Petcare blog

New guidelines make is easier to take pets on holiday

Ever found the excitement of a trip abroad is brought down a notch by the fact that you can't take your beloved pet with you? This is a problem I experience regularly, and often find myself phoning home once a day to check how my dog is doing because I miss him so much.

I'm sure I'm not alone here, which is why I know that many, many British holiday makers will be pleased to hear that new rules will now make it easier for owners to get a pet passport.

While this might not make things easier to get dogs on a plane, you can take your pet to many more destinations why ferry, with France being a popular choice for many owners.

There are a few things to consider though - is your pet a good traveller being the first question. You should also remember that this journey will require your pet to stay in the car for many hours on a ferry, as animals are not allowed on board on most liners - so check your pet regularly. And remember to check your policy when it comes to dog insurance. UK policies might not cover treatment abroad.

The rest is common sense of course. Will your pet handle the change in heat? Will there be lots of pet friendly activities to keep the whole family interested? These are all important questions worth considering, there's no point dragging your pet on a huge journey only to find that they would have been happier with a close friend or family member in their own environment.

Great Danes... Great Story

I read a heart warming story last week about two Great Danes – Lily and Maddison. Lily has been blind from 18 months due to a problem where her eyelashes were growing into her eyes, and since then her best pal Maddison hasn’t left her side.

Maddison the older of the two dogs by about a year has shown real talent as Lily's guide dog and has had a massive role in Lily being so confident around new people and environments.

The Shrewsbury Dogs Trust had been appealing for someone to take the pair but the majority of homes only had room for one Great Dane.

However after some serious news coverage there have been hundreds of enquiries from people happy to take both dogs and hopefully offer them a loving and happy home.

 Read more....

Image courtesy of thesun.co.uk

8 Tips to Good Times for You and Your Dog

Sometimes it can get hard to ensure that your doing the best you can for your dog, so we compiled a list of tips that we think are important in maintaining a healthy dog  and a healthy relationship.

- ID Check: Ensure your dogs id tags and microchip data are up-to-date, if there not… Sort it out!!!

- Visit the Vet: Arrange a check-up for your dog to ensure it’s in tip top condition. Try to maintain a routine for preventing/dealing with ticks and fleas etc.

- Think Ahead: Vet bills are expensive; ensure your pet insurance is up to date and take a note of the number for your nearest 24/7 Vetinary Hospital.   

- Start a Health Record: It doesn’t take long and you can find templates online. Use it to keep track of your dogs health and keep your vet properly informed on the animals condition.

-  Regular Grooming: Try to get into a regular grooming routine to ensure your dog looks as good as it feels. The routine should include; baths, coat grooming, nail clipping and teeth brushing. Ideally this should all be carried out weekly.

-  Quality Time: Allocate a portion of your day where you can give your dog your full attention. It doesn’t really matter what you do with it be it, general playing or cuddling up on the couch. Use the time to learn what your dog does and doesn’t like to help improve the bond between you.

-  Help an Animal Shelter/Charity: Most pets aren’t as lucky as ours, so try to find some time to help others, whether its donating money or time, these places are grateful for any help you can provide.

-  Take a Class: This can be anything from a behavioural class just to make sure it stays the perfect pooch or something more fun like agility or therapy dog classes.

Now admittedly these tips aren’t the guaranteed holy grail to happiness with your dog but they certainly do help. Also we’d love to hear any other ideas, hints or tips that we haven’t thought of so feel free to comment.

Rabbit Care - The Basics

Rabbits are a popular pet for anyone with children - and many think they are an easy pet to care for, but this is not the case. Rabbits need constant care and attention, so anyone who doesn't have enough time to look after one should cancel their trip to the pet shop now. 

I recently read yet another article outlining how rabbits are being poorly cared for because owners are not aware of the care needed by these sociable and intelligent animals. Two million people have pet rabbits in the UK, but up to a third could be getting unknowingly neglected by their owners. 

Because this number is too high to even bear thinking about, I have decided to write a quick guide on the basic care of rabbits to help anyone thinking about getting one make the right decision. Here it is:

Things to think about before getting a rabbit

• Spending time with your pet - Rabbits are socialiable and smart animals, which are able to do many of the things a cat or dog can - including tricks, using a litter tray and playing games. Most need to be let out for at least an hour every day to run, play, explore and recieve attention from their owners. If bad weather and limited safe outdoor space restricts the amount of time you can spend with an outdoor rabbit, why not teach your pet to use a litter tray and spend time some time with it indoors each day.

• Dental care - Rabbit's can often develop dental problems if they are not given things to chew. This is because their teeth are constantly growing. Give them a dedicated chew toy to keep their teeth trimed down and their mouths healthy. This will help save you money on expensive vet bills to have their teeth trimmed - and the costs of replacing furniture they may chew in the absense of dedicated toys.

• Check-ups are vital - Your rabbit needs regular vet visits to keep healthy. Initial vaccinations are required to ensure they do not pick up common illnesses and after that once a year to make sure they don't develop any problems. They will also need attention from the vet if they become ill or get overgrown teeth or nails, which can be costly. Pet insurance can help reduce these costs - as many people don't realise how much money is required to keep these so called 'easy pets' healthy.

• Digestive matters - A lot of people do not realise how sensitive rabbit's stomachs really are. They need a careful mix of nutritionally balanced dry food, fruit, vegetables, hay and water. Sound easy? Not so - there are even some vegetables, such as brocolli that rabbits should not be fed. The best way to ensure your rabbit gets the right diet is to make a list of everything they can eat and everything they cannot. Keep these lists in visible place in your kitchen and feed your rabbit the right mix everyday. Rabbits will eat almost anything, but do not give them scraps or foods you are unsure of, as a rabbits health can deteriorate extremely rapidly if they are given the wrong foods.

Pet Dog 'Smells' Breast Cancer!

Just read a fantastic article on how a pet dog saved his owners life by apparently 'smelling' that she had breast cancer. The dog an 8 year-old boxer named Henry Floyd, is said to have smelt the cancer and pawed at his owners right breast. The owner duly ignored the behaviour as you would, however after 4 days of Henry pawing and nipping at her Carol Witcher went to the doctors only to be told she had stage three breast cancer. In the end up Carol survived the cancer and even her Doctor admits that Henry saved Carols life.

Upon looking a little deeper into this, I've discovered its not an isolated case and in fact studies have been carried out regarding a dogs ability to sense cancer. First of all heres some insight into how it may work.

Also in support of this theory I found a study published by a journal called Gut, which tells of a specially trained Black Labrador who has a 91% success rate in detecting colorectal concer solely from a patients breath. The Labrador named Marine is even more prolific when sniffing stools detecting with upto 97% accuracy. There have also been some less well documented instances where pets dogs have detected skin, bladder, ovarian and cancers.

All in all I think this goes a long way to showing that dogs truly are our best friends and that they actually could have alot more potential for good if the proper people take notice.

The technical bit: An explanation on how a dogs sense of smell is so good.

"According to experts at Stanford University, dogs have an alar fold - a bulbous obstruction inside the nostrils which heightens their sense of smell.

The obstruction opens to allow air to enter the upper part of the nose across the mucus-covered scent receptors.

Upon exhaling, the alar fold closes off the top part and directs air down and out through the slits at the side of the dog's nose.

This creates a suction effect which allows dogs to inhale more scents, while also mixing particles that might help deliver more scent."

Does anybody out there have any similar stories? As I'd love to hear them.

Greyhounds make great pets

When they retire, many athletes settle easily into a new career in sports coaching, television presenting, after dinner speaking, or if they've had a particularly interesting career, they can make some money by writing their autobiography and maybe even selling the film rights.

For retired greyhounds, however, the picture isn't always so rosy. Each year thousands of these dogs retire from racing and many require rehoming - which is where organisations like the Retired Greyhound Trust come in - by letting people know what great pets these dogs make and helping retired dogs find new homes to welcome them.

Greyhounds are gentle animals, easily trained, and can fit in well when they join a family who have children or other animals. If you are thinking about adopting a greyhound or if you're considering buying a pet dog of whatever breed fo rthe first time, it'a also a good idea to think about dog insurance, since it's a great way to cover vet fees should the need arise. Insurance means peace of mind, and leaves you more time to get on with what you do best - building a great relationship with your new four legged friend.

 

 

 

animals at the cinema!

 

What's your favourite animal film? It could be an animation syuch as Finding Nemo or 101 Dalmations, or it could be a live action film like Lassie or Greyfriars Bobby.

I think my favourite animal film is the wonderful Dumbo - can it really be 70 years old already?

 

We're on Blogtopsites - pets section, naturally...

Pets blogs

Naming your pet

Getting the right name for your pet can take a bit of time but it's worth it in the end.

You don't want a name that's going to be too trendy, but at the same time you don't want something too traditional. Of course if your pet is one that doesn't answer to a call, such as goldfish, a tarantula or a snake, then you can use your imagination a bit and come up with something a bit oot of the ordinary. But you don't want to be calling out to a dog with a seventeen syllable name in the park of a Saturday morning.

I wouldn't go spending money on pet name generation software though - just have a look at some science fiction books or film character names and get inspiration from there.

 

 

Pet Insurance is the new trend

All over the western world there seems to be a growth in the amount of people choosing to opt for more forms of pet insurance, be they cat, dog or even tropical fish. This trend has been growing more and more since people started seeing their pets as part of the family.

Pets make an family feel more together as everyone feels love and responsibility towards their favourite family member. But this growth is also a recognition of the fact that vets costs can be quite a blow if you have not been preparing for all eventualities.

Of course the cost of vet cover has been dropping in recent years as competition rises for the people who are looking for  cover for the most important member of the family.