Merry Christmas

From me to you, Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Christmas Present Ideas for Your Pets

Christmas is a time for giving and spending time with the ones you love. So this holiday season, don't forget those furry, feathered, and scaled friends of yours by making sure they get a special Christmas present straight from the heart. Believe me, animals deserve to love Christmas too!

What should you get them you ask? Well, here are a few ideas that will have all your pets panting - yes even the cold blooded ones.

Dog:

• Dog bed - LL Bean has some high quality beds
  
• Red and green rawhide treats - available most anywhere
  
• A large bone (with bow) - Should take them weeks to eat it
  
• Wet dog food (As a special treat every year I get my dogs their own can of wet dog food - they love it!)
• A doggie sweater - To keep them warm on walks
• A new collar - They like to look good too
  
• A new leash - Because the old one looks haggered
  

Cat:

• Wet cat food (As a special treat every year I get my cats their own can of wet cat food - they love it!)
• Cat toys - Cats love the ones that jingle
  
• Cat nip - Or cat marijuana as they call it
  
• Cat bed - For all their long-long naps
  
• A new collar - Cats like to look good too
  
• Scratching post - So they stops using the stairs
  
• Remote controlled mouse - Enjoyment for the both of you
• Laser pointer - Do I need to explain?
  

Guinea Pig:

• Yogurt treats - They love these
  
• Fresh veggies - You probably already have these in your fridge
• Ball - To run around the house in
  
• A companion - You know guinea pigs are social creatures, get them a friend
  

Hampster:

• Tunnels - To run around in
• Fresh veggies - You probably already have these in your fridge
• A Critter Cruiser - Yes they have hampster cars
  

Bird:

• A travel backpack - Now you can take your bird everywhere you go
• Bird toys - Birds love bells and things that make noise
  

Lizard:

• Food - Treat your scaled friend to some fresh mealworms, or the fresh veggies you have in your fridge

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Christmas Traveling

We are headed to Alabama this year for Christmas and sadly, we are leaving our kids behind. I know many of you understand where I am coming from, when you don't have human kids, your animal kids are that much more important to you. And the thought of leaving them behind on Christmas makes me sad.

Happily, we are leaving our kids in the hands of two very capable pet sitters from Happy Paws Pet Sitting Plus. I am sure we will be able to convince them to spoil our kids with treats on Christmas.

Now, I just have to decide what to buy them.

I Now Understand

I want to warn everyone that this is not a happy post and I am sorry that I have to share bad news, but I wanted to be able to get it off my chest.

We had to euthanize our cat Paris last night. But before you judge us you must understand that he was very badly injured by a neighborhood dog and that it was really the more humane choice. In fact, he was so badly injured that really there wasn't much they could do for him, except for perform several surgeries that he probably wouldn't have lived through anyway.

Words can't express what goes through a person's mind when they have to make a decision like this, but I will tell you one thing, I hope I never have to make that decision again.

I want to also say that I am sorry for anyone else that has ever had a pet pass away, especially in this manner. My heart goes out to you.

Halloween Dog

Sparky, my six year old Maltese mix has always loved Halloween, or is it me that loves Halloween? Well either way, he has always dressed up for the holiday and has always looked so adorable.

Here he is as a cowboy:Now I want to know, what are your dressing your animals up as this Halloween? If you have pictures, I would love for you to post them to our Facebook page.

Pet Turtles - Are You In The Market?

Growing up I had a friend that had a pet turtle. I remember her telling me not to touch him because he would bite me if I did. Even after hearing that, pet turtles have always seemed like docile creatures to me. However, I am sure if I had stuck my hand in to pet him he would have gotten a snack.

I see pet turtles every so often when I am at the Petco and it makes me wonder which ones make the best pets. I mean if I were to ever get one, I would one one that didn't bite.

From what I understand, there are many turtles species that you can keep as a pet, but there are four that are the most popular and easy to care for (click on each species for more information from www.petturtles.com:

Box Turtles - not for the beginner


Sliders - can grow up to 11 inches in length


Mud Turtles - can live to be more than 50 years old


Painted Turtles - mostly aquatic

After reading through all the descriptions, I think if I were to get a pet turtle, I would get a painted turtle, mostly because of their aquatic nature.

Which turtle would you have as a pet if you could choose between these four?


**If you like what you read, please make sure to "Facebook like" this post. As always feel free to share this information with your friends through an medium you choose.

Dog Treat Recipes - How to Make Them

With the holidays almost upon us, it really makes me want to start baking. And yes, that even means baking for the little ones...my dogs.

Have you ever wondered how to bake dog treats? I know I have. Well thanks to a Facebook friend We Love Dogs and a post that they made today, I can now share with you more than 100 dog treat recipes.

Click here to figure out how to make a ton of different kinds of dog treats.

My dogs love Beggin' Strips, so I am kinda excited to make the Bacon Bites recipe.


What recipe are you excited to try?

If you enjoy what you read here, make sure to "Facebook like" this post. I would really appreciate it.

Worried about squirrels getting into your bird feeder?

Worried about squirrels getting into your bird feeder?







What the hell is that line made of?



Only in Canada would you see a sign like this!

Read the whole sign.

Indoor or Outdoor Cat?

Okay, so here is a blog post I was working on a few weeks ago that I never finished. FYI, we decided to let our cats go outside. They absolutely love it and we can tell that they are very happy (not that they weren't before).

If you are debating on letting your cat, take a look at some of the helpful links I provided below.

____________________________________________________________

We recently purchased a doggy door, you know the ones that you can insert into your sliding glass door, so that you don't have to cut a hole into one of your doors.

Well we just got one and we are still debating on whether or not we want our cats to go outside. Here are a few articles I found on the subject.

http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanagement101/a/indooroutdoor.htm

http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanagement101/a/outdoors_cats.htm

We Got Paris Back

So the live trap worked. We caught him on Tuesday night. He was a little distant at first, but now he has warmed back up. Thanks to all of you for your support.

Miami Dogs

Here is a mobile upload from a Facebook friend of mine, Emily Alvers's. This is a picture she took of dogs in Miami. What spoiled pooches.

Paris Our Cat

We bought a new house! We actually moved in over the weekend, but sadly one of our cats, Paris got outside and we can't catch him. He has been hanging around our old house for three days now. We have been back five times trying to capture him, but we haven't been able to.

So, we rented a live trap to catch him so that we can bring him home. We are going to put it out tonight, and with any luck we will get our kitty back. Wish us luck; we will need it.

I am curious, has this ever happened to any of you? If so, how did you get your cat back?

Animal Aprons - A Great Gift Idea

The other day we were at Bed Bath and Beyond and I saw the cutest grill-masters apron. It made me wonder what kind of other fun apron designs were out there. So I stumbled upon some really cute animal ones on the internet that I would love to have.

Is it wrong to have more than one apron, because I want them ALL!

This one is hilarious because even though it doesn't say it on the apron, on the website they titled this one "Milk This." I died laughing.

Bark Off

I guess I am too impatient, but after waiting two-plus long weeks for my Bark Buster to come, I canceled my order and went with the Bark Off that you can find at Petsmart.

I hope it works and the barking stops!

Luxating Patella in My Utah Dog

A few months ago I made a post about Sparky having a limp. It turns out that he has a Luxating Patella, which is very common is small dogs like him. Rather than explaining it to all of you, I decided to post a link to a great article I found.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=457

It is important to know that if your dog develops a Luxating Patella that there are options. We have decided not to have the surgery performed right now, but to give him Rimadyl (dog Ibuprofen) to help with the pain. Surgery might be an option later.

Cute Animal Pictures

I am in a very good mood today and I thought I would share some fun photos and put everyone else in a good mood.

Caution, the following images will make you smile. Which one is your favorite?

Heartworm, West Nile Virus and Your Pets

Okay, so like many of you I freak out when I hear words like Heartworm and West Nile Virus, but don't fret here is a helpful article to help you and your pets avoids the pesky mosquito.

And yes, even though the weather is changing, mosquito season lasts until the first snow fall, so make sure you are protected!

http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/westnilevirusandyourpets-1677

Bark Buster

Little did I know, but I think my almost three-year-old dog Lily has been barking at night. There are many reasons why I haven't been able to hear her, but rather than go into those, I will just say that I am pretty sure she barks almost every night and I am OUTRAGED!

Now I have read a lot about dog training and I know that the problem usually gets worse if you respond to the dog when they bark, so I have never done this, but unfortunately the problem still continues.

So a colleague of mine introduced me to the Bark Buster. I just ordered it today, so I am not sure if it will work, but for $9.99 all my problems might be solved. Let's all cross our fingers.

The Bark Buster is a dog training aid for your home that emits a dog-only pitched sound (that dogs apparently hate) when it is triggered by a dogs bark. The idea is that when a dog barks the Bark Buster will go off, distracting the dog from the act of barking. After days of use, the dog will start associating their bark with the annoying sound and they will HOPEFULLY stop barking.

I am not sure when I will use this mechanism, maybe only at night. We'll see.

I will let all of you know how well it works and if you should also get a Bark Buster. In the mean time, here is some more information about it: http://www.buybarkbuster.com/

Gestation Periods for Animals

The other day I was approached by a friend who was curious about the length of a dog's pregnancy. To be honest I had no idea, so rather than leaving her hanging, I did some research and I thought I would share the answer with everyone.

So here it goes, a list of various gestation periods for animals that I found:

***Keep in mind, these are all approximate.

Dog - 60 days
Cat - 60 days
Guinea pig - 65 days
Birds - 20 days (this includes egg and chick time)
Elephant - 640 days (Almost two years!!!)
Cow - 285 days
Deer - 200 days
Ferret - 42 days
Rabbit - 30 days

Top 10 Craziest Dog Costumes

I know there are a bunch of you out there that love to dress your dogs up in cute little outfits. I can't blame you, I have been know to put Sparky in a pumpkin costume on Halloween.

So for all of you out there, here is my top 10 list of craziest dog costumes.

Would you dress your dog in these?

WARNING - They are hilarious!!!

10: The Mexican Dog


9: The Monkey Dog

8: The Giraffe Dog

7: The Fireman Dog


6: The Taco Dog


5: The Marilyn Monroe Dog


4: The Dorothy Dog


3:The Superman Dog


2: The Cowboy Dog


1: The Cheerleader Dog

**Many photos were taken from the following Huffington Post article.

The Man Who Injects Venom

The other evening I watched a show on Animal Planet titled, The Man Who Injects Venom.

The show featured an American living in the U.K. that injects snake venom (from rattle snakes) to build-up antibodies. I had no idea people even did this.

Here is a link to the story, enjoy!

http://press.discovery.com/us/apl/programs/snake-man/

Dogs and Cats 101

We have two new sections on our Facebook page, titled Dogs 101 and Cats 101. Much like the show that airs on Animal Planet, we will be highlighting a dog and a cat breed a week, reporting their history, activity level, vocality, need for grooming, compatibility with children and etc.

To kick off Dogs 101, we highlighted one of my favorite breeds of dogs, the Border Collie.

To kick off Cats 101, we highlighted one of the most beautiful cats (in our opinion), the Himalayan.

We hope you will enjoy this new informational feature.

Cat Entertainment

So the other day, I posed a question on our Facebook Page, asking our members to come up with different ways they entertain their cat/cats.

Although we didn't get a ton of responses, we did find one very interesting. The response was from Bequi. She said that as entertainment for her cat, she used to "hang my old nylons on the door knob for them to scratch at." She also suggested the idea of putting some cat nip in the nylons. Great ideas Bequi!

To continue further with this subject, I did a little research of my own. Here are other activities that I found (my personal favorite is the TV idea...how fun!):

1: Get your Cat a Leash!
2: Talk to your Cat
3: Get your Cat a Huge Variety of Toys and Play with your Cat
4: Gone a Lot? Introduce your Cat to TV

I found these ideas in a fun article titled "How to Entertain Your Indoor Cat." The article goes more indepth into each category. Enjoy!

Veterinary Costs

Owners of animals need to understand that when they bring a pet into their home they are now the sole provider for the animal and with that title comes a lot of responsibility. Animals are required by law to have annual vaccinations, but responsibilities don't end there, sometimes animals need emergency care, which means unplanned veterinary costs.

But, how much are you willing to pay in veterinary costs?

I think the answer to that question is up to each individual animal owner.

But with a recent emergency visit to the vet, I was outraged at the fee I was charged! It made me wonder why veterinary visits are more than triple the price of a doctor's visit for a human. Regardless, after the visit, I looked around on the internet and found an article from The Humane Society that offers solutions to pet owners that need help paying for extra veterinary costs.

I hope it provides a solution to those of you looking for options in paying your veterinary costs.

Facebook Page

That is right, Extraordinary Pets now has a Facebook page.

Click here to "Like" our page.

Shakespeare

Shakespeare, our six-month old guinea pig died last night. We aren't really sure what the cause was, but we are keeping a close eye on our other two guinea pigs.

We love you and will miss you!

RIP my friend.

Sparky's Limp

I wonder if it is just the season for bad things to happen to animals. I say this because during the past month I have had several of my friends have their animals get sick; some of them have even died.

So as you can imagine this week when I saw my dog Sparky limping, I thought the worst; he needs surgery. I am lucky however, after taking him into the veterinarian I was told that he just dislocated his knee and that with a little anti-inflammatory medication and lots of TLC he would be fine.

What a relief!

During times like these I truly realize how much I love my animals and how sick I feel when they are sick or wounded.

Have you had any animal emergency scares?

Raw Hide Bones

We love giving our dogs raw hide bones. Not only do they help keep their teeth clean, but it also gives the dogs something to do. They are perfect for any movie night.

Brinkley's New Haircut

I have three dogs with long hair, and as you can imagine they constantly need their hair trimmed to avoid matting.

Many of you will remember that last year I started doing my own dog grooming at home to keep the cost down, but when we got Brinkley in late October of last year we received a free grooming coupon.

Rather than hassling through another hour and a half grooming session, I decided to redeem the coupon. I was expecting the groomer to be like all the groomers I had ever been to, impersonal and pricey. I was so pleased when I discovered that they weren't anything like that.

If you live in Bountiful, or happen to just be in the area, give All Pet Grooming a try. I couldn't find a website, but here is their phone number and address, you won't be dissapointed:

All Pet Grooming
3221 U.S. 89, Bountiful 
(801) 296-2018

However, I also suggest taking the do-it-yourself approach, but make sure you are buying a quality trimmer. Keep in mind, the more money you spend, the better the trimmer will work and the longer it will last.

For more details on grooming at home, check out this blog post.

Animal Nail Trimming

The do-it herselfer has failed.

I know how to do it, in fact I trim almost all of my pets nails, but sadly I haven't always been so consistent.

Sparky's nails are way too long right now and the reason I haven't cut them is beacuse they are dark and he tries to bite me everytime I try.

Solution, I am taking him to the groomer to get them clipped this weekend.

Wish me luck!