Your guide to pet ownership
Congenital deafness in dogs is more prevalent in certain breeds and is linked to coat color. Congenital means that a health condition is present at birth and not acquired as a result of something else. There are four main types of canine coat colors associated with deafness: Piebald Merle Roan White Dr. Stanley Coren reports … Read more
You undoubtedly have seen many dogs with striking blue eyes and not given much thought to the reason. Popular Dog Breeds With Blue Eyes Siberian Husky Shetland Sheepdog Australian Shepherd American Pit Bull Terrier Border Collie Great Dane Weimeraner Old English Sheepdog Cardigan Welsh Corgi Dachshund A Desirable Trait A few breeds, like Siberian Huskies, … Read more
While most dogs have some form of webbing on their paws, other breeds have a much more developed type of this feature. Webbing refers to the thin pieces of skin membrane that stretch between a dog’s toes. Every part of a dog’s paw has a purpose. The thick skin on the bottom forms a tough … Read more
Millions of humans around the planet abuse alcohol and drugs, including opiates, marijuana, cocaine, and hallucinogens. It often seems like one of the unique, if troubling and disruptive, features of people, compared to wild animals; humans seek out intoxicating substances for fun while animals eat just for nutrition, whenever they’re hungry, or food is available. … Read more
Can they bite a finger or toe off?There are no recorded cases of it but do you really want to find out the hard way? They are called ‘snapping’ turtles for a reason. It’s not the force of the bite that you need to worry about, it’s also the sharp beak like mouth that’s meant … Read more
Ear cropping and tail docking for dogs is usually considered to be cosmetic surgery for dogs. In other words, neither procedure is necessary for a dog’s health; it is simply done for appearance. These procedures used to be standard for certain breeds. However, many owners are reconsidering having them done because they are unnecessary and … Read more
Trap-neuter-return, or TNR consists of the capture, sterilization, and release of feral cats in order to control the population of feral cat colonies. Either local animal control or a caregiver who has been feeding the cat will use a live cat trap with food inside to procure the animal. Some of the best food to lure … Read more
What Is the Largest Type of Rabbit? Flemish Giants are the largest breed of rabbits, often referred to as the ‘king of rabbits’ due to their enormous size. Flemish Giants routinely reach an adult weight of 14 pounds, but Giants have been recorded hitting weights of as much as 22 pounds. In the wild, the … Read more
Can A Dart Frog Kill You?Yes, a golden dart frog’s poison is strong enough that a single frog can kill 10 men with a single dose; it only takes 2 micrograms, an amount that can fit on a pinhead, to fell a single human adult. Dendrobatidae frogs, meaning “tree-walker” in Greek, are a family of … Read more
When you were a kid, your family probably had a bowl with a couple goldfish swimming around. If you were really lucky, you had a freshwater aquarium containing such popular fish as guppies, tetras or even a gorgeous betta. Now that you’re grown, you’re ready to take an additional step and upgrade to a saltwater … Read more
Hedgehogs and porcupines, though often confused, are very different creatures. Apart from their enthusiasm for acupuncture, they are entirely different species who have merely developed similar reactions to physical threats over the years. What is a hedgehog? A hedgehog is a small carnivorous mammal, that can measure between six inches to one foot in length … Read more
Equine assisted therapy is an alternative therapy often employed in the treatment of mental health issues, including addiction and anxiety, as well as physical health disabilities. It covers a variety of treatments and is used by many different types of medical professionals, including psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers and more. Equine assisted therapy … Read more
Is it a myth? Yes, it is a myth that dogs see only in black and white, but they don’t have quite the color vision of human beings. A dog relies on its sense of smell to give it the most information about the world. When a person takes their dog for a walk and … Read more
Catnip is the abbreviated name for Nepeta cataria, a perennial herb of the mint family originally from Europe and Asia. Interestingly enough, the Latin-derived word, cataria, is translated as “of a cat.” However, it wasn’t always a feline treat — its leaves were once used to brew tea for treating an upset stomach. It is … Read more
Puppy mills are large operations that focus primarily on breeding dogs without much attention being placed on the well-being of the dogs in question. There are many reasons as to why you should avoid purchasing a dog from a puppy mill and zero advantages towards doing so. Due to the breeding of these dogs without … Read more
Crate training relies on your puppy’s natural instinct as a den animal. It is a safe place for them to escape and sleep. The caution with crate training a puppy is that they shouldn’t be left in it for too long. A puppy can only hold its bladder for so long before an accident is … Read more
One of the great conveniences of owning a cat is the fact that they’re litter box trained. No getting up in the middle of the night to take the pet out to relieve itself. No unpleasant surprises left to be found in hidden corners. But sometimes a cat that uses a litter box without issue … Read more
Birds are beautiful in the wild, and they’re incredibly cute, but they are not good pets because they require so much care. Parrots taken from the wild aren’t meant to be kept in cages. Birds that are born to caged birds are still only one or two generations from being tamed. They’re not domesticated pets. … Read more
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a service animal as “a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.” It also says that the tasks must be directly related to the person’s disability. This means that a service dog is trained to help with … Read more
If you own a cat, then you probably experienced an incident that showed you the light about how sharp their claws are. You may be considering the declawing option because someone told you that you could do that and prevent yourself from ever having to be cut by your cat again. There’s a little more … Read more