When House-Hunting, Consider the Pooch

(Today we have a guest blogger.  Our friend Cindy from dogfriends.org has some great information to share.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.)

Finding a new home is fraught with tough decisions. Do you want a two-story home? ‘How important is the neighborhood? Will a home be suited to your life plans?’ These are just a few of the questions you’ll need to consider.

Most considerations inherent to finding your home of the future revolve around you, your partner, and your children, whether born or expected. However, dog owners should also be aware of how a home’s features will impact their pet’s life. While it is not always possible to find a house that suits both human and canine needs, there is no harm in attempting to find one that does. Moving can be stressful, even for a pet, so be sure to prepare them as much as possible before the big day.

Yard, Yard, Yard. Did We Mention the Yard?

When it comes to definitive guides for dog-owning house hunters, one cannot be taken seriously unless it stresses the importance of a home’s yard to a dog’s spirit. Some dogs will remain primarily indoors while they are at home, but as Pet’s Best points out, even indoor dogs need space to stretch their legs and relieve themselves from time to time.

Dog parks are an invaluable asset to owners who relish granting their companion the chance to socialize with other dogs, but life sometimes prevents us from making the trip to the local recreational park. Many dogs also find it far more difficult to go to the bathroom on hard surfaces such as concrete or gravel, so having some form of yard – preferably a large, fetch-ready one – at your home base is one of the most important dog-friendly features.

The Neighborhood

Choosing a home is not a task which should be done flippantly. Conducting a bit of in-person research, not only on the house itself but surrounding neighbors as well, could be the difference between the home of your future and a quick-flipper which you quickly regret.

We have a special treat for you today.  Our friend Cindy, from ourdogfriends.org has agreed to write a blog for us!  We hope you enjoy it and will check out the site.

A neighborhood occupied by several dog owners means that your own dog will likely get a healthy dose of social interaction without having to head to the aforementioned park to find its pals. It also means that you have a sort of built-in familiarization tactic, as many neighbors find that their most frequent interactions come when dog-walking.

On the flipside, countless stories document the lengths to which dog-hating neighbors could go should they take issue with a dog’s barking or bathroom habits. Without being alarmist, it cannot be emphasized enough that a dog owner should actively seek a neighborhood filled with other dog owners, for both their own and their puppy’s sake.

The Home Itself

The dimensions and interior features of a home are especially important for those who own larger breeds. A home with a series of tight hallways and rooms which fall on the smaller side should be prepared for unintentional, dog-induced damage which is almost certain to occur over time. While Vet Street lists some larger dog breeds that fare well in small spaces, avoidance of cramping a large pooch in an overly cramped living situation is preferable for most.

In addition, the choice of whether to go with a two-story or one-story home should be viewed through a dog-centric lens. Most owners are realistic enough to see when their beloved canine friend is reaching its twilight years, and burdening the dog with frequent trips up and down the staircase can be taxing on its joints and your conscience.

While dream homes should not necessarily be passed over due to the presence of stairs alone, such a feature may serve as a deal-breaker when it comes to choosing between two homes which you consider comparable.

Conclusion

Most dog lovers truly consider their own companion to be a member of their family. When it comes to selecting a new home, every member of the family should be considered, though it is understandable that human needs may be prioritized before the dog’s. With that said, the features which are conducive to a happy pup – a large yard, for one – tend to also be appealing to humans. A yard your dog can play in is also a yard in which your children can do the same. When it comes to informing your real estate agent of what you are looking for, don’t forget to consider the pooch.

Scary Times

Halloween is supposed to be scary fun.  I get the scary part but not the fun part.  For many pets, including me, Halloween is scary and stressful and can even be dangerous.

The parts of Halloween that make it fun for humans, especially for little humans, are the least fun for pets.  Here are some reasons why.

1.  Treats.

Little humans like to go from house to house and beg for treats.  I get the begging for treats part.  I am a very good begger of treats but I don’t like when anybody else beg at my house!  They are MY treats and on top of that, it is my job to protect our house.  It is really hard to protect our house when someone comes to the door every two minutes.

If your pet is like me (and DixieLee, who also is in charge of protecting our house) you might want to put them in their crate in a room where they don’t have to deal with all the opening and closing of the door.

Also, it will make sure that they can’t get scared and run outside when the door is opened.

Remember that the treats that little humans like can make pets sick.  We all know that chocolate is dangerous for dogs and the Xylitol, the artificial sweetener, can be poison too.

2. Costumes.

Dressing up in scary or funny costumes is fun for humans but not all pets like to dressed up in costumes.  DixieLee and I don’t.  I will wear a pretty kerchief now and then but she doesn’t even like to dress up in a kerchief.  If you are going to dress a pet in a costume, please make sure they like it and that the costume does not limit movement, sight, the ability to breath, bark or meow, drink and eat.  Make sure there is nothing that can be chewed off and choke or can get twisted and injury the pet.

I already said I don’t like when peoples come to our house to beg and it is even worse when they are wearing scary costumes.  They might be peoples I know but it hard to tell when they have masks on.

3. Decorations.

Mom is not a fan of Halloween either but she loves Autumn so we do some decorating.  Sometimes we have pumpkins or corn stalks, or Indian corn or some other “Autumn” kind of decorations.  They look pretty!

Pumpkin is a good food for dogs but not after it has been out and gets mold.  Lots of peoples put burning candles in their carved pumpkins or burn candles around the house.  Burning candles are very dangerous around pets.  One good sweep of an excited tail can mean a big fire and no place to live.  Yikes!

Halloween can be fun for humans and non-stressful for pets when remember a few simple things. 

Happy Halloween,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.  For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe check out pawpalsboutique.com

Bad Luck For Black Cats

I love humans but sometimes they are very confusing creatures. Take for example what they think of black cats. Lots of people think that black cats bring bad luck. Witches, the bad kind in spooky stories, always have a black cat as a pet so black cats must be evil too.

Even when people say they don’t really believe that black cats are bad luck, there must be a part of them that does because when they go to find a new pet at an animal shelter, they don’t even look at the black cats.

I read a study that said black cats are two-thirds less likely to get adopted than white cats and half as likely to get adopted as tabbies. It is so unfair that just because they have a black coat, they stay in shelters almost two times longer than other color cats.
Some shelters spend lots of effort to get black cats adopted. They take really pretty pictures of them and put those pictures in newspaper and television ads.

There is one time of year when some shelters don’t want to let black cats be adopted. That time is around Halloween. A black cat, like any animal that gets adopted should be part of the family.  They should be loved and pampered.  A black cat is not an accessory to a Halloween costume.

Worse yet, there are really bad people out there who want to hurt black cats at Halloween time! I think those peoples should be put in a cage and only be let out to pee twice a day.

I know the people who read my blog are super good people so if you are thinking of adopting a cat any time soon, please think about adopting a black cat. They are just as loving as other color cats and they purr just and loud.

Have a happy and safe Halloween,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, go to pawpalsboutique.com 

Be Ready To Be Safe

We heard some good things on the news today. Some of the dogs that were rescued from the hurricanes are being returned to their Moms and Dads. Everybody is so happy!

When Mom helped the peoples at Above the Notch Humane Society, she learned all about how to help pets in disasters like hurricanes and forest fires. 

Sometimes during a big disaster, peoples have to leave their houses quickly and go to safer places.  Some of those places let pets stay but not all.   It is good to know that many kennels have plans so that when a disaster happens they are ready to help pets.

Mom has a special box that she keeps right in the kitchen cabinet with our heart worm medication, proof of vaccinations, photos of us, and the telephone numbers and id numbers for our micro chips. Mom makes sure the microchip information is correct and up to date.

We always wear out collars and tags, even when we are in the house so we don’t have to go looking for them. We have bigger plastic box in our office that we keep our dog stuff in, Stuff like leashes and harnesses, poop bags, towels and blankets.

Mom says the big box is convenient for every day use and keeps the house from looking messy.  Having all of those things in one place makes it much easier if we had to evacuate quickly because we don't have to go looking for anything.

Even with all that stuff in it, it’s still big enough to hold some gallons of water and bags of dog food and still have room for some of our toys.  It fits in the back of our car along with our travel crates.

We keep a people first aid kit in our car and it’s good for pets too.

We hope you never have to be in a hurricane or other disaster but just in case these are some things you can do to be ready to move to safety real fast.

Be ready to be safe,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  The Holidays are coming and we  know how much pets love to gets gifts so check out our huge selection of pet gift baskets at pawpalsboutique,com and order early.