How to Turn Your Home into a Pet Paradise

Guest Post by: Dirce Guerra

If you consider yourself a pet lover, there’s no doubt that you want the absolute best for your furry, finned, or feathered pals. Whether you have dogs, cats, birds, or other animals, it’s important to make sure that they are safe, happy, and comfortable. After all, your home is their home! Make sure you take a few simple steps to turn your home into a paradise for your pets so they can thrive. When pets are comfortable and happy, they’ll be healthier and likely live longer, too. Read on for some tips that will help you make a few simple changes to create the ultimate pet paradise.

Dogs

Happy dog.

Dogs are man’s best friend, and that’s why it’s vital to keep them comfy and happy at home. Here are some tips for setting up a pooch paradise:

  • Designate a dog-friendly resting space: Dogs like soft, comfortable areas where they can sleep and feel safe. Create a sleeping spot in your home that’s up to their standards, such as a cozy corner of the living room or perhaps even a spot near your own bed. Dogs prefer natural fabrics like cotton, so look for dog beds made of this or other organic materials. The softer the dog bed, the happier they’ll be.
  • Keep their space tidy: Your home is your dog’s territory, so it’s important that they feel free to move around. Keep your home free of clutter, and don’t block your dog’s line of sight. Dogs need to be able to see through doorways and out of windows. A neat, clean space will make your pup comfortable and help them to feel like they’re able to protect their home since they can see any activity that’s going on around them.
  • Don’t use cleaning chemicals: Heavy-duty household cleaners often contain harsh, potentially toxic chemicals that can cause health problems in dogs (and other pets). Use cleaners that contain natural ingredients that won’t be dangerous if they’re ingested or breathed in. This won’t just benefit your dog – it will also benefit everyone else in the household, too!
  • Avoid using essential oils or strong fragrances: Essential oils can make your home smell wonderful, but they can also be highly toxic to dogs and other pets. Stay away from using any essential oils that can be accidentally ingested or breathed in since they may cause a number of serious health problems for canines and many other animals. Stick to other means of freshening the air in your home, like potpourri or scented candles made without essential oils as fragrance. Certain scents like citrus, ammonia, and perfumes can be upsetting to dogs, even if we humans aren’t bothered by them.
  • Designate a place for food and water: It’s in your dog’s instinct to protect his food and water. To make him feel comfortable, select a place in your home that will be used solely for feeding. When you create a “dining space’ for your dog, they’ll feel comfortable and in control of their environment and won’t have to worry about potential “predators” sneaking up and stealing their food.
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Pets With Anxiety: How to Help Before, During, and After a Move

Guest Writer: Sarah Hollenbeck

Moving is an exciting time and a fresh start for many. However, with an anxious pet, it can be difficult to ease their nerves in an unfamiliar environment. Your new home might be overwhelming to them, causing an increase in anxiety and bad behavior. Thankfully, there are various ways to help your furry friend feel at home when moving. Below is a guide from the team at MyMove on how to move pets safely before, during, and after your move. 

Before the Move

  • Make sure your home has sufficient space so that your pet has room to run and get in exercise.  
  • Before the move, try and set up their bed and play area beforehand to decrease stress when your pet arrives. 
  • If you can, consider bringing your dog to the new home early on to explore the area. This way, when it comes time to move, they will already be familiarized with the location.  
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Snake Bites: How to Protect Our Pets

Guest Post by Rachel Hudson

adorable dog
Photo by Bruno Cervera from Pexels

Description: When warmer periods arrive, most of us feel way more energetic, and we want to spend every spare moment walking, hiking or simply playing outdoors with our four-legged friends.  But what we rarely think about is that during warm months there is a higher risk for our dog to be exposed to snakes bites. 

You might wonder, why there are more snakes in spring and summer as well as why on earth would a snake bite a dog?  Well for starters, snakes hibernate during winter, so they also feel more energetic as the sun begins to warm up. They are also searching for food to fill their empty stomachs because they have digested all the food they had eaten before hibernation. There are greater chances to encounter a snake in your garden while hiking or anywhere else for that matter.

That wouldn’t be a problem if our pets would have the same sensation regarding snakes as we do. However, no one has told dogs that snakes might pose an immediate danger in some cases as our parents or grandparents told us. For dogs, a snake on the road or in the backyard is just another animal. Dogs are by nature curious and playful creatures, and when they meet other animals, they like to sniff and get to know a potential new friend.  Some dogs can be too persistent in their curiosity or emotionality and won’t leave the snake in peace. This is when snakes bites occur.

 On the other hand, snakes are timid and cautious. Since they have no limbs or claws, the only way they can defend themselves from what they consider to be the dangerous situation is biting. You must know that both venomous and nonvenomous snakes bite. It is crucial that you immediately get your pet to the vet so it can get proper care to prevent any consequences. 

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Dogs and Hardwood Floors – DogBlog

Guest Post by: Aedan Kiernan
Digital Marketing Executive
Wood Finishes Direct
Folkestone, Kent, UK

For many home owners, who are also dog owners, hardwood flooring is but a dream. Dogs claws, vomit, urine and dirty paws are all things that can cause havoc to a hardwood floor. However this doesn’t mean hardwood floors are out of the picture. Providing you choose the right wood, finish, sheen and cleaning products, your dog and floor can coexist in relative harmony. Although there is no way to stop damage altogether, you can reduce and limit the damage.

Wood – Choosing the wood will be the first thing you do, and there are so many woods available, oak, pine, walnut, ash, cherry, maple, the list goes on, but which one is best. The key to choosing wood flooring for a home with dogs is finding one which is strong and light in colour. You want it to be strong so it stands up well to your dogs claws and light in colour so any damage is less visible. This sums up oak perfectly as it is one of the strongest woods available, is naturally light in colour, and it is affordable. Although you could try an aged or distressed looking wood so any damage look like it is intentional.

Finish – Now that you have chosen the wood, now the question looms, what finish should I choose? Your new hardwood floor needs a finish to protect it from dirt and wear, otherwise it will quickly become damaged and eventually ruined. There are two main finishes on the market for floors and these are oils and varnishes. Oils are very popular as they offer a natural look and feel, but they are not suited to standing up to the wear caused by dogs. For this reason a floor varnish is the best choice of finish to provide the resilience you need. A varnish offers a hard and durable protective coating on top of the wood, helping to prevent damage and protecting the wood. The great thing with a varnish is multiple layers can be built up to increase protection. Make sure you use a specific “floor varnish” as these are made for floors and have increased protection to other generic varnishes. You can find a range of floor varnishes at Wood Finishes Direct. Continue reading

Things you need to know about your pet’s immunizations

Guest Writer: Ryean Bishop

How much do you really know about your pet’s shots? They are the most important factor in keeping your dog healthy, and can make the biggest difference in whether they get an infectious disease or not. About 95% of the dogs who are vaccinated, never get the diseases that they were vaccinated for. Those are great odds, and when it comes to the health of your dog, it’s not worth the risk of refraining from vaccinating.

When a puppy is first born, he or she receives natural immunity from nursing if the mother was vaccinated. After weaning, this natural immunity is gone, and in order to be protected, the puppy needs shots. A puppy at the age of eight weeks will start receiving shots. They will need a series of shots that are usually every three weeks with a total of three rounds.

After they are initially vaccinated, pets need to keep up their immunity by staying vaccinated. Most vaccinations expire after one to three years, and after that point, they need another shot. This keeps them protected from infectious diseases and gives them a better likelihood of a good quality of life. Also, if you want to get your dog groomed or boarded, these facilities usually require current vaccinations for each dog, so that no pets get infected while they are there.

The key things to vaccinate against are Rabies, Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, Bordatella, and Heartworm. All of these cause different symptoms that make dogs incredibly sick. Getting your dog vaccinated means that the veterinarian gives the dog a shot of the actual virus itself, so that the dog’s body can naturally produce antibodies to fight it. The vet will tell you how long your dog will have immunity from this particular disease, and after that it is important to renew your dog’s shot.

Although that sounds like a lot of shots, there is a five in one shot that includes immunity against five diseases with only one shot. Sometimes veterinarians will give heartworm pills to dogs instead of a shot, and some vaccinations can be done by squirting a liquid into the dog’s already wet nose to breathe in. When an actual shot needs to be given, it is usually done around the shoulder blade area. There may be some tenderness in the area of the shot for the next day or so, but they will not be showing symptoms of the actual disease because they are injected with a very small amount of it.

It is extremely important to vaccinate your dog to keep them happy and healthy. Check your dog’s vaccinations today to make sure that they are 100% protected from infectious disease.

Author Bio – Ryean Bishop is a veterinarian’s assistant who loves working with animals and keeping them healthy so they can enjoy life. Click here to learn more about tips for keeping your dog healthy.

Chicken jerky treats linked to mystery illnesses, deaths in dogs

Link to Vitals on MSNBC

Chicken jerky treats linked to mystery illnesses, deaths in dogs

The Food and Drug Administration has renewed a warning to pet owners regarding chicken jerky products imported from China. Reports tell of mysterious illnesses and some deaths in dogs. At least 70 dogs have been sickened so far this year. Read the story posted on Vitals at MSNBC.com.

Chicken jerky treats linked to mystery illnesses, deaths in dogs.