Be Friends With Animals

     Anemia: Anemia in cats is caused by the insufficient oxygen in the blood and tissues along with a reduction in the normal levels of circulating red blood cells. Anemia may be caused by hemorrhage or blood loss, parasitic infestation, renal failures, cancers, inflammatory diseases or even poor nutrition. Apart from lethargy, anemia may also result in loss of appetite, weight loss, weakness, rapid breathing and sleeping more than usual.

     Chronic Gastritis: Cats plagued with chronic gastritis will experience vomiting over a period of days or weeks. The cause; food allergies, hairballs, eating grass, ingesting toxic chemicals, paper or plastic. These foreign objects turn into a hard mass which have difficulty passing out off the stomach. Chronic gastritis can result in lethargy in cats along with sporadic vomiting, a dull hair coat and weight loss. A diet of bland, high-carbohydrate foods. Is usually recommended as a treatment for gastritis.

     Feline Herpes Virus: Caused by feline herpesvirus type 1 or FHV-1, this is one of the most common upper respiratory conditions in cats. Affecting the eyes, nose, throat and sinuses of your cat, this herpes virus results in sneezing, ocular and nasal discharge, conjunctivitises, depression and loss of appetite in cats. Read more »

     Why is my dog eating grass?

     Everyone knows that dogs are carnivores, then why do dogs eat grass? This is a very common question asked by many pet owners, which really does not have a straight answer. There can be many answers to this question, that include, upset stomach, certain vitamin or mineral deficiency or sometimes it is just that your dog loves the taste of grass. Grass eating is usually not a problem, until you are sure that the grass is free of harmful pesticides and chemicals. A dietary deficiency of fiber is linked to grass eating. Further, in some cases when fiber sources were added to the dog’s diet, grass eating was not noticed. Grass eating is not harmful but ensure that it is not excessive. Read more on dog training.

     Why is my dog eating poop?

     You may have seen your dog eating poop of itself or some other animal and must be wondering why do dogs eat poop? You may find it quite disgusting and yucky. Poop eating or stool eating is usually noticed in puppies, and is termed as Coprophagia. There are number of reasons that can lead to poop eating. Some researches relate poop eating to dietary deficiency while, some say that it can also be a method of seeking attention. Poop eating can cause health problems if the poop is infectious due to harmful worms, virus or bacteria. If poop eating is a result of behavioral reasons then you need not worry, as you can get rid of this habit by training your dog not to eat poop. However, you may need to consult a vet if it is eating poop because of some medical disorder.

     Why is my dog throwing up/vomiting?

     This is one of the most common health problems noticed in dogs. There are a number of reasons that can cause vomiting and hence, you need to find out the reason immediately because some of the causes can be life threatening. Stomach upset, over eating, infection, liver inflammation, gastritis, etc. are some of the reasons that lead to vomiting. Initially you can change the diet of your dog and observe if it vomits. Because of the wide array of the possible causes, diagnosing the problem can be a bit difficult. So, consult a vet at the earliest, when your dog throws up or vomits frequently. Read more on when and how to induce vomiting in dogs.

     Why is my dog not eating? Read more »

     Dog owners often allow their pets to lead a sedentary life with little physical exercise. This causes an accumulation of fats around the different organs of the dog’s body. Many dogs become obese due to a low rate of metabolism. Metabolism is a process which takes place in living organisms, by which the consumed food is used for energy production. Metabolism disorders can cause obesity in dogs. Slow metabolism often makes the dog unresponsive to the surrounding environment. Lack of exercise is the main cause of obesity in dogs. Many commercial dog foods contain high amounts of fats. Hence, one should be very careful in choosing dog foods. The nutritious food recommended for dogs is often fed in higher amounts, which may lead to weight gain and obesity. The excess intake of calories, increases the amount of fat in the body. Grains are the main component of many commercial dog foods, and are a rich source of carbohydrates. Such a carbohydrate heavy diet with inadequate exercise, contributes towards dog obesity.

     A recent study suggests that certain breeds of dogs that include Spaniels and Labradors, are susceptible to this condition due to their large appetite. An underlying disease that decreases the ability to burn energy in a dog, can also cause obesity in dogs. Diseases of the joints such as arthritis, deters the dog from being physically active, which may lead to excess weight gain and obesity.

     Treatment for Obesity in Dogs Read more »

     Here are some good tricks to teach your dog which would be useful for interacting effectively. The use of dog treat helps in teaching the tricks quickly by tempting them.

     Sitting: Teaching the dog how to sit is the first and foremost thing that one should include in the dog training sessions. There are many cool tricks to teach your dog however, one should start off with the sitting trick. While teaching the dog how to sit, one should use a dog treat and hold it in front of his face. Slowly, the treat should be raised above so that the dog tries to rest itself on the haunches. Once the sitting position is reached, the dog should be rewarded with the treat. Repeating the above procedure will help the dog to understand the trick. Read more on how to train a dog to sit.

     Shake Hands: It is the most common and basic technique or trick that one can teach his dog. One has to first say the words ’shake hands’ and show the dog how to perform the action. Taking the paw in our hands makes the dog understand what is actually expected of him. Repeating the above action helps in etching it in the mind of the dog. Read more »

     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 more »

     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 more »

     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 more »

     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 more »

     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 more »

     Now, let’s get back to the topic of having lemurs as pets. Since, lemurs already fall in the class of endangered species, so you must have already understood that getting a lemur from its native island, will definitely be something illegal. Besides, the United States government has some strict laws against importing of foreign animals. These laws are there to prevent the occurrence of any foreign disease or epidemic. So, the only way that remains open to you is that you need to search for a pet shop on the Internet, that breeds lemurs. If you happen to find one, take into consideration that you choose a male lemur. Lemurs fall in the class of those primates, where the male is more submissive than the female. A male lemur can hence, be trained more easily as compared to a female lemur. Another point that you need to take into consideration is that you should verify that the lemur was born and bred in captivity.

     Another important point that needs to be taken into consideration are the different species of lemurs to choose from. There are about 30 species of lemurs. Many species of lemurs are already in the list of extinct animals. Some researchers who have studied lemurs also say that there was one species of lemurs that was as large as a gorilla. Lemurs are basically classified according to their weight. The smallest one is the tiny pygmy mouse lemur and the largest as mentioned in the lemurs facts is the Indri lemur, which weighs 15 pounds. Let us take a look at the two most interesting types of lemurs that you can have as pets.

     Mouse Lemurs as Pets Read more »