We love our pets.  They are a regular member of the family.  Unfortunately the cost of taking care of a pet can often be quite high.  Here are some tips to help you take care of your pets without breaking the bank.

• Shop Around.  We all want the best care for our pets but not all vets charge the same rates.  Do your research and look for a pet Dr. that has the combination of services and facilities that you need at a rate you can afford.
• Set a Budget. Pets are a member of the family and we have a tendency to spoil them but let’s face it those luxury pet items can really add up.  Make sure you are allocating your money properly to be sure you can cover healthcare needs before you spend extra on toys or fancy foods.
• Keep your pets healthy.  This seems like a no-brainer but when life gets busy we sometimes miss things that should be taken care of.  Feed them well, make sure they have plenty of clean water and exercise and always follow the recommendations of your veterinarian.  Stay up to date with all pet vaccinations.
• Get cheaper prescriptions.  Vets often have a huge markup on the cost of prescriptions for your pet.  You can almost always find them cheaper via mail-order or online.
• Look for alternative treatment providers.  Sometimes your local animal shelter will offer vaccinations and services like spay or neutering at a discount.
• Get pet insurance. If your pet is eligible to be covered with pet insurance it is a good idea to check it out.  If you have a breed of dog that requires higher-maintenance, having insurance can really make a big difference even when factor in co-pays and deductibles.

Pets only care of their feelings and yours so they do not want to be immediately connected or bonded to the new pet. They might perceive them as a threat or an outsider. In some cases, like dogs, they might felt unwanted and disposed so they start making attention by making a mess or worst, they may become hostile and may became irritated to your sudden lack of attention to them and may became harmful.

Here are some helpful tips in preventing jealousy among pets:

Carefully introduce them – Bringing a new pet to the household is not that simple. A dog will not welcome a new dog to its territory that easy so introducing them with one another requires precautions and in some cases needs the assistance of an expert like a vet or even a dog whisperer.

Feed them separately – Pets are overprotective when it comes to their food so the new pets must be fed separately for they are still strangers to other pets. Dogs can be extremely aggressive with their foods and they will attack the new pet if feed near with each other. In some cases, the pets health are affected due to stress and malnutrition.

Always provide enough attention to your first pets – To prevent jealousy among pets, make sure to continue the attention you give to your current pets and it would be much better to spend more time to make them feel they are not left out and neglected.

Pet jealousy must be taken a lot of consideration to prevent pets from isolating themselves which may lead to poor health and unease with the environment and also to prevent aggression which may lead to serious fights.

Homemade dog foods is not as easy as mixing a bowl of meat with a bowl of potatoes. The nutrients dogs and cats need differs from us and we are not all nutritionist or vets. Our expertise when it comes to pet’s nutrients is actually insufficient for us to prepare homemade pet foods. Although it is an advantage preparing pet foods that are fresher, there are many factors to consider first before we shift to the home made pet food from commercial pet food.

1. Pets are focused on Nutrients and Less on The Ingredients

Commercial foods are made based on the pet’s nutritional needs. They are processed to provide the needed daily nutrients of our pets. Concocting our recipes may be risky for we might be depriving them of important nutrients such as proteins and carbohydrates.

2. Fresh are Good but Raw are Bad

Fresh foods are good and in fact, vets advises pet owners to give fresh foods to their pets such as bananas and some veggies but not all pets eat veggies and fruits. Raw meats are dangerous. Even though our pets may enjoy nimbling raw meats and bones, it is not safe to give them raw and uncooked foods. Pets are susceptible to salmonella and E.Coli with raw meats. There are also studies showing that dogs became aggressive when feed with raw meats.

Home made pet foods are good but it must be well prepared. Seek advice from your vets or find an online recipe for your dogs and cats. There are even books for pet foods. Commercial pet foods are still advisable because they are economical but it would also be a good treat to your pets if you cook for them once in a while.

Here are some very useful tips when bathing a cat:

1. Have a partner – It is not advisable to bathe a cat by yourself. Cats will try its best to get away from the water and it will be involves hissing and scratching.

2. Protect Yourself – Use gloves and if possible use eye goggles. Cats claws are sharp and cats are strong. There are incidents that people got blind due to getting scratched in the eyes by cats.

3. Fill the Tub with water first but not reaching up to neck – Cats does not like running water so the sound will cause anxiety to them. It is best if the tub is pre-filled with water but not reaching their neck or just half of their body. Dip them slowly and if possible, put a mat or towel in the tub for the cats to stand to and make them comfortable.

4. Use Cat’s Shampoo or Hypo Allergenic Shampoo – Do not use human shampoo. It maybe toxic or too strong for your cats. It may irritate the eyes of the cats which may cause them to panic and start attacking you.  Use cat’s shampoo or baby’s shampoo to make sure that it will not irritate them.

5. Talk To Them in A Lower Voice – Do not shout. It will make your cats aggressive and will try to escape from you. Make them comfortable by talking to them in a calm manner.

6. Prepare Another Bucket of Water For Rinsing – If rinsing is necessary, prepare another bucket so that the bathing will be quicker.

7. Dry Them Using A Towel – Dry your cats using a towel. You can also use hair dryers but it will scare the cat so make sure that your partner is holding the cat properly, firmly but gently.

Before you bathe your cat, decided first if it is really necessary, cats can clean by themselves. If it is really necessary, follow the steps for a safer bathing. It will protect you and also keep your cats away from danger like drowning, shock and getting toxic substances.

So what is the truth? Is it really bad? or beneficial? Lets find out!

Onions and Garlic came from the Allium species in which a type of herbs that are commonly used by humans for flavorings and medicines for it promotes better blood flow and causes warmth to our body but the Allium substance may not be beneficial to the dogs and cats. It is not really well documented if Garlic and Onions are bad for the animals but in my own opinion the effect is based on the amount of the Allium taken.

Here is the logic, we, humans uses a small dosage of garlics and onions in our food, probably just half a clove of garlic and one piece of medium sized onion for a single dish. Doubling or tripling the amount will have a nasty effect to us and the same effect will happen to our pets if they intake high dosage of garlics and onions and that makes the Allium toxins to their body. Remember that they have smaller body compared to us.

So the best thing to do is to keep away Garlic and Onions away from our pets.

Here is a concrete definition of Spaying and Neutering:

Spaying and neutering refer to the surgical sterilization of an animal. In other words, spaying and neutering ensures that your pet cannot reproduce.

Another reason why neutering and spaying is a good practice is that it will also prevent unwanted animals from being euthanized. Let’s face it. We can’t take care of many pets in our small homes and given our busy schedules, having many pets is also not a good idea.

Here are some health benefits of spaying and neutering:

1. Female pets will never get pregnant. Without the reproductive organs of our pets, there be no  unwanted pregnancy and its complications.

2. Your Pets will not be “in heat”.  Pets in heat often gets infight with other pets. They will try to sneak out looking for mates and they create annoying sounds to attract partners.

3. Female Pets Will No Longer Have Unwanted Visitors: Your house will be safe from intruding pets trying to seek your female pets.

4. Lessen The Urge to Roam – With no sexual heat cycles, your pets will prefer staying in home protecting it from intruders than roaming around and getting lost.

5. Happier and Healthier Pet. Your pets will be happier for there will be no distractions, stress, unwanted diseases and fights with other animals.

So if you really dont have plans on breeding your cats or dogs, then have it spayed and neutered. It is actually our responsibility to control the number of cats and dogs and prevents them from living in the streets or worst.. getting euthanized.

Another good thing, there are spaying and neutering services to assist you and your pets and in some cities its free. Neutering and Spaying is actually endorsed by most animal welfare societies like PETA.

Ear infections can be cleaned using store bought medicines or even something found in the kitchen. Here are ways on how you can properly clean your dog’s or cat’s ear with infection or wound. For more tips check out the pet section of WebMD, the website name is pets.webmd.com.

Using Alcohols, Hydrogen Peroxide and Povidone Iodine:

1. For Alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide, check the bottle or container first, it may contain strong amount so better dilute it first with water. A good ratio is 30 % water and 70 % solution.

2.  Use a clean cloth and soak it to the solution.  Cotton is good too but it may stick in the ear and may cause discomfort to your pets.

3. Slowly and gently rub it in the infected area and the surrounding of the ears.

If Alcohol, Peroxide and Povidones or other cleaning solutions from vets are not available, you can actually use Vinegar to clean and disinfect the infected ear.

Using vinegar:

1. Soak clean cloth or cotton in the Vinegar. No need to dilute.

2. Rub it gently and slowly in the infected ear.

You can do it best after giving the dog a bath. When giving a bath, soap the infected ears and then do steps I mentioned above.

Vinegars are good because it prevents molds and its acid can dry up wounds so healing is faster. Alcohols and Hydrogen Peroxide are strong chemicals so it can disinfect wounds and Povidone Iodine or betadine can gently disinfect and heal wounds in the ears too.

For best result, Use Vinegar first then apply Betadine. It will remove molds and heal the wound faster.

Most parents today deprive their kids from having pets due to fear of asthma attacks they may get from pets.

Childhood asthma is caused by inhalant of allergen sensitization. Allergic reactions are caused by proteins in the food or reaction to different chemicals. Proteins in the dander, urine or saliva of pets such as dogs, cats, birds and even fishes causes allergic reactions and can trigger asthma attacks to anyone who exposed to pets.

There are actions that can be made to prevent asthma attacks from pets. Avoiding encounter with pets is not the solution, there are pet owners who are allergic to animal danders who are able to have pets, all they do is follow some safety measures.

Here are some actions to take to prevent asthma attacks from pets:

1. If you are able to prove that pets causes asthma triggers to you, consider the idea of having them a different home for example a dog house outside your home.

2. Keep your pets away from living room, couches, beds and places where you most likely to stay longer or lie down. The danders that they release are the allergens that causes asthma attacks so making sure that they stay away from furnitures with fabric and carpets is a good idea.

3. Vacuum your house as often as possible. Probably 2 – 4 times a week to remove danders that causes asthma triggers.

With these preventive measures, you and your family can enjoy having pets without the worry of asthma and other allergic reactions.

Pets have insatiable appetite, they will keep on munching as long as we keep on giving, they wont stop unless we intervene. It is hard to ignore our pets asking for more food or asking a piece of whatever it is that we are eating so we decide to toss a slice of pizza, a piece of meat or bread. We’re thinking they deserve it for the love, affection and loyalty they have on us. It is right but there is a harmful side to it. We overfeed them and we put them prone to diseases.

So how much food you should give to your pets? Here are some helpful guidelines.

Dogs:
10 lbs. or less- 1/3 – 1 cup of dog food (Dry, Wet or Mixed)
10-25 lbs.- 1-2 ¼ cups
25-50 lbs. -2 ¼ – 3 ¾ cups
50-75 lbs. – 3 ¾ – 5 cups
Over 75 lbs. – 5-8 cups

Cats:
The typical 10 lb. cat should be fed 4-6 ounces of canned food or 1/4 – 1/3 cup dry food daily.

Fish:
About a pinch of food is enough to feed at least 5 fish.

The best thing to do is to ask your vets for the proper diet of your pets. Some dog and cat breeds may require different feeding needs. Read properly the label of your dog or cat foods. Putting too much food in the aquarium may contaminate the water and may poison your fishes so always be careful in the amount of food you put in your aquarium.

Loving your pets does not end in buying them gifts and accessories. Not overfeeding them is actually the best gift you can ever give them. Another gift, more for you than them, is to use a godaddy coupon 2011 to obtain a domain for your pet. Put up a site with images and more for yourself and your family to enjoy.