Pets Backpack

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Cockatoos – 6 Things To Know About The Cockatoo Parrot

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The Cockatoo Parrot continues to grow in popularity as a pet bird. Its beauty, intelligence, and affectionate personality make it a wonderful pet for the right family. Here are 6 things to know about this fabulous pet bird. Being fully aware and prepared for all that is involved is the best gift you can give in return for the love and affection that your Cockatoo will give.

Life Span-Considered to be one of the longest-lived Parrots, with proper care the smaller species (Goffin’s, Galah/Rose-Breasted, and Lesser Sulfur Crested) can live up to 40 years, and the larger species (Moluccan, Greater Sulfur Crested, Umbrella) can live from 80 to 100 years and sometimes more. This is no fly-by-night commitment, but one for a lifetime, so consider carefully.

Size-The wide variety of birds available means you can choose the size that fits best in your home. The smaller species average 12 inches in length while the bigger birds can measure up to 2 feet in length. The larger birds will not only cost more but require a larger cage, and more space in your home. Consider not only the space you have now, but what it may be in 5 or 10 years.

Color-Very distinctive in their appearance, they look different from most Parrots because they tend to be a single color. Available in white with yellow or white crests, glossy black or black with red tails, they are show stoppers and they know it and love to be the center of your attention!

Personality-They love to entertain by showing off tricks they know. If healthy, they are very active, and inquisitive, and can spend hours playing with and chewing their toys. Because they live in flocks in the wild, they are very social and need a lot of attention from their humans. They enjoy and need several hours daily of social interaction with humans, and do best with short but consistent periods of daily training. Providing proper attention and training is just as important as food and water because lack of social interaction can lead to neurotic behaviors such as feather plucking, biting, and screaming. It can also cause stress which changes the bird’s body chemistry making it more susceptible to disease and infection. If you are not able to spend that amount of time daily, consider having 2 birds or think about adopting a bird that needs less of your time.

Diet-Cockatoos need fresh water made available at all times, and should be fed a well balanced diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouted seeds in addition to a high quality pellet mix. Occasional protein in the form of cottage cheese, cooked meat, and egg can be offered. Avoid avocado, chocolate, alcohol, and caffeine as they are toxic.

Health-They are hardy birds and remain generally healthy with good care. But even with the best of care, they can sometimes become ill. Since they instinctively hide illness to avoid becoming prey in the wild, problems may be hard to detect. Any changes in normal behavior, eating and sleeping patterns, or discharge from eyes or nose is in indication that there is a problem. Consult your avian vet immediately for the best chances of having your bird survive.

Cockatoo’s are susceptible to Psittacosis, a disease contagious to other birds as well as humans. It is generally transmitted by airborne contaminants and gains a foothold when inhaled or ingested.

As a normal part of their growth, they produce feather dust–a white powder that tends to settle in a fine layer in areas where the Cockatoo is housed. Many who suffer from allergy and asthma are allergic to it.

How To Choose A Motorcycle Pet Carrier

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When choosing a motorcycle pet carrier, safety and practicality should be your main concerns. Keeping your pet safe is more important than having a fancy or stylish pet carrier. So what type of pet carrier should you choose when taking your cat or dog along for a motorcycle ride? Here are some key features that every motorcycle pet carrier or pet crate should have.

Durable and Protective

Probably the safest motorcycle pet carrier on the market is a pet crate made of hard, durable plastic. Some are even reinforced with lightweight aluminum for added strength. Pet crates made with an aerodynamic shape with these durable materials from top to bottom provide roll-cage like protection if an accident were to occur. Other types of pet carriers such as motorcycle pet bags, chest pouch carriers, and pet carrier tank pads, are not as safe because they expose the dog or cat, driver, and passenger to potential dangers and distractions.

Must-Have Safety Features

A motorcycle dog carrier or cat carrier should have certain safety features for everyone’s protection. Its cage door should be secure at all times with no chance of the door flying open while riding over bumps or on curves. Your pet should not be able to open the door from the inside. The interior of the pet crate should be free of any hazardous protrusions. It should not have screws or other objects protruding outward (on the interior) that could harm the pet during a quick stop or turn.

The bottom of the pet crate should be leak-free and have an absorbent material in the bottom (just in case). Also, be sure the motorcycle pet carrier can be securely mounted to your motorcycle. Some pet carriers come with special mounting made for that particular carrier to maximize safety.

Proper Ventilation

Any motorcycle dog carrier or other type of carrier should have proper ventilation. Be sure an opening is available just large enough for your dog to stick his head out and enjoy the breeze! Some pet crates have removable side rails that enable you to remove and replace them as needed on the trip.

Enough Space for Comfort

Make sure the pet carrier provides adequate space for your pet’s comfort while traveling. Your dog or cat should be able to move freely within the pet crate. They should be able to lie down, stand, and turn around with ease. Many pet crates come in various sizes so you can easily find the perfect fit for your pet.

Other features you might look for include a leash attachment, handles or grips for easy carrying by hand, and versatility. Versatility means the carrier can be easily converted into a scooter dog carrier, a hand-held carrier, or a bicycle pet carrier. This will save you money in the long run.

A motorcycle pet carrier with these mind-easing safety features will likely cost a little more than many other carriers, but you might save your pet’s life by spending just a little more. Pet travel can be fun once you find a motorcycle pet carrier you can trust!

Ultimate Pet Websites Offers Tips For Building An Effective Veterinary Website

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Ultimate Pet Websites, the premier designer of websites for the pet industry offer guidelines for veterinary websites that can make all the difference!

No matter how small or large a veterinary office is, a professional veterinary website is a necessity today. Customers look to the web for just about everything they need, including veterinary services. Website templates are available, but a custom made, professional website is much more effective.

Companies that specialize in these types of websites are well aware of what the veterinary website should include to be most valuable. A company such as Ultimate Pet Websites that frequently builds veterinary sites knows what will attract the readers attention and keep them focused on the website, bringing your clinic many new clients.

What Information Should be Included in a Veterinary Clinic Website?

Office hours, phone numbers, and driving directions, including maps, are certainly important components for the website.

Monthly e-newsletters are of great importance also and can be designed by a company such as Ultimate Pet Websites. Blogs are also effective on veterinarian websites.

And what would a website be without photos? Photos of the staff should be included, as well as photos of animal patient, receiving the best care possible! Pet photos are quite effective when done in a slide show or rotation format.

Effective veterinary websites might also include things such as special promotions, greeting cards and tools that allow the customer to subscribe to monthly newsletters, appointment reminders, upcoming events, and more.

Another effective component for veterinary website is a shopping area where users may purchase treats, flea collars and other pet products online, with an easy checkout system. Links for credit card payments and PayPal (if accepted) should be added to the site as well.

Pet clinics should also consider providing potential clients with an incentive to visit the office by having printable promotions or coupons on their website. This will certainly attract new clients.

Veterinary websites can even offer clients the ability to schedule appointments online, and have access to certain forms, such as a new patient forms. With this system, clinics can have their clients fill out the forms online and bring with them to their appointment, which saves time.

A vet website may want to include articles on preventative care, certain illustrations and more information such as this, which is helpful to their clients.

If you currently have a website that has not been advantageous for your clinic, consider having a professional site created. Not only will you have a highly effective website, you will also have support backups of data, security updates, and updates to information on a regular basis.

Youll have the best luck when you choose a company, such as Ultimate Pet Websites, that is familiar with building sites for veterinary clinics. Specialization in the pet field is the key to making your site successful.

Visit www.UltimatePetWebsites.com for more information.

Why You Should Train Your Bichon Frise

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Bichon Frise Training

Why you should Train your Bichon Frise?

Obedience training is one of the best things you can do for your Bichon Frise or puppy and yourself. Obedience training doesnt solve all behavior problems, but it is the foundation for solving just about any problem. Training opens up a line of communication between you and your Bichon Frise. Effective communication is necessary to instruct your Bichon Frise about what you want her to do. You can teach her anything from stay (dont bolt out the door) to sit (dont jump up on the visitors) to off (dont chew the furniture).

Bichon Frises are social animals and without proper training, they will behave like animals. They will soil your house, destroy your belongings, bark excessively, dig holes in your yard, fight other Bichon Frises and even bite you. Nearly all behavior problems are perfectly normal Bichon Frise activities that occur at the wrong time or place or are directed at the wrong thing. For example, the Bichon Frise will eliminate on the carpet instead of outside; the Bichon Frise will bark all night long instead of just when a stranger is prowling around outside; or the Bichon Frise will chew furniture instead of his own toys. The key to preventing or treating behavior problems is learning to teach the Bichon Frise to redirect his natural behavior to outlets that are acceptable in the domestic setting.

Obedience training is also an easy way to establish the social hierarchy. When your Bichon Frise obeys a simple request of come here, sit, she is showing compliance and respect for you. It is NOT necessary to establish yourself as top Bichon Frise or leader of the pack by using extreme measures such as the so-called alpha roll-over. You CAN teach your Bichon Frise her subordinate role by teaching her to show submission to you in a paw raise (shake hands), roll over or hand lick (give a kiss). Most Bichon Frises love performing these tricks (obedience commands) for you which also pleasantly acknowledge that you are in charge.

Obedience training should be fun and rewarding for you and your Bichon Frise. It can enrich your relationship and make living together more enjoyable. A well-trained Bichon Frise is more confident and can more safely be allowed a greater amount of freedom than an untrained one. A trained Bichon Frise will come when called.
Some people debate whether or not it is possible to train puppies, and others ask whether it is possible to teach an old Bichon Frise new tricks. The answer to both questions is an unequivocal YES. Whatever the age of your Bichon Frise, the right time to begin training is right now! The most important time in your Bichon Frises life is right now. Your Bichon Frises behavior is constantly changing. A Bichon Frise that is well-behaved today will not necessarily remain that way forever. New problems can always develop. Existing problems can always get worse.

Enroll in a local Bichon Frise obedience training class to learn the basics. Then most teaching and training can and should be done in your home. It is best to begin training in an area that is familiar to your Bichon Frise and with the least amount of distractions as possible. When you feel both you and your Bichon Frise are skilled at several obedience commands, then take these commands to different areas. Introducing distractions may seem like starting all over again, but its worth the effort. In reality, who cares if your Bichon Frise will sit stay when no one is around? What
you need is a Bichon Frise who will sit-stay when company is at the door.

Who cares if your Bichon Frise heels beautifully in your own back yard? But you need to start there if you eventually want a Bichon Frise who will heel beautifully when walking down Union Street. If you want your Bichon Frise to be obedient in your car, guess where you have to practice? If you suddenly want your Bichon Frise to down-stay while you are trying to move over 3 lanes to make an exit, you had better find time to practice those obedience commands in the car long before you need them. Dont drive and practice at the same time. Practice while the car is parked or while someone else is driving.

Keep the obedience training sessions short and sweet. It is dull and boring to schedule tedious and lengthy training sessions. Instead, integrate training into your daily routine. Make obedience training interesting and meaningful to your Bichon Frise. If Puppy insists on following you from room to room while you are getting ready for the day, then insist he have something to do too. “Roll over” for your wake-up greeting. “Heel” from the bedroom to the bathroom.

“Down-stay” while youre brushing your teeth. “Heel” from the bathroom to the kitchen. “Sit-stay” while grinding the coffee beans. “Go find the ball” while you get dressed. Now “go get the leash” so you can go for a walk. “Sit” when the door is opened, “sit” again when the door is closed. And so on. Be sure that obedience training infiltrates your Bichon Frises favorite activities and that your Bichon Frises favorite activities infiltrates training. Your Bichon Frises favorite activities should become training, so that training becomes the Bichon Frises favorite activity.
Rewards While Training

The single most important aspect of training is rewarding your Bichon Frise for good behavior. The more times the Bichon Frise is rewarded, the quicker he will learn. Therefore, its essential that you set up situations repeatedly in order for your Bichon Frise to get plenty of practice at doing the right thing. Its equally as important that you always praise your Bichon Frise for good behavior instead of taking it for granted. Its easy to forget to praise good behavior because it goes unnoticed. But the very nature of misbehavior gets our attention. We dont notice when our Bichon Frise is lying quietly, but excessive barking gets our attention. How many of us take notice and praise our Bichon Frises when they chew their own toys? But we all go berserk when we notice our favorite pair of shoes chewed up! Praise and reward are the most important part of maintaining good behavior and preventing problems from arising.
Reprimands While Training

Some Bichon Frises feel they are constantly bombarded with, NO, Stop that, get off, Bad Bichon Frise! They tend to get used to it and so the reprimands become meaningless and are ignored. If most of our interaction with the Bichon Frise is praise for good behavior, then reprimands will take on much more meaning. Whenever you find the need to reprimand your Bichon Frise, immediately show him what you want him to do, then reward him for getting it right. If you catch him chewing the furniture, tell him, Off! Then immediately direct him to his own toys, enthusiastically entice him to chew on them and praise him for doing so.

If done correctly, your voice alone is sufficient for reprimand. A correct reprimand is short, sharp and immediate. Dont continue to nag the Bichon Frise and never reprimand him unless you catch him in the act. Never hit, kick, slap or spank your Bichon Frise. This type of inappropriate punishment always creates more problems and usually makes existing problems worse. Not only will you have a barking, chewing Bichon Frise, but one that is leery, hand-shy, fearful or aggressive.

Why Obedience training is essential for every pet Bichon Frise!

Obedience training establishes you as the Alpha.
Putting a leash on your Bichon Frise and teaching just one command communicates this leadership to your pet. Our pet Bichon Frises are more than willing to work and live in harmony with us, as long as they know their position in the pack. If the owner doesnt establish the leadership role, the pet Bichon Frise could develop unwanted behavior (jumping, chewing, biting, soiling the den,
etc.).

How To Take The Stress Out Of Moving House

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In terms of stress and anxiety, psychiatrists claim moving house is actually on par with getting divorced and experiencing bereavement! But some of the strain can be avoided by planning properly. If you organise yourself weeks before the move, your chances of having a smooth ride on the big day increase dramatically!

Packing
Packing all your belongings to move house can easily turn into a nightmare if you’re not organised and prepared. It can take a whole day to pack up a room full of belongings and furniture, so plan in advance and draw up a schedule of what you want to complete to give yourself targets. Packing all of your belongings can seem daunting but don’t struggle on your own; get your family and friends to help you out!

Ensure you have enough packing materials to carry all your stuff, as realising you don’t have enough boxes to carry everything is a sure fire way to increase stress levels on the big day! You should also make sure the containers you use are of good quality as old cardboard boxes have a nasty habit of splitting open at just the wrong moment!

First of all you should try and pack things that you don’t use regularly. As the day gradually gets closer you can begin packing the items you use more often so on move day you should just be able to quickly grab your last few belongings. By the time you’ve finished packing everything it will be nearly impossible to remember the specific items that are stored in each box. So clearly label each one as you fill it. This will make it easier to unpack at the other end as your removal team will know which room to put each box in.

The Garden
If you’re selling your house and you’ve got garden plants you are taking with you, you need to notify your buyers during the conveyancing process.

Before you pack the plants, leave them to dry outside so that the soil won’t be wet when the plants are packed with the rest of your stuff. If your plants are stored in breakable pots put newspaper around the pots to ensure they stay safe during the journey. Leaving the lid off the container your plants are stored in will help prevent anyone putting anything on top of them and will also ensure they get some fresh air and light while they’re in transit.

Paperwork
Filing old paperwork is no-one’s idea of fun but before you move it’s really important. Making sure you’ve securely stored and transported paper work related to your mortgage, car insurance, home insurance etc, will help you avoid falling victim to identify theft as your documents are less likely to fall into the wrong hands. It’s also a good idea to shred documents related to your old home that you don’t need anymore; as ripped up documents can still be pieced together once they’ve been thrown out.

Transport
If you’re going to move yourself using a hired van, work out how many trips back and forth you’re going to have to make. Once you know how many journeys you’ll be doing, you can plan your time on the day more accurately. Also if you’re going to have to travel through a city or town centre to get to your new home, think about how the traffic could disrupt your journey.

Children and pets
If you have children or pets it’s a good idea to organise somewhere for them to be looked after for the day, as they can often get in the way and make the whole process more chaotic. For children, moving can be quite traumatic, especially if they’ve lived in the same house for all or most of their lives. Try to ease their worries and concerns before the big day to minimise the impact the process will have on them. Keep reminding them about their new home and plan some treats once everything is unpacked to raise their spirits.

Cats and dogs become very attached to their familiar surroundings and will need extra attention and care to get used to their new home. On the moving day you should add a tag to their collar with your new phone number and mobile number. If they escape during or shortly after the move this information will make it easier for a stranger or the authorities to return them to you. If your pets have identifiable microchips make sure these are updated by your vet as soon as possible.

Try and stay relaxed!
Which ever way you look at it, moving house is a big deal but it shouldn’t be as stressful as a divorce or bereavement! If you don’t leave everything to the last minute and plan in advance the experience can run smoothly. The key to good planning is pre-empting everything that could happen to delay the process you’re trying to complete. Once you know what could go wrong you can think of solutions to overcome the delays.

Often these kinds of events are a lot easier if you’re relaxed; but if the process does end up getting stressful try to think about how much fun your house warming party is going to be, hopefully this will provide you with enough motivation to keep going!

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