Keep Your Pets Safe on Halloween

Halloween is full of fun things for you and your family to enjoy, but it's one of those holidays that is enjoyed more by people than by pets. Keep the following precautions in mind when preparing for the frightfully fun festivities and help ensure that everyone in your family - including your pet - has a safe Halloween.

Keep your pet in a quiet place, away from trick-or-treaters and other Halloween activities. You may know that the monsters and goblins who come knocking on Halloween aren't real, but pets don't. In addition, frequently opened doors provide a perfect opportunity for escape, which can go unnoticed during all the commotion. Be sure all pets are wearing collars and ID tags in case of an accidental getaway.

Cats--black ones in particular--often fall victim to pranksters. Keep cats safely indoors. Visit www.humansociety.org/safecats for more information.

Place live flame decorations like candles and jack-o'-lanterns out of your pet's reach. Curious critters risk being singed or burned by the flame--they could also easily knock over a candle or pumpkin and cause a fire.

Keep candy away from pets. All those sweets may taste great to pets, but candy, especially chocolate, can be toxic to pets. Candy wrappers can also be harmful if swallowed. Raisins are also toxic. Candy and gum sweetened with Xylitol can be deadly.

Don't let the family dog accompany the kids on their trick-or-treat outing. Your dog can get easily spooked by the strange costumes, sights and sounds of trick-or-treaters. Your dog can get loose and run away.

Keep decorations that pets could chew on--like streamers, fake spiders webs, wires or cords. If pets chomp on Halloween decorations they could choke or become ill. Pets could also become tangled and injured by dangling cords or decorations.

Keep Your Pets Safe While Traveling in Your Car

Here are some tips to keep your pet safe when traveling.

1. Choose a special safety harness or belt that will keep your pet from jumping around the vehicle or from flying forward if you have to slam on the brakes.

2. Remember that the air bags can be deadly for a pet in the front seat in case of a collision.

3. Being restrained will keep a pet from falling or jumping out of the window.

4. Never leave your pet in the car on warm days because heat can be deadly and also, because your pet can be stolen.

5. Always take water along for your pet. They make collapsible food and water bowls.

6. Small pets can safely travel in a crate.

A New Book - "Speaking for Spot"

This book should be in the library of every person who loves their dog. Dr. Kay provides step-by-step guidelines that teach you how to be a responsible and informed advocate throughout your dog's life. It could save you thousands of dollars and give you the tools to prevent the heartache that comes with making uninformed or rushed decisions about your dog's health care.

Visit http://www.speakingforspot.com/ for more information including sample chapters, downloadable health forms, POD cast interviews, and order information.

Pets Are The Victims of Economic Downturn

Pets are being turned in to shelters and rescue organizations in alarming numbers. Pet owners are having to give up their pets because they can not afford them anymore. Shelters are bursting at the seams. It's very sad because a large percentage of these pets will be euthanized.

Unfortunately, it is going to take quite awhile before the economy improves. In the meantime, if you are looking for a new pet, go to your local shelter first and rescue one of the many cats, dogs, rabbits, goats, or horses that are looking for a home.

Pets Thefts Rise As Economy Hits Low

It is very sad, but dog thefts are up. There's a black market for dogs. People sell them on the roadside out of vans, at flea markets or through online classifieds. Some thieves walk off with puppies from pet stores and animal shelters or take dogs tied up outside stores and coffee shops. Other break into cars where dogs have been left while their owners run an errand. Some have even posed as prospective puppy buyers to case breeders' homes, breaking in later to snatch the dogs.

In most states, the value to the animal determines whether pet theft is a felony or a misdemeanor. People increasingly view their pets as members of the family and are willing to cough up big rewards if they go missing.

How to protect your dog:
1. Don't leave your dog alone in your yard for long periods, especially if it's visible from the street. Don't leave your dog in a car.
2. If strangers approach you with admiring comments about your dog, don't share information about his cost or where you live.
3. Report a theft to police and animal control as soon as it happens.
4. Keep a current photo of your pet so you can make flyers or posters immediately and post the photo on web sites.
5. If possible, hold back some kind of descriptive information about your pet so you can sort out crank calls from serious ones.
6. Microchip your dogs and cats, and keep microchip registration information up to date so shelters and veterinarians can contact you if your pet is found. A microchip also serves as proof that an animal belongs to you.
7. A tattoo on the inner thigh is a permanent way of identifying your dog if the tattoo is registered with a tracking organization such as National Dog Registry.
8. Consider GPS for your pet. New GPS collars allow owners to set up a safety zone. If the pet strays beyond it, an alert goes out e-mail and text message. The collars have potential for tracking missing dogs, but they're expensive at $129.99 and up, and they can be removed by someone who finds the dog and decides to keep it.

Are You Ready For A Dog?

A dog relies on you for everything, from his food, water, shelter, exercise, grooming, his companionship, training, veterinary care and protection. Know what you are getting into. Are you prepared to spend the next 10-15 years of your life taking care of your dog? That is about how long your dog will live.

Can you afford the added expense of a dog? When you get a dog, it is a life long commitment, and should not be treated like a piece of furniture that you can just "get rid of" when you get tired of it. After all, this dog will be part of your family.

The decision to get a dog needs to be carefully thought out. Do you honestly have the time to take care of a dog? Is anyone in your family allergic to dog hair? Are you bothered by hair on everything from your clothes to your toast? Some breeds are heavy shedders, while others hardly shed at all.

Do you have children? Are you going to have children in the next 10-15 years? Do you have friends who visit your home who have children? Some dogs are excellent with children and would be their best friend. Some are only good with children when they are raised with them from puppyhood, while others are very sensitive and may bite your child if they are pestered by him or her.

Do you mind holes being dug in your yard? Some dogs like to dig, while others are less likely to dig. Do you mind hearing a dog bark all the time? Some dogs love to bark and do it all the time, while others are more quiet, barking only when necessary.

Do you have time to exercise your dog? Some dogs need daily vigorous exercise and you would need to take them out every day for a run and a nice long walk, while others will get enough exercise with a shorter walk and by running around the inside of your house.

Some dogs need a job to do or they will become restless, bored, very destructive and unruly. Some can be highly obedience trained, while others cannot.

All breeds of dogs are different, and all families are different. Find a dog that fits well into your family, so you and your dog can live in harmony.

Lawn Burn Products Can Be Harmful

Products are being sold in pet stores and on the internet that are supposed to prevent lawn burn from your dogs urine. These products are to be given to your pet internally, do not work and can be harmful to your pet. The products are urine acidifiers. Too much acid in a dog's urine may predispose them to bladder stones.

The basic cause of lawn burn from a dog's urine is the urine concentration. Highly concentrated urine contains a large amount of nitrogen (from protein digestion). This makes dog urine just like liquid fertilizer. The brown spots are basically over fertilized. To prevent this burn, try to increase your dog's water consumption, dilute the urine spot with a bucket of water or turn on the sprinkler. It is a good idea to create a potty area in the yard with mulch or stones. Your dog can be trained to use this area.

The products that are sold to prevent lawn burn contain chemicals that are hard on the liver and kidneys. Read the fine print on the label of the warnings.