Archive for March, 2006

Cats and Avian Influenza (Flu)… The H5N1 Strain of Influenza In Cats

Cats and Avian Influenza (Flu)… The H5N1 Strain of Influenza In Cats

CATS AND AVIAN INFLUENZA (Avian Flu)

From the Germinder & Associates, Inc. website concerning Cats and Avian Influenza…

Read what Dr. James Richards, Director, Cornell Feline Health Center has to say about the three types of influenza viruses- A, B, and C. Type A viruses have the most impact regarding human and animal health. There are many subtypes and strains of influenza A viruses that will infect birds. This is an excellent overview of the current knowledge about cats and Avian Influenza.

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The Attitude of a Toy Breed

The Attitude of a Toy Breed

By Connie Limon

Does your little toy dog know who is in charge? Or do they think they are in charge? Some people are not bothered that their little toy dog seems to run the household and may mistakenly call this being “spoiled.” A better description would be lack of training or failure to set limits. The life of a little dog can become dangerous without some official “human” rules.

Dogs have excellent ability, senses and ways of communicating with us. They do need to learn the limits of living in our human society without allowing them to be “little people” who can just do as they please. Dogs are like children. They feel more secure and understand how they fit into the world around them when rules and limits are set for them.

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Doggin’ Las Vegas: Where To Hike With Your Dog When In Sin City

Doggin’ Las Vegas: Where To Hike With Your Dog When In Sin City

By Doug Gelbert

Sunset Park at East Sunset Road and S. Eastern Avenue is a traditional urban recreational park with ballfields and playgrounds. While lacking an extensive trail system, there is fresh green grass and shade trees aplenty that will be a welcome sight for any dog visiting Las Vegas. A paved trail traces the edge of a prominent artificial pond and beyond that is a patch of undeveloped mesquite-dunes land similar to what all Las Vegas looked like before the coming of neon.

For some serious hikes with your dog head out of town to the northeast and Valley of Fire State Park. The stunning red sandstone rock formations that give the Valley of Fire its name are the result of great shifting sand dunes. Two thousand years ago the Basket Maker people traveled here and left rock art reminders of their visits that can be seen today. In 1935 the Valley of Fire, now 34,000 acres, was dedicated as Nevada’s first state park.

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Pampered Pets Get Bling Therapy From Ms. BB

Pampered Pets Get Bling Therapy From Ms. BB

By Roxanna Bain

Daahling, Ms. BB knows that your precious pet is a star ~ a natural diva. Your dog or cat begs to be groomed and petted and showered with treats. She lives for your attention and all of the pampering you give her each day to keep her looking beautiful.

However, most humans understand that beauty is more than skin deep. Just like people, dogs and cats need to be taken care of on the inside, as well as the outside. Pets have feelings and emotions that their owners often neglect ~ not because they do not care, but simply because they are unaware. Even when one is aware, they may not know that there is a solution to the problem.

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Cat Fleas

By Elizabeth Morgan

There are more than 2,000 species of fleas around us. Out of these, the most common one is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. The cat adult fleas, unlike many other fleas, remain on the host. Though it exists worldwide, it is most commonly found in the United States. Cat fleas are commonly found on both cats and dogs.

In order to reproduce, cat fleas needs fresh blood. They lay eggs at the rate of one egg per hour. Their life cycle consists of four stages of metamorphosis, namely egg, larval, pupa and adult. Depending on external environmental factors like temperature and humidity, this cycle lasts 30 to 75 days. The most common problem occurring due to flea bites is flea allergy dermatitis, the severity of which depends upon the sensitivity of the host. Pet owners in the United States spend millions of dollars each year on flea allergy remedies. Cat fleas often carry infection too, and are feared to be capable of carrying plague and typhus. They also serve as the intermediate host to the dog tapeworm, an intestinal parasite, which gets transmitted to the pest when the flea carrying the tapeworm cyst is ingested.

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Doggin’ Milwaukee: Where To Hike With Your Dog When In Cream City

Doggin’ Milwaukee: Where To Hike With Your Dog When In Cream City

By Doug Gelbert

With 640 landscaped acres, Milwaukee’s Whitnall Park is one of the largest municipal parks in America. Dogs, however, are not welcome there. Dogs can also not visit the Lake Michigan Beach in Milwaukee. The fine for having your dog in a prohibited area is $149.50, as is the fine for not having your dog leashed or not cleaning up after your dog in Milwaukee County. If you find yourself in Milwaukee with your dog, head for the Granville Dog Park, located just north of Good Hope Road and west of Highway 45 along the east bank of the Menomonee River, the only Milwaukee park where dogs may exercise without a leash.

To hike with your dog travel over an hour west to Kettle Moraine State Forest. The Ice Age was so instrumental in shaping the landscape of Wisconsin that the most recent advance of the ice flows has been named the “Wisconsin Glaciation.” For almost 100,000 years - until a mere 10,000 years ago - the ice spread across the state, melted, reformed and retreated again.

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Upgrading Your Underground Dog Fence without Spending a Fortune

Upgrading Your Underground Dog Fence without Spending a Fortune

By Ryan Heath

My dog used to be a darter. One of those canines that would see an opening and take off. He’s been hit by a car twice now, neither really that bad, and has been lost more times than I can count. Even at the old home, where a fence has existed for years, the 100 pound lab would simply hop the thing and joy ride if no one was around. It had gotten to the point that I couldn’t even let him outside unless he was on a leash or tied to something.

Just a couple months ago, I moved in to a new house with a huge back yard. The yard had a great garden on the interior, too. And to my pleasant surprise, the entire perimeter was wired for one of those underground electric dog fences. The former owner told me that the fence had been installed by a local company, and worked great for his fifteen year old standard poodle. Right before I moved in, he taught me how to use the electric fence, and I looked forward to allowing my dog to run free in the huge yard with no chance of escape.

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Maxxie and Sophie .. Just Relaxing .. watching T.V.


Private Dog Parks: Can Be The Safe Choice

Private Dog Parks: Can Be The Safe Choice

By Terri Maluegray

With an increasing number of serious incidents being reported at dog parks, I want to introduce the safe alternative that a well-run private dog park can provide. You will find that a properly designed and managed private dog park is a dramatically different experience than what you have read about or have witnessed in public parks. A privately run dog park can properly screen, staff and enforce park regulations. We do caution you that even with the information you will gain from this article, please know that any dog park is not regulated, so we encourage everyone to do their homework before visiting any dog park to ensure it is right for you and your dog.

The current trend is that community and homeowner associations are responding to community demand by setting aside a small plot of their land for a public dog park. Unfortunately these unmanaged and unregulated fenced areas often turn to that of neighbor confrontation, injury and horror, even with the best of intending groups and dog owners. Let’s face it, without any oversight or enforcement, incidents are going to occur. Because I recognized the dangers in dog parks to the point that I would not take my dogs to one, I was motivated to devise the complex recipe for a safe off-leash dog park. Therefore; I conducted an in-depth investigation of many existing dog parks to establish the precise formula needed to create an off-leash haven.

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Doggin’ Minneapolis: Where To Hike With Your Dog When In The Mini Apple

Doggin’ Minneapolis: Where To Hike With Your Dog When In The Mini Apple

By Doug Gelbert

Loring Park at 1382 Willow Street is named for Charles Loring, the “Father of the Minneapolis Park System.” Loring hired Frederick Law Olmsted to bring a world- class park system to rapidly growing Minneapolis in 1883 and the first 30 acres of this park were purchased. A series of bike and walking paths wind around a lake and gardens; across the Whitney Bridge is the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

For a more extended hike with your dog try Fort Snelling State Park, 10 minutes to the southeast of Minneapolis.

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