4th of July Weekend - Animal Advice

I love the summer months, I especially love the patriotic holidays! But this weekend while you are having tons of fun at family BBQ's & going to see the fireworks, make sure your animals get to have some fun too, but not too much fun.

Here is some animal advice, just a few things to keep in mind for the 4th of July weekend:

• Although fireworks are fun, many animals are scared of the noise. Keep all your pets in the house when lighting fireworks, just to avoid any bad situations.
• This weekend is a great time to take your dogs to the park, but remember there will likely be many people also at the park. Don't forget your to keep your dog on a leash.
• Most importantly, the weather is getting warm, really warm. Make sure your animals have tons of fresh cold water. And absolutely don't leave them in the car, even for five minutes. It is too hot!
  
• And most importantly, have fun!

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Have You Voted - 30-Day Challenge

Have you voted yet? Please help me figure out which 30-Day Challenge to take part in. Voting ends midnight tonight! See here:

http://extraordinarypets.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-will-let-you-decide-my-30-day.html

Heart Worm, West Nile Virus and Your Pets

I have posted about this before, but Heart Worm and West Nile Virus are a huge problem! And yes, they have been found in dogs and cats in all 50 states, so don't think your pets are immune.

I was reminded of the huge problem when I was out washing my car the other night. Mosquitoes were everywhere! I got more than one bite to prove it.

So think about your pets and keep them safe from the blood suckers. Here is a helpful article by Zootoo.com that will help you and your pets avoids the pesky mosquito.

Other Blog Posts that Might Interest You:

• Indoor or Outdoor Cat

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RSQ Dogs

Man, I spend way too much time on Facebook! Other than the occasional friend surf, mostly I am on Facebook for work. However, a guilty pleasure of mine is all the animal information I find on there; RSQ Dogs is of no exception.

If you live in Utah (they are a private dog rescue here locally - however they post about animals from other states too) and are interested in adopting, fostering or even transferring an animal from one area to another, they are right up your alley. Check RSQ Dogs out.

I have never fostered an animal - mostly because I would find it hard to give them up, and a person should only own so many animals, but they have on more than one occasion really made me consider it. Who knows, maybe one day I will have the great honor of doing that.

So if you have a minute, go to RSQ Dogs Facebook page and like them today. Who knows, you might even like it?

Other blog posts that might interest you:

• Animal Bucket List
• Does Your Dog Need a Playmate?
  

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I Will Let You Decide My 30-day Challenge Activity

As many of you know, I am a Program Manager and Copywriter for an internet marketing company in Utah. I spend 40+ hours a week on the internet, and as you can imagine I love Google!

I happen to follow the head of Google's webspam team Matt Cutts and his blog. Well, he is really into 30-day challenges and I thought that it might be fun to do one too. Quite often he gives his blog readers a choice of things he is interested in doing and lets them choose his 30-day challenge.

So I want to give you guys some ideas and let you choose my 30-day animal related challenge.
Voting will be open in the comments section of this blog until June 29th at midnight. If you have a 30-day challenge suggestion that is not on the list, please list it in the comments section below.

30-Day Challenges:

1. Walk my dogs 20 times in one month
   
2. Teach my animals 10 new tricks
3. Hold my guinea pigs every day
4. Brush my animals every day
5. Learn to create 10 recipes of dog & cat food
6. Interact in some way with a new animal every day - this includes seeing, petting & holding (can't repeat animal species)
   

I will start my 30-day challenge July 1st and I promise to blog and video blog about my experience. Let the voting begin!


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If you like cats...

Then you will love KittenToob on Facebook. They post some of the cutest and funniest videos and images of kittens. Check them out here at KittenToob.com.

Enjoy!

Other posts you might like:
Cat Tricks
How to give a cat a bath

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Summer Time Fun for Guinea Pigs

I have been feeling pretty bad for my guinea pigs lately. They have been cooped up inside all winter and they are dying to get outside to play on the grass again. The only problem is their playpen was junked when we moved. I think it is time Adam build them a new one.

How often do you let your guinea pigs play outside? How many times a week? Do you have a special playpen?

I want to hear all about your ideas.

Blog posts you might also like:

• Introducing Teddy Roosevelt Chaucer
• Full House

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The Dogs Ate My Dinner

I had a crazy night last night and it ended with my dogs eating my dinner!

All of the chaos started after I made myself a turkey sandwich and grilled asparagus for dinner. I brought my plate to the couch and sat down to eat it when I received a knock at my door. Now, anytime someone knocks at my door my dogs go CRAZY! It is very annoying. Can you relate?

I peaked through the blinds and saw a man, thinking it was a neighbor I opened the door a crack so that the dogs didn't run out, and said hi. Well, it wasn't a neighbor, it was security salesman. I think I forgot to mention that we have an ADT sign right by our front door, so it was pretty ludicrous that he knocked on our door in the first place.

With the door opened only a crack, I greeted him by saying I couldn't open my door further or my dogs would come charging out. But that didn't stop him from starting his spiel. After about 30 seconds I said hold on and nudged my way carefully outside. Annoyed I listened to what he had to say, until I remembered my dinner sitting next to the couch.

And of course, as I peered in through the crack in the door, I saw my dogs eating my dinner! Super annoyed at this point, I opened the door and shewed the dogs away from my food, only to have them run outside into the unfenced front yard, jumping up on the security salesman.

Furious! I corralled my dogs back in the house, told the salesman I was no longer in the mood to listen to his pitch and attempted to shut the door. All while he continued to try and sale me and give me his card to check out his website.

I think I might vow to never open the door again!

My night ended with me remaking my dinner and sitting down to The Bachelorette, trying to calm down from all the commotion.

I am curious, have you ever had an experience like this?


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Cat Tricks

Okay so I am still thinking about which new trick I will teach my dogs, but in the mean time, I was also thinking about teaching my cat some tricks.

My cat Aedan is very smart and on more than one occasion we have mentioned that he is a dog trapped in a cat's body. Can you relate?

Well why not bond with him too? I am going to start with the basics. I think sit will be his first trick. Here are the steps I plan on following to accomplish this; I pulled them from CatPlay.com

Training Steps

1. Gently put the cat on the table at the edge nearest to you, and pet him so he is comfortable.
2. Show your cat the reward, then give the command "Scooter, sit" and move the reward back and over his head.
3. As he tips his head back to follow the food, he will sit to keep his balance. When he sits, hit the clicker (or use your positive signal) and say "sit, good sit." Immediately give him his food reward.
4. Eventually your cat should respond to the command "sit" without you having to move the food over his head.
5. Once your cat has learned this behavior, you no longer need to place the cat on the table to sit.

In the beginning, if your cat does not sit on his own, you may gently press down on his hindquarters. Then hit the clicker (or use your positive signal) and say "sit, good sit." This trick will be easy with some cats, while others may resist being helped to sit. Be gentle and patient. Remember not to frustrate or frighten your cat. If he resists, try again another time. It's always better to have him sit on his own.

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New Tricks

I have been thinking about teaching my dogs a new trick. Right now they know sit, lay down, and off. My oldest dog Sparky also knows "leave it."

I love teaching them new tricks because I feel like it is a great way to bond with them.

What other tricks could I teach them? Maybe something really unique? Any ideas? What kind of tricks do your dogs know how to do?

Animal Bucket List

I recently watched the "Bucket List" on television (you know with Morgan Freeman) and it made me start to wonder; what would my bucket list be? So I started a list in my head. Many of the items are very personal, so I am not going to share that list, but I do want to share with you my animal bucket list.

My animal bucket list is the top 10 animal related things I want to do before I die. So here it goes:

#10 - Hold an alligator (a baby alligator)

#9 - Travel to Africa and go on a safari

#8 - Put my hand in a Piranha-filled river (only for two seconds)

#7 - See an endangered species in the wild in their natural habitat
(anyone will do, but the more exotic the better)

#6 - Go snorkeling

#5 - Enter one of my dogs into a dog show

#4 - Get over my fear of spiders
(not sure how to do this - I would rather not have to be around spiders)


#3 - Go fishing with Jeremy Wade from the show River Monsters on Animal Planet

#2 - Watch litter of puppies for at least a week
(we did this a few years ago and it was the best experience - I would love to do it again before I die)


#1 - Swim with a Great White Shark (in a shark cage - what a thrill!)


So what do you think? Are any of my bucket list items on your list too? I want to hear about your animal bucket list now.


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Reese Witherspoon's Pet Donkeys

Did you know that Reese Witherspoon has two donkeys named Honky and Tonky? Well, apparently the Christmas pets are so loud that they are annoying the neighbors.

Check out the full story on WonderWall here.

I love to hear about celebrities and their pets. It makes me wonder why they choose the pets they do, I mean owning two donkeys isn't the most normal pet choice if you don't live on a farm.


Are there other celebrities out there that own unique pets? If so what are they, I would love to hear about them.


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Your Dream Pet?

My favorite animal is the shark. I like all types of sharks, but my favorite is probably the Tiger shark. Not only is it my favorite animal, I am probably the most afraid of this animal too. We have a love hate relationship.

I have always loved animals, but the one animal I have always wanted as a pet (even though it would be impossible) is a shark.


What animal have you always dreamed of having?

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Yuck Hair!

I am so happy that summer is almost here and our pets' winter coats are almost done being shed. We have to sweep and steam our floors so much right now because of all the hair. Yuck!

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Lazy Saturday's

I will be honest, one of our favorite things to do with our pets is have a lazy Saturday where we all lay on the couch and spend time together. The dogs and cat love this because they have the opportunity to get a ton of attention and they almost always get some sort of fantastic treat, like a pig ear or a peanut butter bone.

What is your favorite thing to do with your animals?

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How to Give a Cat a Bath

Very often I find my blog post topics in my Facebook feed and this blog post is no exception.

The question posed was "how do I give my cat a bath?" Of course the obvious answer is to send your cat to the groomer and have them do it, but what about the satisfaction you are missing out on when you can say "hey, I did that myself!"

Well I am here to help you out.

If giving your cat a bath isn't an urgent need, it is smart to get your cat used to the bathroom, specifically the bath tub before you try and give them a bath. Over the course of a few days try out these helpful steps:

• A few days before the actual bath, put them in the bathtub and let them wonder around. Make sure you close the door to the bathroom. Also make sure you pet them while they are in the tub.
• On the next day, fill up the tub with a half inch of water and put your cat in and let them wonder around, repeating the same actions from the day before.
  
• The next day after that, fill up the tub with two inches of water and put your cat in, repeating the same actions.
• Finally, fill up the tub and scrub away. Your cat might be a little weary for the first bathing session, but if you make it a regular - once a month thing, they will get used to it in no time.

If you need to give your cat a bath right away try this:

• Adopt a calm attitude, this will help ease your cat's anxiety.
• Gently set your cat in an already filled tub with about two inches of water.
  
• Give your cat free-rein of the tub - as much as you can.
• Scrub away, avoiding the eyes and the ears.
  
• Use a cup to rinse your cat - this makes the bath so much quicker.
  

Keep in mind, cats get irritated with stuff fast, the quicker the bath the better.

Who knows, your cat might come begging to you to give them a bath, you might even find them sneaking in on you in the shower because they love it so much!

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Potty Mishaps

If you're anything like me, you probably hate it when your animal potties in the house when they know they shouldn't.

Although it doesn't happen very often anymore, it can be very irritating when it does happen. Here are a few tips that will help your pet remember when to alleviate themselves.

Dog:

• Even the best behaved and well-trained dogs have accidents. Make sure not to leave them alone in the house for extended periods of time - this is the time when they are most likely to have an accident.
• Make sure you are sticking to their potty schedule. Understand that if you get home from work late, that an accident might happen.
  
• If you find an accident in the house, rather than rubbing their nose in it (that never works you know), gently remind them where to go by taking them outside. If they go outside, make sure to really get excited and commend them for choosing the right spot.
  

Cat:

• Have you recently moved their litter box? If so, you might need to make sure they know where it is and that it is in a safe, quiet and private part of the house.
• Make sure their box is clean. many cats won't "go" if their box is dirty.

Do you have any other helpful suggestions to help your pet stay potty-trained?

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Does Your Dog Need a Playmate?

No, we aren't planning on getting another dog and we definitely aren't getting rid of any of our babies, but I saw this very question posed by a Facebook friend and I thought I would share my opinion on the matter.

While it is true that dogs are pack animals and they love the company of other dogs, in my personal opinion, do not get another dog if the following statements are applicable to your first dog:

• You do not have time for your dog.
• You do not walk your dog.
• You do not play with your dog.
• You yell or hit your dog.
  
• You do not have money to pay for food.
  
• You can't afford to take your dog to the vet.
• You can't afford to pay for medical bills if something minor happens to your dog (This statement is not applicable to large medical bills, I understand that a $2,000 medical bill is a lot for many of us to handle).
  

It is a misnomer that getting a playmate for your dog if you don't have time to play or walk with them will suddenly curb their boredom. What will happen is that you will have two dogs that you don't play with and feel guilty about.

However, I would encourage you to get another dog if and only if you have time for your current dog and if you can say yes to each item on the above list.

Having a dog is not only a pleasure, but it is a responsibility, and an important one at that. Make sure you are spending time with your dog.

There are many things you can do to entertain your dog that really don't even take that much time, things that will also help your relationship.

• If you don't have time for a walk on a particular day, give them a special treat that will occupy their mind.
• Teach them a new trick, you will be surprised what they can learn in 10 minutes.
• Head out into your backyard and sit on the grass; see how much your dog loves you being down at their level.
• Take a nap with your dog.

So, what do you think? Have any of you ever gotten a playmate for your dog and regretted it?

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