Pet Care Tips Blog

We have a long history with domesticated animals and even the nay Sayers can't deny their roll in society past and present.

There is evidence that as long as 10,000 years ago the Native Americans had domesticated dogs as depicted in early rock paintings. Apparently, the dogs in the painting look remarkably like the Carolina dogs of today.

It has been well documented that dogs and horses of past have been bred to assist us in various ways whether it be pack dog, work horse, hunter or herder. There is no doubt that they have value and have contributed to society in many ways.

Among so many pets, Dog is the most preferred pet as it is the only animal that is loyal to its master. There may be many other pets to pick from like cat, snake, bird, rabbit, mouse and many other animals, although dog is the most preferred pet of millions as it is honest, loving, guard and cuddly. But, you must ensure that your dog behaves properly at home and when it is out with you, for which you need to train it right. A educated pet reveals your persona and people generally admire you if your pet acts properly as his behavior shows your genuine efforts. You will find several dog breeds so that you can choose one that you like to keep. Majority of them love to own a big dog whereas there are many others who may love to own a small, tiny little pet dog. Now, the dog breed you want to select, depends on your choice, but you should be sure that it behaves well with you and others. Here are a few dog training techniques that will surely assist you to teach your dog perfectly: - When your dog is still a pup, it's the right time to start its training: When you get a small pup for yourself, conduct the training quickly as this will assist to keep your pup away from misbehavior right from the start. And it is easier to train a pup rather than training a dog as it is easy to handle and teach things to a small pup. - Allow your pup mingle with other pups or dogs: Humans love to socialize so also animals love as they both can make friends. Your pup will learn to make friends and will soon mingle with other dogs and people. This will help your dog to know what is love and friendship. - Teaching manners: Teach your dog essentuial manners like stand up, sit down, keep silence, jump, shake hands, and other small things to greet and entertain your guests. This will impress your friends and your dog will love to be appreciated and patted by others. - Maintain a correct schedule for your dog: Your dog needs food to grow, but don't just feed it anytime of the day. Make a proper schedule, for example, a light breakfast in the morning with a bowl of milk, proper food for afternoon, evening snacks with milk and a light dinner with milk at night. Different dog breeds eat different amount of food. Similarly, your dog needs to pass out his unwanted food. If you take your dog for a walk regularly, it will help your dog to understand that it has to empty its stomach. Also, a correct timetable will assist you and your pet to adjust accordingly. Your dog will move around to let you know that it has to go out for passing its waste and thus your house will remain clean - Maintain an exercise schedule: Just like you need some workout to maintain you health, your dog also needs little exercise to be active. Let your dog enjoy its life and do not make a serious exercise regime for your faithful pet. Just little fun, jumps, stretches and a daily walk is adequate for your pet to remain active and well. So now you will be a proud owner of a well-trained dog.

Three standard indicators of a horse's health are temperature, pulse rate and respiration. These can be used not only to determine if your horse is ill but also can indicate the type of illness.

Horse's Temperature

The normal temperature for a horse is about 38C (100.5F). Individual horses may vary half a degree either side of this, so you may want to take your horse's temperature when it is healthy so you know what its healthy temperature is exactly. There can also be a variation of up to half a degree due to time of day and activity. Variations of more than one degree indicate a problem, which should be treated accordingly..

Going on vacation without your pet? when looking for dogsitters through the internet, lots of people have no idea how to track down the most reliable pet sitter for them. Should they search chat rooms about pets, forums on the subject, or use an online referral agency? Is anyone really certain of who to entrust their pet with and whether this sitter is a suitable caretaker? Probably one of the best and safest ways to carrying out this difficult job is to entrust the task to an online sitter-matching company that will set you up with a suitable care-taker.

If you wish to find dogsitters - click here!

The long haired dachshund may be the prettiest of the dachshund breed. Its long, flowing coat portrays an elegance that is not seen with the short haired or wirehaired dachshund. In fact, the term elegant is not usually associated with short-legged dogs with a hot dog body. It's amazing what a luxurious coat of hair can do for a dog.

Dachshunds are best known for their elongated body, and they are often called a “hot dog” because of their unusual length. To make their appearance even more unique, they have very short legs - just 2 or 3 inches - so they sit low to the ground. These same features are also what makes a long haired dachshund look so different from its short haired and wirehaired brothers and sisters.

Cutting your dog's nails is probably the one part of your dog's grooming routine that you often overlook. It's such a struggle to get your dog to stay put while you cut his nails that most of the time, you just don't bother with it anymore.

Trimming your dog's nails does not have to be a chore or unpleasant. If your dog is not used to having his nails trimmed, start slowly, and gradually work up to simply holding his toes firmly for 15-30 seconds.

Trimming a dog's nails is essential to its grooming routine. Untrimmed nails leave dogs vulnerable to painful broken nails. Cutting around or below this point can cause bleeding. If you trim the nails over a long period of time, this cluster of veins will move lower and help prevent bleeding from occurring.

The Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary is home to over 100 different species of animals, and there are over 300 animals living at the zoo. The zoo is located west of Austin on Rawhide Trail, which can be found by turning off of Highway 290 West shortly after its intersection with Highway 71 West, onto Thomas Springs Road, which intersects with Rawhide Trail a few miles down the road

The Austin Zoo includes educational facilities and beautifully landscaped grounds and gardens, as well as habitats for bears, lions, and numerous exotic birds and reptiles. A petting zoo allows visitors to have close contact with harmless species of animals, and patrons can purchase feed at a nominal cost in order to interact more closely with the animals, which is a special treat for children visiting the zoo. The primary purpose of the sanctuary is to provide rescue, rehabilitation and education to assist animals in the zoo. The zoo had over 200,000 visitors last year, and is a popular destination for families in the Austin area. Originally, the Austin Zoo was a goat ranch, but in 1990, it changed its name to Good Day Ranch, and at that time, the animals consisted mostly of deer, goats, donkeys, ponies, and pigs, with few exotic animals. The zoo is open every day from 10:00am to 6:00pm, except Thanksgiving and Christmas, and admission is $7.00 for adults and $4.00 for children, with discounts for seniors, students and military personnel, so the zoo is quite affordable for the whole family. Yearly passes for unlimited visits are also available for individuals as well as families, and proceeds go to providing more homes for the many animals that are turned away since the zoo is regularly inundated with requests to rescue various kinds of animals, both domesticated and wild. Among the animals at the zoo are big cats such as lions, panthers, tigers, and jaguars, along with Old World and New World Monkeys, as they are classified, and amphibians such as toads, frogs, salamanders and the like. There is also a reptile habitat that includes snakes iguanas, geckos, and tortoises, and various exotic birds, which include lovely peacocks strolling around on the grounds. There is also a sanctuary for unwanted and unusual livestock, many of which have been rescued from those who no longer want them, such as llamas, pot-bellied pigs and miniature donkeys, as well as longhorn cattle.

The Austin Zoo supports a pre-school television program called “Sprout Please!” which provides educational content for young children, and the zoo is also helping promote an appearance by animal expert Jack Hanna, who will appear at the Paramount Theater in downtown Austin in early October to speak about his experiences with wildlife. Another yearly event at the zoo is called Boo at the Zoo, which is held during the week of Halloween for children, along with their parents, to visit the zoo in their costumes and have a safe opportunity to see the animals and ride a “haunted train”.

The zoo is kept in the dark during these nights of fun and parents are encouraged to bring flashlights for peering into the cages and habitats, although some overhead lighting will be provide. Picnics are welcomed during the Halloween event, and the activities promise fun for all.

The Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary is an Austin treasure, and worth the short drive out to the hill country, so keep the zoo in mind this Halloween, or any day of the week!

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Author: Matthew Kepnes

Have you always dreamed about hunting in the wild but you can't do so because you don't have a hunting dog as a companion? This shouldn't mean that you should give up on hunting. It's better to focus your energies in finding a good hunting dog. Hunting dogs usually locate prey or collect it after it has been shot down. They can also terrify other animals when they are used in a group, especially when they are used to hunt down foxes.

Finding the ideal hunting dog requires a fine combination of patience and skill. First, you need to decide what type of hunting dog you are interested in. If you'll spend your time hunting birds, then pick out a hunting dog accordingly.

If you ask most people whether we should embrace diversity or not, the vast majority of them will probably say yes since it seems to be the most politically correct response these days. After all, very few people want to appear racist or ignorant. People might even say that we should be open because it's good to have different cultures around.

But the question is, are we really embracing diversity? If you go to a typical workplace or school cafeteria and see segregated groups of people all sitting in their separate racial groups by choice, this may indicate that as a society, we really haven't embraced diversity as much as we think we have. If people still prefer to be with their own kind, then perhaps a diverse environment is something that we try to just tolerate, rather than embrace. Embracing and tolerating are very different actions.

One of the many things that the country boasts is the Hungarian Vizsla Dog. It has been around for hundreds of years; bred for the purpose of hunting. It's but an excellent hunter, quietly sneaking up on prey. Also good for flushing out birds and locating other animals. Agility and speed coupled with finesse make this pooch very capable of the game. Training it to do so isn't much of a problem - it learns fast and is very adaptive. A great companion to have along side while searching for game. The Vizsla is a breed with a slender, medium and athletic build.