Daily Paws

Pet news, tips, entertainment and opinions from VetLocator.com

Archive for the ‘dogs’ Category

Smart Cookie! Hidden Camera catches Beagle stealing Chicken Nuggets!

Wednesday, September 24th, 2014

Daily Paws Picture of the Day: Wake me Up when September Ends!

Monday, September 22nd, 2014

Daily Paws for Ashburn Virginia

wake me september

Dogs Rockin’ White After Labor Day

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014

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Daily Paws Labor Day, celebrating working pets

Monday, September 1st, 2014

Labor Day Pets

 

VetLocator.com Daily Paws Happy Labor Day!

In the US Labor Day is a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.  At VetLocator Daily Paws we’d like to take a moment to give tribute to our working pets and the contribution they make, not only to our own families, but to the increased well being of mankind and the planet.

There are so many ways our pets labor for our benefit and when you think of working pets, most people think of service animals.  But any home that has a pet knows that our pets have their role in our home that they work to fill.  So here are some different working roles, just a few we celebrate this Labor Day:

Dogs

The best known service animals are Service Dogs. A service dog is a type of assistance dog specifically trained to help people who have disabilities including visual difficulties, hearing impairments, mental illness, seizures, diabetes, autism, and more.  But dogs are being used for other uses too. Dogs, it turns out, are also quite capable conservationists. A group called Working Dogs for Conservation, use canines to sniff out animal and plant populations so researchers can monitor and preserve them — an eco-variation on drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs. Because of their acute sense of smell and ability to traverse rugged terrain, dogs not only effectively nose for difficult-to-detect animal scat (poop), but they also help locate rare live animals and plants. Canine conservation projects include tracking jaguars in the Amazon rain forest and Mexico and monitoring Asiatic black bears classified as vulnerable in China. In the future they may even be used to detect indoor air contaminants.

from: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/8-animals-helping-humans-save-the-planet/dogs#ixzz3C4gbCxg4

Cats

The term ‘herding cats‘ means something difficult, hard to achieve, and that is what most people think about training cats to perform a working function.  But cats are hard workers, it’s just that they work on their own terms.  The best way to get a cat to work with you is to expect your cat to do what comes naturally, namely keep areas free of rodents and unwanted critters while providing entertainment and opportunities to give them strokes.  Businesses have ‘Greeting Cats‘ that greet visitors and provide a friendly atmosphere for the business and we’ve stayed at Inns that provide a cat with the room we stayed in.  We loved it!

But did you know the hunting skill most cats inherently have is being put to use to save feral cat colonies throughout the US?  Feral cats are used to living in the wild on their own and don’t ever really adapt to being a housecat.  Living in the wild means they have to hunt to survive so they become excellent ratters and mousers.  There are now programs to help feral cat colonies use that skill in exchange for regular feeding and vet care, and that is by having them work in businesses and farms to keep their areas free of rats and mice.  One of these is called The Working Cats Program and it is a simple and green concept: relocate feral cats to suitable areas where they can work with humans who in return provide them with a place to live. It’s a different kind of forever home where the cats can do what’s natural – control rat and mice populations. Cats living in feral colonies that have been vaccinated and spayed/neutered are placed with businesses that need help controlling vermin. With cats roaming around a property and leaving their scent everywhere, rats leave the area on their own. Felines have been placed successfully with construction companies, in barns, flower shops, police stations and other businesses looking for inexpensive and effective rodent control.  Even the government uses a cat, Misty, to keep the grounds free of pests and to give workers an opportunity to pet her on their breaks.

Rats

Undetonated land mines are a serious form of pollution that leaves large geographical areas virtually uninhabitable and injures or kills thousands each year. That’s why locating and removing them from former war zones is so important. Trouble is that few human volunteers are willing to risk their lives to uncover them. Enter the rat brigade, specifically, African giant pouched rats. These fast-learning rodents, dubbed HeroRATs (which incidentally are too light to set off land mines), are being trained at the humanitarian organization APOPO to sniff out buried explosives. (APOPO is an acronym from Dutch for Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development.) The group is also training rats to locate people buried under rubble from natural disasters, as well as detect leaking gas lines and even the presence of tuberculosis in human.

from: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/8-animals-helping-humans-save-the-planet/rats#ixzz3C4gmpFY6

Sea Lions and Seals

Scientists at the University of California-Santa Cruz have teamed up with some special “researchers”  to help them document ocean temperatures, salinity and other undersea conditions. With their unique diving abilities that allow them to swim where few humans have gone before, ocean mammals such as sea lions (pictured) are being outfitted with sensors that stick to their fur and later fall off when they molt. Information is transmitted to a satellite when the animals surface to breathe and is used to create computer models that will better predict ocean circulation patterns. Elsewhere, researchers are using sensor-wearing elephant seals to dive under the Antarctic ice in search of climate change evidence. Elephant seals are even helping track the size and health of U.S. salmon populations.

from: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/8-animals-helping-humans-save-the-planet/sea-lions-and-seals#ixzz3C4gw3noU

So today we honor all those who work, including our pets.  Here’s to you!!

Daily Paws Picture of the Day: Giving my Ears a Rest! Happy Labor Day!

Monday, September 1st, 2014

Daily Paws for Ashburn Virginia

Giving my ears a rest

Daily Paw Picture of the Day: So Adorable & Happy!

Wednesday, August 27th, 2014

Daily Paws for Ashburn Virginia

So adorable and happy dog

Frenchie Teddy Attacks Raindrops

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

Daily Paws Picture of the Day: Another Monday Morning!

Monday, August 18th, 2014

Daily Paws for Ashburn Virginia

Another Monday morning

Adorable back to School Pets!

Friday, August 15th, 2014

Daily Paws for Ashburn Virginia

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It’s back to school time. Make sure you include your pets!

Friday, August 15th, 2014

School is just around the corner for most of us, and that means getting ready for a big change in routine too.  Are you ready for it? back-to-school

With all the excitement of the kids going back to school, many families may not think about what it means to the dog or cat.

Pets often get anxious when kids go back to school

You’re out gather supplies, getting new clothes, going to appointments and so on, and it’s easy to forget what might be happening with your pets during this same time.  Many pets realize something is about to happen (pets are good that way, they try and anticipate what we are doing and how it will affect their daily routine). Like most humans, pets crave a routine they can count on and back to school routine changes can make them worried, anxious and depressed.

When that happens what you may notice are changes in your pet’s behaviour, see them acting sad, moping around and sleeping a lot more. Your dog begins chewing things, your cat is not using the litter box or you see other signs of acting up.    Yes, back to school time can be very stressful for your pet.

Pets love routine because it makes them feel secure. They like knowing that certain things happen around the same time each day and they know what they are supposed to be doing when it happens. If your pets have spent the summer having kids around all day and suddenly they are gone most of the day and busy with homework at night, that can really hurt because it is a different routine and one that they’re not part of. Some pets just feel sad and confused and others feel real separation anxiety and may show it by misbehaving.

Kids and parents can help pets get through the blues by making them part of the back-to-school routine.

This is a family matter and a good opportunity for the kids to get an understanding of how changes can affect their pets. Let your kids know that their dog or cat is going to miss them when they’re gone all day and discuss what they can do to help them through through it.

Among the best ways for a pet to get over the loss of one routine is to immediately create another routine. If your pet knows that at 3:45 your youngsters will be home from school ready to play with him before they begin their homework, your pet has something totally new to look forward to. As you are working out your children’s school time routines, be sure to integrate time spent with your pets in there.  Most pets like to have their family job and share time, so one of their jobs might be to sit or lay while your child reads to the pet.  If you think of it, there can be many ways your pets can ‘help’ and be included in the new routine.  And once they know what the routine is and where they fit in it, they will relax and continue to be the furry family member that adds so much to your lives.

And while you are out shopping for new back-to-school clothes, why not get something new for your pet?  A new snazzy collar or leash to use when you walk the kids to the bus stop or for their ride when you take the kids to school.

It’s up to you and your kids to make your pets feel secure in ways they understand. And if your pet is still having issues with the kids being back in school, give your vet a call and discuss it with them.  After all, that is what we help pet owners do every day, find the right pet professional to help pet owners have happy and healthy pets!