How to Look After Pets During Fireworks

Bang! Fireworks can upset pets in many ways. Do you constantly worry about your pets during firework displays close to your home? Do you fear you may come home to find that your pets are unhappy or, even worse, dead because of the extremely loud noises? If you can't ask for quieter fireworks, you will have to do the best you can to comfort your pet.

Lock your doors and close all your windows. Countless pets are stolen every year during the firework displays if they are left outside or in an unlocked house. Also, it will help dampen the noise.

Put your pet in one, safe, comfortable, closed room, even if your pet is caged. It will keep it from running about the house and injuring itself, wrecking furniture or being scared. Make sure the room has a cosy place for your pet to sit, such as a blanket in a corner, and it is warm. If your pet is a horse or other farm animal, make sure it has clean bedding and is inside the stable or barn.

Keep some lights on. Keeping a light on will calm your pet and make him feel more secure, rather than being scared in a dark room.

Make them feel cosy and protected. If you have a dog, cat, etc., a nice soft bed will help. Many dogs and cats will feel more comforted if you place the bed under a table or behind a chair, in a corner, etc. And let them hide if they want to; it's their way of coping.

Dampen the noise. Close the curtains in the room and, if your animal is a caged one, cover up the cage in a thick blanket, but make sure it is breathable so your animal doesn't suffocate. These steps will also help to stop the flashes of light affecting your pet. You might also try drowning out the noise with stereo music or the TV, sounds that are more familiar for your pet; just make sure not to play these noises ridiculously loud.

Provide water and food. Many pets will be very frantic and uneasy. If they have water it will help calm them, and food at its regular portion will make the pet feel like it is a normal day.

Add some soothing sound. If your pet is used to music, turn some on at normal volume. Also, the sound of rainwater is very soothing to pets.

Give your animal something to distract it. This could be a new or interesting toy, a chew bone, etc.

Use lavender. This is optional, but you can use lavender scented items as it may calm your pet. You can use a spray or gently bruise the leaves and flowers of some fresh plants. Just make sure that it is out of reach of your pet. Using heated scent oils or incense is not recommended as a frantic pet can knock them over and start a fire or injure themselves.

Stay with your pet. Comfort it and talk to it. If this is not possible, because you are out or busy (you may be at the firework display), don't worry - the previous steps should comfort your pet enough. If it wants to hide away, let it - don't fuss over them too much.

Keep comforting your pet after the fireworks. Make sure to calm it down and remove the protection (blankets etc.) as long as you are sure that the loud fireworks are over.

Keep your ID and other tags up to date. If your pet does go running off, it is much easier to be able to identify its ownership with these features.

OTHER TIPS:

Act normally and calmly around your pet. Giving off nervous vibes will not help.

Don't leave a pet outside, as it will be incredibly loud out there.

Never let off fireworks next to or near your pet.

Be careful about what you put in the room if you are going to be leaving the pet alone in there. Don't put a fire on to keep them warm, as it is a hazard. Also, don't put any sharp objects or things that could hurt the pet in there.

Make sure there is nothing valuable in the room if your pet is likely to break/damage it when scared.

If you give your pet a new toy or chew bone, make sure it is "indestructible" so that your pet doesn't choke on little pieces while you are gone.


 

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Why Dogs can be your Best Friend

Owning a dog can be a very pleasant experience for the whole family. We have all heard stories or news about dogs saving lives or showing amazing determination and commitment. Dogs have some unique elements to their characters that few people can understand and appreciate. And most of these are the main reasons why dogs can be your best friend.

* A dog will never betray you.
* A dog will never lie to you.
* A dog will always look up on you.
* A dog will never hold it against you.
* A dog will never judge you.
* A dog will always be happy to see you, even if you just left the house.
* A dog will never be jealous. If you are happy it will make it happy too. If you are sad or in pain it will try to help you as much as possible.
* A dog will always be loyal to you and never abandon you. But only if you treat it right and don’t restrain it.
* A dog can be an equal family member and will give you lots of good memories.
* A dog can heal you. Your dog’s positive thinking and aura will heal you mentally. Even on the worst days, giving or taking a hug from your dog will make you feel better.
* A dog is the best medicine for loneliness, especially for elder people.
* A dog can help you socialize and find friends. There are many people who love dogs and do not own one, so it is much more likely you will meet someone and start conversation while walking your dog.
* A dog will make you laugh and have fun. Some of them are particularly funny and joyful and will provide you with unlimited hours of play and entertainment.
* A dog will understand you. It will not understand your words but it will understand your voice and feelings. Try it by speaking a different language.
* A dog will put your life above its life.
* A dog will always love you, unconditionally.

Now spend a moment on this and think, how many friends you have would do even half of the above?

 

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Pick up that poop!
it's a public health concern

(ARA) - It's a big problem whenever people are out and about with their dogs. Some dog walkers don't want to scoop their pooch's poop. But a number of diseases caused by parasites like roundworms can be transferred from pets to people via droppings. Roundworm infections in young children can be very serious.

"That's why it's so important that people pick up after their pets," says Dr. Kevin R. Kazacos, a professor at Purdue University veterinary school and one of the nation's top experts on internal parasites. "The No. 1 thing that people can do to stop the spread of disease from their pets to their families is to regularly take the animal into a veterinarian. That's the first line of defense. Secondly, people need to clean up their pet's poop."

Parasite control is one of the most common tasks that veterinarians must deal with during day-to-day practice. They have the expertise and many tools, including medications, to protect your pets and your families from parasites.

Irene McGuinness, a mother of three, says her son, Tommy, was the victim of a roundworm infection, which started at age 3. Unfortunately, Tommy died in 2004 at the age of 17 from the chronic disease, after more than a dozen years of severe illness. A roundworm infection can spread throughout the body of an infected child, and in Tommy's case it spread to the lungs and brain.

It's suspected Tommy caught the disease from raccoon droppings, perhaps in their backyard, but the type of roundworm that killed Tommy can be shed in dog feces as well.

"We think he picked up the parasite when he was 3, probably from putting a toy from the backyard into his mouth. You only need a small, small amount -- about the size of the tip of a fingernail -- to pick up an infection. Between the ages of 3 and 4 is when we started to notice that he was becoming sick and by the time he was 5 he was spending about one week a month in the intensive care unit at the hospital," McGuinness says. "Our lives revolved around Tommy during the years he was infected, because it truly was life or death for him."

To protect children from parasitic worms common to cats and dogs, don't allow a child to play in areas that are soiled with pet or wild animal feces. Dr. Kazacos says that children can be infected with these parasites by eating dirt as well.

Dr. Kazacos says that it's believed that roundworm infections are very much underdiagnosed. A recent study found that approximately 14 percent of Americans carry antibodies for dog and cat roundworms, meaning they've been exposed to the parasite. McGuinness agrees. Tommy's primary doctors never suspected roundworms. Tommy was diagnosed during an eye exam, due to scarring inside the eyes from the infection. But not long after diagnosing Tommy, doctors who worked on his case diagnosed another child with the disease, McGuinness says.

"There are really a number of parasites that can affect your pets, including heartworm disease, roundworms and hookworms, and all of these can be, to varying degrees, very serious health problems. What's worse, these can be zoonotic conditions which can spread to the rest of the family," says Dr. James O. Cook, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). "If your pet shows any signs of infection, take them to your veterinarian as soon as possible. And when you obtain a new puppy or kitten, have your veterinarian treat them early in their life because they commonly have parasites without any symptoms."

Common symptoms of infections by internal parasites in your cat or dog include a change in appetite or coat, diarrhea, coughing and also reduced activity, but many infected animals will not show any symptoms. Your veterinarian can detect a worm infection with a simple fecal test. If an infection is found, your veterinarian may recommend a de-worming program.

Kazacos also advises people to be careful about wildlife, particularly raccoons. Researchers like Kazacos have increasingly found that people, like Tommy McGuinness, are being infected by roundworm parasites common in raccoons.

"Roundworms in raccoons may not at first seem like a big health concern, but dogs can be carriers of these roundworms. We have seen many cases of dogs shedding these parasites and, also, many people are now keeping raccoons as pets, which increases the chances of exposure," Kazacos says. "Raccoons have begun thriving in urban areas, and we're becoming more exposed to these parasites as a result."

For more information, or a helpful brochure on how to deal with common internal parasites, visit www.avma.org.

 

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