Pets Smile Plus

Regular grooming of your horse is a necessary horse care chore. Whether you view grooming as a “chore” or an enjoyable activity, bare in mind you’re not only keeping your horse’s coat looking healthy and shiny, but grooming allows you to further develop trust and bonding with your horse. Also, regular grooming can alert you to any signs of skin diseases, infections, or injuries. Your horse will appreciate the time and attention he is receiving from you while being groomed, and will look great as well.

Grooming your horse does not have to be long and laborious. With the right tools and established routine, you can be done in no time. For starters, keep all of your horse’s grooming tools in a carry container so they are easy to find and so you don’t have to go running back and forth to look for and fetch the tool you need.

Common items you will want to keep in your horse’s grooming kit include:

soft, medium, stiff bristle brushes
mane and tail detangler
hoof pick
insect repellent
rubber currycomb
mane comb
towel
shedding blade
sponge
hoof dressing
grooming mitt
conditioner

Groom your horse in an open area and secure him using a halter and lead rope by tying him loosely to a post or railing using a quick release knot. This way, should your horse panic and bolt, this will lessen the risk of injury to both of you.

Where do you begin grooming? Some people start with the hooves, while some start with the head, and others simply start somewhere in between. It really doesn’t matter where you start, it’s the fact you are taking the time to care for your horse that counts.

My preference is to start with the hooves. Using a hoof pick, remove any debris starting with the heel moving toward the toe. Use a brush to remove any remaining dirt.

Using a damp sponge, gently clean around your horse’s eyes, muzzle and ears. You can carefully use a very soft bristle brush to brush along the face and forelock areas if your horse will let you. I prefer just using a grooming mitt and my hand.

Using a rubber currycomb, use soft circular motions from the top of your horse’s neck down toward his shoulders. Then use a brush to remove the dirt loosened by the curry comb.

Use the rubber currycomb to loosen dirt on your horse’s body by using smooth circular strokes. Be careful in bony areas such as the shoulders and back. To loosen dirt, it is best to go against the grain of the hair. Next, use a brush in a downward direction to flick away dirt loosened by the currycomb. Once most of the dirt is removed, use a body brush to flatten out and smooth the hair using long sweeping strokes.

Just as with your horse’s face, take care when brushing his legs as they are bony and have tender skin. Use a soft brush on your horse’s legs. I prefer to simply use my hands or use a grooming mitt.

Using a mane comb, gently comb through your horse’s mane. Using a little bit of detangler first helps when combing out the mane. Don’t force out tangles with the comb and pull out hairs, instead remove tough tangles with your hands. Use a stiff brush from underneath to further comb out the mane, followed by a soft brush to lay it back down.

Just like the mane, spraying your horse’s tail with detangler will make brushing it easier. Use a stiff brush to clean and brush the tail. Use your hands to remove tough tangles and avoid breaking hairs. Use a body brush from top to bottom of the tail a few times to make it flowing.

Use a towel and wipe it over your horse’s coat to help bring out the shine. You can spray the towel with conditioner to bring out more of the shine. During the summer months, it’s a good idea to apply an application of fly repellent all over your horse.

Apply hoof dressing to help keep your horse’s hooves moisturized.

Give your horse a small treat when you are done grooming him to further show your appreciation of him. Regular grooming with the same routine will cut down the time needed and will make it more enjoyable for both you and your horse.

Randall Holman, site owner of Front Range Frenzy and horse enthusiast, is the author of the above article. You will find other easy and practical basic horse care information on his website: frontrangefrenzy.com” target=”_blank FrontRangeFrenzy.com

Here in the U.S., spring has finally arrived. If you’ve had a cat urine odor problem since last fall or winter, and thought you’d cleaned up each puddle thoroughly, you may be discovering otherwise now the heat and humidity have returned.

This article briefly describes the different components in cat urine, and why it smells so much worse in warmer weather. This article also discusses the most effective cleaning solution to get rid of the odor and stain permanently.

Cat urine stains are tough to get rid of because it has five different bacteria strains. Two of these are associated with the cat’s marking scent. The others are in the cat spray, urine, and uric acid.

The sticky, tacky part of cat urine is urea. The pigment is urochrome, and then there are the uric acid crystals, which look like salt.

The first two components clean up rather easily. It’s the uric acid with it’s crystals and salt that linger, causing the continuous cat urine odor. These crystals are insoluble, and bond tightly to anything they land on. This is why you can’t successfully eliminate cat urine odor with common household cleaners.

The crystals are reactivated with moisture. And this is why the cat urine smell is stronger in hot weather - the humidity in the air reacts with the crystals, and you once again smell the cat urine stain - even though you’ve cleaned and cleaned that particular spot.

In order to completely eliminate the smell and stain, the crystals have to be removed from the surface they’re sticking to. The only effective cleaning solution is a pet enzyme cleaner that’s specifically manufactured to attack the cat urine components.

These cleaners are special enzyme formulas that consume the bacterial components - which finally removes the smell and stain. Common household cleaners don’t contain enzymes, because most messes don’t have uric acid in them.

There are several reputable pet enzyme cleaners available at your local pet store. Read the instructions carefully and follow them completely for best results. If the stain is very old, it will take several applications to completely eradicate the stain and odor.

Nancy has successfully eliminated cat urine odor from her home, and kept the kitty that caused it. “18 Ways to Stop Cat Urine Odor Problems” helps you save money and stop the damage in your household by offering solutions that work together to eliminate cat urine odor from your home.

Visit stopcaturineodor.com stopcaturineodor.com and sign up for the mini-course “18 Ways to Stop Cat Urine Odor Problems.”

Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar) and
Items to have ready for new puppy arrival

One of the main things a new owner needs to take precautions against is a new puppy developing hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia can occur without much warning and within hours of a puppy going to a new home, missing a meal, or does not eat full meals, gets chilled, overtired or exhausted from too much handling or playing. It occurs more in the toy breeds, but can also occur in larger breeds. Signs are a depressed affect or mood, weakness, wobbly gait, jerky, lethargic. The neck may get stiff. The head may appear to be tilted to either the left or right and teeth may be clamped tightly together. These are all signs this puppy is having a drop in their sugar level and if left untreated will progress to convulsions, seizures or coma and can then be fatal.

If any of these symptoms are present, take your puppy to the nearest vet or animal emergency center. If this is not possible or on the way to the vet, if you have white Karo syrup or can get this quickly. Mix the white Karo syrup with water and place on the puppy’s tongue with a dropper or just place some syrup on your finger and rub on the puppy’s gums. Do not put excessive amounts in the puppy’s mouth, as the puppy can choke. Nutri-cal is the best to keep in a household of canines or puppies. Nutri-cal gives quick results and gets into the bloodstream within seconds. Dosage instructions is on the tube. You can give Nutri-cal using a syringe. Take out the plunger, place the opening of the Nutri-cal tube at the opening of the syringe and squeeze in the Nutri-cal to the specified dosage. Then squirt it a small amount at a time into the puppy’s mouth. If your puppy has had a low blood sugar attack, using Pedyalite instead of water helps with any dehydration.

Prevention:

Add one tqblespoon of honey or sugar to every 16 ounces of water. Keep plain drinking water available as well. Leave food out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a puppy just arriving home up until at least 12 weeks of age and sometimes beyond this if the puppy is a very tiny size. Never feed chocolate, fried foods or milk. Do not allow puppy to become over-chilled or tired. Let your new puppy rest and become acustomed to his new home. Give puppy Nutri-cal, about one inch every 6 hours for at least 48 hours in a new home and if you begin to see puppy acting very lethargic, give Nutri-cal.

What should you have ready for a new puppy:

Food breeder had puppy on.

If you plan to change puppy’s food, you still need to have a small bag of breeder’s brand to mix with your brand until you have weaned puppy off breeder’s brand of food.

Always keep Nutri-cal

Water Bottles

A Housebreaking Crate

Soft Blankets and Quilts

Non-slip steel bowls (a good brand can be found at Flint River Ranch

Accessories Section on web site at stainglassshihtzupremiumpetfood.citymax.com

Gourmet Dental Treats from HealthyPetNet

Ear Care Formula (I strongly recommend the formula from HealthyPetNet)
Brushes, combs and a good tearless shampoo

These are just a few items to have ready for the arrival of a new puppy. Ask your breeder for anything else he/she would recommend you have. Most important is to have the Nutri-cal and to give Nutri-cal especially to the tiny toy breeds.

Connie Limon publishes a FREE weekly newsletter. A professional newsletter with a focus upon health and wellness for you and your pets. Coupons for shih tzu puppies and other products are offered to subscribers. Updates of available puppies. Sign up at stainglassshihtzus.com stainglassshihtzus.com

Dogs truly can be a man’s best friend. They can be a fantastic addition to your life not only for yourself but also for your family. Dogs can interact with children and teach them some valuable social skills and develop their confidence levels. However knowing how to train a dog is a hugely important thing that you must know, this is even more important if you do have children.

Dogs can be very temperamental and need to be trained properly so that they can control their temper. If this is done correctly, then your dog will be a well behaved, caring dog who will be safe around your family.

A main part of training your dog is called positive reinforcement which involves using dog treats to reward your dog when they do what you ask them to. This is simple enough to do, but you must know how to react if your dog doesn’t do what you ask.

Most people make the mistake of shouting at their dogs and getting angry if the dog misbehaves or is being disobedient. The problem with reacting like this is that your dog will pick up on these reactions and can mirror your emotions. The same principle applies when your dog is barking, if you react to this by shouting at your dog then you are not really helping the situation. Your dog may interpret this as you barking back in agreement with them which means they do not realise they are doing anything wrong.

Keep in mind that dogs will bark, it is their way of communicating. The only time that a dog barking should concern you is if they continue barking at people for a long time after first seeing them. Also if they appear to be barking at things for no reason. Dogs are usually barking for attention or if they sense a problem. If they are seeking attention then you are best to leave them alone and not pay them attention because if you give them what they want, it will stick in their mind that to get attention they bark.

You can introduce certain exercises and practices to train your dog. Exercises such as walking them around objects such as cones and markers and getting them to sit at certain points will help with their discipline.

A simple game of hide and seek with a dog treat can be good for your dog. Hide a treat somewhere and let them find it, not only is this good exercise but they will be developing them excellent sense of smell. They also receive a treat when they complete the task and get attention and love from you.

Overall dog training takes time and patience, but if you can stick with it then the rewards will speak for themselves as the dog grows older.

Patrick Moogan is the creator of dog-advice-online.com Dog Advice Online and has written many articles on all aspects of buying and owning a dog. If you’d like to read more about traing a dog then take a look at dog-advice-online.com/How_to_Train_a_Dog.html How to Train a Dog

Some obedience classes are slanted towards providing instruction, which will lead towards acquiring a C.D. title on your dog. Instructors of such a class often require a strict adherence to details regarding the obedience commands. Often they have their own set of beliefs regarding instruction and will not be willing to allow handlers to stray from the techniques they themselves espouse. For example such instructors either will allow treats or not and do not allow the participants of the class to do anything other than what they request, at least within the class.

Other obedience instructors are interested in providing to the general public a class for “pet dogs” which will involve very basic skills and do not expect that the participant will go on to achieve titles on the dog. These classes are often available through such markets as the chains of dog stores or vets offices. Usually these classes have a wide level of expertise on the part of the attendees. Unfortunately, many of these classes often have so many enrollees that individual instruction is at a premium.

Some instructors are geared towards a positive approach to training while others are very strict and believe strongly that a no nonsense approach to dog training requires a very alpha presence. Often this means that the trainer prefers not to give treats and uses methods of physical persuasion often called “jerk and pull” methods. Some may even advocate the use of shock collars or dominant methods as far as teaching the dog the down position.

Some classes are geared strictly towards the young dog and are often called “puppy kindergarten classes”. These classes often require a limit on the age of attendance and provide for an off leash play period for the dogs and for shorter periods of time spent in actual practice of the exercises. Normally these classes should have fewer attendees.

Some obedience instructors take on too many students and do not have time to offer individual help when needed. Others may “play favorites” and spend an inordinate amount of time with one or two students, ignoring the rest. Some talk more than they instruct, a common complaint of many attendees of dog obedience classes. Some instructors may know a great deal about dogs or about their own breed but know very little about instruction of people. Such instructors may not be able to establish a rapport with the people that they are instructing and this may make the class less desirable to inexperienced owners who need extra support from the instructor.

The actual physical environment of the class is also important. Some classes are taught in hazardous conditions for the dog, such as empty garages or shop buildings. Some classes do not require that children be supervised and there may be toddlers running about and interfering with instruction. Some areas where classes are taught are outside and have to be canceled or postponed in inclement weather.

The wise owner will take all of these factors into consideration before enrolling in an obedience class. If this is done, there is a much better chance that he will have had a valuable experience, which has contributed to his expertise as a dog handler.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to