Heartworm testing in dogs – Pet tip 121

Late spring and early summer is when many dogs get tested for heartworm by their veterinarians. Why this time of year? The organism that causes the disease, Dirofilaria immitis, is transmitted by mosquito bites. There are three life stages of …

Deafness in Cats and Dogs

Deafness is often difficult to assess accurately, mainly because pets are not able to tell us when they have trouble hearing. Usually, it is their failure to obey our commands or respond to familiar noises that first alerts us to …

Barley Banana Cookies

Dog treat recipe – Barley Banana Cookies – From Better Food for Dogs

NB: This recipe is for doggie treats. It should not constitute the primary diet of your dog, and is not suitable for cats.

Barley Banana Cookies

Makes …

April: 2008

Pets.ca – Monthly pet newsletter – April 2008

Hi there it’s Marko, one of the owners/administrators on Pets.ca and this is our third newsletter this year. We intend to put out only 1 newsletter a month so rest assured you …

Tip 56 – Cat grooms owner – cat licking

Cats spend a large part of their day grooming themselves. They do it primarily by licking themselves clean. It is an important and necessary part of their daily routine. Cats don’t need to learn how to groom themselves it is …

Tip 50 – Dog behaviour – understanding your dog’s behaviour

Dogs behave in doggie ways and not human ways. Understanding this simple principal may help to cure unwanted behaviours. When we are unhappy with a dog’s behaviour it is important to know that dog’s rarely do things to upset us …

Elimination Disorders in Cats

Feline elimination disorders (FEDs) can be difficult to deal with. They may take time to resolve, require detective work to find the cause of the problem, and undermine the human-animal bond. However, there are ways to tackle this issue.

Inappropriate …

Dog Tails – Why Dogs Wag their Tails

“….In some ways, tail-wagging serves the same functions as our human smile, polite greeting, or nod of recognition. Smiles are social signals, and human beings seem to reserve most of their smiles for social situations, where somebody is around to see them. Sometimes, vicarious social situations, as when watching television or occasionally when thinking about somebody special, can trigger a smile. For dogs, the tail wag seems to have the same properties. A dog will wag its tail for a person or another dog. It may wag its tail for a cat, horse, mouse, or perhaps even a butterfly. But when the dog is by itself, it will not wag its tail to any lifeless thing. If you put a bowl of food down, the dog will wag its tail to express its gratitude to you. In contrast, when the dog walks into a room and finds its bowl full, it will approach and eat the food just as happily, but with no tail-wagging other than perhaps a slight excitement tremor. This is one indication that tail-wagging is meant as communication or language. In the same way that we don’t talk to walls, dogs don’t wag their tails to things that are not apparently alive and socially responsive.

A dog’s tail speaks volumes about his mental state, his social position, and his intentions. How the tail came to be a communication device is an interesting story.

Cat Training

Can cats be trained to do things?

What! Training and cats in the same sentence? We all know that cats are independent, can even sometimes be just a touch aloof, and interact with us on their terms. How can such …

Hip Dysplasia in Dogs

The very first signs of hip dysplasia in dogs can be noticed in a number of ways. Maybe you’ve taken your puppy or young dog home, and on its first visit to the veterinarian, the perceptive doctor notices that its hips don’t feel quite normal. Or perhaps you noticed that it has an odd way of running or jumping, and you bring it to the attention of the veterinarian. Your vet recommends that your dog have x-rays done and after looking at the x-rays, he/she informs you that your dog has hip dysplasia.

What does that mean? Dysplasia simply means ‘not properly formed’. Therefore, your dog’s hip joint was not properly formed.