30 Hound Dog Breeds Every Dog-Lover Should Know
In This Article Caring for a Hound Dog View 1 More +
Would You Buy Your Grandkids a Pet Rat?
Our columnist did. Find out how it turned out This article is courtesy of Grandparents.com. By Adair Lara Grandparents are like grandchildren. Sometimes we do things even when we know better. For example, there I was at Western Feed, a pet shop in Santa Rosa, Calif., on an errand with my mother-in-law (surprising my husband with a canary) when I saw the glass tank marked “female rats.” As it happened, I had bought a colorful animal cage at a garage sale that morning (along with an empty bird cage), and it was sitting right in the trunk of my car. So I bought a furry black-and-white rat, and the backlash started immediately: As the man at the register put my new pet in a cardboard box, he muttered, “I hate rodents.” I had not, let me say, asked his opinion or brought up the merits of rats as pets in any way. My mother-in law was dubious too: “A rat?” “For the grandkids.” “Where will it live?” she asked. It was a fair question. My granddaughters, Maggie, 4 and Ryan, 6, with divorced parents and two sets of grandparents, have bedrooms in four different houses — two in San Francisco; another 25 miles north in Fairfax; and a fourth an hour-and-a-half east in Davis. The rat would have to get a little rodent-size suitcase, lunchbox, and car seat to travel around with them. But I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about how excited Ryan was about the tadpole in her kindergarten classroom and how much better a rat of her own would be than a tadpole in a school. So I brought the rat home. Later, my daughter Morgan, Maggie and Ryan’s mother, came by with the girls, and I showed her the rat. She gave me that same look she gives the girls when she is trying to be patient. “Okay,” she said, “but tell them it’s your rat.” Rat Love My new pet was a big hit! The girls took turns holding the rat, putting it in their pockets (try that with a tadpole) and asking questions about it. Ryan, wearing her new bathing suit although there was no pool in sight, asked me why I bought it. After I explained, she said, “What does impulsive mean?” They named the rat Sara, because they name everything Sara (we took the precaution of naming my husband’s new canary Jack before the girls could call it Sara, too). They particularly liked the black-and-white cloth igloo that had come in the cage I bought at the garage sale. They took off the cage top, stretched out on the floor, and breathed on Sara. And when Morgan drove off with the girls, there was Sara in her bright plastic cage sitting between Maggie and Ryan in the backseat of the Subaru. What a sport Morgan is to take Sara home, I thought, especially as there is already a cat named Wolfie at her house … A Short Stay An hour later, Morgan came to her senses. She called on her cell to ask me to meet her halfway between her house and ours (we live 20 miles apart). “I’m wondering if you would mind keeping Sara at your house,” she said. So I took Sara back. Now, I would keep a pony in my playroom if the girls wanted me to. An elephant. But Sara produced a musty smell in the bathroom in which I hid her from my husband. She ate that little black-and-white fabric igloo in the cage — which, by the way, turned out to have been made for hamsters, and was much too small for a rat. So I had to move her to a larger plastic box. And, of course, the girls only come by here occasionally, while the rat would have to hang her toothbrush next to ours full time. I gave Sara away a few days later, but was left with the memory of having been an idiot. Again. I do give my grandkids a lot of stuff. When Ryan was a baby, I met Morgan in the park one day after work. As I pulled toy after toy out of my backpack, a woman who’d been watching drawled, “Let me guess: This is the grandmother, and it’s the first grandchild.” Recently, I helped Morgan move and found myself having to haul away all the space-swallowing toys I’d given the girls, from a twice-life-size duck, to a drive-in Barbie car, to no fewer than four bikes. I realized then how patient Morgan is with me, as I arrive with bags in hand, and then say, “Oh, and there’s something else out in the truck.” I get the hit of delighting the kids with the present, and my daughter? She gets a giant stuffed duck. Will I stop doing this? I should. I will. I’ll try. Image: John Morgan / via Flickr This article originally appeared on Grandparents.com.
6 Things You Didn’t Know About Aquarium Shrimp
5. Shrimp Molt as They Grow Beginner fishkeepers often think they have dead shrimp lying on the floor of the aquarium. These often aren’t actually dead shrimp; they are the shrimp exoskeletons that were shed. Molting is a necessary process that shrimp must go through numerous times as they grow. When they are young, shrimp will shed their skin around once a week. An easy way to tell whether the shrimp-like shape at the bottom of your aquarium is a shell or a dead shrimp is that dead shrimp tend to be pinkish in color. A shell, on the other hand, looks almost exactly the same as a living, colorful shrimp. As soon as an aquarium shrimp sheds their shell, they are very vulnerable because their new shell is quite soft in the beginning. They’ll usually hide for the next few days until their shells have hardened.,6. Shrimp Are Brilliant Swimmers While their primary mode of moving around is walking, shrimp are actually really good at swimming. This is not the typical type of swimming we’re used to seeing in fish (because shrimp have no fins), but shrimp are able to move around quickly in the water. Shrimp are best at swimming backward. These arthropods can propel themselves backward by flexing the muscles in their abdomen and tail quickly. They move their abdomen toward their body, and this projects them quite quickly through the water. Shrimp can also swim forward, albeit more slowly than they’re able to move backward, by using the limbs on the underside of their body. By Robert Woods of Fishkeepingworld.com Featured Image: Adobe/Swapan,Aquarium shrimp have become increasingly popular over the last few years. They add a new, fun element to aquariums and come in a range of colors and sizes. Many people think they are difficult to look after, but shrimp are pretty easy to care for—once you know how. Here’s what you need to know about keeping shrimp in an aquarium.
Guide To Feeding Your Metabolic Horse
In This Article What Is a Metabolic Horse? View 7 More +
20 Best Hunting Dogs To Join You in the Field
In This Article Types of Hunting Dogs View 2 More +
The Latest in Pet Tech
Image via iStock.com/w-ings By Teresa K. Traverse As technology plays a larger role in our lives, it’s no surprise that we are seeing more advancements in pet technology as well. From pet cameras and dog GPS collars to dog water fountains and automatic cat feeders, the pet supplies market is filled with tools designed to solve everyday issues that pet parents encounter. These new pet products can help us keep an eye on our beloved pets when we’re not home, provide them with food or water, or just entertain them. These are a few of the newest tech-driven pet products on the market that can help make being a pet parent easier. Wearable Dog Technology Devices Many people use devices to measure their steps, track calories and stay in shape. Now, you can get the same thing for your dog. “The biggest advances to come in technology are the canine wearable devices that are really about health and safety,” says Tierra Bonaldi, spokesperson for the American Pet Products Association. One of the biggest ways pet technology can keep pets safe is through GPS devices in dog collars. These devices can locate your pet and give you a better shot of getting a lost dog back. The Link AKC GPS and activity monitor smart collar for dogs offers GPS tracking and can track your pup’s physical activity. The app provides daily activity monitoring and recommends activity levels based on dog’s age, breed and gender. And if your dog wanders off, the app will alert you that your pet has left home. “Dogs can’t talk. In essence, it gives your dog a voice,” says Bonaldi. “It gives the pet owner better information to improve life and ultimately reduce trips to the vet and increase their lifespans.” For extra information on your pup’s well-being, the FitBark 2 water-resistant dog activity and sleep monitor even goes as far as tracking your dog’s sleep activity and comparing it with other dogs. The app then compiles a score so you can better measure your pup’s progress. Veterinarians can also use these devices to check on pets after surgery or their weight loss progress. “I think they are a remarkable tool that can help in any weight loss plan for dogs,” says Dr. Sarah J. Wooten, DVM, based in Greeley, Colorado. “Sometimes, I also give pet parents specific assignments, like, ‘walk a mile with your dog three to five times a week.’ An activity tracker would be helpful here as well, as it would allow the person to know if they are hitting their ‘steps’ with their dog.” Pet Camera Technology “The biggest thing that pet owners are really loving are any of the tools that allow them to monitor their pets when they’re not home,” says Megan Stanley, owner of Dogma Training and Pet Services Inc. and chair of the board of the directors for the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. You can now keep an eye on your pet 24/7 with a Wi-Fi pet camera that connects to your phone. Using an app, you can keep an eye on your pet with the Canary Wi-Fi pet camera, which includes night vision and can even double as a home security system. The Petcube Play Wi-Fi pet camera not only allows you to watch your pet, but also has a speaker that lets you communicate with them while you’re away. Using two-way audio, you can talk to your pet and hear them bark or meow back. The camera also features a built-in laser, which gives you a chance to play with your kitty or schedule an autoplay game for her. “Pet owners are busier, but they want to ensure that they’re keeping their pets’ needs in mind. You’re not just having a dog that’s sitting at home all day by myself with nothing to do,” says Stanley. As a trainer, she likes having the ability to know what a pet might be doing when the owner is away. By observing your pet, you can see if your pet is displaying symptoms of separation anxiety, which allows you to address the behavior sooner. Dog and Cat Smart Doors Smart dog and cat doors are also emerging products in pet technology. The cat or dog door is activated by your pet’s collar, and you can program it to open for specific pets to come and go. “These can be excellent devices for keeping pets safe and unwanted animals out,” says Stanley. “The benefit is that in a multi-animal household, you can keep some pets inside.” Stanley says that you might want an indoor cat to stay inside the home yet give a dog access to the yard. She says these devices are easy to install and have good safety and anti-theft features since you can control access and lock them. Her favorite feature is that you can set a schedule to let the pet out. “All of these are useful and put the pet’s needs into consideration for times when they may need to be left at home longer—although they should not be used for this often or as a reason to keep them home alone for long periods,” says Stanley. She says that pet owners who use smart doors should be mindful to keep the batteries charged to ensure they don’t stop working. Interactive Dog Toys Stanley also praised dog interactive toys and cat interactive toys, which you can use to keep your pets both mentally and physically active. She likes the iFetch mini automatic ball launcher dog toy because it enables dogs to set their own pace of play and keep themselves entertained. Interactive toys ensure your pets are being enriched and have plenty of outlets to expend their energy during the day. For cats, the PetSafe FroliCat Pounce interactive pet toy can stimulate your cat and keep him active while you are away from the home. It can be set to automatically turn off so that you can set up designated play times for your cat. Automatic Feeders Automatic cat feeders and automatic dog feeders have been around for a while, but there have been significant advancements in recent years that make them even more convenient. “The technology and how those feeders are working has advanced quite significantly in the last few years,” says Bonaldi. One such example of a sophisticated automated feeder is the SureFeed microchip small dog and cat feeder. The feeder recognizes your pet’s microchip or a special RFID collar tag and opens accordingly, so that other pets cannot steal their dog food or cat food. Bonaldi says devices like this are great for owners of multiple pets who have different dietary needs. If you have one pet who needs to lose weight and another who is on a prescription diet, these feeders can meet both of those pets’ individual needs.
3 Alternatives to Cat Trees That Will Give Your Kitty a Lift
Image via iStock.com/w-ings By Cheryl Lock It’s no secret that most cats love to climb, jump and perch—basically any action that gets them off the ground. That’s why cat parents usually have a cat tree or two in their array of cat supplies. But cat trees aren’t the only options for pet parents. Among cat hammocks, window perches and wall perches, there are plenty of unique cat tree ideas you can use to give your kitty a lift. Why Do Cats Like to Be Up High? “Domestic cats descend from the African wild cat, [who] are known to be excellent climbers,” says Dr. Cheryl Kolus, DVM, KPA-CTP, behavior center manager at Fort Collins Cat Rescue and spay/neuter clinic. “Cats are both predator and prey, so high places provide safety,” says Dr. Kolus. Besides safety, having access to high areas can help keep the peace in multicat households, says Marilyn Krieger, a certified cat behavior consultant and author of “Naughty No More!” “One way that cats demonstrate their social position in their flexible hierarchies is by where they position themselves in relation to each other,” Krieger explains. “Even cats who are the only kitties in their household have the instinctual need to exhibit their status.” If your home has multiple pets or small children, or is just a busy place in general, adding vertical space—like a cat hammock or cat perch—can help your cat avoid the fray, if he is so inclined. “Plus, for many cats, climbing and jumping on and off things is simply fun and good exercise,” says Dr. Kolus. Traditional cat trees are the common product people use to allow their cats to jump and perch, but there are tons of other alternative cat tree ideas too. “Cat trees are great, but you can also add vertical space in other ways and even give your cat a super highway so he can access different parts of your house,” Dr. Kolus says. Hammocks for Cats A cat hammock is a great alternative to the traditional cat tree. It allows your cat to not only jump but also relax and swing—which some cats really enjoy. If you’re going with a cat hammock, Dr. Kolus suggests using caution for older or disabled cats that might easily lose their balance. These cats may find themselves in an awkward position that’s hard to get out of. For a sturdier cat hammock option, consider the Petstages Easy Life hammock cat toy. Window Perch for Cats Cat perches provide a versatile option that can be configured in multiple ways, depending on your space and what you’re trying to achieve. They’re also a great option for people who live in apartments or smaller homes and don’t have the room for traditional cat trees, Krieger says. If you are looking for cat tree ideas that will provide your cat with extra height, you can try a cat window perch. A cat window perch operates essentially like a cat shelf that you can attach to a window in your home, like the Oster sunny seat window mounted cat bed. Another option is the K&H Pet Products deluxe kitty sill, which can be set up on a window sill in your home to create a lofted hangout for your kitty. It will also provide your cat with a vantage point for monitoring the activities of birds and creatures outside. You can even find a cat window perch that has cat scratchers built right in, like the K&H Pet Products EZ mount window scratcher kitty sill cradle, which will allow your cat to lounge or get all his scratching out. Wall Perch for Cats Another alternative cat tree idea for creating vertical space for your cat is to create a climbing maze using wall-mounted cat shelves. “Climbing mazes with lots of shelves are great for providing mental and physical stimulation, and they also help to eliminate boredom,” says Krieger. You can use Katris blocks—like the Katris Mix & Match Blocks “Z” shape cat scratcher or the Katris Mix & Match Blocks “I” shape cat scratcher—to create a climbing tower. The Katris blocks can even be mounted to your wall—using the Katris cat scratcher wall mount kit—to create a climbing maze or vertical safe space for your feline family member. How to Decide Which Elevated Cat Hangout Is Right for Your Cat There are certain things to be on the lookout for to ensure your cat stays safe when jumping or climbing. To start, any products you permit your cat to climb or jump off should be sturdy or well-anchored. “For items like cat trees that have multiple levels, look for those built in a step-wise fashion so that it is reasonably easy for the cat to jump or climb from one level to the next,” says Dr. Kolus. Extra safety precautions should be taken for senior cats or those with physical disabilities, she adds. “For instance, they should be able to simply step up or down between levels instead of having to jump, and perhaps items should not be too tall to avoid the chance of a dangerous fall.” With multiple cats, it always helps to provide two exits from a cat perch; that way one cat can’t stop the other from moving away when they need or want to. Krieger also warns of perches or shelves with slick varnish, which may cause cats to slip and fall when jumping. “The surfaces can be easily changed by safely securing sisal, cat beds or carpet on them,” she adds. Keep Your Cat’s Comfort and Needs in Mind While the alternatives to cat trees are sure to be tons of fun for most cats, every cat is an individual. Owners should consider what types of climbing surfaces their cat enjoys as well as their cat’s physical abilities when deciding which alternative cat tree idea to try, says Dr. Kolus. “Adding vertical space can be very enriching for cats, increase physical activity and enhance both physical and mental health,” says Dr. Kolus. “It can also be very important for providing additional territory, whether you have one cat and a small apartment, or even if you have a larger home but with multiple cats.”
Welsh Cob
Updated for accuracy October 26, 2022. The Welsh Cob is the largest-sized animal within the Welsh Pony and Cob breed registries. Used originally as a farm animal in Wales during the Middle Ages, the quick and friendly Welsh Cob is generally utilized today as a show horse. Physical Characteristics Though it is the tallest—standing at least 52.8 inches tall—and stockiest of the Welsh sections, the Welsh Cob’s head resembles that of a pony, with large, prominent eyes and a straight profile. It has a long, robust neck, well-defined withers — the area between the shoulder blades—and muscular, sloping shoulders. The Welsh Cob’s chest is also broad and deep, and its legs are short but well-built with flexible joints. All colors are acceptable for the breed except skewbald and piebald.
Hairballs in Ferrets
Hairballs Ferrets require very little grooming from owners because they prefer to groom themselves. Symptoms and Types Ingested hairballs may cause vomiting, decreased appetite or intestinal obstruction. Not all ferrets vomit when they ingest hairballs. Some will stop eating or eat less – at least compared to their regular diet – while others will pass thin stool with hair in it, appearing like small amounts of ribbon.
The Basic Body Shape of Fish and How They Move
Bottom-feeders are generally much more sedentary. They have limited locomotory requirements, as can be seen in examples such as the suckermouth and whiptail catfish. They tend to be compressed dorso-ventrally and, since they live on the bottom of their environment, have no need for a swim-bladder. Their specialization comes in the forms of camouflage, feeding and defense rather than quick movement.,Fish Body Shape and Movement Like all animals, the fish’s body is a result of specialization in its environment. Water is about 800 times thicker than air and an aquatic life has its own difficulties, such as buoyancy, drag and the amount of effort needed to move through such a dense medium.
