Large dogs are usually the cutest puppies in the store. With large eyes, and oversized feet attached disproportionately to skinny legs, they’re often gangly, uncoordinated and adorable. However, before your heart decides that you’re taking one of these cuties home with you, you really need to consider some hard facts about owning a large dog breed. 1. Large dog breeds require large budgets! They are heavy on everything from food to dog shampoo! If your dog needs veterinary attention, you can guarantee it’s going to cost you twice, if not three times, as much to heal your Saint Bernard’s broken leg as it will your neighbour’s miniature poodle’s! Insurance is another area where a larger breed will have a higher financial penalty – and it’s likely that there will be a higher excess to be paid on top of this so make sure you read the small print carefully!
2. Large dog breeds need more exercise! If you are time-poor, then a large dog is really out of the question. They need to be taken out regularly for long walks and give the chance to stretch their muscles fully. If you’re a jogger or daily walker, this could be ideal – if you’re a couch potato, it’s not!
3. Large dog breeds take up more space! A space to call their own may not quite be what you currently call the spare room, but it may be the area that you’re using as your office space! Consider the full-grown size of the dog breed and how much room it needs not only to sleep, but also how much physical space it will take up when following you around the home – if you think that you’ll constantly fall over the dog because there’s not enough room in your home to actually walk around a dog of that size, it’s not the breed for you!
4. Large dog breeds need training! All dogs should be trained, but larger ones tend to scare people quicker. Even if you decide against training your dog formally, you need to have it sit immediately upon command, and to “leave” or “drop” whatever it’s holding in its mouth. With an average height that means they are able to comfortably scan the kitchen table, having them trained to “leave” and “drop” means that whatever catches their eye remains on the table!
Whatever dog breed you finally decide on buying needs to fit your life> Make sure that your budget, life and home can accommodate the dog with that’s already got its huge paws on your heartstrings!
This article was submitted by Abby Taylor, she is a contributor to Metro Male . Abby is slowly becoming an authority on buying overseas investment property.
Hay and Grass
A horse has an extremely small stomach compared to other animal, which is only suitable for digesting a fairly large amount of grass and hay. Mold-free hay must be available to the horse around the clock.
Water
Naturally, horses need water too. Be careful though after a ride or exercise. An overheated horse should not be allowed to drink fast or a lot at once, or you run into danger of having to treat a colic. Allow the horse smaller amounts with a few minutes in between until he has cooled down.
Many Smaller Meals during the Day
Because of the fact that the a horse’s stomach is so small, he can’t digest much at once. This is the reason why the horse needs to be fed more than once daily. The recommendation is 3 times a day or more, in addition to the hay and grass.
Grains
Many horses do not need to be fed extra grains, because it is high in calories and fat. Muscle problems as well as joint diseases can develop if too much grains are fed. Best is to consult your veterinarian to make that decision on individual basis.
Amount to Feed
3 % of the horses body weight daily in hay and/or other feed.
Salt
One of the most important supplements a horse needs is a salt block. Of course this makes theneed for fresh water even more important.
Feed Slowly
Did you know that horses can’t burp nor vomit? This is what makes them vulnerable for a colic. Feeding a horse too much or switch feeds too fast, and you put your horse into danger. The same goes for letting your horse gorge itself outside after a winter in the barn. Remember: a colic can be fatal!
Exercise
Exercising your horse on regular basis will keep him in good shape physically as well as mentally. This ritual will also strengthen the bond between you and your horse.
Travel
As already mentioned above, switching feed too fast can lead to a fatal colic. That also goes for water. If you have to travel with your horse, take enough local water and feed with you so you can make a slow and gradual switch and enjoy your trip.
Jennifer has emailed and asked if we can improve the vet insurance page.
The current design is working really well, so why they are trying to… I know I know, must remember I'm being paid for this, nothings ever going to change anyway, aye!?
Cats are curious, and even though they’re reputed to always fall on their feet as well as have 9 lives, there are still times when you need to step in an apply some degree of first aid to a cat that’s got itself into some kind of mess. Although most times you should at least ring your veterinary practice and speak to either the vet or his/her assistant, having a first aid kit at the ready means you are prepared to deal with anything that needs immediate attention until you can transport kitty to a place she can receive proper medical attention.
Keep a sturdy box in an easy to reach place in your home that contains your feline first aid kit. This should be far enough out of reach to stop your children from using it on their dolls, but close enough to hand for you to grab if your cat has an accident. It should be easy to open and you should be able to take the items out of the box with one hand (whilst holding your cat with the other!) Inside the lid of the box tape the phone number of not only your veterinary practice, but also a 24-hour 7-day a week practice within your area so that you know you can always get medical advice for your cat when it’s needed. Periodically (at the time of your cat’s annual injections for example) check that these numbers are still valid and if not, make sure you update them.
The first thing you should have in your cat’s first aid box is a towel. This will have two purposes, it will not only keep your cat warm if she’s going into shock, but it will also shield you from defensive claws whilst you administer any treatment that’s required.
Other things that you should keep in your box are:
Bandages (both 2.5cm and 5cm gauge variety)
Tape for securing the bandage
Cotton wool
Gauze pads for stemming any bleeding
Blunt edged scissors
Tweezers
Rectal thermometer
Silver nitrate pencil (useful if you draw blood from a nick when claw trimming)
Eye wash
Fur ball treatment
Tick remover (if you live, or are holidaying, in an area that has ticks)
You should also have a small booklet of how to treat emergency first aid situations such as bleeding and poison ingestion so you know the steps you can take to prepare your cat for transfer to your veterinary’s practice.
As with first aid on humans, this is not meant to take the place of proper veterinary care for your cat, but it does allow you the security of knowing if your cat does have an accident you do have some form of kit available that you can quickly get hold of and so try to help your cat as soon as the incident occurs.
The author of this post is Corinne Rochford, she regularly contributes to Smuge . Corinne is a noted online voice concerning acne treatment.
Christmas is a great time of year, and if you’ve got children it’s also a time of great excitement. However, if you’ve got a cat, it’s also a time when you need to be extra vigilant so that you don’t inadvertently put your cat at risk from some of the Christmas traditions that seem harmless.
A beautiful Christmas tree is one of the most visual signs of the coming celebration, but to a cat it’s a dazzling array of sparkling toys to be played with. Your cat will stalk the various baubles and try to knock off anything that’s dangling temptingly down. The lower branches should therefore be free of anything that’s expensive and fragile as you can expect to put anything that’s at this level back onto the tree almost daily!
The tree itself needs to be secured from both the ceiling and the wall behind it – some parcel string and small hooks should be enough to withstand a probably assault by an active cat who attempts to climb right up the centre of it! Tinsel should be firmly attached to the tree branches at both ends, and none of the light wires should be accessible to curious paws. Finally, avoid the string tinsel as this can seriously, if not fatally, injure any cat that swallows it.
Gift wrapping is another source of potential hazards for a cat owner. When you’re wrapping your parcels keep an eye on what your cat’s doing. Make sure that he doesn’t start chewing tape, or curling ribbon that you’re using to dress up your parcels. When it comes to packages that you are intending to put under the tree, don’t use curling ribbon at all – this is just too much temptation and your cat will shred your beautifully gift wrapped parcel in no time, and could even end up at the vets if he swallows some of the ribbon or tape and it gets stuck. Never be tempted to wrap anything that contains catnip and place it under (or worse, in) the tree.
Cats can smell catnip anywhere and they’ll dig with their claws through all the other gifts until they find the source of that wonderful smell! Keep their gifts in a drawer that they can’t get into until it’s time to open them – think of them as toddlers who don’t understand the idea of waiting for the right time, or the fact that they shouldn’t destroy other packages to find their own!
On Christmas Day make sure that the cat isn’t playing with any dangerous gift wrap or packaging that comes from the gifts, and make sure that the turkey bones are disposed of securely so that the cat isn’t tempted to look for them.
Cats are both playful and inquisitive by nature, and Christmastime is a fuel for both of these traits so keep the above tips in mind and minimize the scrapes your feline friend can get himself into this year!
This entry was written by Abagail Swannack, she is a regular contibutor to Idletymes . Abagail is fast becoming an authority on IPL skin clinic.
So Christmas Day with kids is a day of noise, excitement, noise, paper, shrieking, laughing –and did I mention noise? For dogs this is a day that needs to be a little controlled so that they don’t get overly excited which could lead to an accident.
A dog doesn’t always understand what’s happening. It’s not always able to distinguish between rough play and an attack under normal circumstances never mind when it’s on sensory overload. A dog is also susceptible to having bladder/bowel accidents and barking incidents when it feels insecure, so whilst you don’t want to plan the joy out of Christmas Day, you do need to have some kind of plan that will remove your dog from the “action” for at least parts of the day.
Start off first thing in the morning when the children first get up. Have their gifts in a part of the room where your dog doesn’t usually sleep. Keep the dog’s area clear and make sure the children don’t litter it with toys and paper as they unwrap their packages. If they are starting to get loud, and you see your dog is pricking up his ears or getting increasingly interested in the proceedings, this would be a good time to take him for a short walk, or at least take him to another room and give him a drink of water and let him calm down.
Whilst you prepare Christmas lunch, have someone take your dog for a long walk. When he comes in, give him a drink and something to eat, and then let him rest in a room that isn’t going to be full of people. Leave a lamp on as it gets dark quickly in the winter and you don’t want him feeling anxious. After lunch is over, and the dishes cleared away, open the door to where your dog is asleep and let him come out when he’s ready – but leave the door ajar so that if he thinks it’s getting too noisy he has somewhere to escape too.
Throughout the afternoon and evening, remember that your dog needs to go to the bathroom! Even if it’s just a 5 minute walk around the block, or putting him out in the garden to do what’s necessary, make sure that his needs are attended to and you’ll know that if he’s hanging around, it’s because of something he wants rather than needs and you can either ignore him or take him into another room if he’s disturbing people.
If you’re having a party later at night, follow the same routine as for lunch, a long walk and then drink, food and a quiet lit place to sleep. The last thing he needs after a day of unfamiliar chaos is to be in the midst of a very loud crowd of people – this will unsettle him and could result in him either having a bladder or bowel accident, or becoming aggressive and barking. Take time to visit him in his quiet area throughout the party time just to pat him on the head and reassure him that everything’s ok.
Christmas should be a happy time for everyone, and with a little planning and time on the day, your dog should have just as good a time as everyone else.
This article was written by Dania Sierpina, she is a contributor to Coffee Pop . Dania is a noted online voice concerning hexagon bolts.
There are those that believe that cats belong outdoors, and then there are those who think that a cat is safer indoors. Cats, on the whole, prefer the outdoors, but there are a number of reasons why you may agree with the indoors only debate and choose not to allow your cat outdoors. This may be because you live in an area with busy roads. It could be that you’ve had a cat in the past, maybe more than once, that’s been killed or seriously injured by cars or even dogs. Possibly you live in an area where cats are mysteriously disappearing and no-one knows why. Or it could be that you have small children and believe that the cat has less chance of bringing infection into the house if it doesn’t get out amongst dirt and germs.
Whatever the reason is that makes you decide not to let your cat out, know that it’s not cruel for your cat, not matter what some people may tell you! It may be frustrating, especially for a cat that has at one time been an outdoors cat – perhaps you’ve taken in a stray, or re-homed a cat – to have to spend its time sitting at the window watching birds from a distance. These cats will show their displeasure vocally at first, but they will eventually settle. Kittens who have ever known the outdoors may try to get out but this will be more from curiosity than anything else – just as they try to get into cupboards and under beds.
Keeping a cat indoors means having to be extra vigilant about keeping outer doors shut tight and windows open on security locks so that they can only open an inch, not enough to allow even a skinny determined cat to squirm his way out! You need also to drill everyone in the house to check where the cat is before they open the front or back doors.
The main problem with having an indoors cat is that they have no road sense. Even a cat that used to be outdoors loses its sharpness and so the outdoors world is full of danger. This is why, having made the decision to keep your cat in, you must be committed to ensuring that it doesn’t then get out and be at even more risk than it would have been if it had always been allowed out and had learned street smarts!
Cats love to breathe fresh air, so lock your windows open a tiny bit so that they can inhale the outdoors whilst not actually being able to go outside, and every now and then bring them some fresh grass to eat, especially in the summer.
All cats are particular about their hygiene and they won’t go on a dirty litter tray – some of them won’t even use their tray twice, preferring to wait until it’s cleaned before they use it again. This means that if you are considering buying a cat as an indoor only cat you will need to budget financially for the cat litter, and also be prepared to keep the tray clean two or more times each day.
Indoor cats live long happy lives with few health problems but they do have poorer immune systems so if you know someone who has a sick cat with a contagious illness, keep them away from your cat – and wash your hands after you’ve been near their cat – to minimize the risk of transferring the disease to your cat.
The author of this post is Aaliyah Payne, she is a regular contibutor to Coffee Pop and Pathetic Cosmetic gossip and beauty news. Aaliyah is a noted specialist on the topic of laser tattoo removal clinic. View her blog here.