February is Responsible Pet Owners Month

Did you know that February is Responsible Pet Owners Month? This is a great time to take a step above and beyond your usual excellent pet care. We recommend a dental examination, a healthier diet, or a new exercise regimen—anything that makes your pet a happier and healthier member of your family. What are you going to do to celebrate Responsible Pet Owners Month?

Winter Pet Safety Tips

If temperatures are dropping and snow is in the forecast in your neck of the woods, the ASPCA recommends the following tips to keep your animal companions safe and sound: Never let your dog off leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm. Canines may lose their scent in winter weather, and can easily become lost. In fact, more dogs are reported lost during this time of the year than in any other season, so make sure yours always wears proper identification.

Provide your companion animal with a warm place to sleep, far away from drafts and off the floor. Dog and cat beds with a warm blanket or pillow are especially cozy. Please keep cats inside! Felines who spend time outside can freeze, or become lost or injured. And some outdoor cats seek the warmth under the hoods of cars -- so if there are any such kitties in your neighborhood remember to bang loudly on the hood and wait a few seconds before starting your vehicle.

http://www.petfinder.com/pet-care/winter-pet-safety-tips.html

Dog-Friendly Treat Recipe

Here is a dog-friendly treat recipe that your canine companion is sure to love.
Holiday Dog-Friendly Treat Recipe:
ingredients
1 cup shredded roasted turkey meat
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 sweet potato--baked, skin discarded and potato coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cranberry sauce

directions
In a medium bowl, combine the turkey and breadcrumbs. Mix gently with your hands, then mix in the egg and sweet potato. Shape into two 1/2-inch-thick patties.
In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the patties and cook, turning once, until golden-brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Top with the cranberry sauce and let your canine enjoy!

Holiday Cat-Friendly Treat Recipe

Ingredients:

½ cup of hamburger

½ teaspoon shrimp paste (see Asian food section of your local grocery store)

¼ cup shelled shrimp, washed in hot water, and minced

½ teaspoon catnip

Directions:

Mix shrimp paste with the catnip and then hand work it into the hamburger.

Add minced shrimp to the hamburger mix and make into little meatballs.

These can be fed raw, or baked at 425° F for 10 minutes.

Holiday Foods

Many of the foods that we eat during the holidays are dangerous for our pets to eat. Foods like turkey and turkey bones, sugary treats, candy, grapes, onions, and more are things that your pet should never eat. Make sure to keep an eye on them during the holidays and warn your guests not to give them handouts.

Top 10 Halloween Safety Tips for Pet Parents

Attention, animal lovers, it's almost the spookiest night of the year! The ASPCA recommends taking some common sense precautions this Halloween to keep you and your pet saying "trick or treat!" all the way to November 1.

1. No tricks, no treats: That bowl of candy is for trick-or-treaters, not for Scruffy and Fluffy. Chocolate in all forms—especially dark or baking chocolate—can be very dangerous for dogs and cats. Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can also cause problems. If you do suspect your pet has ingested something toxic, please call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

2. Popular Halloween plants such as pumpkins and decorative corn are considered to be relatively nontoxic, but they can produce stomach upset in pets who nibble on them.

3. Wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations should be kept out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet might suffer cuts or burns, or receive a possibly life-threatening electrical shock.

4. A carved pumpkin certainly is festive, but do exercise caution if you choose to add a candle. Pets can easily knock a lit pumpkin over and cause a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk of getting burned or singed by candle flames.

5. Dress-up can be a big mess-up for some pets. Please don't put your dog or cat in a costume UNLESS you know he or she loves it (yup, a few pets are real hams!). For pets who prefer their “birthday suits,” however, wearing a costume may cause undue stress.

6. If you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume isn't annoying or unsafe. It should not constrict the animal's movement or hearing, or impede his ability to breathe, bark or meow. Also, be sure to try on costumes before the big night. If your pet seems distressed, allergic or shows abnormal behavior, consider letting him go au naturale or donning a festive bandana.

7. Take a closer look at your pet’s costume and make sure it does not have small, dangling or easily chewed-off pieces that he could choke on. Also, ill-fitting outfits can get twisted on external objects or your pet, leading to injury.

8. All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate room away from the front door during peak trick-or-treating hours. Too many strangers can be scary and stressful for pets.

9. When opening the door for trick-or-treaters, take care that your cat or dog doesn't dart outside.

10. IDs, please! Always make sure your dog or cat has proper identification. If for any reason your pet escapes and becomes lost, a collar and tags and/or a microchip can be a lifesaver, increasing the chances that he or she will be returned to you.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/halloween-safety-tips.aspx

Autumn Pet Safety

Ah, fall—there's nothing like crisp, cool air, the first months of school and luscious foliage to get you excited for the changing seasons. 

Your pet, too, is probably welcoming the break from hot, sticky weather. But pet parents, beware—fall is also a time of lurking dangers for our furry friends. From household poisons to cold weather hazards, the season is a minefield! Here are some tips to keep your pet snug and healthy during the autumn months.

• The use of rodenticides increases in the fall as rodents seek shelter from the cooler temperatures by attempting to move indoors. Rodenticides are highly toxic to pets—if ingested, the results could be fatal. If you must use these products, do so with extreme caution and put them in places inaccessible to your pets. 
• It's back-to-school time, and those of you with young children know that means stocking up on fun items like glue sticks, pencils and magic markers. These items are considered “low toxicity” to pets, which means they're unlikely to cause serious problems unless large amounts are ingested. However, since gastrointestinal upset and blockages certainly are possible, be sure your children keep their school supplies out of paw's reach. 
• Training tip: If you and your pooch haven't been active outdoors in a while because of the summer heat, do some remedial recall training. Dogs, like people, get rusty on their skills if they aren't using them. 
• Fall and spring and are mushroom seasons. While 99% of mushrooms have little or no toxicity, the 1% that are highly toxic (PDF) can cause life-threatening problems in pets. Unfortunately, most of the highly toxic mushrooms are difficult to distinguish from the nontoxic ones, so the best way to keep pets from ingesting poisonous mushrooms is to keep them away from areas where any mushrooms are growing. Contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center immediately if you witness your pet eating a wild mushroom. 
• In order to generate body heat, pets who exercise heavily outdoors, or who live outdoors, should be given more food during colder seasons. Make sure horses and other outdoor animals have access to clean, fresh water that is not frozen. 
• Autumn is the season when snakes who are preparing for hibernation may be particularly “grumpy,” increasing the possibility of severe bites to those unlucky pups who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pet owners should know what kinds of venomous snakes may be in their environment—and where these snakes are most likely to be found—so they can keep pets out of those areas. 
• Many people choose fall as the time to change their car's engine coolant. Ethylene glycol-based coolants are highly toxic, so spills should be cleaned up immediately. Consider switching to propylene glycol-based coolants—though they aren't completely nontoxic, they are much less toxic than other engine coolants.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/autumn-safety-tips.aspx