the time to be more careful, as overload of training can turn the dogs reluctant towards their master. Once the dog begins to obey all the basic commands, teaching the walk would become an easy task for you.

Walk on a Leash
This is the first step towards teaching your dog how to walk when it is taken into different environment. During this time, it would want to explore the new place and tends to lead the master. At times, it may get out of control and even drag the owner or the trainer. When you take your dog on a walk it is likely to encounter other dog breeds too. This might trigger the instinct of overpowering other dogs through barking or running after them. Read the rest of this entry »

Both of these wingless insects have the ability to bite and feed on human blood and blood of other warm-blooded animals. So, what is the difference between fleas and bed bugs? Well, except for the fact that both are small ectoparasites and flightless, there is no distinctive similarity between these nasty critters. Taxonomically, the fleas are not even a distant relative of bed bugs. Following is a brief info for your understanding on how to differentiate fleas from bed bugs.

Fleas vs Bed Bugs: Taxonomy
There are several types of fleas which are grouped according to their respective host organisms (cat fleas, dog fleas and human fleas). All of them are categorized under the taxonomic order Siphonaptera, and the scientific name differs for each type. Regarding bed bugs classification, their taxonomic order is Hemiptera and genus is Cimex. The common name ‘bed bug’ is coined with reference to their commonly inhabited site.

Fleas vs Bed Bugs: Description
Fleas are very small, hardly 3.3 mm in size and dark colored. If you get a chance to observe them with a magnifying glass, you will notice that they have exceptionally long hind legs, an adaptation for jumping over a long distance. On the other hand, adult bed bugs are oval in shape, flat (before sucking blood meal) and reddish brown in color. They are visible to our naked eyes, about 5 mm in length.

Fleas vs Bed Bugs: Hiding Places
Fleas are prevalent in bedding, carpets, pet enclosures and other areas, where they readily get their prospective hosts. Almost similar to fleas, bed bugs are mostly found in dark places, especially in bed frames, cracks of bed (if any), mattresses and places where people usually sleep. Though they are not purely nocturnal, these bugs tend to come out in the dark and bite humans for feeding.

Fleas vs Bed Bugs: Reproduction
Within 1-1½ days after having blood meal, the female fleas lay several number of eggs (about 50). But, egg laying is not possible until and unless they suck blood from the hosts. The eggs hatch to larvae, then pupate and become adult fleas. On the other hand, life cycle of a bed bug consists of 6 stages in total. The whitish colored eggs after hatching undergo 5 molts before they become adults.

Fleas vs Bed Bugs: Feeding
The mouth parts of fleas are adapted is such a way that they can pierce the host’s skin and draw blood. At the time of feeding, fleas introduce saliva to the host through a tube like structure, and suck blood to about 15 times of their body weight. Bed bugs suck blood in the same way as fleas, i.e. by delivering saliva and drawing blood. In a single feeding, they can suck human blood to about 6 times of their own body weight.

Fleas vs Bed Bugs: Bites
You can distinguish flea bites from bed bug bites by examining the skin symptoms. Of course, both bites result in itching, irritation and small raised skin bumps. A flea bites randomly on exposed skin areas, whereas a bed bug bites in a specific manner, mostly in a linear pattern. In flea bites, a punctured spot is found in the middle of the skin bumps, while it is absent in case of bed bug bites. Learn more on flea bites vs bed bug bites. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the indisputable benefits of having a pet around, prospective pet owners need to consider a number of issues from the animal’s point of view before they commit to a furry friend, particularly a long-lived one like a cat or dog. Many people fail to think about the practical aspects of life with a pet before they take a trip to the pet store or the Humane Society. In some cases, this lack of foresight can result in unhappy pets and unhappy owners if the situation isn’t well suited to both parties. This danger is particularly acute for those who live in apartments.

Many apartment buildings have restrictions on the type or number of pets that tenants are allowed to keep. Most commonly, apartment dwellers can have cage-bound pets such as fish, small reptiles, or small birds, but are forbidden from having cats and dogs. Although this might appear to be a selfish move on the part of the apartment managers, there are other, very sensible reasons for this type of regulation. Not only does it save money on cleaning and repairs when tenants move out, it also prevents serious problems that can arise if pets escape. Because apartment and condos are characterized by a high resident density, an escaped dog can be a real threat to neighboring children or individuals with allergies.

Considering neighbors isn’t the only reason to think twice before inviting a dog or cat into your apartment. Consideration should also be given to the animals themselves. Unfortunately, such inter-species empathy is fairly rare. Many people think about the benefits they themselves will receive from having a pet, never dwelling on how their individual living situations will affect the pet. If you live in an urban area of a large city, you have probably seen apartment-dwellers walking their dogs around the local park. In some unfortunate cases, this could be the only exercise the dog gets, having to spend the rest of its time cooped up in a small apartment where it’s unable to engage in the level of physical activity it needs to stay healthy. Read the rest of this entry »