Taking Your Pets With You On A Road Trip?

Road Trip! When traveling with your pets it is important to take extra precautions to make sure they have a good time too.

Clear The Air would like to share these tips to keep your pets safe while you enjoy your trip.

1. Prepare – If your trip isn’t right away, prepare your pets with short trips in the car to get them ready for the big day.

2. Pack – Bring your pet’s favorite toys and blanket to help calm them on the long trip. Also pack all the supplies you will need for you pet including their food, water, dishes, bedding, leashes, litter boxes, and any medications they need.

3. ID Please – Don’t forget to bring your pet’s identification. Make sure the identification contains your current contact information and it’s attached to a sturdy collar. This will be helpful in case they do get lost.

4. Be Safe and Secure – Pets are the safest in a carrier. Bring carriers for your pets to ride in while you are driving and make sure they are secured in your car. Sharp turns and sudden stops can cause your pets and their carriers to fall over and they can get hurt. Make sure the carriers are well ventilated and big enough for them to move around comfortably in.

5. Take A Break – Be sure to make several stops along the way so pets can get out of the car and go to the bathroom. Make sure pets are wearing their identification and are on a leash for their safety.

6. Bring Your Pets With You – If you need to stop for a snack, gas, or a meal, always take your pets with you. Don’t ever leave pets in the car even if it’s only going to be a few minutes. If you can’t take pets inside with you, take turns sitting outside with your pets so they are not left alone.

How To Keep Pets Safe This Thanksgiving

When everyone sits down for Thanksgiving dinner your furry family members are going to be begging for a taste of what you are eating. You can include your pets, but be aware that not all Thanksgiving foods are safe for your pets. Clear The Air would like to share the following information from Reader’s Digest to keep your pets safe this Thankgiving:

• Turkey and other meats should be boneless and cooked.
• Sage should not be used on anything that is fed to pets. Cats are especially sensitive to this herb, it can upset their stomach and cause central nervous system depression.
• Raw bread dough should not be given to your pets because it can rise in your pet’s stomach and cause severe discomfort or more serious health problems.
• Cake batter should also not be given to pets because it can cause a salmonella infections. If you want to give your pets a treat, have kitty treats and dog biscuits ready to go for dessert time.
• Don’t go overboard on any of the Thanksgiving foods that you give your pets. If you are going to share human food with your pets, give them very small portions to avoid stomach pains, diarrhea, or pancreatitis.
• Clean up after yourself and make sure all wrappers are safely thrown away out of your pets reach. When pets lick the wrappers they may also ingest some of the wrapper which can cause serious intestinal problems.
• Watch where you walk when you are carrying hot foods through the house. Make sure your pets aren’t running at your feet. You and your pet can be severely burned if you were to trip while carrying a burning hot dish.

Keeping Your Dog and Cat Active

Are your pets at home alone all day??

While you are at work, your dogs and cats are sitting at home just waiting for you to come home. Some pets may even chew up the furniture just because they are bored. Pets need to be active and need mental stimulation, it is important for their health. You can also help prevent problem behaviors by providing your pets with toys or activities to do while you are gone.

Here are some tips from the ASPCA on how to keep your dog and cat active when you are home and when you aren’t.

Keep Your Pets Safe On Halloween

Halloween is a fun time of year for the family, but the noise and excitement of the night may not be as much fun for your pets. It is important to take extra steps on Halloween to make sure your pets stay safe. Here are some Halloween safety tips from Clear The Air:

• Keep all Halloween candy and wrappers away from pets to avoid choking or poisining. Chocolate and xylitol (a sweetener in candy) can be very toxic for animals. Have some pet treats on hand to give your pets so they don’t feel left out.
• Keep your pets inside for their safety even if you are going to be home. Stay with your pet if they need to go outside to use the bathroom to avoid anything harmful that could happen due to a cruel Halloween prank.
• Find a quiet place in the house for your pets to stay when the trick-or-treaters will be constantly ringing the door bell and making noise. The loud noise and constant strangers at the door may stress your pet out. Also you don’t want your pet to run out the house while the door is constantly being opened up.
• Halloween decorations should be used where your pets won’t be able to get to them. Pumpkins with candles should not be placed on the floor because they can be easily knocked over or can burn a curious pet.
• Pet costumes should be non-restrictive and should not have any dangling accessories that pets can choke on if they came off. Supervise your pet while they are in their costume.  If your pet doesn’t seem to be comfortable in a costume then it’s a good idea to just let them go as themselves for Halloween.
• Make sure your pets are wearing their ID tags in case they get separated or scared and take off. This can be a good time to think about getting your pet microchipped if you haven’t already. It can help bring pets home quicker if they get lost.

Disaster Preparedness For Your Pets

Each type of disaster requires different measures to keep your pets safe. The best thing you can do for yourself and your pets is to be prepared. Here are some tips for the ASPCA to help you prepare for an evacuation with your family and pets.

Step 1: Get a Rescue Alert Sticker

This easy-to-use sticker will let people know that pets are inside your home. Make sure it is visible to rescue workers, and that it includes 1) the types and number of pets in your household; 2) the name of your veterinarian; and 3) your veterinarian’s phone number. If you must evacuate with your pets, and if time allows, write “EVACUATED” across the stickers.

To get a free emergency pet alert sticker for your home, please fill out our online order form; please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. Your local pet supply store may also sell similar stickers.

Step 2: Arrange a Safe Haven

Arrange a safe haven for your pets in the event of evacuation. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PETS BEHIND. Remember, if it isn’t safe for you, it isn’t safe for your pets. They may become trapped or escape and be exposed to numerous life-threatening hazards. Note that not all Red Cross disaster shelters accept pets, so it is imperative that you have determined where you will bring your pets ahead of time

Step 3: Emergency Supplies and Traveling Kits

Keep an Evac-Pack and supplies handy for your pets. Make sure that everyone in the family knows where it is. This kit should be clearly labeled and easy to carry. Items to consider keeping in or near your pack include:

• Pet first-aid kit and guide book – ask your vet what to include
• 3-7 days’ worth of canned (pop-top) or dry food (be sure to rotate every two months)
• Disposable litter trays (aluminum roasting pans are perfect)
• Litter or paper toweling
• Liquid dish soap and disinfectant
• Disposable garbage bags for clean-up
• Pet feeding dishes
• Extra collar or harness as well as an extra leash
• Photocopies of medical records and a waterproof container with a two-week supply of any medicine your pet requires (Remember, food and medications need to be rotated out of your emergency kit—otherwise they may go bad or become useless.)
• Bottled water, at least 7 days’ worth for each person and pet (store in a cool, dry place and replace every two months)
• A traveling bag, crate or sturdy carrier, ideally one for each pet
• Flashlight
• Blanket (for scooping up a fearful pet)
• Recent photos of your pets (in case you are separated and need to make “Lost” posters)
• Especially for cats: Pillowcase or EvackSack, toys, scoopable litter
• Especially for dogs: Extra leash, toys and chew toys, a week’s worth of cage liner.

Step 4: Choose “Designated Caregivers”

This step will take considerable time and thought. When choosing a temporary caregiver, consider someone who lives close to your residence. He or she should be someone who is generally home during the day while you are at work or has easy access to your home. A set of keys should be given to this trusted individual. This may work well with neighbors who have pets of their own—you may even swap responsibilities, depending upon who has accessibility.

Step 5: Evacuation Preparation

If you must evacuate your home in a crisis, plan for the worst-case scenario. If you think you may be gone for only a day, assume that you may not be allowed to return for several weeks. When recommendations for evacuation have been announced, follow the instructions of local and state officials.

Click here to read the entire article on Disaster Preparedness.

Dogs Or Cats?

Are you a dog person or a cat person?

Clear The Air came across Dr. Mercola’s article about the differences between dogs and cats and we would like to share it with our readers:

• Dogs can be trained quickly, some in a matter of minutes, to obey basic commands like ‘come’ and ‘sit.’
• Most cats are difficult if not impossible to train to respond to directives.
• Cats can be house-trained in an instant as long as they have access to a litter box. There’s really no training to it, in fact. It’s instinct.
• Most dogs take considerably longer to housebreak, and some just never get all the way there. Unlike with Fluffy, housebreaking a pup is usually a hands-on, time intensive project.
• Dogs are social beings. They want to be with their pack, wherever their pack may be.
• Cats are solitary by comparison and their primary attachment (when forced to choose) is to their territory rather than other two or four-legged animals.
• Dogs have 42 teeth.
• Cats have 30.
• Cats can jump and climb, giving them more options when they need to hunt for food, or when they feel threatened.
• Dogs are earthbound, so they need their pack to hunt effectively. And when a threat triggers their fight-or-flight response, they are more likely to react with aggression because their ability to flee from a predator is limited.
• Dogs are scavenging carnivores, which means although they are primarily meat-eaters, if necessary they can survive on plant material alone (remember, surviving is different than thriving).
• Cats are obligate or strict carnivores. Kitties cannot sustain life without eating meat in some form.
• Dogs in the wild catch their prey by running it down. They are long distance runners, not sprinters.
• Cats creep up on their prey and catch it by surprise. They are sprinters, not distance runners.
• Cats cannot be fasted and should not be dieted down too quickly. Kitties don’t efficiently burn fat reserves as an energy source. Instead, without food, their bodies break down non-fatty tissues for energy. This can lead to a life-threatening liver condition called hepatic lipidosis.
• Dogs are much better at using their fat reserves and can tolerate a lack of food for much longer than cats.
• Cats have retractable claws that stay sharp because they are protected inside the toes.
• Dogs claws are always extended and become blunt from constant contact with the ground when they walk.
• A dog’s memory is only about five minutes long.
• Kitties can remember up to 16 hours.

Read entire article about dog and cat differences from Dr. Mercola here.

Dogs In Hot Cars

Urgent Alert – A Note From The ASPCA on leaving pets in your car.

From the ASPCA – Please do not leave your pets in the car! Cars can heat up incredibly fast and are an extremely dangerous place for your pets!

As summer heats up, it’s tempting to bring your pet with you on car rides around town. Sadly, many people believe that cracking a window is enough to keep their dogs cool in the car while they make a quick pit stop—but they couldn’t be more wrong. When it’s 80 degrees outside, your car will be a staggering 114 degrees in less than 30 minutes.

Worse still, dog can’t cool themselves down as easily as people, and once they overheat, they can suffer extensive organ damage or die. That’s why leaving an animal alone in a car is more than just a bad idea, it’s a form of animal cruelty. And since the ASPCA can’t be everywhere at all times, we need YOU to be our eyes and ears on the ground.

To help save animals from dying in hot cars, take the following actions:

• Immediately call animal control or 911 if you see an animal trapped in a hot car. Local law officials have the ability to enter the vehicle and rescue the pet.
• Do not leave until help has arrived.
• Notify the managers of nearby businesses so they can make an urgent announcement.
• Sign our Hot Car Pledge to help save lives this summer and all year long.

We are working hard to spread awareness about the dangers of hot cars, but all too often, the difference between life and death comes down to the actions of individuals like you. We hope you will join our cause by keeping an eye out for dogs in distress, and by making a donation today. Together, we can prevent more tragedies and make this summer our safest season yet.

Read entire article about Dogs In Hot Cars from the ASPCA.

How To Potty Train Your Puppy

Puppies are cute but potty training can be tough! Check out our helpful puppy potty training tips below.

Teaching your puppy how to potty train? Clear the Air works great for eliminating odors from your dog’s accidents in the house. Plus, it is non-toxic and completely safe even if ingested.

Check out some helpful potty training tips for your dog:

• Restrict your dog’s access to the house. Making his environment smaller makes him less apt to have an accident. This same process can also be used for crate training.
• Keep your dog with you, or keep an eye on him. Dogs usually like to sneak off to have accidents, if you can’t see him, he might be getting into something he shouldn’t be.
• Go outside with him when teaching your dog to potty train. If you don’t see him urinating and defecating outside he might just be playing and not taking care of business. Plus going out with him teaches you about his routine.
• Quietly praise your dog for going potty outside. Don’t reprimand him for making a mistake, just distract him and get him outside as soon as you can.
• If you have a dog that likes one particular area specifically, you can put his food near that area and he will not urinate or defecate where he eats. But be careful, this sometimes doesn’t address the problem and the dog finds a new spot.
• Utilize a crate, or a baby gate, or an exercise pen when you are not home. If you are diligent about keeping your dog with you when you are home, but he pees or poops as soon as you leave it is defeating your hard work. Crates are a wonderful tool for potty training.
• Do not use puppy pads or indoor aids when potty training if you want your dog to potty outside. Encouraging potty indoor sometimes, but then wanting them to go outside is confusing. Choose one or the other and stick with it.
• Be consistent and use lots of praise while controlling his environment and soon your dog will be happily going potty outside. Do you have potty training tips you’d like to share? Please comment on our blog.

How To Avoid A Missing Dog

There are many reason a dog may get lost. Find out how to keep your pet safely at home.

Clear The Air would like to share some helpful tips from Cesar Milan about preventing your dog from getting lost. Please keep these tips in mind so your dog enjoys a safe and happy life with you!

• The eyes have it – The easiest and surest way to keep your dog safe is to be able to see where he is at all times. And notice we say “see” and not “know.” You may think you know your dog is playing in your fenced-in backyard, but if you don’t have an eye on him, he could have run out of a gate that was left open, dug a hole under the fence to freedom, or be stolen by a criminal. Likewise if you’re walking your dog, don’t tie her up to the parking meter outside your favorite store or coffee shop while you run errands. Your dog could slip her collar, chew through her leash, or be stolen. Better to have the caffeine headache now than the headache and heartache of a missing pet later.
• Get a new leash on life – Whenever possible, keep your dog on a good leash when out in the world. Even if you’re just letting your dog follow at your heels as you go to the mailbox, a stray squirrel or rabbit in the corner of your dog’s eye could cause him to bolt into traffic or down the street, and you are probably not going to catch him. It could easily result in your dog getting lost, the further he runs, or worse, injured or killed in traffic.
• A dog by a different collar – A good collar that fits well is your best line of defense for two reasons: it keeps your dog from slipping out of it and getting loose; and it provides an easy way to ID your dog and makes your contact information available so you can get her back. It seems like fancy dog boutiques are popping up on every block so finding a good collar should be easy. But be mindful that the collar needs to be functional before fashionable. Your dog’s collar can literally save its life and it’s far more important that it stay securely on your dog and provide your contact info than alert the world in rhinestones that your dog has “Bieber fever.” Additionally, regularly check the fit of the dog collar as it is likely to stretch out over time or crack or fray depending on the material it’s made of, making it less secure. It may need to be tightened or replaced.
• Microchipping—not just for computers – Microchipping involves implanting a tiny rice-grain-sized chip under your dog’s skin. It’s painless and can help your dog be identified with a scanner. Even if your dog loses his collar (or in the case of dognapping, has it removed), the microchip allows your dog to be positively identified as yours. This shouldn’t be regarded as a substitute for the collar and ID however. The microchip is a worst-case scenario for identifying your dog. It’s a lot easier for Good Samaritans to call the phone number that’s right there on the dog’s collar than to find a shelter or vet that can scan the microchip (if the Good Samaritan even thinks to do that). However, the microchip gives you a fighting chance your dog might be identified without a collar and provides excellent legal recourse should a dispute arise over who owns the lost dog.

Read more tips from Cesar Milan here.

Summer Heat Safety Tips For Your Pets

We all love spending the long, sunny days of summer outdoors with our furry companions, but the ASPCA warns being overeager in hot weather can spell danger.

Take these simple precautions, provided by ASPCA experts, to help prevent your pet from overheating. And if you suspect your pet is suffering from heat stroke, get help from your veterinarian immediately.

• Pets can get dehydrated quickly, so give them plenty of fresh, clean water when it’s hot outdoors. Make sure your pets have a shady place to get out of the sun, be careful to not over-exercise them, and keep them indoors when it’s extremely hot.
• Symptoms of overheating in pets include excessive panting or difficulty breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling, mild weakness, stupor or even collapse. They can also include seizures, bloody diarrhea and vomit along with an elevated body temperature of over 104 degrees.
• Never leave your animals alone in a parked vehicle. Parked cars can heat up extremely rapidly even with the windows open!
• Do not leave pets unsupervised around a pool-not all dogs are good swimmers. Introduce your pets to water gradually and make sure they wear flotation devices when on boats.
• Feel free to trim longer hair on your dog, but never shave your dog: The layers of dogs’ coats protect them from overheating and sunburn. Brushing cats more often than usual can prevent problems caused by excessive heat.
• When the temperature is very high, don’t let your dog linger on hot asphalt. Being so close the ground, your pooch’s body can heat up quickly, and sensitive paw pads can burn. Keep walks during these times to a minimum.