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“The Destroyer” – Must kick up substantial chunks of lawn and delicate flowers, while simultaneously shooting poo into the sky.

RedandHowling: Musings on Dogs, Cats & Other Bundles of Love.

Bloat. For many dog owners, the word “bloat” is like a stab of fear to their belly. Rightfully so! Bloat in dogs can be fatal. Bloat is the common term for gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) The ASPCA says, “When bloat occurs, the dog’s stomach fills with air, fluid and/or food. The enlarged stomach puts pressure on other organs, can cause difficulty breathing, and eventually may decrease blood supply to a dog’s vital organs. This condition can cause rapid clinical signs and death in several hours. Even with immediate treatment, approximately 25% to 40% of dogs die from this medical emergency.” Oh my! Many pet owners aren’t even aware of what the symptoms of bloat are, or if their dog – because of his or her breed or breed mix – may be prone to bloat. (If you’re familiar with colic in horses, it is very similar.) So what causes bloat, and what can you do to reduce the risk that your dog will bloat? Read on…

My dog Max, because of his size (large), age (over 7), breed mix (deep chested), temperament (fearful/anxious) is a high bloat risk. I’ve had two bloat scares with him — neither time did I see his stomach swell, and both times it did not progress to bloat, thank goodness! He was exhibiting many of the classic symptoms: retching with nothing coming out, restlessness, drooling, and looking at his stomach like it was bothering him. We rushed him to the vet, and thankfully he burped on the way! Xrays confirmed he had a lot of gas in his stomach, but it didn’t progress to the swelling and twisting that is bloat.

What are the symptoms of bloat?

The symptoms of bloat can be so subtle, they can be hard to miss! If your dog’s stomach, behind his ribs, looks swollen – that is one clear sign, but not always present. Drs. Foster and Smith say, “The most obvious signs are abdominal distention (swollen belly) and nonproductive vomiting (animal appears to be vomiting, but nothing comes up) and retching. Other signs include restlessness, abdominal pain, and rapid shallow breathing. Profuse salivation may indicate severe pain. If the dog’s condition continues to deteriorate, especially if volvulus has occurred, the dog may go into shock and become pale, have a weak pulse, a rapid heart rate, and eventually collapse. A dog with gastric dilatation without volvulus can show all of these signs, but the more severe signs are likely to occur in dogs with both dilatation and volvulus.”

Wendy C. Brooks, DVM, DipABVP at The Pet Health Library lists the following:

Factors Increasing the Risk of Bloat

• Feeding only one meal a day
• Having closely related family members with a history of bloat
• Eating rapidly
• Being thin or underweight
• Moistening dry foods (particularly if citric acid is listed as a preservative)
• Feeding from an elevated bowl
• Restricting water before and after meals
• Feeding a dry diet with animal fat listed in the first four ingredients
• Fearful or anxious temperament
• History of aggression towards people or other dogs
• Male dogs are more likely to bloat than females
• Older dogs (7 – 12 years) were the highest risk group

You can take the opposite of many of those and figure out what you can do in some of the factors to reduce the risk of bloat, such as feeding multiple smaller meals each day, slowing down how fast your dogs eats if he’s a fast eater, keeping him at a healthy weight, and feed canned/wet food diet from a bowl on the floor, and always give him access to water.

We hope this article helps you on your path to educating your self to be the best pet parent you can be!

Does your dog have a style all his own – even when he’s tending to – um, how do we put this – his business? LOL

RedandHowling: Musings on Dogs, Cats & Other Bundles of Love.

Like curious children exploring their world, new cat adopters never cease to delight pet adoption counselors with their unusual questions! Even after 15 years of pet adoption counseling, I can still be surprised with what they ask. Last week a new cat adopter who’d had dogs before but not cats, asked, “Do I need to take Fluffy out for daily walks? You know, to go to the bathroom?” I explained that no, Fluffy did not need daily walks! To experienced cat folks, that probably sounds silly, but it was an honest question. The potential adopter  thought that the newspaper and towels lining the cats’ cages was there for the same reason you’d put newspaper down on the floor for a puppy — that was where the cat would go to the bathroom. The metal pans filled with litter in the cats’ cages? With so many cats sleeping in them, he thought they were cat beds!

Pet cats are pretty amazing in how they almost always instinctually will go to the bathroom in a litter filled tray, pan, box, or even – as I’ve seen at some shelters with very restricted budgets and cleaning facilities – on a scoop of cat litter poured onto a newspaper. Cats have an instinct to want to dig with their paws before they go, and then to cover up where they go after. Humans who have tamed cats and taken them into their homes as pets have turned this instinct into their advantage by creating the litter box – the perfect place for a cat to fulfill those instincts.

As for daily walks outside for exercise? Not safe, say our experts — not even on a harness and leash. It may be popular due to a TV show and cute photos on social media, but risks of harm including escape, attacks, and illness far outweigh the benefits even if you have a confident cat you can train to walk on a leash. You can read more in our Train your cat to walk on a leash? article.

“I’m looking for a dog that’s good with kids.” “What dog breeds are good with children?” “Is this dog kid-friendly?” Pet adoptions counselors at animal shelters and rescues get asked those questions time and time again! That despite  that according to the 2012 US Census and Reuters, “While married couples with children were the majority decades ago, now nearly 57 percent of U.S. households are childless.” That may be because though you don’t have your  children in your home currently, perhaps you’re planning on having them, or perhaps you have grandchildren, or other relatives or friends that have kids that visit, and you’d like a dog who will enjoy being around them as you do. So how do you find a dog to adopt who’s good with kids? Read on…

Since every dog is an individual, even within the same breed, finding a dog or puppy to adopt that is good with YOUR children is a highly individualized search.

Breed? Does breed matter? Certainly, breed plays a genetic role in a pet’s personality and therefore suitability for your children. You can check out what the experts (breed rescuers) have to say about how their breed often does with children in our Dog Breed Information section at http://www.adoptapet.com/dog-breeds

Age? Which is better to adopt if you have kids: a puppy, young, adult, or senior dog? All ages of dogs have their advantages and disadvantages to consider. Puppies will almost definitely need training like housebreaking, not to jump up,  not play bite , and not to chew up their toys or grab on to their clothes. Puppies get their adult teeth starting at around four months of age — before that they have razor-sharp baby teeth! Puppies can be unintentionally traumatized by young children who can pinch them too hard in just a second, even when closely supervised — then you’ll end up with an adult dog who may be frightened of children. Puppies are also lot of work! (See our Puppy Manual to get an idea.) Small breed puppies can be very fragile, easily hurt or even accidentally killed if picked up and dropped by a child. It does make for some adorable photos as puppies grow up with children, but adult dogs growing up with kids can be incredibly photogenic too! If you have younger children, you may want to consider adopting a young or adult dog. When you meet the dog, have him or her interact with your children and see if the dog is already trained not to jump up, not to bite, and generally seems to enjoy interacting with your kids. Ask the shelter or rescue staff or volunteer if they know anything about the dog’s history with children. Obviously you should never leave any dog or puppy unsupervised with children – see why here.

Energy level? Just like every kid is an individual, so is every dog. Some kids are more quiet and gentle. Others are loud and enthusiastic! Of course supervision and parenting plays a huge role in how a child interacts with a pet. Some dogs are more quiet and gentle, and they may might prefer quieter children, while other dogs are energetic and enthusiastic, and  would enjoy kids that likes to run around! Even within a breed there can be a wide range of energy levels dog to dog. This is another advantage to adopting an adult dog: you’ll have a better chance of knowing what their energy level will be for most of their life with you.

History? One concern some potential adopters have is a rescued pet may have an unknown history. But some shelters and many rescues will have pets in foster homes, often for many weeks to months before you meet them. Many rescues have pets in foster homes with children. This is a great way to know if the pet is more likely to be good with kids like are in their foster home! Even in a shelter, if you are an experienced pet owner and are able to have your kids interact with the pet in a play yard or meeting room, especially if you can have a professional trainer/behaviorist come with you for an expert opinion, you can get a good idea of how the pet interacts with your kids.

You may have a few other criteria, such as you want a small dog because your landlord has a restriction, or a large dog for a hiking buddy, so you could start by running a search on www.Adopt-a-Pet.com for all breeds (leave breed as “ANY”) and select “small” or “large” or any of the other criteria that match your search. In the search results, click on the pets that appeal to you, and then you can see if they say  “good with kids” in their My Info section. Just because it doesn’t say that doesn’t mean they aren’t! Asking the shelter or rescue, or going to meet the pet in person will help you and your family find the best match of a pet to adopt for you and the kids in your life.

Has better advice ever been given? Cat nap? Don’t mind if we do…

RedandHowling: Musings on Dogs, Cats & Other Bundles of Love.

Our friends over at Hausepanther brought these genius ideas to our attention: Do It Yourself feral cat structures you can make from recycled political yard signs! Or brand new Coroplast plastic if you’d rather choose a solid color scheme. The creator is a industrial design student from Houston, Texas named Chris Peterson. Chris calls his awesome kitty habitats Corrokitty and it’s not just one design either, but quite a selection! We can’t decide if we like the Barrel Cat with its cute little ears and feet best, or one of the hexagon designs. We love the modern simplicity of the folded box styles too! Even Chris’ research is summed up in a pretty little infographic. Our hats are off to anyone compassionate enough to take on the responsibility for caring for one or more feral cats, and folks like Chris who use inguinity (and a great sense of style) to make that caretaking not only cheaper, but nice-looking too! Chris writes on his Corrokitty blog, “If you are interested in purchasing a Corokitty kit or making one as a DIY project please email me at ckpeterson@uh.edu. I would also love to know what you think about the shelter.” We’re sure the feral caretakers and their kitties appreciate it.

Dr. Dog is back! This time, he’s here to warn of the potential danger to pets that is in your craft cabinet – glue, especially those that are MDI-based. SHARE this post to warn others!

RedandHowling: Musings on Dogs, Cats & Other Bundles of Love.

Our friends at Redandhowling whipped up this handy-dandy (and adorable!) list of foods that are toxic to your dog. Please SHARE with friends and fellow dog lovers. It could save a life!

RedandHowling: Musings on Dogs, Cats & Other Bundles of Love.

Cats like to chew and bite! It’s part of their nature, stemming from their wild predatory heritage. Even tiny baby kittens will pounce and bite on their litter mates or mom cat’s tail, as the instinct is strong from that early on. Since we’ve domesticated cats as house pets, part of our job is to teach them what they can bite and chew on, and what is inappropriate – both for their own safety and for the preservation of our belongings! While it is natural for cats to chew, some cats and kittens are more aggressive chewers than others. In the past decades I’ve fostered hundreds of cats and kittens, from newborns to older cats. In my experience, the kittens and cats that are more prone to destructive chewing are extremely smart. Energy level may also play a role, but it seems like intelligence is a key factor. I used to think that the kittens separated from their mother too early were more likely to be chewers, but even with sibling cats, there’d often be one who trying to chew on everything from the plastic sides of the litter box to the wood frame of the door, while their other was content to chew on toys and each other. My theory? Intelligent cats get bored more easily. One way bored cats act out is… you guessed it, chewing!

Knowing that boredom is a likely primary cause of your cat or kitten’s chewing will help you figure out how to alleviate their boredom by engaging their intelligence, as well as redirecting their energy into more appropriate activities and making their environment as chew-proof and safe as possible. You should certainly rule out a possible medical cause with your vet, and make sure your home is as cat-chew-proof as possible (unplug and tape down those cords!) while you work on modifying their behavior. In addition, here are three ideas to help stop your cat or kitten from chewing things….

1. Engage your cat with new interactive toys and games.

Some cats love chasing stuffed mice. Others do backflips for a feather on a string. Do some exploring of all the different types of toys and games you can play with your cat, to find the ones that make his ears perk up the most! Intelligent cats need variety too. Buy or create 14 or more different toys and games to play, you can play a “new” game every day for 2 weeks! Hide the toys or game items in a closet and only take the one toy out for that day’s play session. That helps make them more exciting. New toys and games don’t have to break the bank. A new paper grocery bag or perfectly sized cardboard box can be the best new toy ever!

2. Enrich your cat’s environment.

When cats are bored, they may turn to chewing. You can make your cat less bored by enriching their environment. Try things like: adding a cat resting spot near a screened-in window with a view. Add a bird feeder outside that window. Add a cat-proof fish tank with fast moving fish. Some cats enjoy watching TV! Try a DVD designed just for cats or the nature channel with birds or fish. Move your furniture around. Buy or build them furniture like cat trees they can climb up (if they are tree-dweller type) or hide inside of (if they are the cave-loving type). If your cat likes human guests, invite a friends over for a dinner party. Give them different kinds of edible cat treats, like fresh cat grass, soft treats, crunchy treats.

3. Adopt your cat a friend.

For a cat-social cat, nothing beats boredom like a feline playmate! This isn’t a sure-fire solution, but if you’re not sure if your cat would really be happier with a cat (or even a dog) friend, you could try fostering a pet temporarily from your local animal shelter or rescue. Keep in mind that it can take weeks to months for a cat to adjust to a new four-pawed roommate, so this isn’t an instant fix. You can find foster opportunities in our volunteer database at http://www.adoptapet.com/volunteer/opportunities and of course you can look for a friend to adopt at www.adoptapet.com

 

Did you like this article? Check out more of our articles on Cat Behavior and Cat Basics.