How to Take Care of Your Dog's Health and Wellbeing

Dogs make the perfect companions and enrich the lives of their human owners in many ways. While owning a dog brings so much joy, it is vital to ensure your dog is as happy and healthy as possible. Taking the best care of your dog involves looking after both their physical health and mental wellbeing. Looking after your dog well will help ensure they stay in the best health and don’t experience emotional issues such as separation anxiety. If you want to keep your dog healthy and protect their wellbeing, these tips should help make that happen:

Choose the Best Food

Keeping your dog healthy starts by providing them with the best nutrition. Feeding your pet high-quality dog food can significantly affect their health and longevity, so it is worth carrying out some research to find the best food. Different breeds and sizes of dogs have different nutritional needs, so speaking with your veterinarian to establish the best diet for your pet is crucial. There are some great dog foods available at supermarkets, such as walmart fresh dog food, so finding the perfect food for your pet will not be a problem. Monitoring your dog’s weight and ensuring they are within the correct range for their breed and life stage is essential and is something your vet will be able to advise you on.

Visit the Vet Regularly

Keeping your pet in the best health requires you to visit your vet regularly. If you notice any signs of illness in your pet, it is crucial to get this checked out quickly so that the problem is dealt with quickly before it worsens. Sometimes it can be challenging to spot the signs of illness in a pet as they cannot communicate. Looking out for changes in behavior is a helpful way to recognize the signs of something not being right. So, if you detect that your dog is acting out of character, it is essential to check that there is no underlying problem causing the issue. As well as having their health checked, it is also necessary to keep up with your dog’s vaccines. Taking your dog for their regular boosters will help keep them protected from a range of illnesses.

Make Time for Exercise

As well as seeing the vet regularly and feeding your dog a healthy diet to keep them at the correct weight, it is also crucial that they get enough exercise. How much exercise your dog needs varies depending on their breed. Puppies may not be able to handle as much activity as a young adult dog, as too much physical exertion may take its toll on their developing joints. Looking at the recommended guidelines for your dog’s breed and age is an excellent way to determine how much physical activity they need each day. But, exercise does not have to solely involve taking your dog for walks. Enjoying playtime in the backyard is also a beneficial way to keep your pet active and help you bond.

Rhinos & Rhinitis: The Best Pets For Children With Allergies

There are many concerns we all have when it comes to adopting a pet, and apart from the practicalities of a pet in the home, the other aspect that can be a big concern is if you or your children have an undiagnosed allergy to animals. Lots of people have allergies to cats, and while an allergy can be treated with antihistamines, these don't necessarily treat the problem but mask the symptoms. So if you have children with allergies, and they want a pet, are there any specific ones that are best for your house? 

A Hypoallergenic Cat

There are various breeds of cats that can help. In fact, it's not the cat hair that people are allergic to for the most part, but it's actually proteins that are secreted by the skin, known as the Fel D1 protein. The best types of cats include the Cornish Rex, Russian Blue, Siberian cats as well as the Norwegian cat, also known as the Norwegian Forest Cat. But no cat is completely hypoallergenic, so it's important for anyone with allergies to check their symptoms around a specific breed of cat.

Fish

Of course, this is the first pet for many people, but it's a very good one if you have children with major allergies. The fact is that they are in water, so there is no airborne contact, which will minimize any sort of allergies. The one thing to be aware of though if you plan on handling the fish a lot, is that you could get fish handler's disease, where contact with the fish against a cut causes a red circle to develop and results in itchiness and burning.

Reptiles

All reptiles have no fur, but, of course, they have scaly skin. When it comes to having reptiles as pets, there is no chance of an allergic reaction as they like the proteins to cause these reactions. It should be noted that the main concern with reptiles in terms of illness is that you could get exposed to salmonella. This is very rare, but some reptiles have salmonella as part of their bacteria in the intestines. Salmonella can cause lots of problems for your children, as their immune system isn't fully developed yet. And this is why healthy practices, such as washing your hands, can help prevent a lot of these illnesses.

Short-Haired Dogs

This is a case of trial and error, finding the best breed of dog for your children. And why are short-haired dogs aren't always the best option, the fact is that because short haired dogs have a lot less hair, the chance for an allergy is reduced greatly. The best approach when looking for a short-haired dog is to spend some time with a pediatrician and ask the relevant questions, and what medication your child should have to hand if they were to have an allergic reaction. The best approach is to visit the breed of animal and spend time, roughly an hour, to check if an allergic reaction develops.

While having a pet can be a fantastic addition to any household, the potential allergic reactions mean that you really need to do your research and check you and your child's ability to be exposed to these animals.

Best Tips For Keeping Cats And Dogs Together

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It’s commonly accepted that cats and dogs are natural born enemies. However, it’s completely possible for them to co-exist in the same house. This kind of peace and harmony is possible, but it isn’t always easy to achieve! You’ll need to put in a fair amount of work if you want to keep both pets healthy and happy. Here are some great tips for keeping both a cat and a dog.

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Ideally, you should get both pets when they’re a puppy and kitten. At this stage, your pets will be too young to have any bad experiences with their rival species. You won’t need to worry about instincts working in the wrong way. Obviously, this isn’t always practical, and you probably already have a cat or a dog. In this case, you should still go for a younger animal. This way, you’ll know that at least one of your pets won’t be automatically aggressive. Even if you do manage to get a puppy and a kitten, you should always make a point of supervising them together. A puppy’s play is often a little too boisterous for kittens. You shouldn’t need to take out an extra pet insurance policy, but a slow introduction is definitely recommended.

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If you already have a cat or a dog, then try to find another pet that matches their behaviour. This will reduce the chances of any big fights, and make the whole settling in process easier. Ideally, you should ask for a dog with some experience around cats, or vice versa. The workers at the shelter will be happy to help you narrow down the perfect candidate for your home. Try to get a feel for the animal’s personality as well. If you already have a lazy dog at home, then look for an equally lazy cat. If your dog’s young and full of beans, then an energetic cat is a better choice.

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Finally, set out a safe haven for the cat in this situation. Most cats sleep for at least 12 hours a day, and I’m sure you know they can sit around for extremely long periods. Dogs, on the other hand, are more liable to go stir crazy, and actively look for stimulation. Whether the cat was here first or not, you should have a place in your house which is off-limits to the dog. Make sure it has a litter tray, food and water, and a scratching post. If you already have your cat, it might be worth getting them used to this room before the dog turns up. When your cat knows it can get away from the dog when it needs to, it will be far more relaxed. Remember that cats can run away with relative ease. Regardless of the animal you prefer, pamper your cat and keep the whole experience as relaxed as possible.

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These three tips will make your pets’ lives much easier during this transition. My final piece of advice is to know when to quit. I love living around animals, but that’s no excuse to make two of them unhappy.

Nostalgia # 20 - Friendly Cat

Hello everyone, I can't believe that we  reached 20 posts already for our Nostalgia.  Hooray for us hehehe.  My entry for this week is about the cat we named  Wapus (we don't know his name).  My FIL's neighbor ows this big and very friendly cat. When we were still living at my FIL's house, he used to come at our front porch and enjoyed being pet.

When we came back from Korea, we hardly seen him around.  Dad said that the owner contained him inside as he got sick once and they did not want him wandering around.  One night, wen we were leaving from my FIL's home, we saw him looking at us at their backyard.  I took a picture of him and he looked so sad.

Below were taken when Rylie was about two to three  months old.  Wapus used to come over and rub his tail on Rylie.  One day, I let Rylie rode on him and he did not object hehehe.  Most cats would hiss on you if you dare touch them especially if they don't know you.

On the morning that we were leaving going to Korea, we slept at my FIL's house and surprisingly, Wapus came over at 4 am.  I always thought that it was very sweet of him to say goodbye to us.