Choosing a Kennel for your dog

With the holidays here, many people will be traveling out of town for a short period of time. In many cases, the family dog can be taken with you to enjoy a new place. In some cases the dog must be left behind. What now?

This can be a stressful time if there is no pet sitter available, or pets are not allowed at the destination. If you cannot take your pet with you, a viable option is to find a kennel where you can board your dog for the time in which you will be away. Not all kennels are created equal, so do some homework on the kennels you are considering.

The basic necessities a kennel should provide include:

· Large kennels and outdoor dog runs

· Clean with disinfectant

· Good ventilation

· Feed dogs on the dog’s schedule

· Use the Individual dog’s food

· Provide clean bedding for the dog

· General cleanliness

· Gives medications when necessary

· Checks on the dog several times a day

· Requires current vaccinations

· Will contact your vet if there is an emergency

· Fresh Water when needed

Some kennels offer more amenities, but will cost a little more. Make sure the kennel covers the basics and ask questions if you have them.

Arrange a tour of the facility a few days before you will be dropping your dog off. Make sure the facility is clean and the dogs are well cared for. If the kennel doesn’t meet the basic criteria, or any specifications you have set, then it is time to figure out a different solution.

Preventing A lost Pet

If you have ever lost a pet, even for a short amount of time, you know how sad and scared you can be. Many people in that situation put up posters with a picture and some kind of reward. In some cases the animal has returned home in good shape. In some other unfortunate cases, the animal does not return home and is never heard from again. This causes great stress to the family particularly any children in the household.

Having a pet is a big responsibility and there are some things you can do to help prevent them from being lost. Make sure the animal has a bright collar with recent information on their tags. On the collar have a tag with the animals name and your current phone and tags with all the current vaccination id numbers. This will help get the animal back to you if it should become lost, and someone locates it.

While having a collar on a pet can be very helpful in returning the animal to you, what if it should come off while the animal is roaming free? A great companion to the collar is a microchip. The microchip is injected like a vaccination under the flap of skin behind the dog or cats neck. This tiny chip is no larger than a grain of rice and will not cause any discomfort for your pet. Veterinarians and shelters are provided with a scanner that can read the numbers of the chip. If your animal is picked up as a stray and microchipped, the shelter or vet can scan your pet, call the microchip company, access your information and get your pet back to you.

You may be wondering about the costs associated with microchipping and where can I get it done? Your local shelter and veterinarian can do the microchipping. If you are getting a new puppy, kitten, dog or cat from a shelter, there is a good chance that it will already have received the microchip. The cost is around $40 to inject the chip and around $20 to activate it from the microchip company. $60 dollars is a bargain to keep your pet a little safer.

Keeping your Pets safe during the Holidays

The Holiday season can be full of joy, giving and excitement for us humans. The thought of decorating a tree and putting up holiday nick-knacks can bring back memories of childhood and what Santa is going to bring us in the morning. These enticing decorations and foreign objects can also be hard for your pets to resist. I have not met a cat that could resist the low hanging ornaments at the bottom of a Christmas tree.

Knowing people that own a dog and a cat, they often say the two work as a team during this time of year. The cat routinely knocks the low ornaments off the tree, while the dog comes running in to chase the rolling decoration as well as the cat. While this can be humorous, there are other decorations and even food items that can prove harmful to your four pawed friends. Be extra careful this holiday season when using the following items:

· Tinsel/Ribbons - These are especially tempting for cats. Though inviting, don’t let your cat play with it. Tinsel can get balled up in the intestine and even cut the intestine wall. This can prove a costly trip to the vet, not to mention the danger for the cat.

· String Lights and Electrical Cords – Cats and dogs may be more interested in the lights because they are a new item in the house. Be sure to hide cords or cover them when possible. Animals can chew on the lights or cords, resulting in serious harm.

· Holiday Food such as chocolate and Raisins – The holiday season is full of fun treats for humans. It may be tempting to include the pets in the holiday cheer by giving some human treats, but this can be dangerous. Foods such as chocolate, grapes and raisins can prove deadly for dogs. The reason is not exactly known for grapes, but in chocolate, it is theobromine. Theobromine is a part of the caffeine family, and in large amounts it can be deadly for dogs. If you suspect your dog has ingested either, call your vet immediately.

Keep these things in mind when preparing for the holidays. Watch your pets and anticipate how they will act around new decorations, people and extra commotion. You know your pet best, so use good judgment this season.