Protecting Your Cats and Dogs in Winter

By Elyse Grau

While your dog might enjoy chasing snowballs and the cat may enjoy snoozing by the fire, winter can bring hazards for pets. Follow the advice given here for a safe and cozy winter experience

The easiest, safest way to keep your pets warm is to keep them indoors, especially overnight. Older dogs, puppies, and dogs with certain diseases such as diabetes, heart and kidney problems should never be kept outside. All cats should remain indoors.

Some dogs tolerate cold weather better than others. Some dogs can take cold better than others, such as Alaskan Malamutes and Huskies. Short -haired and toy dogs will have a particularly hard time in the cold.

Snow and ice can pose problems for dogs. Snow can get packed between dogs toes and freeze, causing pain and discomfort. To avoid this problem, keep the hair between the toes cut short.

Keeping nails cut short also helps. Shorter nails allow for better traction. If a dog is slipping on ice it tends to splay the toes, which causes more snow to pack between them.

If you are walking your dog on sidewalks or streets that have been salted to melt ice, be sure to wash his paws when you return. The salt can be drying and irritating to the paws.

If a dog must be kept outside during the day, be sure to provide proper shelter. An oversized dog house or shed will not retain enough heat. The house should be just large enough for the dog to stand up and turn around.

Do not use blankets for bedding. These will just get wet and freeze. Clean straw or hay is preferable.

Position the house on the south or east side of the house if possible, out of the wind. Putting it on a raised platform will also keep it a little warmer.

Remember that the dogs water may freeze if left outside. Putting the water in a deep container helps keep it from freezing. Also plastic is a better choice in this case, as metal conducts the cold quicker. Dark colors will absorb more heat and therefore freeze slower than lighter colors. Be sure to break up any ice on the surface of the water each morning.

Are you aware of the dangers of antifreeze? Ethylene glycol based antifreeze is deadly to cats and dogs! Be sure to keep containers tightly capped and out of reach. Wipe up any spills immediately. For the safest bet, use one of the alternative products made with propylene glycol instead.

Outdoor cats will look for warm spots to curl up. Some cats have learned that cars and trucks offer nice warm nooks. They will crawl up into the wheel-wells or engine compartments. Banging on the hood before you get in your car is a good idea in case you have a stowaway.

Indoors, pets will often curl up next to heaters or under wood stoves. Watch out for tails and fur getting too close to heating elements! Make sure your cat does not overheat.

Some extra vigilance may be needed if you will have a Christmas tree. Anchoring the tree to the wall is a good precaution. Tinsel can be dangerous to pets if ingested, so either dont use it, or place it well out of reach of cats and dogs. Start hanging decorations a few feet from the bottom of the tree.

You might want to rethink placing gifts under the tree if you have a puppy. Dont use string or dangling ribbons on packages if you have a cat. Cover the base of the tree to keep animals from drinking the water.

There is debate over the toxicity of Poinsettias. Even if they are not deadly, the sap is an irritant and will probably make the animal sick. Holly and mistletoe berries are poisonous; so keep them out of reach of pets.

Elyse Grau is an herbalist and a long-time pet owner, well-versed in pet nutrition and feeding. She is the author of Pet Health Resource, your web guide to a healthy, happy dog or cat. The website strives to answer your holistic pet health questions through a large collection of articles.http://www.pethealthresource.com

Article Source: http://www.bestdogarticles.com

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PetSafe Dog Training Collar Review

As among the largest retailers of PetSafe dog training collars inside the UK were conntacting evaluate the new PetSafe Venture Training collars.

In many respects the brand new Venture dog training collars are a large advance aesthetically in the more conventional black boxy training collars such as the old PetSafe 400 remote trainers. Should you take a look at what most manufacturers have manufactured in yesteryear its been a black square receiver collar having a black strap and dealing a black remote handset.

The new PetSafe Venture receiver collars are great looking inside a blue translucent casing thats nicely curved to go with the dogs neck, they actually look convenient for that dogs to put on. This new exciting lifestyle appearance from the PetSafe Venture training collars has truly set them apart which factor alone has taken much interest from potential customers. Some point to notice is the fact that many people whove been just a little cautious about what others will think when their dog is wearing a static collar happen to be very happy to buy a collar that does not really seem like a static dog collar.

Venture training collars are available in two different types the Venture 350 for small dogs up to and including weight of 18kg that operate up to and including 350 meter range, and also the Venture 900 for medium to large dogs for most dogs over 18kg that actually works on the distance as much as 900 meters. Whilst the technology is identical both in the collars the amount of static pulse is understandably reduced small 350 Venture. These two Venture collars can operate One or two dogs in the same remote so that all you must do is purchase a second receiver collar to show these right into a two dog training system.

Whether you choose to purchase a new PetSafe Venture dog collar or otherwise we advise that you simply always set this on the lowest setting and merely gradually increase this before you find the right level for the dog. Please be aware that whatever you want to do is placed this in a level in which you interrupt your dogs trail of thought. This will be significant because these collars have to be used sensitively as well as in a controlled manner, by doing this they may be quite effective like a training aid.

PetSafe Venture trainers are fully waterproof so streams, rivers and lakes really are a definite yes for dogs that simply like to get wet, without any harmful affects on the collars. They are also mains rechargeable so just charge overnight and youre simply all set.

One extremely important feature these Venture collars have is a large red button on the handset, this can be a booster button that ramps the amount of static by three levels and it is ideal in emergencies. If for instance the thing is your pet running towards an active road this can be used feature in order to save the dogs life.

So how reliable are these PetSafe Venture collars? Weve been selling these now for more than 6 months plus they have the symptoms of been very reliable, we now have had not many after-sales issues and usually most happen to be happy using their performance. Dogs appear to locate them very comfortable as well as their owners have discovered them effective.

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Dog Treats How Safe Are They

By Keith Londrie

When your dog is performing a nice trick or behaves good during training or a certain event you feel like giving him a nice dog treat. But are you sure that every dog treat is healthy for your pet?

Dogs basic nutrition is almost the same as the human nutrition; our pets need fats, carbohydrates and protein too, but in other ratios and prepared differently.

People can chose to feed their pets with raw food or special dog food in stores. There is a big controversy between some groups of pets about the way we should feed our animals regarding raw food and commercialized food; some believe that raw food has been used for centuries and its better for animals while others think that using special dog food assures the optimal nutrition.

Dog treats which are found in stores are usually biscuits made with meat products, milk and wheat but they also contain more fats than normal dog food. Think about dog treats like fast food or chips for humans.

In the last years commercialized dog food including dog treats was found to be poisonous for most dogs. Some of the ingredients contained by dog treats which are known to cause problems are: wheat gluten, onion and garlic products, dairy products in large quantities, large quantities of liver, salt, chocolate etc. These products can cause: diarrhea, kidney failure, heart diseases, obesity, etc.

If you arent sure of the dog treats you buy, you can try making some in your home, there are a lot of recipes on the internet and in special pet magazines. All you have to do is to make sure you avoid the products listed above and others which you know that affect your pet.

Other important nutrients which must be assured daily are vitamins. If you feed your dog raw food you might find it hard to calculate if he gets enough vitamins so you might need some supplements; there are a lot of brands which commercialize products that assure the daily vitamin need. If you feed your dog with commercialized dog food, you will know that the daily dose written on the package contains the vitamins your little buddy needs.

Some dog treats contain vitamins too but they are also very tasty for your dog so be careful! If you feed your dog too many dog treats you should cut down the food you give them in meals to avoid obesity and digestion problems. If you bake your dog treats at home try to calculate the amount of nutrients; you can find a lot of nutrient lists on the internet and calculate the optimum amount of food for your dog.

Keith Londrie II is the Webmaster of http://www.about-bird-houses.info/ A website that specializes in providing information on bird houses that you can research on the internet. Visit http://www.about-bird-houses.info/ now!

Article Source: http://www.bestdogarticles.com

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Beating the winter blues! Your dog can help!

Snow has been on the ground here in Indiana most of the winter and now we get several inches of ice and wind. So many of my friends moan and groan about it and keeping talking about the warm weather that will be here in a few months. Here is how i beat the winter blues, no matter how nasty it gets. I bundle up, gather the dogs and head to the woods for some hiking and just breath in the fresh air. The dogs love to run and play and its just makes life better for everyone. Its not always about obedience and training, sometimes we need to let them be dogs. Find a nice place to sit out of the wind and read a book, write a poem or just talk to the dogs and watch them play, you can learn so much about them this way. Then head back home, feed the dogs, fix something hot to drink, sit back and think about what a great time you and your friends had. Then maybe take a nap!
Be sure to visit us at http://www.shannondogtraining.com/

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