Hobbies

Equine Colic - Would You Know What To Do?
 by: Mark Andrews

“I think your horse has colic.” Words to strike fear into any horse owner’s heart. But what is colic? What signs should you look for?

Colic refers to pain originating in the abdomen. Generally horses do not tolerate abdominal pain very well. So if there is any disturbance of gut function they tend to show signs of pain.

Signs of mild discomfort might be stretching, standing as if to urinate, and pawing the ground. If he is more painful the horse will get up and down, and roll to try to get more comfortable. He will start sweating. More serious cases will get up and down and roll constantly.

If you think your horse has colic, you should call an experienced equine vet straight away. He or she will be able to provide emergency pain relief and decide whether further treatment is necessary.

What can you do while you wait for the vet to arrive? Taking your horse for a walk often helps. It may encourage his guts to work normally and soothe the pain. It may also prevent him lying down to roll. If he is lying down quietly then let him stay there.

Dog Beds: Now That You Have Your New Pooch, Where’s He Going to Sleep?
 by: Allen Shaw

Take my word for it, no matter how much you want your new puppy to sleep with you, this is not the best option. Especially when you’re dealing with a 75-pound behemoth that’s scared of a little thunder. Your king-sized bed suddenly becomes half a twin-size bed. So next to food and a trip to the vet, a good dog bed should be one of your first major purchases. But what kind of dog bed should you get? There are literally hundreds of choices. For instance:

Large dog beds for the type of dog mentioned in the first paragraph

Outdoor beds for the pooch who prefers sleeping under the stars

Fancy designer beds for the pampered pooch that’s probably related to Paris Hilton’s Tinkerbelle

Travel and car beds for the dogs who spend a lot of time on the road

Heated beds for the cold-natured little breeds

Orthopedic beds for the pooches getting up there in age Iron beds for the decorating pooches in your household

Chew-proof beds forwellyou know

Top Ten Tips For Successful Mating of Your Dog
 by: K.Senthilkumar

Breeding is a noble calling and unless you can improve the breed you should not go for breeding your dog. Despite all of the obvious virtues of breeding articles, no book or article emphasize any person to prepare for breeding. A good intentional pet owner wasn’t aware of any genetic complications, unable to identify the signals of struggling bitch or didn’t recognize a breech birth! Possibly the dam could be lost as well!

Follow these top ten tips to get successful puppies out of your dam and also it can be delightful to see how magnificently most females cope with whelping and with caring for their puppies.

1. Ask your vet to examine the bitch before mating and obtain certificate that it is healthy and not carrying any inherited diseases

2. Plan well to house the ensuing litter of puppies.

3. Check for the purity of the dog by kennel club certificate. (Cross bred won’t fetch good standards)

4. Contact a reputable breeder and make use of his dog as a stud for your bitch to get good quality puppies.

Guideline For Choosing Dog Treats
 by: Robert Thatcher

What makes you love your dogs? Is it because of the way he loves you in return and the eagerness that you feel when he attempts to please? This love can be more emphasized through dog training as it creates the firm bond between you and your pal.

One well recognized method of dog training is through the use of dog treats. But dog treats are not for positive reinforcement dog training alone. Most dog owners have used them as snack alternatives. This does not proceed pleasurable experiences but may also aid in maintaining your pal’s health.

Like with other pet stuffs, there are considerations that an owner should first evaluate before allowing his pet to dog treats. Health components concerning with calorie content is on the priority list.

One of the growing concerns on dog health nowadays is obesity. Almost half of American dogs are overweight. Like with the case of human, obesity may lead to a variety of diseases like diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

Getting a Dog
 by: Jason Hahn

Dogs are arguably one of the best companions that a human can find, so it goes without saying that getting one has probably crossed your mind at least once before. If you have gone beyond just thinking about it and have begun to seriously consider the option of getting a dog, then it is important to know what you will be getting into. It is very easy to see the appeal of owning a dog, but there are many responsibilities and commitments that are involved.

For one thing, owning a dog is a usually a 10-15 year commitment, since that is how long a typical dog will live. This means that your dog will be with you through whatever life stages you live through, including dating, marrying, and having children.

Along with this, having an adorable, friendly canine companion around you for so many years will inevitably lead to some attachment. No one likes to think about death, but sooner or later the reality of mortality will come into full view, and you should be prepared to deal with the loss. If you are married with children at the time of your loss, the pain will affect more people than just yourself.

How To Be A Responsible Cat Owner
 by: Peter Garant

Now that you have a cat or several cats in the house, you need to think about how you can be a responsible cat owner and provide for the needs of your cats. This means that you have to think about the cats’ living conditions, feeding, grooming, and clean-up.

Regarding your cat’s living conditions, this will be largely influenced by your own lifestyle. If you live in an apartment in a city, then your cat should live solely indoors. If you live in a farm, then your cat may live solely outdoors or live both indoors and outdoors. When your cat lives solely outdoors, it must be provided with some form of shelter, such as a barn. What you should not do is to keep a cat inside a cage. This will drive your cat crazy. Cats treasure the freedom to move freely.

Protect Your Dog From These Preventable Threats
 by: Robert Benson

Owning a dog is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have in their lifetime, but having a dog is much more than the occasional walk around the block or playing fetch in the yard. There are many other responsibilities that one must consider in order to be a good dog owner. Your dog’s health is a major concern to any good pet owner and in this article we will concentrate on some preventable threats to your pet.

As winter ends and spring starts, so do different types of threats to your dog. Obviously, as the weather starts getting nicer, your pet spends more time outdoors and is more susceptible to the these threats. It is important to be alert for ticks, mosquitoes and micro organisms that spread diseases that are harmful to your dog’s health. Ticks normally live in wooded areas or in tall brush and do not transmit bacteria through the air, but by biting the dog. Some other threats are summarized below:

Lyme disease- is a tick-borne bacterial disease and it can cause lameness, kidney damage and death.

Dog Training Collars and Harnesses — Making the Proper Selection is Essential to Training Success
 by: Armen T. Ghazarians

Dog training is an art, and like any artist you must pick your tools carefully in order to properly train your dog. Each dog is different, and thus you must be able to decide which collar is most appropriate for your dog based on its temperament, pesonality, and strength. Below, you will find a description of all the major varieties of dog training collars that you might come across when deciding to purchase one for you pooch.

The metal choke collar is perhaps the most popular and widely used collar in the dog training world. It should be used in training larger, stronger dogs that tend to take YOU for a walk.

The metal toggle choke collar is basically the same as you regular choke collar with the major difference being that you can correct you dog easily by using the toggle while your dog is off-leash.

The pinch collar should be used RARELY and only in situations where the choke collar is ineffective in controlling your dog (i.e. in situations where your dog is very strong, where its highly aggressive, and when it repeatedly lunges at other dogs and people).

Bandaging Your Dog
 by: Peter Garant

Having a dog is a big responsibility. Some even compare taking care of a dog to that of a baby. The only advantage having dogs compared to having babies is that they won’t grow older and turn into stressful teenagers. Because dogs are like babies they sometimes also end up in harmful situations. They would sometimes get themselves trapped in a tight place or get hit by something that will injure one of their limbs. When that happens, we should learn how to bandage our dogs to prevent further damage. Here are some basic ways of how to bandage your injured dog.

1. When your pet has a bandage, it should always be clean and dry. So it’s pretty important to make sure your pet stays inside most of the time when it has a bandage. To prevent the bandage from getting wet when the pet goes to pee or poop, a trash bag or plastic covering should cover the bandaged leg. You may use empty bread bags. When your pet has wet or dirtied up the bandage, it would require changing. Make sure to check the bandage twice a day to see if it is clean and dry. Check also for foul odors or discharge and if there is any, call your veterinarian immediately.

The Best Toys for Your Dogs
 by: Michael Fortomas

Dogs is a major status symbol in American pet-keeping. Every year, over 12 billion dollars have been spent on dog food and veterinary care alone. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association’s 2003-2004 Pet Owners’ Survey, more than half of dog owners purchase toys for their dogs.

Playing with toys is not the monopoly of little kids but also pets of different kind. Dogs have their own sets of toys to enjoy during their playing time.

Dogs benefit from these toys, health and training wise. There are dog toys that can strengthen their teeth or build their intelligence especially if they also attend a series of training classes with the experts. Like man, dogs are very sociable. Interaction with their companion or a sibling dog is very important in avoiding behavioral problems in the future.

When buying toys for your dog, you may want to match them with your dog’s needs, demands and even personality. Is your dog the type that enjoys chasing and retrieving games, or chewing, sitting and sprawling? You may want to try experimenting first to find out which toys make your dogs the happiest.