Archive for the ‘General Pet Care’ Category

I remember my first bearded dragon I had to care for while pet sitting.  I had such a fascination with them thus I wanted to share this article for both my fellow pet sitters as well as those thinking of owning a beardie.  I would love your comments.  I agree with Jennifer about this being a great lizard to care for if it is your first lizard.  Perhaps that is why it was such a pleasure to pet sit for.  Perhaps in the near future I will have my own beardie.  This is a great Bearded Dragons Care 101 article written by Jennifer Cosculluela.

A great choice of pet for beginning lizard enthusiasts and reptile hobbyists who are more experienced, bearded dragons do require special care. Pet beardies are docile reptiles that breed well in captivity. This is a great choice for pet owners that are thinking of adopting a bearded dragon.

Dragons that are properly cared for can live for up to twelve years. If you are a new bearded dragon pet owner, you need to learn how to care for your pet properly. Properly caring for your bearded dragon includes giving him the proper enclosure, substrate, food, water, lighting and temperature.

Diet

The proper diet is very important for properly caring for your bearded dragon. They are omnivorous which means that they eat insects, vegetables and fruit. You can purchase or catch the insects yourself, although it may be safer to buy insects since the ones you catch yourself may have been exposed to poisonous insecticides. Other insects include cockroaches, earthworms, wax worms, king worms and mealworms. You can feed him all the crickets he can eat in ten minutes and do this for three times daily. Fresh vegetables need to be administered every day.

You can put a pinch of calcium dusting on his food, since he needs this to grow as well. Your beardie cannot recognize standing water, and misting his food with mineral-rich water will keep him hydrated. He also recognizes water dripping down leaves, so you can spray plastic plants with water as well. Keep in mind that too much water is harmful for your bearded dragon, however, since they originate from the dessert.

Housing

For your beardie’s housing, provide him with the biggest enclosure that you are able to afford and accommodate. For hatchlings, aquarium-type tanks that are between ten and fifteen gallons are good enough. Adult bearded dragons, however, need a terrarium that is between fifty and fifty-five gallons large. Being semi-arboreal, enclosures need to be rectangular, which means that they need to longer rather than taller.

Make sure that the housing you provide has a screen lid rather than using wood, glass or Plexiglas, which hinder air circulation. For the flooring or the substrate of your enclosure, do not put sand if your beardie is under the age of six months old, since they tend to eat sand at this age. The best flooring substrate would be paper towels, vinyl or tiles.

Lighting

Proper lighting is one more aspect of bearded dragon care that you need to take into consideration. Aside from a bright daytime light bulb, your lizard requires a special UVB light to manufacture the vitamin D3 it needs to metabolize calcium. To properly care for your bearded dragon, you need to provide it with fourteen hours of very bright light and ten hours of darkness.

Temperature

Gradient temperature in the enclosure of your pet also needs to be provided. Bearded dragons are cold blooded and move from one side of his cage to another in order to keep his temperature even. One side of his space needs to be between ninety-five and one hundred degrees Fahrenheit for basking, while the other side needs to be between seventy-five and eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit. In the evenings, the temperature needs to be lower than seventy degrees Fahrenheit. The area for basking needs to be between one hundred and one hundred-five degrees Fahrenheit.

Brumation

Dragons do not hibernate but do tend to slow down during the wintertime. This means that they may take a few weeks off and barely touch their food and hide away. This only applies to adult bearded dragons since younger ones under eighteen months of age need to eat regularly.

Holidays can be extremely fun for humans but may pose hidden risks for pets.  These eight tips will help keep your pets safe this holiday season.

Don’t be a turkey on “Turkey Day.”

Holiday treats, such as rich, fatty scraps, bones from pork and poultry, alcoholic beverages, chocolate and other sweets and candies can be harmful or toxic to pets.

These foods have been linked to pancreatitis in pets.  Signs and symptoms of an inflamed pancreas include vomiting and abdominal pain.  Severe pancreatitis requires emergency care and treatment.

Oh (No) Christmas Tree!

Below the tree, in the tree, on top of the tree, around the tree, you name it, and the Christmas tree poses the possibility of harm to your pets.  Pine tree water can be poisonous, so it’s best to use an enclosed tree stand. If that’s no possible, be sure to cover the open tree stand base.  The tree should be secured to a wall with strong wire or twine because a toppling tree can cause serious injuries to dogs and cats.

Decorations can be dangerous as well.

Tinsel, entices canines and felines alike.  Glass ornaments look like shiny fetch balls.  Ornaments, hooks, twinkling lights and electrical wiring all pose significant danger to pets.  When no one’s around to supervise, unplug lights and any electrical decorations a pet has access to. Be sure to cover or tack down electrical cords.

Remember, common holiday pet poisons also include plants.

Holiday plants that are poisonous to pets include mistletoe berries, holly, hibiscus, Christmas rose, as well as the poinsettia.  Keep these out of your pets reach.

Sugar free doesn’t guarantee a happy ending.

Xylitol, a sugar substitute, causes a dogs blood sugar to drop quickly.  This poisoning can be treated, but causes liver failure if not treated properly.

Macadamia nuts aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

Dogs experience severe weakness in their back legs, appearing paralyzed, after ingesting macadamia nuts.  Dogs usually recover from this condition within three days.

Pets and bread dough don’t mix well.

When bread dough is ingested it continues to rise and may cause an intestinal blockage.

Consider your pet’s long-term health when treating and feeding during the holidays.

While the tendency is to spoil with a lot of food and edible treats, this can sometimes lead to unnecessary weight gain.  Give your pet a special toy or spend some extra time playing and petting instead.

Following these valuable tips will help keep pets out of danger, while still enjoying the festivities that accompany the most wonderful time of the year!

Compliments from your Professional Pet Sitter, 2 Paws Up Inc.  “We stay home so you don’t have to!” This article was provided in its entirety by PSI, Pet Sitters International.  You can find PSI on the web at http://www.petsit.com

You have decided to take your dog on your trip.  What do you need to keep this a low stress event?  This could be a major hassle if you don’t make the right choices.

1.    Plan ahead for accommodations.

Check with the hotel/motel to be sure they allow one or multiple pets and if they have a weight limit. Check with friends or family to be sure they are welcomed, and have a pet friendly home so they won’t have to be placed in the garage or tied up outside.

2.    Collar with ID.

The collar should have your dog’s name, your name, current phone number, as well as current proof of rabies shot. Microchip your dog is another great thing to have done. We will talk more about Microchiping in a future article. Carry a vet identification card or papers. A must is to have their collars with their ID tags on whenever they are outside.  No matter how well behaved your dog is outdoors when away from home have a collar on your dog.

3.   Car safety.

Insure the safety of your pet in your vehicle by purchasing a dog car seat, or a dog car harness, or a dog crate.  Your pet will be more comfortable with the use of this equipment as well as more protected if your car has to stop suddenly.

4.   Train your dog.

Your dog should be well-behaved during the trip.  You should have basic dog training before a trip.  Your dog should know basic dog commends like, sit, stay and down.  Before embarking on a long trip, be sure to take short fun trips in the car.  Take your dog to the park.  I have never met a dog who did like to go to the park for a walk.

5.   Don’t forget the dog supplies.

Food, water, dog bowls, collar, leash, plastic bags for poop, medications, favorite dog toys, and treats.

6.   Preparedness.

Emergencies can happen so be prepared when traveling with your dog.  Take a Pet First Aid and CPR class, have an emergency kit, and prepare a list of veterinary hospitals in the area where you will be staying.

Five easy tips to help keep your pet safe for Halloween

• Keep all candy and other goodies out of reach
  Just like us, eating too much candy can make your pet sick, so keep it where he or she can’t get it.
• Be careful with costumes – yours and your pets
  Some pets will be frightened by strange costumes, and may try to run from them. If you’re wearing a costume, let your pets smell it and see you put it on, and be sure to talk to them while you’re wearing it. Be sure that any costumes you put on your pet fit properly and allow him or her to see, breathe, and move OK.
• Make sure candles are out of reach
  Even if you think your pet won’t get at the candles, they can be knocked over, and tails & fur can quickly ignite if your pet passes by.
• Keep pets in a safe room of your house
  So your pets don’t become frightened, or run out when you open the door to trick-or-treaters, keep them in a closed room, or use a baby gate to keep them away from the door. Give your pets toys or pet-appropriate treats to keep them occupied.
• Keep pets indoors on Halloween
  Cats and dogs may be frightened by the Halloween celebrations so it’s best to keep them inside. Keep in mind that there are some people who enjoy torturing cats, especially black ones, on Halloween.

By:

Therese Kopiwoda, Founder, PetsitUSA, Follow her on:  http://www.facebook.com/petsitusa

Protective, Territorial, and Possessive Aggression

Protective, territorial, and possessive aggressions are all very similar and involve the defense of valuable resources.

Territorial aggression is usually associated with defense of property, and that “territory” may extend well past the boundaries of your yard.

• For example, if you regularly walk your dog round the neighborhood and allow him to urine mark, he may think his territory includes the entire block.

Protective aggression usually refers to aggression directed toward people or animal whom a dog perceives as threats to his family, or pack.

• Dogs become possessively aggressive when defending their food, toys, or other valued objects, including items as peculiar as tissues stolen from the trash.

Redirected Aggression

• This is a relatively common type of aggression but one that is often misunderstood by pet owners.
• If a dog is somehow provoked by a person or animal he is unable to attack, he may redirect this aggression onto someone else.
• For example, two family dogs may become excited and bark and growl in response to another dog passing through the front yard, or two dogs confined behind a fence may turn and attack each other because they can’t attack an intruder.
• Predation is usually considered to be a unique kind of aggressive behavior because it’s motivated by the intent to obtain food and not primarily by the intent to harm or intimidate.

Individual Variation

• The likelihood of a dog to show aggressive behavior in any particular situation varies markedly from dog to dog. Some dogs tend to respond aggressively with very little stimulation.
• Others may be subjected to all kinds of threatening stimuli and events and yet never attempt to bite.
• The difference in the threshold prompting aggressive behavior is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors.

o    If this threshold is low, a dog will be more likely to bite.

o   Raising the threshold makes a dog less likely to respond aggressively. This threshold can be raised using behavior modification techniques, but the potential for change is influenced by a dog’s gender, age, breed, general temperament, and the way in which the behavior modification techniques are chosen and implemented.

o   Because working with aggressive dogs can be potentially dangerous, behavior modification techniques should only be attempted by, or under the guidance of, an experienced animal-behavior professional who understands animal learning theory and behavior.

What You Can Do

• First, check with your veterinarian to rule out medical causes for the aggressive behavior.
• Seek professional advice. An aggression problem will not go away by itself. Working with aggression problems requires in-home help from an animal-behavior specialist.
• Take precautions. Your first priority is to keep people and other animals safe. Supervise, confine, or restrict your dog’s activities until you can obtain professional guidance.
• You are liable for your dog’s behavior. If you must take your dog out in public, consider a cage-type muzzle as a temporary precaution, and remember that some dogs are clever enough to get a muzzle off.
• Avoid exposing your dog to situations where he is more likely to show aggression. You may need to keep him confined to a safe room and limit his contact with people.
• If your dog is possessive of toys or treats or territorial in certain locations, prevent access and you’ll prevent the problem.
• In an emergency, bribe him with something better than what he has. For example, if he steals your shoe, trade him the shoe for a piece of chicken.
• Spay or neuter your dog. Intact dogs are more likely to display dominance, territorial, and protective aggressive behavior.

What NOT to Do

• Punishment won’t help and, in fact, will often make the problem worse. If the aggression is motivated by fear, punishment will make your dog more fearful, and therefore more aggressive. Attempting to punish or dominate a dominant-aggressive dog may actually lead him to escalate his behavior to retain his dominant position. This is likely to result in a bite or a severe attack.
• Punishing territorial, possessive, or protective aggression is likely to elicit additional defensive aggression.
• Don’t encourage aggressive behavior. Playing tug-of-war or wrestling games encourages your dog to attempt to “best” you or “win” over you, which can lead to a dominance aggression problem. When dogs are encouraged to “go get ‘em” or to bark and dash about in response to outside noises or the approach of a person, territorial and protective aggressive behavior may result.

Adapted from material originally developed by applied animal

behaviorists at the Dumb Friends League, Denver, Colorado.

©2000 Dumb Friends League and ©2003 The HSUS.

All rights reserved.

Related topics at http://www.petsforlife.org/

_ Dealing with a Dominant Dog

Promoting the Protection of All Animals