Month: June 2021

General Articles

Florida’s Snake Problem

Rusty

Florida’s Snake Problem

Florida is being overrun with snakes like the Burmese python. They are putting the natural wildlife in the Everglades in danger. The population, estimated to be over 100,000 in the Everglades, will attack and consume any type of wildlife including an alligator.

The governor of Florida is considering signing a bill putting a bounty on a captured snake to reduce the population. This procedure was used to control the alligator population. Besides the bounty, the licensed trappers will keep the proceeds from selling the meat and skin. The trappers will be licensed and trained by the state to capture them. It will be considered very dangerous for anyone to try to capture them without the proper training. It is competing with the alligator as the number one predator in the area.

The burmese python is one of the six largest snakes in the world. It can be found near water or in trees. It can grow up to 18 feet and weigh 160 pounds. It is lighted colored with brown blotches outlined in black. It is found throughout Southeast Asia but has a presence in the United States due to the pet trade.

It is native to Southeast Asia. It is an excellent swimmer and climber and needs a source of water to survive. The Everglades is a perfect habitat for it. It is active during the night and will sleep during the day. It tends to live in the underbrush. Florida’s marshes and wetlands are ideal locations for it. It’s diet consists of birds and mammals but will attack anything for food. It will seize its’ prey with it’s teeth and crush it’s prey with it’s body.

It has been hunted for it’s skin, folk medicines and in some areas, food. It has also been captured for the pet industry. It has a reputation as being docile, but can kill a human being with it’s strength. It is usually afraid of people, but like any wild animal, it is unpredictable and may attack a human. It has an instinct to hunt and will try to escape from it’s cage in captivity. It is recommended that two people be presented when handling the python. If it does attack one person, the other person can unwrap it.

Because of the size it reaches at adulthood, it can outgrow it’s surroundings in captivity. As an adult, it requires a large amount of food and an expensive enclosure. Owners tend to overfeed it. Many owners cannot deal with it as an adult and will release to the wild. As in the situation in Florida, it can start to breed and overwhelm an area causing an imbalance with the natural wildlife.…

Dog Rescue

Basic Dog Training Tips

Rusty

Training your dog should be a fun experience where both you and your pet benefit from working together. Unfortunately, too many owners get discouraged in the training process when they fail to make any noticeable progress. This tends to happen when the owner is unprepared from the beginning. In order to help prevent this mistake, here are some basic dog training tips to get you off to a successful start.

Be Patient

It takes time to establish communication channels with your pet. You have to start at the most basic level, assuming your dog knows nothing about what you are doing. This requires a great deal of patience at first, but it is imperative that you display a calm demeanor. Your dog can sense when you are frustrated or upset, and this could intimidate or scare them. Take things slow and know when to stop for the day. This will help insure that your sessions stay fun and productive.

Use Encouragement

Frustration can bring on negative reactions such as scolding or yelling. If you are not careful, then you might find yourself constantly reprimanding your dog throughout the training sessions. This will only confuse your pet and lead to a disinterest in learning. Constant positive reinforcement is the best strategy to creating a constructive learning environment. Make sure to reward your dog for effort, even if he dog doesn?t get a command exactly right.

Repetition is Key

It is understandable to want to move on to the next lesson when your dog performs a command correctly. You are excited about your pet?s progress and you want to keep things moving in the right direction. But the best strategy is to master one task before starting the next one. This is accomplished through repetition exercises, and it is by far the most important step in successful training. Start every new lesson by reviewing previous lessons. Build your dog?s confidence by letting him perform tasks he is familiar with before progressing with new material.

Maintain Structure

Getting your dog into the proper mindset for learning can help improve his retention rate. This can be accomplished by adding consistency and structure to your training sessions. If possible, work with your dog at the same time everyday and keep you?re the sessions under one hour. Start and end each session with a review of tasks they are already familiar with, and try to work on only one new command each time. Familiarity with your training structure will help your dog feel more comfortable. They will know what to expect and they will understand what is expected of them.

There is much more to dog training than just the lessons you teach. There is a psychological element that must also be addressed if you want to save time and frustration. Use the basic dog training tips above to establish the parameters of your training. From there you can concentrate on teaching the actual tasks and commands.…

General Articles

Shoe Lexicon – Part 1

Rusty

Shoe Lexicon – Part 1

These days the fashion magazines, blogs, and catalogues are littered with terms that are so alien, so unfamiliar, we simply don’t know what we’re buying anymore. Which is why I’ve put together a shoe lexicon that will serve as your guide when shopping for new shoes.

Peep Toe. As you probably can tell, a peep toe is a style of shoe that shows off a little bit of your toes. Typically, peep toes have a small crescent-shaped opening at the tip of the vamp of the shoe, big enough for your big toe and the one next to it to “peep” through. Although these days, some shoes just have a tiny teardrop-shaped hole big enough to shoe your big toe. Because of its playful design, many consider it the easygoing cousin of the pumps.

Tips When Wearing Peep Toes:

Get a pedicure. Granted that it only shows two of your toes or even less, the fact remains that it shows. So best to get a good pedicure when wearing peep toes. This can also be a great chance to show off your awesome nail color.

Brogues. Brogue shoes are a style of shoes that was extremely popular fashion among men. Also called wing tips, they are low heeled shoes that are ornately decorated with perforations, holes and different kinds of leathers. Just think back to what mob boys would wear for shoes and you typically have an idea what brogues are. However, fashion mavericks like Marlene Dietrich wore brogues that helped it transcend from a men’s shoe to a masculine-inspired fashion for women.

Tips When Wearing Brogue Shoes:

Balance it out. Because brogues are very manly, balance the look out by wearing a very girly A line skirt and a tank top. Don’t forget to add in accessories like a charm bracelet or silver bangle bracelets to complete the look.

Kitten Heels. There are many speculations on how the kitten heels came to be known as kitten heels. My favorite theory thus far is that it earned its moniker because as compared to the killer high heels models wear when they sashay down the catwalk, the modest height of these particular shoes’ heels are just kittens. I don’t know if the theory is true or not, but it’s a rather cute explanation though. However, kitten heels have slowly made their way to the catwalks middle of this year.

Tips When Wearing Kitten Heels:

Show Off Your Shoes. Maybe it’s its 1950s origins that make me want to favor dresses with this style of shoes, but generally wear something that will show them off is a good rule to follow. Bodycon skirts paired with a flowy top and kitten heels is a number one recommendation.…

General Articles

Cat Sneezing Symptoms – 5 Main Causes

Rusty

Cat Sneezing Symptoms – 5 Main Causes

Kitten sneezing symptoms and cat sneezing symptoms, like human symptoms, are not in and of themselves a necessarily bad sign. However, chronic sneezing coupled with other symptoms can be especially concerning. Let’s take a look at some common cat sneezing symptoms and cat cold symptoms.

1 – Dust, Pollen, Cleaning Supplies, etc

Little Muffy sticks her investigative nose everywhere… in corners, under furniture, in old smelly shoes. Her sneezing may be nothing more than a healthy reaction to a common household irritant such as mold, dust, cleaning supplies or pollen, or some other mild cat sneezing allergies. As long as your cat is not frequently sneezing, mark it up to her curiosity.

2 – Upper Respiratory Infection

Cat upper respiratory infection symptoms can mirror cat sneezing allergies, and are the most common cause for continual cat sneezing. Comparable to the common cold in people, they can usually be cured by good food and rest. If the sneezing continues, a natural application of homeopathic medication can help. Borax and Phosphorous are two elements found to help alleviate kitten sneezing symptoms in cats of all ages. As always, contact a reputable source to obtain these remedies.

3 – Dental problems

The next major cause of sneezing in cats is dental disease. This is not generally something that cat owners think to check, but a disease in Tabby’s teeth can easily creep into her sinuses and infect her there. If your cat has pain when eating, or shows swollen gums, take her to a veterinarian for a dental cleaning.

4 – Feline Herpes

Actually rather common, the herpes virus usually causes cat sneezing symptoms and upper respiratory problems, possibly even cat vomiting symptoms, but only lasts a few weeks, then goes back into hibernation. If this virus inhabits your cat, he will have it his whole life. However, it is rarely a danger to his health. Pulsatilla was used in ancient Greece to cure runny eyes and noses, and is still used effectively in many homeopathic remedies for cats today.

5 – Feline Leukemia

The most dangerous cause of cat sneezing is Feline Leukemia. Leukemia weakens your cat’s immune system, and can cause your cat to contract other more dangerous diseases such as asthma. If the application of other common remedies and medication does not help, take your cat to a vet for a comprehensive checkup.

Cat sneezing symptoms can be early warning signs of a more serious problem, and are more serious when you notice kitten sneezing symptoms because of the youth of your pet, but are generally treatable by the application of safe, non-invasive, natural homeopathic medicines. Always make sure that anything you use on your feline friend is FDA approved and contains no artificial colors or preservatives.…

General Articles

Should I Get Insurance For My Kitten

Rusty

Should I Get Insurance For My Kitten

If you have a kitten and you are wondering whether you should get insurance for your pet, then the answer is a resounding yes. Kittens are just as prone to things like stomach upsets and ear infections as older cats, and it costs just as much to treat them.

It is always better to get a pet insurance plan while your cat is still young as most insurance policies exclude existing conditions, if you get it before problems can develop then your pet should be covered for everything. If you want the best for your kitten right from the beginning, then you really need to give serious consideration to purchasing pet insurance.

It’s an idea to take a good look around on the internet and at the information board in your local vet’s surgery because they often have some quite reasonable pet insurance plans. Take your time over making a decision because you don’t want to take on a plan and then find that it doesn’t cover everything that you want it to cover. In the UK pet plans have certain terms and conditions, understanding these fully is key to ensuring that your cat is fully covered. There are a number of things that you need to take into consideration when you are looking for a pet plan.

The breed of kitten that you have is important because some cats are more prone to certain conditions than others. Many people think that the alley cat is usually the most hardy but this is not always the case. If your kitten is a pedigree breed then you probably know something about its family history and this could be important when it comes to getting insurance for your pet. Where you live should also be taken into consideration here, cats and kittens are notorious for exploring the area where they live. If you live in an area where there is a lot of traffic then your kitten may be more at risk of being hurt in a road accident than if you lived somewhere quieter.

There are a number of different ways that you can insure your cat and it is easy to get a quote online or over the telephone. Some companies offer a discount when you pay for your cat insurance online and that is worth investigating further, particularly with some of the leading insurers. Before you start asking for quotes you need to know exactly what you want for your kitten and also what you can afford to pay in premiums and in excess.

With most pet insurance plans a higher excess, i.e., what you are required to pay towards the cost, which might be £50 or it might be 10 or 20 per cent of the total cost of a course of treatment. The more that you can pay in excess, then the less you will pay on your premiums – just as you might find with a car. It’s a good idea to insure your kitten once it is about eight weeks old, that way there is less chance it will have a pre-existing condition. Once you know what you want and what you can afford to pay, it is time to start looking for pet insurance quotes.…

Humane Society Near Me

Train Your Pit Bull Terrier: Whistle Dog Training

Rusty

Pit Bulls are an intelligent breed that can be taught nearly anything, as long as they have a good trainer. Having a good trainer doesn?t necessarily mean a trainer that you hired. Many Pit Bull owners are finding that their pets not only are eager to learn, but they also gain much when they opt to train their Pit Bull themselves. Owners who opt to be their dog?s trainer will find that they enjoy spending the extra time with their beloved pet.

Many methods of training exist, and just which type you wish to pursue is totally up to you. Depending on what you wish to accomplish as well as how much time you can devote to the task is just a couple of things you?ll need to factor in when picking a type of training for your pet.

Over the years, one of the training methods which has began to rise in popularity is whistle training. This type of training uses a whistle to give the dog commands rather than using the spoken word. Each task is allotted a certain amount of blows, or pips, on the whistle.

If you?d like to attempt whistle training for your Pit Bull, then the first thing to do is to pick out a good quality whistle with which to give out the commands. Using your own mouth to do the whistling isn?t a good idea. Your pitch would vary, and if you needed to give your Pit Bull a command from a distance, he may not hear you. For these reasons, it?s best to go with a good quality metal whistle.

One whistle command you can teach your dog is to come when called. A good way to do this is to use his feeding time as the starting ground. At mealtime, as you put his food down give two short bursts on the whistle. Continue to do this at every mealtime for about three weeks. Always remember to use the exact number of bursts on the whistle.

Once you have made it for about three weeks with the mealtime whistling, try blowing the same command when your Pit Bull is not expecting a meal. Be sure to have a nice treat for him at the ready, for when he does come you?ll want to reward him with a nice snack and a reassuring rub.

This type of training is useful if take your dog to the park or anywhere in the outdoors. By whistle training your Pit Bull, you?ll know that wherever he is, he can hear you and come at your beck and call.…

Humane Society Near Me

Rules To Remember When Traveling With A Cat

Rusty

Traveling with a cat can bring unique challenges to your holiday. Dogs are often trained ahead of time, but people rarely think about training a cat. So, where do you start with travel-proofing your fussy feline and making sure you all get along on the road?

Before you leave home, it’s a good idea to spend a few weeks preparing your cat for holiday. They need to get used to three things before you travel: wearing a harness, using a leash, and being in a cat carrier.

Practice getting your cat used to these before you take your pet on holiday and it will make for much smoother sailing when it comes time to depart. Your cat needs to be comfortable during your holiday, but the only way to keep control while traveling with a cat is to keep them confined in a small, comfortable and secure area.

While your cat is in the vehicle, they should be in a cat carrier at all times, and it should be buckled into the back seat with an approved harness for added safety. When you go to release the cat from the carrier, you need to be ready for her to come out quickly. Before you open the carrier door, all car doors should be closed, and all of the windows rolled up. With these precautions, if your cat gets spooked and runs, she is still confined to the vehicle.

You should be seated in the back seat beside the carrier, with a leash in your hand and ready. Open the cage door, let your cat out, and secure the leash clip to the cat’s harness before opening any car doors and moving inside. Alternatively, keep your cat inside its carrier until you are inside the holiday accommodation and enclosed with all doors and windows closed.

On holidays, you should always use a harness, which are much more secure than collars for cats. It also stops them choking on a collar if they become spooked or get caught on something in an unfamiliar environment.

Of course, you should also make sure that the hotel or rental booking you have chosen specifically allows cats. Traveling with a cat can be challenging in pet-friendly accommodations, because many hotels that call themselves ‘pet friendly’ are actually only welcoming of dogs. Double check that the pet-friendly holiday option you have chosen will allow cats before you leave for holiday.

You should also bring food, litter and favored toys that your cat is used to using at home. Cats can be disturbed by new surroundings on holidays more than other pets, but little comforts like a favorite toy or their own brand of litter can make them feel more at home. Taking your pet’s food along will also prevent upset stomachs during your trip.

Make sure they know where their litter, food, and bedding is as soon as they get to the holiday location, and keep these items in the same place while you are travelling with a cat.

Like many humans and other pets, cats are creatures of habit, so as long as they know they are safe and secure, and have familiar routines and items around them, they can make great holiday companions.

Just know before you go how to be clever when travelling with a cat!…

General Articles

Did She Miss the Litter Box Again?

Rusty

Did She Miss the Litter Box Again?

Is “Oops, she did it again…” the new kitty pop song playing over and over in your head? When a cat develops disdain for and avoids the litter box he’s frequented in the past, you might want to consult your pet’s veterinarian.

A new habit like missing the litter box could be attributed to health issues like urinary tract infections, gastritis, or even cancer. Or your cat may be suffering from environmental stress. Moving to a new house, bringing a newborn baby home or introducing a second pet could be stress-inducing events for your cat whose selected protest involves that kitty toilet.

If you have ignored the litter box’s upkeep, your cat may very well ignore it too, choosing to use your shining clean bathtub or your nice, quiet bedroom closet. Think about how you’d feel about your own toilet if it were only flushed every few days. Ewwww. That’s precisely your kitty’s reaction too.

Cats are meticulously clean creatures, and they prefer a tidy quiet place to take care of their toilet needs. If you don’t provide it, they will find their own creative special place.

If you have a second cat, you might want to consider a second box for kitty litter. Make sure that your pet’s litter box is placed in a quiet, cat-friendly location away from the main traffic of your home. A bedroom or bathroom would work well as long as the cat has easy access and isn’t accidentally shut out from her necessary room.

Missing the litter box isn’t vengeful on your pet’s part and may signal a problem your vet can pinpoint. Book an appointment today and consult with your vet about your pet’s changed behavior. Your observations combined with the experience of the vets can provide the solution your cat needs.…