From the monthly archives:

September 2009

Does My Pet Need An Electric Dog Fence?

by Pet Care on September 11, 2009


Pet owners have the responsibility to keep their pets safe. They take them to the vet, brush their hair and care for their teeth and nails, get them micro chipped in case they get lost and they even build fences to keep their dogs from wandering away and getting hurt.

But many owners struggle with the decision on whether or not to get their pet an electronic dog fence. They sometimes think they’re cruel or painful. To decide whether an electric dog fence is a good idea, you should consider its advantages and disadvantages.

An electronic dog fence works by burying an electic cable under the ground, marking with it the desired perimeter of the electric fence. A device is placed in the dog’s collar (sometimes the fence comes with the collar) which is activated whenever the dog tries to cross the perimeter.

One of the advantages of an electronic dog fence is that it doesn’t block the view or rots away, like other types of fences do. In addition, you don’t have to get building permits or deal with zoning laws, since you’re not building anything and the view stays the same. An electric dog fence is a great way of keeping a dog in without having to make major changes to your property.

There are also some disadvantages, of course. An electronic fence will keep your dog in, but it won’t keep other dogs out, like a regular fence would. Regular fences also add a bit of security to a house, since they represent an obstacle for would be thiefs. Depending on their type, some fences can actually make houses look better. Electric dog fences can be overcome if the shock is too mild for your dog to mind it, or if it’s too excited by its “prey” to even notice the shock. And once they do cross it, they may actually not want to come back because crossing over the perimeter fence means that they get shocked, and they may choose to avoid it altogether.

Dog Health Symptoms That You Should Not Miss

by Pet Care on September 8, 2009


We all know how important it is for us as humans to make it to the doctor and/or dentist. We have scheduled routine maintenance and checkups to make sure that we catch disabling problems before they become major. We carry insurance to make sure that we can do that at a fairly affordable price. So why is it that we do not afford our loyal and adoring pets the same respect and thought and follow dog health advice?

Let’s face it dog health is an important issue and we have to follow dog health advice. We say that we love our pets and yet keeping them healthy only seems to enter our mind when the canine is ailing and showing signs of trouble. It is rare these days that we as owners take the family pooch in for some well doggy care. Most of us we fairly rigorous on getting the shots and such taken care of when the four legged bundle of energy was a pup that we barely knew and yet as an aging and loved member of the family we tend to take his or her pet health for granted.

Granted, dogs tend to be rather hardy and not be in need of too much medical attention so we tend to not think as much about it as we might with a hamster or something that might be more prone to contracting something. SO it’s easy to see why pet health care may be the last thing on your mind.

However we also know that the longer something goes unchecked the more potential there is for problems and the more expensive those potential problems and dog health symptoms may tend to be. We know it with cars and car repairs. We know that the routine exams that we get as humans for our health and teeth tend to ward off more expensive problems. Face it folks if we didn’t take care of our teeth and didn’t go to the dentist regularly we would have a mouth full of expensive to fix or remove cavities.

Mans best friend really won’t complain either. He or she will continue to greet you at the door with tail wagging and giving you the unconditional love that have made dogs the animal of choice for family pets for as long as recorded time can be traced. You may not even know there is a problem until he or she begins to exhibit signs of issues such as uncontrolled bowl movements or urination.

And what’s really bizarre is that if your pet has no history of such behavior and then all of a sudden starts it we have the tendency to say “Bad Dog” and punish them or put them outside like an outcast.

Remember this is your pets way of telling you something is wrong and you need to heed those signs and get him or her to the family vet immediately and see what the problem is before it becomes expensive and/or life threatening. The pup can’t say, “Hey there, I am having diarrhea from that spoiled meat that little Johnny gave me.” So as a responsible owner, the dog health advice care is up to you.

Dog Health Care Insurance Policy: Do I Need One?

by Pet Care on September 4, 2009


If you have a dog you can’t have failed to notice that both routine and emergency care provided by veterinarians is rising.

Vaccinations, annual checkups and diagnostic tests are vital to your dog’s health but they are expensive.

A dog health care insurance policy is the way to ensure that your pet get quality veterinary care when it needs it most.

The extent of cover will depend on the type of policy chosen.

Comprehensive coverage usually includes annual checkups with proper immunizations, preventive tests and medications, and spay/neuter surgeries. Some pet owners may opt for a very basic policy that only covers illness and accidents.

A thorough evaluation of likely veterinary charges, including worst possible scenarios, need to be weighed against cost of monthly premiums.

One way a dog owner can help reduce the chance of their beloved pet being injured in an accident is to make sure they properly trained. And, for starters, they have to be correctly house trained. Look at these articles for useful guidance on house training a dog or puppy
potty training puppies
tips on housebreaking puppies
puppy crate training

The advances in veterinary treatment allows dog to not just live longer but to be healthier as well. But these treatments come at a cost. Procedures such as repairing hip damage have can have a high success rate but many dog owners are unable to go ahead with the operation because the cost is prohibitive to their budget.
It’s at critical times like that when a dog owner realizes the real value of pet health care insurance.

Choose the right policy and it is possible to save money without sacrificing the quality of care.
Dog health care insurance is not new. However, many dog owners don’t take it up because the have not properly weighed up the potential savings.

Annual vet fees are only part of the financial equation. Take into account the cost of degenerative illness and emergency treatment. After all your dog will grow older and accidents and unforeseen illnesses can happen. At a time when your beloved dog may be suffering you don’t want to have to delay treatment because you are not in a strong financial position. Particularly if time is critical.

Pet health insurance is becoming more popular. Dog owners now have a better understanding of both the financial and health benefits of this type of insurance.

The pet owner has the obligation to meet the entire cost of veterinary fees. But having pet health care insurance can change that. Paying a monthly premium to the insurance company will allow the pet owner to get medical care for their beloved pet when it’s needed.

The future is full of uncertainties but having health care insurance for your beloved dog takes some of the worry away. With the right policy your dog’s routine as well as emergency treatments can be covered. Carefully calculate the costs and weigh them against the benefits.

Really, insuring your pet can be seen as an expression of love and of the dog’s importance to you.

Chicken Coop Designs – Tips On Building

by Pet Care on September 3, 2009


Not all chickens are made equal, and similarly, neither are all chicken coop. When planning out your chicken coop designs, there are plenty of things you wish to consider, for instance, how many chickens have you got, what are these chickens for, are they going to be pets, what sort of accommodations does the chickens have, how are you going to get to the eggs?

All these are highly good questions, which has got to be answered right before you commence building your chicken shack. The number of chickens that you can keep is only prohibited by the dimensions of your yard. You can keep five, or you can keep twenty-five ; however you have to build a coop that can accommodate the amount of chickens you plan on having.

If the chicken coop designs you build is not enough, then the chickens will become stressed and pissed off that will impact on their laying patterns. If you are raising chickens just for their eggs, then you definitely don’t have to interrupt their habits, because this can make you lose the revenues you make from them, as well as a decent food supply for yourself. There are three basic sorts of chicken shack you can build, and they are little , medium, and big . You’ll decide to build your coops in two alternative ways.

The primary way, is to build it with an A-shaped roof. A-Shaped roofs are and example of decent chicken coop designs because they will last for a bit longer, and they are going to permit rain and snow to run off the top. The disadvantage is they seem to be a bit costly and need rather more wood.

Another advantage of having an A-Shaped roof is the chickens won’t be hitting the ceiling quite as much. You’ll also build a roof that is flat, though it’ll collect more snow and rain, this creates a likelihood of roof collapse, though it is cheaper. To ward off the roof collapse, the public build the flat roof at an angle, but this involves building your coop at an angle too which is a bore in itself.

Small Coops : Little chicken shed Designs are idea for folk that only need to keep two or three chickens. These may consist of a small fenced in enclosure, with a tiny indoor area that sleeps two or three chickens. These are relatively inexpensive and are often for pet chickens.

Medium Coops : These are a bit bigger as far as chicken coop designs go, and they’re customarily for housing 5-10 chickens. They can be converted from an old shed, or made from nothing but they have matching basic makeup as the little chicken coop designs.

Big Coops : This is for an individual that goes all out on their chickens, falling just short of building a total warehouse in their honor.

Occasionally these coops will appear to be chicken condos or castles, and the chickens customarily enjoy living in these. They consist of the enormous coop, and the fenced in area, which customarily is just as massive. For some chicken coop designs, if you would like fast access to the eggs, you can build a strategy to retrieve the eggs without ever going into the coop. Such a thing would be a door on the outside that opens up into the nesting boxes. Just don’t forget to go in there frequently to check on the conditions of the coop.