Featured Articles
Tip 88 – My dog or cat is in pain – pets in pain
When our pets act in unusual fashions, it is often because they are sick or they are in pain. Our pets cannot verbally tell us when they are in pain, so unless they are crying or communicating in a loud …
Ear Problems in Cats – Pet tip 104
Just like humans, cats can have the occasional problem with their ears and just like humans their internal ears (their ear canals) are made up of three sections; the outer or external ear, the middle ear and inner ear. Infection …
Outdoor Cats
The first time you own a cat, you must decide on several things. You must decide what food will keep it healthy and what toys will keep it happy. Then you must decide what veterinary clinic will take care of …
Autopsies on pets
Did you know that a person can have an autopsy done on their pet? Your first reaction may be to cringe; nobody likes to think about their pet being dissected. But autopsies provide information that no other test can. While …
Dog is a Crotch Sniffer – Pet tip 245
Most dog owners are aware that dog noses are extremely sensitive. This is due to the quantity of olfactory or ‘smell’ receptors in a dog’s nose. Whereas humans have around five million olfactory receptors, dogs have two hundred and twenty million. This makes their noses exponentially more sensitive than a human’s. Most times a dog’s sensitive nose works to our benefit. All kinds of dogs are used as service dogs to help humans find missing people, sniff out explosives, drugs etc. They can smell people coming from quite a distance and alert us to their presence. There are some embarrassing occasions however, when a dog’s nose is just too sensitive from our human perspective. Most notably this occurs when dogs try to sniff humans in their private areas.
This behaviour is a common one in dogs and equally common is the fact that it upsets most dog owners. The reason some dogs sniff at a human’s private parts is the same reason they sniff the private parts of other dogs. We know that when they smell other dogs in this way they can tell the sex, rank (is the dog more dominant or submissive) age and other information about the dog.
Nosebleeds in Dogs – Pet tip 109
A nosebleed in humans is a condition that happens from time to time often as a result of dryness. Normally it’s not that serious and stops on its own or we go see a doctor who helps solve the problem. …
Humping and Mounting Behavior in Dogs
We were once a society that viewed animals as their own individual species. Today, our world is quickly changing into one which views domestic animals as individual members of our human family. It is no wonder that we often relate …
Cat Vocalizations
Cats are capable of communication on several levels. Their body language can tell other cats if they are feeling tense or relaxed. They can mark their territory with urine, or with scent particles from their faces to claim ownership of objects and spaces and they can also communicate vocally. This article will explore a few of the common vocalizations that cats make. Some of the vocalizations are meant mostly for humans, while other sounds are meant for other cats, humans or predators.
One of the most common sounds a cat owner is likely to hear from its cat is the famous meow. There are many different types of ‘meows’ and they are generally reserved for communicating with humans and not with other cats.
Pet Degus
Degus have not been on the pet scene for long, but people are falling in love with these affectionate, sociable little animals. Degus come from the foothills of the Andes in South America and were imported into North America in …
