Rescue Pets - Pros and Cons

If the time has come in your home to add a pet to your family, here are a few of the pros and cons regarding rescue pets.

Let's start with the cons as there really seem to be fewer :

1. Some animals end up in shelters without any background history. Depending on the age of the animal, this could be significant regarding the health of the animal, both physical and mental. Even animals dropped off by previous owners may not have reliable information.

2. Abused animals take more work. Although it is worth it in the long run, many people are unaware and unprepared.

3. Unlike a purebred dog from a reputable breeder who will guarantee the animals health and temperament, a rescue pet comes with no guarantee (rather like children!).

4. Most shelters have policies in place regarding the spaying or neutering of pets before they leave the shelter if possible. Breeding animals of unknown makeup may not be the responsible thing to do.

And those seem to be the most talked about "problems" with a rescue pet.

Time for the pros :

1. You are probably saving an innocent life. The animals in shelters did not ask to be there. Most are there because of peoples irresponsibility.

2. Variety - Think you want a rabbit? How about a chinchilla instead? Your local shelter is an excellent place to view and handle a wide variety of animals. Shelter staff are among the most knowledgeable people that you can ask regarding your choice for a pet. They will be able to answer questions regarding food, temperament, health and any available background information.

3. Health - Animals are not adopted out from shelters unless they are healthy! They may be a little worse for wear, a frostbitten ear, missing leg, but these just add to their uniqueness.

4. Surprises - If you get a young mixed breed cat or dog, the future is not cast in stone, but a good estimate on size can usually be determined by a vet. If you are not into surprises, then there are always lots of full grown adults to pick from.

5. Rescued dogs and cats are usually mixed breeds. While this may give surprises, there are good things about mixes. The most important being genetic problems that can become prevalent in purebreds, are usually not seen in mixed breeds.

6. Most pets are already spayed or neutered, saving you the time and expense.

7. Price - A purebred animal can cost anywhere from $500.00 and up. A rescue pet is usually anywhere from $10.00 (for gerbils, hamsters and mice) to $200.00 (for a dog already "fixed").

8. Availability - Unfortunately you never have to wait for a rescue pet to be born. There are literally millions. If you can't find what you want at your local shelter, try a private shelter or rescue society. Rural shelters are also a great place to look. There are less people in the country to adopt and these shelters find it more difficult to place animals.

9. Rescue pets almost seem more eager to please. Maybe they know that without you, their days were numbered. Maybe being lonely for a period of their life made them appreciate a family more. Maybe it is just us projecting our feelings onto them. Whatever the reason, a rescue will fill your life.

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Interesting Facts That Cats Lovers Should Know

If we are to believe the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), the US homes hosted approximately 81.721,000 cats in 2007, and only 72,114,000 dogs. Almost 32% of these houses had a cat in their care, and an average cat lover had minimum 2 felines.

Believe it or not, it is possible for dogs and cats to live together without creating a third WW. According to a study published in 2008 by the Applied Animal Behavior Science journal, cats and dogs can live in peace with one condition. The cat has to be under six months, and the dog mustn't be older than 1 year. The reasons that stand behind the clashes between species can result from a miscommunication. For instance, preventing aggression in the eyes of a cat and submission in those of a dog. Those animals who were introduced at an early stage develop a personal communication method.

Watching a cat drinking milk is a sensitive process. They don't scoop water into their delicate mouths like dogs to. Cats touch the liquid with the tip of the tongue and create a bouncing movement. Before having to fight with gravity, the jaws of the cat close and the milk is captured inside.

In spite of their majestic attitude, cats can be dumber when compared to dogs. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal discovered that dogs have experienced a larger growth of their brain in the last 60 million years as compared to their purring 'friends.'

Another article published in 2009 also proved that dogs are smarter than cats. However, it is important to specify that while dogs displayed a certain smartness in a domain, cats were doing the same thing, but in a different domain (expressive vocalization). The decision was taken according to the degree of usefulness displayed by each animal. If we are to think about the fact that the only thing cats can do is catch vermin, while dogs are more flexible in this area (discover drug stashes, diagnose illnesses, rescue lost people), we would be inclined to consider dogs as smarter companions. However, some might say that having a job which requires sitting in the sun and catching mice from time to time is not stupid at all.

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What Do You Do If You Have Big Vet Bills but No Pet Insurance

Less than 0.5% of the 140 million cats and dogs in the United States have pet insurance. For the majority of pet parents, absorbing a large vet bill can pose challenges. While it may not always be possible to avoid the cost, these seven options can help you at least identify ways to keep costs under control.

1. Sign up for a Discount Plan

Pet Assure can help reduce future vet bills. You pay an upfront fee of $99 per year and get a 25% discount for all vet services. The only catch is that you have to go to a veterinary clinic in their network so you'd need to check whether your regular veterinarian is in the network. Key questions to ask before signing up include "Do they include procedures done by another hospital that your vet recommended but that isn't in their system?" and "Are drug costs included?"

2. Negotiate with Your Vet

Most veterinarians are sympathetic to financial concerns and may offer you a discount or payment plan, especially if you're a long-term client. Ask them what they can do for you, you might be surprised at the response.

Bring Your Pet to the Vet Annually

How often do you go to the doctor? On average, North Americans visit their family doctor at least twice a year, and most of us ensure to book appointments for annual checkups. After all, you can never take your health too seriously. So what about our animal friends? Do you take your pet to the vet for regular checkups, or do you wait until there are signs of an illness before you take action? Unfortunately, many people don't consider the benefits of bringing their pet to the vet annually, and this can have serious consequences for your pet's health. Indeed, routine wellness checkups are the foundation of a long and healthy life for your pet. Here are 5 specific benefits that should get you thinking about your pet's next vet visit.

Top stupid vet tricks: Pet health care confessions from the front lines

Hot on the heels of my malpractice insurance fiasco comes this timely post. Here I detail the top ten mistakes seen in vet practice (yeah, we vets do stupid stuff sometimes):

1-Forgetting to take out the IV catheter when pets go home: This is common (three or four times a year for us), though not so much since we started including CATH OUT! checkboxes on our patient’s cage cards.

For the record, I know firsthand this happens in human medicine, too. I remember distinctly after bringing my 85 year-old great aunt home from the hospital that I’d had to remove the IV the hospital left in. The most memorable bit of this story is that before I extracted it, she’d been calling her doctor claiming they’d left her “VCR” in. I got a kick out of that one.

Vet Costs: The Top 5 Secrets To Dramatically Lower Them

Veterinary Care is expensive. I should know, for I am a Veterinarian who owned a Veterinary Hospital for nearly 15 years. Veterinary Medicine has changed dramatically in the last 30 years; gone are the days of James Herriot when vets treated every type of animal, and regularly made house calls. This article will give you an understanding of why veterinary charges have gone up so much, and the top 5 things you can do to lower your vet costs.

As veterinarians can offer more advance diagnostics and treatment, veterinary fees have risen accordingly. Vet visits and surgery cost dog owners almost $800 and cat owners $500 last year, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. If your pet becomes seriously ill, you can easily spend thousands. Knee surgery in dogs can easily cost over $5,000; a pet with cancer can have radiation therapy and chemotherapy costing in excess of $7,000.

Cat Facts You Should Know

Cats are not able to perceive sweet tastes

This is probably one of the reasons why they are so bitter. Multiple studies proved that cats that live in a domestic environment are not attracted to sweets (whether they are carbohydrates or sweeteners). At a close research, it was shown that their taste cells are not responsive to various types of sugars (sucrose included).

Cats' taste is very similar to the one belonging to other mammals. Except for dogs. They do love everything related to sugar, and they tend to get iffy if they don't get their dose of sugar. But the important thing to remember is the fact that you shouldn't purchase sweet treats for your cats, since they don't really care about it.

Three Great Dogs You Can Find in Pet Stores

 An animal is a great family companion, especially for children. If you are an animal lover, you can find all sorts of domestic and exotic creatures at pet stores. In most cases, these businesses' biggest sellers are birds, puppies, and kittens, but if you want something more extreme, you can also find a large selection of other creatures. As far as companion animals go, of course, it's hard to beat man's best friend - but how do you select a good breed?

Dalmatians

These dogs are wonderful companion animals. They are perfect for active people, but be warned: they require daily exercise, or else they tend to become destructive. These animals are a great choice to buy from a pet store, as they often require more training than other breeds of dogs. The specialists at the store will be able to help you with their training and socialization, and they will have all of the information you need in order to give the animals the active lifestyle they require. In addition, there are some health factors these specialists can help you with; for example, these dogs are prone to skin allergies, and a percentage of Dalmatians are born deaf. Purchasing these dogs without getting the information you need from the proper specialists is not a good idea.

Very Funny Animals

BEST FUNNY ANIMALS

Top Ten Dogs with Best Sense of Smell

1. Bloodhound

With 300 million receptors for smell, the bloodhound tops the list of dog breeds with the best sense of smell. Their ears and thick folds around their head trap the scent. Their sense of smell gets enhanced by their large and widely open nostrils. These alert and tenacious workers are dedicated pets and can be the most trusted for one's security.

2. Basset Hound

This breed with the French origin gets its name from the word bas meaning low. Dogs from this breed walk with their nose close to the ground while their long ears trail alongside their heads aiding them with their smelling ability. Another noticeable aspect is the dewlap, the skin below his chin which helps in trapping the smell.

Wolf Dog Hybrid as a Pet

After some time and debate, scientists have decided that the domestic dog originated from the wild wolf. It is thought that way back when (about 20 to 100 thousand years ago), wolves began to warm up to humans, who started selectively breeding them for traits that they could use for hunting and protection. They look alike and are similar in genetics, but the two animals are completely different. Over the past several thousand years, dogs have been domesticated to live amongst people; wolves are still wild animals.

They are not the same animal. Dogs and wolves are just similar.

When it comes to keeping a hybrid wolf as a pet, there's a lot that should be considered. There are many stories of hybrids being wonderful pets, and this may be true, and in the same studies, they show that most hybrids do not die of old age, rather the owners either let them loose, it runs away, or some other reason as to why the wolf-dog was gotten rid. If it was truly a good dog/wolf, why did they get rid of it?

Wolf hybrids can have quite a varied appearance; some will have more of a wolf appearance, whereas others may look predominately like a domestic dog.

How to Save Big on Pet Supplies

Animals are a joy to have, but a visit to the store for pet supplies can run a higher bill than you anticipated. Whether your pet is a bird, reptile, cat, or dog, you'll need to buy food, toys, and cleaning products. There are a few tips that can help you save money when you make a trip to the store. From properly measuring meals to choosing a generic brand for your pet's medical needs, there's a way to keep your budget in positive numbers.

Measure Meals

When feeding pets, most people estimate how much to serve. While this may not be a problem for fish owners, those who own cats and dogs may be feeding their animal too much and spending extra money on food. To make sure you're properly feeding them the right amount, measure each meal. You'll likely realize that you've been oversupplying meals and won't need to restock quite as quickly.

Training Your Dog to Come Back When Called

A dog is the most preferred pet in many homes and it is considered to be man's best friend. The joy of having a dog for a pet is completed when it is able to follow the given instructions. It is the joy of every dog owner to have an obedient dog and one that knows how to do a variety of things. A dog that responds to calling is perhaps the best since it makes the relationship easier. Teaching your dog to adhere to the come command is not as hard as it seems. You just have to employ a method that makes it easy for the dog to understand you. Here are the simple steps that you can follow on how to train your dog to come:

Step 1 - Put your dog's leash on and take it to a quiet room. This will make sure that the dog is able to concentrate fully since there are no distractions in such a setting.

What Are the Most Popular Dog Breeds?

At present, cats outnumber dogs in most households. However, dogs will always remain as man's best friend. While mutts and mixed breeds are popular, full bred dogs are still in demand, and among these, Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers are on top of the list. This is because Retrievers are best for kids because of their friendly and gentle disposition.

Another reason why they are considered as good family dogs is because they are smart. Labrador Retrievers are not only known as loveable pets, but also as workers. In the past, these dogs aided fishermen in Newfoundland to do tasks like hauling fishing nets and catching fish. Later, they have shown their abilities in retrieving game, and this is where they got their name.

Dog For Sale: Dogs That Don't Bark A Lot

While dogs are great to have, they often tend to bark a lot. The good thing is that you can go for those ones that bark less. To guide you through, here are some dogs that don't bark a lot.

Australian cattle dog

Known as a working dog, the Australian cattle dog quietly herds livestock by nipping the animals at the heels instead of barking at them. The dog originated in Australia and can adapt to a wide range of environments. For example, he can comfortably live both in urban and rural areas.

He is characterized by a small and strong athletic body, and a compact coat that is very easy to take care of. On average the dog reaches a height of 17-20 inches and weighs 30-35 pounds.