Caring For Your Pet
Once you have adopted a pet, you will need to know how to care for him/her. The following links will provide some helpful ideas...
Caring For Your New Pet
Like children, companion animals depend on you for everything -- nourishment, medical attention, and a safe home. Here's some important information about how to care for your loving pet.
ID tags
All cats and dogs need to wear collars with city licenses and rabies vaccination tags. Personal ID tags are essential backups. The tag should include the owner's name, address, and telephone number (day and evening) and the pet's name. Also:
Putting a Collar on Your Pet
It can be difficult to place the first collar on your new pet -- especially if you have a new kitten. Try using a catnip toy to distract the cat's attention from the new feeling of wearing a collar. By the time it finishes playing with the new toy, it may have forgotten the collar entirely.
Pain in the neck
Keep in mind that collars do not expand, but puppies and kittens grow quickly! If not loosened, collars can literally grow into your pet's neck -- an excruciating, constant pain. So check your pet's collar at least every week until it is full-grown (that can be more than a year for large breeds). You should be able to easily slip two or three fingers between the collar and your pet's neck.
If you have a cat, be sure to buy a "break-away" collar that can easily break if it gets stuck on something. This will prevent the collar from strangling your cat.
However, don't let this simple task stop you from putting a collar and an ID tag on your young pet, just in case it slips by you and gets lost.
Every Dog Needs a Den
Why use a den?
Dogs are den animals. They need their own sanctuary that is just large enough for them to fit inside and feel secure. They need a "home away from home" where they can go when they are stressed. If you don't provide your dog a "den" of its own, it may make do with whatever is around -- a chair, the narrow place behind the couch, or the wedge of space between the bed and the wall.
A crate is an indoor doghouse that is used for brief periods of time. Its primary function is to serve as a bed or den. It can also be an ideal tool to housetrain your pet or to keep canines that suffer from separation anxiety from destroying the house while you run a few errands. However, the dog is not supposed to live in the crate. Endless hours in the crate can lead to severe social and isolation problems for your dog -- and it will no longer see the crate as a special retreat.
When you are home, your dog needs to be out with you. In fact, the crate should be kept in the room where the family spends most of its time. That way, your dog can seek refuge from the hubbub of household activity, yet still feel like a part of the family.
Once your dog realizes that the crate is a sanctuary and that no one can bother it while it is in its "den," your dog will begin to seek out the crate on its own. For more information on crate training, call your local animal shelter.
Why Neuter Your Pet
When can
I have this procedure done?
Both procedures can be performed as early as six weeks of age. American
Humane is a strong proponet of "early" neutering since this
guarantees that the animals will not be able to breed and populate within a
community.
Why should I
have my pet neutered?
Animal shelters, both public and private, unfortunately are faced with an
incredible burden: What to do with the overpopulation of dogs and cats that they
cannot find homes for. Estimates across the country indicate that over 10
million animals will be humanely euthanized at shelters each year, due to the
sheer fact that there are not enough homes. Having your pet neutered
ensures that you will not be adding to this tremendous burden.
What are some
of the health
benefits?
Through neutering, you can help your dog and cat live a happier, healthier, and
longer life. Spaying eliminates the constant crying and nervous pacing that is a
sign that a cat is in heat. Castration stops the mating drive in males, reducing
the urge to roam, which in turn, reduces the risk of fights, injury, poisoning,
accidents, and contracting diseases. If you have more than one pet in your
household, all the pets will get along better if they are neutered.
A long-term benefit of neutering is improved health. Early neutering nearly eliminates breast cancer, and totally prevents uterine infections and uterine and testicular cancer.
Isn't it
true that you only need to "fix" female dogs or cats?
Absolutely not! A male animal can father thousands of offspring in his
lifetime. Roaming tomcats fighting other cats are a neighborhood nuisance
and are prone to develop infections and abscesses from their fighting. An intact
male may also develop the bad habit of marking its territory by urine marking.
Neutering just
costs too much!
The cost of caring for a pet, including providing veterinary care, should be
considered before acquiring an animal. If you would like to provide a good home
for a pet, but cannot pay for the neuter, call your local animal shelter. They
will be happy to provide information on low-cost neutering. The costs of having
a litter are often more than the cost of neutering. There could be complications
requiring hospitalization or surgery. You will be faced with finding homes or
keeping the offspring yourself or placing more animals into your local shelter. The
cost of the well-being of not just your companion animal but of future
generations should be considered.
Can't I allow my purebred dog to have just one
litter?
Mixed breed or purebred -- there just aren't enough homes. Animal shelters
receive purebred animals everyday. Responsible purebred breeders have homes
for their dogs before they are born.
I don't even own
a pet! Why is this my problem?
All of us are affected by animal overpopulation. Millions of tax dollars are
spent annually to round up lost, abandoned, and unwanted pets. Much of that
money is spent to destroy these animals when homes cannot be found. Health is
threatened by the danger of transmittable diseases, including rabies, animal
bites, and attacks. Property may be damaged and livestock killed when pets roam
in search of food. Animal waste, proving a serious environment hazard, foul
yards and parks. It is only when all of us assume the
responsibility for pet overpopulation that we will see any decrease in the
problem.
Isn't it wrong
to deprive an animal of the natural right to reproduce?
No, it's wrong to allow these animals to reproduce millions of unwanted
offspring that are eventually killed because there aren't enough responsible
homes.
If I find
homes for my pets' litters then I won't contribute to the problem,
right?
Wrong. Only a certain number of people want pets. So every home you find for
your pet's offspring takes away a home from a loving animal already at
a shelter.
Shouldn't
every female pet have at least one litter before being spayed?
No. In fact, your pet will be healthier if she never sexually matures. Her
personality will not improve either. She is just as likely to become less social
and more aggressive after having a litter, as she is to become calmer and
gentler.
Shouldn't
children experience the miracle of birth?
No. A more important lesson to teach your child would be responsible pet
ownership and concern for life by explaining why their pet should not have
babies.
Doesn't
neutering alter an animal's personality?
No. Personality changes that may result from neutering are for the better. Not
being distracted by the instinctual need to find a mate helps your pet stop
roaming and become calmer; though not less protective of their territory.
Won't animal
shelters take care of the surplus animals?
No. Shelters do their best to place animals in loving homes, but the number
of homeless animals far exceeds the number of available homes. This leaves many
loving and healthy animals in our community that must be euthanized as the only
humane solution to this tragic dilemma. Only spaying and neutering can end the
overpopulation problem.
Groom and Exercise
Grooming Your Pet
Grooming is an important part of companion animal guardianship. Pets need regular brushing, bathing, and dental care, and some animals with longer hair (e.g., Persians, poodles) often require frequent trips to the groomer.
Another important aspect of maintaining your pet's appearance is giving regular nail trims. For dogs and cats, long nails can become painful and interfere with their ability to walk. This grooming ritual also helps you protect your floors and furniture from being unintentionally scratched and your clothes from being snagged. Here's what you need to know to groom your pet's nails.
Before you clip
How to clip nails
Exercising Your Pet
All animals need exercise -- cats need to play, dogs need to run, even hamsters need to spin on their wheels. Here's what you can do to make sure your cat or dog gets enough exercise and reaps the rewards of this healthy habit.
Exercise for cats
Because cats don't run up to their owners with balls in their mouths, many people assume that they don't want or need to be played with at all. On the contrary, cats need exercise and a lot of mental stimulation. Without it, they can get bored and develop behavior problems.
Cats like to chase things because they are natural hunters. So why not challenge and excite them by inventing games in which they can hunt imaginary prey?
The best toy is a fishing pole-type apparatus that has feathers, streamers, or other items attached to it with a string. Make sure the object doesn't have any loose parts that the cat can choke on. Mimic the movements of a bird or insect flying overhead or a small animal scurrying across the floor by moving the toy in short, jerky motions. Make sure you allow your cat to catch the "prey" now and again. Otherwise, they could lose interest in the game.
Play with your cat as often as you can for about ten minutes at a time, perhaps while you're talking on the phone or watching TV. You'll both enjoy this fun, silly time together; and it will help create an inseparable bond between you and your feline friend.
Exercise for dogs
Although fenced yards provide a safe, handy place in which your dog can play and relax, every dog still deserves at least one walk a day outside the yard. Walks provide the following benefits.
Bonding
time.
Time together, especially active time, provides an opportunity for dog
and guardian to interact and establish mutual communication and a strong bond of
affection. Dogs on a walk also get to socialize with other dogs. This is
especially beneficial for puppies, who learn the rules of canine social
interaction from meeting older dogs.
Exercise.
Most dogs won't run around a fenced yard enough to get the exercise they need.
If you and your dog walk a mile or more a day, you'll both benefit by building
strength and endurance, burning calories, breathing fresh air, and
discovering what is new in the neighborhood.
Boredom.
Yard-bound dogs get bored from lack of variety in their lives. Walk past a
fenced yard and watch the resident dog race along the fence line, press its face
through the links, bark, pant, whimper; and practically turn somersaults to get
your attention. Imagine being able to see a park, alley, or vacant lot from your
yard but never getting the chance to explore it. No wonder dogs get frustrated.