Thursday, January 31, 2008

Take Your Pet Along with a Motorcycle Pet Carrier

Motorcycle excursions can be even more exciting when you take your fury "best friend" along. With a safe motorcycle pet carrier, you can include your dog or cat when taking almost any day-trip or long getaway. Your pet will likely enjoy going with you rather than staying behind at your home alone or at a kennel, and you both can breathe in the fresh breezes while traveling by motorcycle.

Fun Adventures in Pet Travel

Pet travel by motorcycle enables you to take breaks and walk your pet on mountain or nature trails, or along the sandy beaches. You can take your pet along on a camping trip or find hotels that allow pets to stay as well. You and your pet might also enjoy walks in parks, sightseeing, and motorcycle tours of your destination city.

Preparation for Pet Travel

Before leaving, be sure you have an adequate and safe motorcycle dog carrier or cat carrier. Your pet carrier should be large enough to hold your pet comfortably while allowing room to breathe and move. It should be well ventilated and safely mounted to your motorcycle. Durable pet crates come in various sizes and shapes to meet your needs.

Visit a veterinary clinic for a pet checkup before leaving to be sure it's safe for your pet to travel. Make sure your pet has been properly vaccinated and has appropriate identification in case you get separated from your pet while traveling. There are collars with pet ID tags or microchips that can be surgically inserted under your pet's skin with all its necessary ID information. Animal shelters, hospitals, and many local authorities have the capability to scan these microchips to find out to whom a pet belongs.

Also, be sure your pet has plenty of food and water for the trip along with treats and goodies for "good behavior!"

Weather Alerts for Pet Travel

Be sure your motorcycle carrier comes with accessories for all sorts of weather. Rain, snow, sleet, high winds, or extreme heat or cold can all pose a threat to your pet while traveling in a pet crate. You should have coverings to protect the carrier and your pet during these times. Also, when it is extremely hot or cold outdoors, never leave your pet unattended in the pet crate outdoors for any length of time - take the pet with you!

Pet Travel Items to Bring Along

Items you should never leave without when traveling with your pet include nail clippers (for dogs), a blanket or sheet for comfort, an extra collar, a sturdy leash, food and water bowl set, toys, treats, lint/hair remover, waste bags, first aid kit, and a flashlight for taking nighttime strolls.

A motorcycle pet carrier makes it easy and safe to take your pet with you wherever you go. Even if you don't have a motorcycle, you can find pet crates or carriers for other travel methods. There are scooter dog carriers, bicycle pet carriers, car travel pet carriers, and many others to make pet travel easy. You can visit online pet specialty stores to find durable pet carriers to meet your needs.

Pet Insurance Isn't Too Expensive For Your Pets

If so, do you have pet insurance? If not, you may well want to read on if you want to save yourself millions of pounds Trying to decide if you should get insurance on your pet?
Often insurance companies start insuring pet from the age of six months but some does not give coverage to your pet if he or she is more than of eight years.
When purchasing pet insurance online or requesting a quote, you will have to fill out a form that asks for standard information such as the breed of your pet, etc.
Most pet insurance policies carry an excess which means that you have to pay a small amount towards the cost of any treatment claimed for under the policy.
Now that pet health insurance is becoming more popular, there is a good chance that the staff at your veterinary surgery will be familiar with and will accept the various pet insurance programs. It’s easy to assume that you’ll never make good use of pet insurance but with the ‘blame’ culture becoming increasingly evident over recent years its sheer folly to even consider having a pet without taking out pet insurance.
With the rising costs of pet healthcare and with the extremes that many of us would go to for our pets, pet insurance is becoming very popular with pet owners.
As with human health care insurance, pet insurance pays the health care provider, in this case the veterinarian, according to a schedule worked out by the insurance company.
The best pet health care insurance companies that offer services online are pet plan.
Is it worth the money?
In the unfortunate instance that your pet is never returned, the vpi pet insurance company will offer you anything from £500 to £1500 for the value of your pet, usually the only condition in your policy will be evidence that your pet has been missing for thirty to ninety days.
There are various types of pet insurance available, including third party liability coverage, which will protect you if you pet harms, destroys property, causes an accident, and so forth.
Like most types of policy, pet insurance is a trade off between cost and cover.
When comparing pet insurance plans, don’t look at the monthly premium alone.
Brokers Online provide you with a huge amount of information on pet insurance and cheap life insurance.
The cost of these different pet care pet insurance plans ranges from $99 to $200 for every policy term year depending on the type of policy.
Pet insurance plan can give you peace of mind as it takes away all the financial tensions that come first to our mind, when our pets get ill.

Maltese Dog Breed: A Compact Pal

The Maltese dog breed is considered a toy. Basically this means they are fun, lovable dogs that make wonderful companions for young children as well as adults. Most often they weigh between 4 and 7 pound reaching about 9- 10 inches in height. Unlike most dog breeds the Maltese is only white in colour when it is a pure breed. They have a long, almost silky hair. The hair on this breed of dog is one of the most beautiful and easy to maintain, as it is straight and not easily tangled because of its softness. They are one of the only non-shedding dogs available when you consider all the breeds available.

The Maltese breed originated in Europe where many individuals favored them, especially the upper class. You will find their character to be full of affection as well as a great amount of energy. They love to play, socialize with other dogs, and are very intelligent. You often see the Maltese dog breed on dog shows because of their characteristics, not only their personalities, but for their body type as well.

When you consider the Maltese dog breed for your home you should understand their temperament and care. These dogs often bond with one person, while they tolerate others. They love to be showed affection, including cuddling. You will find that they do not like to be left alone for a long time. While you may leave them alone during the day, they don’t like being alone during vacations. It is best that they are left with someone they are close to or that you take them with you. The Maltese is also a fairly quite breed of dog. They do bark when they perceive a threat, alert you when there is someone in their territory, and very protective. You will need to groom them daily with a brush to keep their hair luxurious and pretty. Unlike other dog breeds they can be bathed regularly.

You will find that they tend to have eye problems when the hair gets to close and they need to have their eyes bathed every day. You will also learn that they suffer from skin disorders, respiratory problems, and digestion issues. Your vet or breeder will be able to help you determine the right type of diet and hygiene to make sure they are healthy throughout their lives. With the amount of hair and their body type they don’t do well in hot climates or very damp climates.

The Maltese is a small breed and therefore they don’t require a large amount of space. They do well in apartments and with minimal exercise. You will find that a daily walk and some playtime is all they really need to be content. They also love to play with other dogs at the parks. Training for these dogs should be crate training. They may be intelligent, but they are one of the most difficult to train. Your best option when training the Maltese dog is early socialization, consistency, and a gentle hand. They will do well when you reward their good behavior and show patience. If you take the proper amount of time to train them they can do tricks and will be obedient.
Any dog will do better around your family and become a wonderful member of your family when you purchase them as puppies. Training is important when they are younger as they haven’t learned bad habits, yet. Most often you can get a Maltese puppy from a breeder.

Hot Weather Tips for Dogs

Heat affects us all, the difference is that humans can do something about the extra heat and dogs are left to depend on human care. There are several different things you need to consider when the temperature begins to increase. The summer months are going to be the hottest for a dog, whether they are inside or out in the backyard. Remember taking care of your dog is extremely important at all times of the year, but especially when the temperature begins to rise.

When you leave for work for the day follow a checklist. If the dog is going to be left out of doors you need to make sure they have a constant water source. Just having a food dish or two full of water is not going to help them keep cool. You may want to have a fountain in the yard that you turn on. This way the dog can get a constant stream of cool water running through the fountain. Also if it is large enough they can take a little dip and cool their entire bodies down with a little water.

If your dog is going to be outside you will need to make sure that a proper amount of shade is available. You may have a doghouse or you can have a shaded tree area that the dog will be comfortable lying in. Wherever the area is you need to make sure it will be shaded the entire day or that they can find shade the entire day. You dog is not going to be comfortable if the sun is beating down on their thick coat all day.

When you leave your dog inside during the day you may feel that since no one is home you can turn down the air conditioning if you have one. If you don’t you may feel secure only when the windows are locked. Keep in mind the dog needs air and to be kept cool. You do not want to turn down the air conditioner too much. You should keep the house around seventy to seventy- five degrees Fahrenheit during the day when you have a dog at home. If you do not have an air condition for dog care you will need to leave a window open. During the summer heat a house can get extremely hot when the blinds are open, and the windows are closed. Even if you have the blinds closed the home can get above eighty degrees Fahrenheit making it really uncomfortable. Again inside a home a dog will need to have a source of water. You may feel a large bowl of water is enough, but having a toilet left open can help just in case they run out of water.

Another point for dog care when it gets hot is making sure to keep your dog groomed. You can ask the person grooming your dog to keep the hair short during the summer. Your dogs will also shed a lot of hair so keeping them bathed at least once a month and brushing them out can get that excess hair off their bodies.

When walking your dog in the summer heat you should have a source of water with you. You may feel that a quarter mile walk or less is not going to require some form of refreshment, but your dog is going to differ. They need to have a source of water, whether you carry it with you or you stop off at a creek. You will definitely need water for longer treks.

A source of problems has always been leaving a dog in a car while you are running your errands. While your dog needs the company the heat in the car can be so extreme even with the windows cracked that they can suffer. If you must bring your dog along see if you can’t leave them outside the store, or at least leave water in the car.

Greyhound Advice

Surprisingly there are many individuals who find the Greyhound one of the best show dogs. They raise them from puppies and then head around the country for shows. If you are interested in a Greyhound you should learn about there care, temperament, and characteristics before purchasing one. When you do decide that a greyhound is what you wish to have you will want to speak directly to a dog breeder. It can be difficult to find this dog breed in stores, humane societies, and animal shelters.

The greyhound is considered a hound as the name depicts. They are also a very tall dog breed, despite their size. Male greyhounds weigh between 65 and 70 pounds, where the females are usually five pounds less. They can reach twenty- seven to thirty inches in height making them about level with your waist for most individuals. They are a shorted haired dog with black, grey, red, fawn, and several other color choices to choose from. The coat is not really soft, but a glossy finish. In fact they are not really pleasing to pet for long periods of time like other dog breeds.

For the greyhounds character you will find them to be gentle around children making them a great pet for the family. You will also find they are long distance runners. At dog races you usually find greyhounds running up to forty miles an hour after a rabbit or other incentive. They can also make great hunters, watchdogs, and show dogs. They tend to be very graceful in their movements. They also need human attention. They can’t be left for long periods of time alone because they want to be apart of the family. They also have deadly instincts for tiny animals so having rabbits, cats, or birds for pets can be a bit dangerous. This dog breed does well around other dog breeds, especially their own kind. The greyhound is very sensitive though, so you should be able to devote plenty of time with your dog and have children that will respect them as well.

You will find care for these dogs in the grooming category is very simple. As mentioned their coat is short and coarse, which means a brushing every once in a while will help them to get rid of dead hairs. You should avoid bathing them as it can irritate the skin and cause issues with the natural oils in the hair. You will find greyhounds also need a lot of exercise. You will need to have a backyard where they can run and play. You should also plan on having a morning and evening walk to help them expound their energy. You can even take bike rides so they can run with you. Two hours a day of exercise is required when you own a greyhound.

Training is also important as part of the exercise regime. You will find an intelligence behind the dog, but as mentioned they can be sensitive. They need a gentle person to be firm, but affectionate during training. You may find it is best to seek a trainer at first to help you. You should take obedience classes with your puppy and always be consistent. Training should also keep the greyhound interested. They can become bored if the activity is not fun or challenging enough.

Greyhounds are one of the best pets you can have with children and when you want a very affectionate pet. Some dogs are not as affectionate and tend to be anti social. With the greyhound you don’t have to worry about that, but remember don’t leave them alone for very long as they desire human companionship.