Hair and Nail Clipping for your Dog or Puppy
With the onset of warmer weather in many parts of the country, it is time to think about our dogs, and how the heat can affect them. Living in South Texas we are already seeing some Hot days, but the evenings are still a little cool for a short clipping. I know some other areas are still seeing snow (Being originally from New England I can feel for you) and the cold weather tips might help you.
Many dog owners might think of clipping their pooch as only the mechanical activity of the actual clipping process. What they fail to understand is that clipping a dog is a Art. Clipping a coat or nail needs to be carried out in a careful manner to avoid the injuries to the skin or nail.
Clipping of the coat is to be taken care of as per the breed characteristics. If the coat is not properly clipped, this may lead to the dust accumulation in the coat and the animal may start showing signs of skin diseases. This is true especially when the grooming activities are not done in a proper manner.
Clipping of coat helps to get rid of the parasitic burden to a greater extent and also, the clipping of your dog is of more useful to expose on the type of parasitic problem that the dog is likely to suffer. Many pet health parlors are available wherein the clipping of dog will be carried out in a more systematic manner.
Always make use of a sharp clipper and in the winter regions, avoid the close clipping. This is due to the fact that the closer clipping in the winter seasons may expose the dog to the environmental stresses like the cold climate. Hence, the dog may become more vulnerable to the frostbite.
Avoid the close clipping of coat or nail because this may cause injury to the underlying tissues and may cause bleeding in the concerned animal.
Many pet owners need to avoid any clipping activity when the animal is not in good health.
Clipping instruments are available to a greater extent in many pet shops. Avoid the blunt instruments because they may not clip well and hence, repetition is required often.
Always use modern equipments for clipping activities.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Hot Weather and Your Cat
Cat Safety in Warm Weather
If you live in a climate that has sticky, hot, summer days, you may find yourself longing for cooler days. Your cat will definitely agree! In warm weather, it is necessary for you to care for your cat’s healthy so that he or she does not become overheated.
Remember, a pet is like a newborn baby—your cat cannot tell you that he or she is hot or uncomfortable. You have to notice warning signs and provide a good living environment so that your cat does not get too hot.
When you take your pet places during the summer, never ever let your cat inside of a parked car, even for a short time. Cars quickly become ovens in the summertime, even when you park in the shade, or even if you have the windows cracked. Your pet will not be able to alert people in order to get out of your car safely.
In as little as ten to fifteen minutes, your pet could die from the heat in a parked car, and parking in the shade does little good to prevent this, since the sun continuously moves and the heat of the air alone will be bad for your pet. If your pet will be going with you, make sure that cats are allowed wherever you will be.
When the heat index is high, keep your cats inside. Cats that are not outdoors most of the time won’t know where the cooler places to hide are, or they may find these cooler places and not return home. Hot asphalt can also wreak havoc on a cat’s health, as it can burn his or her sensitive paw pads.
If your cat does not use a litter box and instead goes outside, make sure that he or she is let back inside after only a few minutes on the hottest days of the summer. Basically, if it is recommended that seniors and children stay inside, it is good for pets to stay indoors as well.
Keep your cat well groomed during the summer as well. Brushing you cat often will help get rid of the excess hair that has been shed and is weighing down the animal. If your cat has very long hair or is overweight, provide him or her with an air-conditioned room if possible. Preventing overheating is key.
As always, make sure your cat has access to clean, fresh water. This can be tap water, but should be cool and changed multiple times a day when it is hot outside. Your furry feline is very important in your life, so make sure that he or she gets proper care when the summer days make your sweat.
If you live in a climate that has sticky, hot, summer days, you may find yourself longing for cooler days. Your cat will definitely agree! In warm weather, it is necessary for you to care for your cat’s healthy so that he or she does not become overheated.
Remember, a pet is like a newborn baby—your cat cannot tell you that he or she is hot or uncomfortable. You have to notice warning signs and provide a good living environment so that your cat does not get too hot.
When you take your pet places during the summer, never ever let your cat inside of a parked car, even for a short time. Cars quickly become ovens in the summertime, even when you park in the shade, or even if you have the windows cracked. Your pet will not be able to alert people in order to get out of your car safely.
In as little as ten to fifteen minutes, your pet could die from the heat in a parked car, and parking in the shade does little good to prevent this, since the sun continuously moves and the heat of the air alone will be bad for your pet. If your pet will be going with you, make sure that cats are allowed wherever you will be.
When the heat index is high, keep your cats inside. Cats that are not outdoors most of the time won’t know where the cooler places to hide are, or they may find these cooler places and not return home. Hot asphalt can also wreak havoc on a cat’s health, as it can burn his or her sensitive paw pads.
If your cat does not use a litter box and instead goes outside, make sure that he or she is let back inside after only a few minutes on the hottest days of the summer. Basically, if it is recommended that seniors and children stay inside, it is good for pets to stay indoors as well.
Keep your cat well groomed during the summer as well. Brushing you cat often will help get rid of the excess hair that has been shed and is weighing down the animal. If your cat has very long hair or is overweight, provide him or her with an air-conditioned room if possible. Preventing overheating is key.
As always, make sure your cat has access to clean, fresh water. This can be tap water, but should be cool and changed multiple times a day when it is hot outside. Your furry feline is very important in your life, so make sure that he or she gets proper care when the summer days make your sweat.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) devices used to track pets cause of cancer?
A recent Associated Press article in The Washington Post stunned cat and other pet owners who have animals with tracking implants. A series of highly accredited research studies, done over the last decade, have now been brought to light and show the same microchips or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) devices used to track pets are the cause of fast-growing, malignant cancers in 1% to 10% of lab animals tested. Now animal owners are faced with what to do.
Why Are the Microchips Causing Cancer?
As Dr. Katherine Albrecht, a consumer educator and privacy advocate who helped investigate and break this story, explains what the scientists believe is happening is similar to a common splinter. When you get a splinter in your finger, your body does everything it can to get rid of it. The site gets red, it swells up and attempts to dislodge the foreign object.
However, when a microchip is embedded deep in the fatty tissue of your pet, its body can't push the chip out like a splinter. Instead an inflammation forms around the microchip. Scientists believe these inflamed cells can turn malignant and then metastasize and move around in the body. What's worse is these tumors can be fast-growing and malignant.
What the Research Shows:
Between 1996-2006 eight published veterinary and toxicology journals reported that lab mice and rats injected with microchips sometimes had a tendency to develop subcutaneous "sarcomas" or malignant tumors surrounding the implants. Below are a brief summary of the some of the major conclusions.
* A 1998 study in Ridgefield, Connecticut of 177 mice reported cancer incidence to be slightly higher than 10 percent. Researchers described the results as "surprising."
* A 2006 study in France detected tumors in 4.1 percent of the 1,260 microchipped mice. This was one of six studies in which the scientists did not set out find microchip-induced cancer but noticed the results incidentally.
* In 1997 a study in Germany found cancers in 1 percent of 4,279 chipped mice. The tumors "are clearly due to the implanted microchips" the authors wrote.
What the Researchers Are Saying:
When Associated Press asked scientists to weigh in on the available research, specialists at some pre-eminent cancer institutions said the findings raised red flags.
--"There's no way in the world, having read this information, that I would have one of those chips implanted in my skin, or in one of my family members," said Dr. Robert Benezra, head of the Cancer Biology Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
--Dr. George Demetri, director of the Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, agreed. Even though the tumor incidences were "reasonably small," in his view, the research underscored "certainly real risks" in RFID implants. In humans, sarcomas, which strike connective tissues, can range from the highly curable to "tumors that are incredibly aggressive and can kill people in three to six months," he said.
--At the Jackson Laboratory in Maine, a leader in mouse genetics research and the initiation of cancer, Dr. Oded Foreman, a forensic pathologist, also reviewed the studies at the AP's request. At first he was skeptical, suggesting that chemicals administered in some of the studies could have caused the cancers and skewed the results. But he took a different view after seeing that control mice, which received no chemicals, also developed the cancers. "That might be a little hint that something real is happening here," he said.
--"The transponders were the cause of the tumors," said Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, explaining in a phone interview the findings of a 1996 study he led at the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan.
What Can We Do?
1. Check your microchipped cat or other pet regularly for swelling or lumps, especially around the injection site. If owners or veterinarians find anything abnormal in that area or any other (as the chips may migrate), an x-ray or biopsy should be performed.
2. Dr. Albrecht also suggests pet owners help her volunteer to educate and contact animal advocacy and animal rights groups as well as veterinarian organizations by taking action at her AntiChips.com website. Many of these animal-loving groups endorsed microchipping pets without having access to the studies above. Dr. Albrecht hopes public pressure will also force Verichip Corporation, the manufacturer of the chip, to take responsibility or face a class action lawsuit.
3. Report any incidences of pets who have died of cancer or animals who have been cured of cancer to Dr. Albrecht at AntiChips.com, especially if is known or suspected that the tumor is or was linked to a microchip. This will help further document proof of the cancer and stop microchipping.
About the Author:Marika Ray, researcher and writer at Natural Cat Lovers (http://www.naturalcatlovers.com/index-html), makes it easy to learn nature's simple healing secrets from top veterinarians and cat experts. Get a free subscription to tips about natural cat health care. Okay to post, just use name and website.
Why Are the Microchips Causing Cancer?
As Dr. Katherine Albrecht, a consumer educator and privacy advocate who helped investigate and break this story, explains what the scientists believe is happening is similar to a common splinter. When you get a splinter in your finger, your body does everything it can to get rid of it. The site gets red, it swells up and attempts to dislodge the foreign object.
However, when a microchip is embedded deep in the fatty tissue of your pet, its body can't push the chip out like a splinter. Instead an inflammation forms around the microchip. Scientists believe these inflamed cells can turn malignant and then metastasize and move around in the body. What's worse is these tumors can be fast-growing and malignant.
What the Research Shows:
Between 1996-2006 eight published veterinary and toxicology journals reported that lab mice and rats injected with microchips sometimes had a tendency to develop subcutaneous "sarcomas" or malignant tumors surrounding the implants. Below are a brief summary of the some of the major conclusions.
* A 1998 study in Ridgefield, Connecticut of 177 mice reported cancer incidence to be slightly higher than 10 percent. Researchers described the results as "surprising."
* A 2006 study in France detected tumors in 4.1 percent of the 1,260 microchipped mice. This was one of six studies in which the scientists did not set out find microchip-induced cancer but noticed the results incidentally.
* In 1997 a study in Germany found cancers in 1 percent of 4,279 chipped mice. The tumors "are clearly due to the implanted microchips" the authors wrote.
What the Researchers Are Saying:
When Associated Press asked scientists to weigh in on the available research, specialists at some pre-eminent cancer institutions said the findings raised red flags.
--"There's no way in the world, having read this information, that I would have one of those chips implanted in my skin, or in one of my family members," said Dr. Robert Benezra, head of the Cancer Biology Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
--Dr. George Demetri, director of the Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, agreed. Even though the tumor incidences were "reasonably small," in his view, the research underscored "certainly real risks" in RFID implants. In humans, sarcomas, which strike connective tissues, can range from the highly curable to "tumors that are incredibly aggressive and can kill people in three to six months," he said.
--At the Jackson Laboratory in Maine, a leader in mouse genetics research and the initiation of cancer, Dr. Oded Foreman, a forensic pathologist, also reviewed the studies at the AP's request. At first he was skeptical, suggesting that chemicals administered in some of the studies could have caused the cancers and skewed the results. But he took a different view after seeing that control mice, which received no chemicals, also developed the cancers. "That might be a little hint that something real is happening here," he said.
--"The transponders were the cause of the tumors," said Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, explaining in a phone interview the findings of a 1996 study he led at the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan.
What Can We Do?
1. Check your microchipped cat or other pet regularly for swelling or lumps, especially around the injection site. If owners or veterinarians find anything abnormal in that area or any other (as the chips may migrate), an x-ray or biopsy should be performed.
2. Dr. Albrecht also suggests pet owners help her volunteer to educate and contact animal advocacy and animal rights groups as well as veterinarian organizations by taking action at her AntiChips.com website. Many of these animal-loving groups endorsed microchipping pets without having access to the studies above. Dr. Albrecht hopes public pressure will also force Verichip Corporation, the manufacturer of the chip, to take responsibility or face a class action lawsuit.
3. Report any incidences of pets who have died of cancer or animals who have been cured of cancer to Dr. Albrecht at AntiChips.com, especially if is known or suspected that the tumor is or was linked to a microchip. This will help further document proof of the cancer and stop microchipping.
About the Author:Marika Ray, researcher and writer at Natural Cat Lovers (http://www.naturalcatlovers.com/index-html), makes it easy to learn nature's simple healing secrets from top veterinarians and cat experts. Get a free subscription to tips about natural cat health care. Okay to post, just use name and website.
Fleas and Your Cat or Kitten
Fleas and Your Cat or Kitten
If your cat is allowed outside, chances are it’s going to bring fleas into your home. Most indoor cats will not have this problem.
Your first course of action should be to treat your yard. Bring in all pets and spray the yard with an insecticide to kill fleas, flea larvae and ticks. Next, you will need to treat your carpet and your furniture. Fleas will burrow into carpet as well as your seat cushions, slipcovers and bedding.
Begin by vacuuming your carpet and your furniture. Be sure to get all cracks, crevices and corners of the room. You will also want to use a powder, spray or fogger in your home as well. Powders are used on carpet and you simply shake and vacuum them back up. They can penetrate down into the matting to kill the fleas.
Sprays are short-term flea control. They kill adult fleas, but not the eggs. Foggers can be difficult to use because you have to leave your home for several hours and keep your pets out as well. You also have to be sure that they don’t get on food or appliances used to cook and prepare food.
After your home flea free, you will want to prevent any further infestations. Preventing is a lot easier than getting rid of fleas and you can begin by using these products:
Flea Baths & Dips: Flea baths use a medicated shampoo that is used to treat fleas. These are good for short-term, but they wear off quickly. Flea dips are more effective and last for several weeks. Flea dips should be a last resort as they often contain heavy chemicals.
Flea Powder and Spray Treatments: Flea powders and sprays are also a short-term defense. These treatments only affect adult fleas.
Flea Collars: Flea collars are also popular. These exude a gas that fleas do not like and is absorbed into the skin of the animal. They tend to only work in the vicinity of the neck.
Flea Medications: These are a pill that keeps eggs from hatching and reproducing on the cat. These do not kill adult fleas, but stop the reproduction process.
Absorbable Medications: This is a spot medication that is applied between the shoulder blades of the cat. They spread across their skin and kills fleas for about a month. They also halt the reproduction process.
Flea Combs: This is a good method to use on kittens and you don’t want to give her any unnecessary treatments. This is a fine comb that you use to pull the fleas off of the hair and then you have to kill the fleas by dousing them in soapy water.
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