Day #3 of Helpful Tips For You And Your Pet

We are happy to announce Day #3 of our Helpful Pet Owning Tips.  Each day we will have a new helpful tip for you and your pet to keep in mind.

Day #3: Preparing for a New Pet

Before you bring you new furry friend home, you need to prepare your home to prevent any confusion and stress that may arise from your pet being in its new environment.

Supplies – You need to make sure you have For example, if you are bringing a new cat home, make sure the litter box is all set up.  Make sure to have food, food and water bowls, leash, harness/collar, brushes and so on.

Delegate Tasks – Make sure it is decided who will be in charge of what for your new pet.  This is important to establish before you start looking for your new pet.  Who will do the grooming, feeding, exercising, cleaning, playtime, etc.

Pet-Proof – Make sure you make your home safe for your new friend.  There are many household items that people are not aware of that can make your pet extremely sick or cause death.  Check out our Day #1 Tip for a list of these items.

Handling – Everyone in the family needs to know how to safely pick up your pet.  There are certain times, such as during feeding, that your pet should be left alone.  Make sure everyone in the family is knowledgeable on how to handle your new family pet.

Other Pets – Not only will your new pet be nervous at first in his/her new home, if you have any existing pets, they will probably at first be ticked off that there is another animal being brought into the house.  At first, it will be helpful to keep them separated and gradually introduce them for short amounts of time.

Of course if your new pet has an accident in the house, please use Clear The Air’s Odor Remover to completely eliminate any foul odors.  Good luck with your new pet!

Day #2 of Helpful Tips For You And Your Pet

We are happy to announce Day #2 of our helpful pet owning tips.  Each day we will have a new helpful tip for you and your pet to keep in mind.

Day #2: Spay Or Neuter Your Pet – Various Health Benefits

Question, would you kill a happy, healthy, loving pet?  If you answered “no”, they spaying or neutering your pet is unquestionably essential.

Spaying and Neutering surgeries are safe when done by a qualified veterinarian.  Believe it or not, when your pet is spayed or neutered, there are various health benefits as well.  Below are some of the benefits a spayed or neutered animal will experience.

Benefits of Spaying Female Pets:

– Reduce or eliminate possibility of disease in the reproductive system.

– Eliminate sexual discomfort, distress or distraction making your pet happier and more content.

– Prevents pregnancy and the many complications arising from pregnancy and delivery.

– No more heat cycle.  You will no longer have to listen to the sounds of your female cat in heat while she is trying to get out and find a mate.

– Prevents unwelcome males from trying to seek out your female pet in heat.

– Reduces the urge to roam.  It is much less likely you will lose your pet, less likely to contract a disease, get in a fight, get injured or become a victim to cruelty, poison or traffic.

Benefits of Neutering Male Pets:

– Eliminate sexual discomfort, distress or distraction making your pet happier and more content.

– Helps prevent the distracting destructive behavior associated with a male’s efforts to get out and find a mate.

– Reduces the urge to roam.  It is much less likely you will lose your pet, less likely to contract a disease, get in a fight, get injured or become a victim to cruelty, poison or traffic.

– Eliminates testicular tumors and reduces prostate gland problems.

– In cats, neutering stops or reduces marking behavior, also known as territorial spraying of urine.

– Reduces the urge to fight.

Of course overall, the main reason to spay or neuter is to reduce the amount of animals that are euthanized due to overpopulation.  Please, spay and neuter your pets!

Day #1 of Helpful Tips For You And Your Pet

This week and next, we are going to be sharing some Helpful Tips for you and your pet.  Each day we will have a new helpful tip for you and your pet to keep in mind.

Day #1: Protect Your Pet From Everyday Household Dangers

Just like you’d baby proof your house, keeping common household items out of reach from your pets will help protect them from danger.  Rodent poisons and insecticides are the most common sources of domesticated animal poisoning.  The following is a list of potentially toxic poisons that should at least be kept out of reach of your pets, it not completely avoided at all:

• Fertilizer and Plant Food – These are easily accessible and fatal to a pet allowed in the yard unsupervised.
• Cedar and soft wood shavings – Keep small animals such as hamsters and gerbils away from these as they emit toxic and potentially fatal fumes.
• Antifreeze – One teaspoon can kill a seven pound cat.  With its sweet taste, animals are naturally attracted to antifreeze even when consumed in small quantities.  Antifreeze with propylene glycol is available and is safe for animals if ingested in small amounts.
• Chocolate – This is poisonous to dogs, cats and ferrets even when a small amount is consumed.
• De-icing salts – These salts used to melt snow and ice can irritate your pet’s paws and are especially poisonous if licked off.  Ensure your pet’s paws are washed and dried as soon as your pet comes in from the snow.
• Nonstick cooking fumes – Fumes from self-cleaning ovens and nonstick cooking surfaces can be deadly to birds.  Make sure birds are kept away from the kitchen and use caution when using any pump or aerosol spray around birds.
• Painkillers – Aspirin, Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen and many other types of pills can be toxic to animals.  Ensure you keep medication containers and tubes out of reach of pets so they can not be chewed through and ingested.  Also make sure to find and dispose of any dropped pills.
• Chicken Bones – These can easily shatter and choke a cat or dog.  We also have a list of other plants and food items to keep away from your pets listed here.
• Rawhide Chews – While these are made especially for dogs, make sure to supervise your dog while he/she chews the rawhide treat as they can pose a serious choking hazard.

Of course, if you feel your pet has been poisoned, bring him in to your Veterinarian as soon as possible or call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center’s 24 hour hotline at 888-426-4435.

Stay tuned this week to learn about more helpful pet tips!

You and Your Pet Bird – Good Things To Know

We came across some great tips for bird owners.  Of course, we always recommend using Clear the Air’s Odor Remover to sprinkle at the bottom of any animal cage to aid in eliminating odors.  It is completely safe around pets and children, even if eaten!

If you haven’t already purchased your new pet bird, it is a good idea to get him either from a responsible breeder or, better yet, adopt one from a shelter or avian rescue group.  You can call your local shelter to see if they have any birds or know of any local bird rescues you can visit.

Before bringing your bird home, you will want to make sure you purchase a large well constructed cage.  No matter the species, it is important for your bird to have enough room to stretch his wings and fly short distances.  To prevent escape or injury, the bars on the cage should only be .4 inches apart.  Horizontal bars and perches need to also be installed in your cage at varying heights.

Line the bottom of the cage is plain paper or paper bags that are cut to size and make sure it is changed daily.  You can sprinkle Clear The Air’s Odor Remover to help eliminate bird odors every time you clean out your birds home.  Place your bird’s cage in a warm, bright part of the house off the floor that is close to where the action is but away from drafts and direct sunlight.  Make sure your bird is not close to the kitchen as they are extremely sensitive to fumes from ovens, cookware and such.

When it comes to feeding your bird, pelleted food is the way to go.  While seed mixes provide variety, they do not always provide the best nutrition. A high quality food that is formulated for your bird’s species is ideal. Fresh veggies and fruits should be given to your bird every day.  Dark, leafy greens are packed with vitamins and many birds also enjoy carrots and broccoli.  Fresh cold water should also be available at all times and changed at least once a day.

A trained and tamed bird will need at least an hour of exercise out of the cage in a safe and enclosed room every day.  He may simply want to just sit on your shoulder or explore the room.  For birds that do not take to handling, providing a selection of toys like ladders, swings and mirrors with bells are a great way to keep your bird entertained.

Providing a shallow dish at the bottom of the cage is a great way to provide a bath for your bird and keeping his plumage looking perfect.  It is probably a good idea to schedule a bath right before you plan to clean out the cage.

Take your bird to the vet annually.  Weight loss or gain is often an indicator of illness and your vet can conduct any necessary tests to help monitor your bird’s health.

Clear The Air Odor Remover is a safe a non toxic way to eliminate odors in your bird cage.  Click Here to read more and purchase our Clear The Air Odor Remover.

Clear The Air Donating $1 For Each New Facebook Fan To The San Diego Humane Society

Please remember to share with others on Facebook that we are donating $1 for each new Facebook Fan that “likes” our page (Clear the Air) to the San Diego Humane Society for the month of January. It is such an easy way to raise money for animals looking for a Forever Home!!

Fun Dog Facts

Did you know these Fun Dog Facts?

Dogs are amazing animals and companions.  Read up on these great Dog Facts we came across:

• A dog’s heart beats between 70 and 120 times a minute, compared with a human heart which beats 70 to 80 times a minute.
• A dog’s normal body temperature is 100.5 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
• A female carries her young about 60 days before the puppies are born.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the smallest dog on record was a Yorkshire Terrier in Great Britain who, at the age of 2, weighed just 4 ounces.
• The longest lived dog, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was an Australian Cattle Dog, named Bluey, who lived to be 29.
• An adult dog has 42 teeth.
• It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.
• If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could produce over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!
• The only sweat glands a dog has are between the paw pads.
• In 1957, Laika became the first living being in space via an earth satellite
• The world’s smartest dogs are thought to be (1) the border collie, (2) the poodle, and (3) the golden retriever.
• A dog’s smell is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of a human’s
• Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (similar to caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill.
• Dogs’ sense of hearing is more than ten times more acute than a human’s
• More than 1 in 3 American families own a dog.
• Dogs don’t like rain because the sound is amplified and hurts their very sensitive ears.
• The ten most popular dogs (AKC, 2007) are in order:
  Labrador Retriever, Yorkshire Terrier, German Shepherd,
  Golden Retriever, Beagle, Boxer, Dachshund, Poodle,
  Shih Tzu, and Bulldog.
• Dogs were the first animals domesticated by people.
• A greyhound can run as fast as 45 miles an hour.
• Spaying/neutering your dog before the age of 6 months can help prevent cancer in your dog.
• Puppies acquire a full mouth of permanent teeth between four and seven months old.
• Small dogs live the longest. Toy breeds live up to 16 years or more. Larger dogs average is 7 – 12 years. Veterinary medicine have extended this estimate by about three years. However, some breeds, such as Tibetan terrier live as long as twenty years.
• Eighty percent of dog owners buy their dog a present for holidays and birthdays. More than half of them sign letters and cards from themselves and their pets.
• The dog name “Fido” is from Latin and means “fidelity.”
• The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world.
• Most pet owners (94 percent) say their pet makes them smile more than once a day.
• Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible.
• It has been established that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks.
• All dogs can be traced back 40 million years ago to a weasel-like animal called the Miacis which dwelled in trees and dens. The Miacis later evolved into the Tomarctus,a direct forbearer of the genus Canis, which includes the wolf and jackal as well as the dog.
• Seventy percent of people sign their pet’s name on greeting cards and 58 percent include their pets in family and holiday portraits, according to a survey done by the American Animal Hospital Association.
• A dog’s whiskers are touch-sensitive hairs called vibrissae. They are found on the muzzle, above the eyes and below the jaws, and can actually sense tiny changes in airflow.
• The origin of amputating a dog’s tail may go back to the Roman writer Lucius Columella’s (A.D. 4-70) assertion that tail docking prevented rabies.
• Dogs can smell about 1,000 times better than humans. While humans have 5 million smell-detecting cells, dogs have more than 220 million. The part of the brain that interprets smell is also four times larger in dogs than in humans.

Do you love animals but for one reason or another cannot have one for yourself?

Do you love animals but for one reason or another cannot have one for yourself?  There are many options to consider that will be able to bring you closer to furry friends and satisfy that basic need to connect with animals.

You may not be permitted to have animals at your apartment or house you rent, health issues may stop an animals from living with you or you may have such a demanding work schedule that having an animal would not be feasible.  Whatever the issue may be, there are solutions.

Volunteering at your local Humane Society is a great way to spend time with animals, especially those in need that are waiting for their forever home.  Check with your neighboring Humane Society to see if you can start volunteering; they usually have various programs for a wide array of animals with a temporary home.  This also helps the animals connect with people more often and prepare them for human contact with their forever home.

Help your neighbor or friend.  If you know that one person that certain someone that doesn’t have time for their pet, make an effort to walk their dog every day or visit their cat and play with him or her.  This will not only make the pet owner feel less guilty, but will also bring enormous joy to their pets, instead of being stuck at home alone.  Walking your neighbor’s dog will not only provide a break in the day for the dog alone at home, but will help you get exercise as well.

Volunteer to pet sit for someone when they go on vacation.  You can have your animal fix for a couple weeks and then when their owners come home, you are back to only worrying about just yourself.  The pet owners will feel comfortable knowing you are taking care of their pets and the pets will have someone to occupy them and help avoid missing their owners.

Our last suggestion is to visit a dog park.  If you are allergic to animals, this is a good solution.  You can simply sit on a bench in the dog park and watch the dogs playing with each other.  A lot of dog parks are operated and managed by volunteers.  Volunteering at your dog park can help give you your animal fix.

The benefits of owning a Cat or Dog

There are many benefits of having a pet.  Not only are they entertaining and provide unconditional love, but you your health can also be benefited by having a pet.

Pets can help decrease stress. In a 2002 study at State University of New York at Buffalo, researchers found that when conducting a stressful task, people experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a spouse, family member or close friend was nearby.

Lower Blood Pressure.  While some studies have found a stronger connection than others, having a pet has the potential to lower blood pressure, especially in hypertensive or high-risk patients, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Eases pain. Believe it or not, pets can be the best medicine, especially when a person is dealing with chronic pain such as migraines or arthritis.  One study from Loyola University found that people who use pet therapy while recovering from surgery may need significantly less pain medication than those who do not.

Improves mood. A lot of the health benefits of owning a pet may stem from the mental and emotional benefits.  They give you a sense of belonging and feeling of being needed, while stroking and handling animals can be incredibly therapeutic for those who are stressed.

Pets help children develop.  Children who grow up in a household with pets benefit in countless ways, especially in their emotional development.  Pets are also hugely beneficial to children suffering from autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For children with ADHD, taking care of a pet can encourage them to focus on responsibilities through a predictable routine.

Monitors Blood Sugar Levels for Diabetics.  According to the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Forecast magazine, a 1992 study found that one-third of the pets living with diabetics (mostly dogs, but other pets included cats, birds and rabbits) would change their behavior when their owner’s blood sugar level dropped.

Prevents Strokes. Although dogs are often touted for their health benefits, cat owners can see gains, too. Felines are just as beneficial to your health as dogs.  If you have a cat,  you are less likely to have a heart attack and even increasingly less likely to have a cardiovascular incident like a stroke.