Author: David

If your dog is like most, its part time profession is begging for table scraps, and when its time for dinner, guess who is always first in line for a plate. Dogs can share a wide variety of foods with you, but their diet pyramid is a lot different than ours. A K9’s diet should be made up of at least at least 90% lean meat. Other foods from groups like vegetables, fruits, and carbs are also okay. To read more about pouch friendly foods continue over at woofreport.com

Some of the following plants can be toxic to your dog. Check with your veterinarian before having them in your home.

* Aloe Vera
* Apple (seeds)
* Apricot (pit)
* Autumn Crocus
* Baby’s Breath
* Branching Ivy
* Buddhist Pine
* Calla Lily
* Ceriman
* Cherry (seeds and wilting leaves)
* Cineraria
* Cordatum
* Cornstalk Plant
* Cuban Laurel
* Cycads
* Daffodil
* Dieffenbachia
* Dragon Tree
* Easter Lily (especially cats!)
* Elephant Ears
* English Ivy
* Fiddle-leaf Fig
* Foxglove
* Geranium
* Giant Dumb Cane
* Gold Dust Dracaena
* Hahn’s Self-Branching Ivy
* Hurricane Plant
* Janet Craig Dracaena
* Jerusalem Cherry
* Lacy Tree Philodendron
* Madagascar Dragon Tree
* Marijuana
* Miniature Croton
* Morning Glory
* Narcissus
* Nephytis
* Oleander
* Oriental Lily (especially cats!)
* Peach (wilting leaves and pits)
* Plumosa Fern
* Poison Ivy
* Pothos
* Primrose
* Red Princess
* Rhododendron
* Saddle Leaf Philodendron
* Satin Pothos
* Silver Pothos
* String of Pearls
* Sweetheart Ivy
* Taro Vine
* Tomato Plant (green fruit, stem and leaves)
* Tropic Snow Dieffenbachia
* Yew
* Amaryllis
* Apple Leaf Croton
* Asparagus Fern
* Azalea
* Bird of Paradise
* Buckeye
* Caladium
* Castor Bean
* Charming Dieffenbachia
* Chinese Evergreen
* Clematis
* Corn Plant
* Croton
* Cutleaf Philodendron
* Cyclamen
* Devil’s Ivy
* Dracaena Palm
* Dumb Cane
* Elaine
* Emerald Feather
* Eucalyptus
* Florida Beauty
* Fruit Salad Plant
* German Ivy
* Glacier Ivy
* Golden Pothos
* Heartland Philodendron
* Indian Rubber Plant
* Japanese Show Lily (especially cats!)
* Kalanchoe
* Lily of the Valley
* Marble Queen
* Mexican Breadfruit
* Mistletoe
* Mother-in-Law’s Tongue
* Needlepoint Ivy
* Nightshade
* Onion
* Peace Lily
* Pencil Cactus
* Poinsettia (low toxicity)
* Poison Oak
* Precatory Bean
* Red Emerald
* Red-Margined Dracaena
* Ribbon Plant
* Sago Palm
* Schefflera
* Spotted Dumb Cane
* Striped Dracaena
* Swiss Cheese Plant
* Tiger Lily (especially cats!)
* Tree Philodendron
* Weeping Fig

Thinking of remodeling your home? Having your pets in mind when you make design changes to your home is something most people don’t consider, but its a chance to really make your life, and your pets’ lives much better. Think about it… how convenient would it be to have a small shower head and drain in the laundry room by the back door for easy cleaning of your dog? How about a cabinet that conceals from your view your kitty litter box? That cabinet could even host a small fan and vent above it to draw smells out of the house. What about building planks near the ceiling as cat walks to make it easier for your cats to move between rooms without getting caught under foot? There are many easy and innovate things you can do when designing a room to enhance your life and the life of your dog or cat. Think about how happy your pet will be going from being a homeless dog or homeless cat at the animal shelter, to being in a home custom built for love!

Check out this two-part article on Petcentric.com for even more ideas: http://www.petcentric.com/Read/Articles/Remodeling-for-Pets.aspx?articleid=54fb2b19-2c3f-4ffe-b8a6-8edb704ceb81

Thanks to all the pet lovers who entered the petcentric Dog Show by submitting photos of their pets. You helped to raise a generous $8,313 donation to Adopt-a-Pet.com! If you sent in an entry, you raised $1 to help shelter pets find loving homes… hooray for you! And a huge thank-you to the generous folks at Purina petcentric for your continued support of our work, and of homeless pets everywhere! We couldn’t do what we do without you.

A dog’s dental health depends a lot on its breed and diet. But dogs can get gum disease from plaque on their teeth. And gum disease and tooth decay can start early in a pup’s life, so the sooner you attend to your dog’s teeth, the better.

Ideally, you should brush your pup’s teeth each day with a soft bristle brush and a special veterinary enzymatic toothpaste. This comes in flavors such as beef, so your dog will think of it as a treat. Simply push the skin back from your pup’s mouth and use a back-and-forth motion on the outside of your dog’s closed teeth. The pooch never even has to open his jaw!

If you have trouble, talk to your veterinarian. He or she may recommend an anti-plaque mouthwash or a bio-adhesive film instead.

Can dogs and cats understand what you say?

Does a puppy or kitten know what you mean when you say “you are so cute”? While we don’t know exactly what goes on in their heads, it is very clear to see that animals, including companion dogs and cats can clearly understand the tone of speech (angry or loving).

Pets can also learn key words or phrases such as “let’s go for a walk” or “dinner time”. Just like people, they learn these words through repetition and association. Talking to your pets doesn’t mean you are crazy, except that you may be crazy about your pets. It is soothing to them, and even therapeutic for you. Check out this article on Petcentric.com: http://www.petcentric.com/article.aspx?C=0&OID=55

Thank you to everyone who voted for their favorite TasteMakers™ Finalists. After the votes were tallied, Carla Hall chose the Grand Prize winner and Fancy Feast donated $25,000 to Adopt-a-Pet.com! This contribution will help us unite more pets with loving families. You can see the winning entries for the new cat food recipes here. Thanks to all of you who voted, and thank you to Purina Fancy Feast!

Dogs are social animals and bark for the same reasons humans speak: to communicate. Dogs do bark to warn and to sound an alarm, but they also bark in response to commands and at playtime. Like people, dogs can get lonely, fearful and stressed out. Their barks often give insight into their state of being.

Researchers have studied dog barks under different conditions to assess their range of tones. Findings show a contented dog’s bark is round and harmonious. An unhappy or distressed dog, on the other hand, tends to have a repeat, high-pitched, unpleasant bark. In either case, the dog is sharing information and inviting a response from its listeners.

Sudden onset shortness of breath, apparent weakness, or a distended abdomen might be signs of heart disease in either your cat or your dog. But all too often, there are no symptoms, so your pet’s best bet is regular visits to the veterinarian.

Jonathan Abbott, a Cardiologist at the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, says there are a number of ways to diagnose heart disease in pets: “x-rays of the chest, electrocardiography and cardiac ultrasound or echocardiography are the tests most commonly used.”

Your veterinarian will also be able to listen for a heart murmur and use a blood test to check for heartworm. Once diagnosed, there are treatment options that will enhance both the quality and length of your pet’s life.

When the family pooch is eating like a racehorse, drinking water like there isn’t enough left on this blue planet, and requiring walk after walk to relieve himself, something is wrong! What’s going on with your friend?

Your dog may have diabetes mellitis, the most common hormonal disorder of dogs. The disease is caused by a lack of insulin, the hormone that regulates how sugar is absorbed and used by cells and tissues in the body. It most often afflicts dogs between the ages of five to seven and female dogs are more susceptible than males. Obesity seems to be a risk factor. So if you notice your pooch displaying signs of extreme hunger, thirst or urination, contact your veterinarian. Diabetes is manageable!