Rabbits absolutely love to tear up phone books.  If you have a phone book that needs recycling, simply rip the top cover off and place the phone book in your rabbit’s cage.  This is an excellent homemade rabbit toy that will keep your bunny busy for hours a day.

If you don’t have a pet rabbit, call your local animal shelter and ask if they would like your phone books for their rescued rabbits.  If they have never heard of this before, explain how it works and chances are they will use phonebooks on a regular basis with their rescues.

And if your rabbit needs to make a call, he or she won’t have to dial information.  (OK, so that was a little joke.  But rabbits really do love phonebooks for homemade rabbit toys!)

Pet therapy is becoming a standard in many hospitals, including children’s hospitals.  There are pet therapy volunteer programs that bring dogs and other animals directly to patients and staff alike.   Some children’s hospitals even have “baseball cards” featuring each therapy animal that the children can collect during extended stays.

Touching a pet can lower blood pressure, help a disturbed patient to connect quickly to health care workers and speed healing for both children and adults alike.  Amazingly, interaction with a pet can bring an Alzheimer’s patient back to “the present.”  It can also calm children with attention deficit disorder and reduce depression rates in hospitals and elderly care facilities.

Do you think your dog or other pet would be a good therapy animal?  Hospitals in particular have necessary strict guidelines for animals that enter the facility.

Dogs must usually be at least a year old and have been owned by one person for at least six months.  The dog cannot have any bite history and might be required to graduate from a certified training course.

Your dog or other pet must be calm as many hands come near the animal.  Facilities will also require bathing and grooming to be performed before visits, and certification of health by a veterinarian is a must.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has a pet therapy program with a straightforward behavior test for potential dog volunteers.  They have an excellent standardized dog therapy test that can give you an idea of whether your dog has the potential to work in therapy situations.

If you think your pet would make an excellent therapy animal, talk to your local hospital or elderly care center about their pet therapy requirements.  The benefit both you and your pet receive will far outweigh the time it takes to complete the pet therapy prerequisites!

A recent study found that microchipped pets who were brought to an animal shelter were returned to their owners in 3 out of 4 cases.  There were 53 shelters participating in the study, each agreeing to keep records of pets who were found to have a microchip.  Of the pets that had the chip, 73% of the owners were found.

Surprisingly, some animal microchips were not detected during the first scan.  Some required multiple scans, either during a medical exam or prior to euthanasia.  This finding reveals the need for shelters to scan dogs and cats multiple times for the presence of a microchip.

Another important finding of the study?  If your dog or cat has a microchip, it is imperative that you keep your contact information up to date.  If your phone number or address changes at any time, you should make the change in the microchip database immediately.  Sadly, 35% of the owners’ phone numbers were disconnected while 9.8% of the chips weren’t even registered.

So talk to your veterinarian about placing a microchip in your dog or cat.  After all, it only takes a moment for a family pet to become lost.  And your furry friend can only count on you to bring him or her back.

You may have heard of probiotics. They are good for your digestive system, and now there are suggestions that they may also benefit your dog. 

Here are the facts about probiotics, and how they can be beneficial in our dogs. 

1. Probiotics are food supplements which contain bacteria or yeasts. These organisms are completely harmless, but may be useful in adding healthy bacteria to your dog’s intestinal tract.

 2. Probiotics protect your dog from infection by bacteria that may make him ill. They usually work in his gastro-intestinal tract, doing their job in several ways. They kill any harmful bacteria in his intestines, and they also support his own immune sytem so he can fight off unhealthy bacteria. 

3. They appear to be particularly beneficial to those dogs with bacterial overgrowth in their intestines. Many vets find them helpful in treating dogs with diarrhea and flatulence. Some studies also suggest that they may be of some use in cases of infection elsewhere in the body, particularly the skin. If a dog is on antibiotics for a long period of time, the medication may also affect the numbers of bacteria in his intestines, causing a secondary diarrhea. Probiotics can help restore his intestinal bacterial population to normal.

4. Natural yogurt contains lactobacillus, bacteria that are often used as a probiotic. So, can you give your dog yogurt to keep his intestines healthy? Not necessarily. There’s no proof that all bacteria are effective in all species, and in fact, some probiotics work better in people than in other species, and vice versa. So, lactobacillus may not work in your dog. Even if you feed him a commercial human probiotic, it still may not do him any good. You may want to use a probiotic that has been specifically formulated for dogs. One such product is Fortiflora, manufactured by Purina. As an alternative, you may choose a dry dog kibble which has a probiotic in it, so each time your dog has dinner, he’s giving his intestines a dose of healthy bacteria.

5. Probiotics need to be stored carefully. They are living bacteria, and can die off if they become too hot, if they’re exposed to excessive light or if they’re left on the shelf for a long time. If you’re buying a probiotic, check the expiration date, and ask how it has been stored, so you know whether or not the bacterial count may have been reduced by poor storage. 

So, do you use a probiotic in your dog, or not?  It’s not something that you’d necessarily feed a healthy dog. However if your dog has an upset stomach or loose bowels, it’s worth considering. They are very safe, have no side effects, and you can sneak them into your dog’s food or water. Why not try them out? They may just make a difference.

Some dog owners are doing just that.  There is a strain of flu that some dogs are contracting called the H3N8 flu strain, also known as the canine influenza virus.  Many vets are currently seeing the canine flu in their area.  Furthermore, some dog daycare centers and boarding businesses are requiring H3N8 vaccinations for their doggie boarders.

The canine flu cannot be transferred to humans.  Dogs with the canine flu experience respiratory symptoms which can actually lead to pneumonia.  Dogs might present with a bad cough and mucus discharge.  Fortunately, very few dogs have died from the canine influenza virus.

The canine influenza virus is highly contagious in the dog population.  If you board your dog, you should talk to your veterinarian about the H3N8 vaccination.

Before you purchase fish with the intention of breeding, make sure you have a large enough tank for both the parents and the babies.  Your tank should be well balanced and clean.  You can buy your fish already pregnant or purchase both males and females together.  The pet store staff should be able to tell which fish are males and which fish are females.

For mollies, females have a fan-like anal fin (under the belly towards the back) while the males have a tube-like anal fin called the gonopodium.  Female and male guppies are similar to mollies.  The female has a more “fanned” anal fin while the male has a horizontal gonopodium.  A male swordtail fish has the “sword tail” while the female’s tail is fanned.  As with mollies, platy and limia males have the tube-like fin behind the bottom belly.

Don’t be surprised to find the adult fish eating their young.  To prevent this, be sure you have plenty of places for your fry to hide.  Include plants, decorations, and rock crevices for their protection.  You can also purchase a floating plastic “baby tank” for your fry, but personally I have not had any luck with these.  Our babies have lived best swimming in the large fish tank with lots of places to retreat to if needed.

Fry should be fed a few times a day with ground fish flakes.  After a few weeks you can feed them on an “adult” fish schedule.  Again, be sure your tank is large enough to hold a school of baby fish… and remember, they will become as large as their mommies and daddies!

Unfortunately, it is not safe to simply “toss” dog waste into your compost bin.  The waste must reach a particular temperature to kill worms and other bacteria.  Furthermore, it must be composted with specific ingredients that help to break down the feces.  Dog matter should never be used in vegetable gardens, and homemade dog poop compost can also cause unsafe runoff into our waters.

But today, some entrepreneurs are now taking to the doggie parks for dog waste collection.  Many are realizing there is money to be made in turning dog waste into a safe manure.  And the greatest benefit of all?  This has everything to do with protecting our earth and minimizing waste in landfills.

The company Naturemill has a pet-friendly composter you can buy for $399.  It is an electronic outdoor composter that turns both animal waste and kitchen scraps into compost in about two weeks.

If you live in Colorado, Envirowagg produces Doggone Good Compost that can be purchased at many local stores.  You can also purchase biodegradable pet waste bags at Buy Green Savvy.  So if a safe composter is not in your budget, try the biodegradable dog waste bags.  Now both you and your pet can go green!

Falcons, eagles, owls, condors, hawks, ospreys and vultures are all raptors, which are birds of prey.  Raptors migrate from September through April.  Some raptors can carry one half to two-thirds of their body weight.

Hawks average about two pounds in size and great horned owls weigh between two to five pounds. Great horned owls and red-tailed hawks are not known to attack small pets.    However if they are hungry enough or are inexperienced in hunting they might attempt an attack.

A dog or cat may be able to bite or scratch their way out of a bird attack.  This might even dissuade a bird from attacking a second time.  But if you live in an area where birds of prey circle, it would be wise to watch your small pet when it is outside.

An eagle weighs between eight to ten pounds and can carry four to five pounds of weight.  It was reported that a cat collar with bell intact was once found in an eagle’s nest.  A hungry eagle can easily pick up a small dog or cat that weighs less than five pounds.  The AKC weight standard for a Chihuahua is 4 to 6 pounds, making this small dog a hungry eagle target.

But how do you keep your pet safe outdoors when raptors are nearby?  Walking your dog on a leash while holding an umbrella may ward off a predator.  You can also place mirrors or mirrored gazing balls in your back yard.  Hawks are territorial birds and could see their reflection as another bird hunting, thereby sending them to another hunting ground.  You can also enclose a small walking area with wood and chicken wire or cover your dog’s area with bird netting.

Cats generally roam a back yard, making them harder to contain and keep safe.  It is always best to keep your cat indoors, particularly if you have raptors nearby.  But it is fairly uncommon for a raptor to hunt for cats, many of which would be too large to carry while flying.

Could a bird of prey carry of a small dog or cat?  Yes, this is always a possibility, but probably only those weighing under five pounds.  Raptors are not generally looking for dogs and cats as a meal.  But when in doubt, always stay with your pet outdoors, or keep your dog and cat in a protected area.

Yes, cats are hunters.  And this means dead critters if you let them outdoors.  This is especially distressing for animal lovers who enjoy both domesticated animals as well as wild birds and other outdoor creatures.

The very best way to keep a cat from killing wild birds and animals is to simply keep the cat indoors.  This is a healthy option for the cat that will certainly increase your feline’s life expectancy.  But for some cats, outdoors is a way of life.

To reduce your cat’s chances of a kill, purchase a breakaway collar and attach a bell to it.  A study was actually conducted following outdoor cats both with and without bells.  The cats wearing bells only killed about half as many as those without bells.

So give the birds a fighting chance – bell your kitty cat to save a few feathered lives.

Coren tested dogs with a modified version of a test used to measure language abilities in children.  Not surprisingly, he found the most intelligent breed to be the Border Collie, who can understand up to 250 words and hand signals.  Lowest on the intelligence list?  Older breeds such as the Afghan Hound, Basenji, Bull Dog, Chow Chow and Borzoi. 

Dog intelligence has increased as breeding has become more selective.  As an example, Coren states that if you point, a dog will usually look to where you are pointing.  A wolf that has been raised by humans will simply look at your pointing hand. 

Stanley Coren also reports that dogs dream about “day to day dog activities” just as people dream about daily life.  Smaller dogs are said to dream more than larger dogs. 

The Top Ten Smartest Dogs are as follows: 

• Border Collie
• Poodle
• German Shepherd
• Golden Retriever
• Doberman Pincher
• Shetland Sheepdog
• Labrador Retriever
• Papillon
• Rottwieler
• Australian Cattle Dog