My Blog Address Has Changed

Hello everyone!

Owing to positive changes in my company's website - my blog address has changed. Please come see me at petlane.wordpress.com Same blog - new address!

Petco Pet Food Recall

A little over a year ago, thousands of pounds of pet food was recalled because it had been contaminated. Two days ago, I received a call telling me that Petco has had to shut down one of its distribution centers as a result of "unsanitary" conditions. The FDA reported that "During an FDA inspection of a PETCO distribution center in April, widespread and active rodent and bird infestation was found. The FDA inspected the facility again in May and found continuing and widespread infestation." (You can read the full report at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01854.html) What is frightening about this sentence is that this problem was originally noted in April and apparently no action was taken at that time. There are numerous small boutiques and online companies like Petlane that truly have the welfare of companion animals at heart.

Tips for Travelling With Your Pet

Loki loved to go hiking and camping. By the time she was 6, she had been up and down the West Coast and seen everything from deserts to mountains. During the day, she alternated between roaming the trails and riding around on top of her dad’s backpack. At night, she shared a tent, and frequently a sleeping bag, with her parents. No one in is quite sure how they started taking Loki hiking and camping. After all, it’s not exactly usual to bring your Siamese cat with you when you go hiking in Death Valley or the high country in Oregon.

Although Loki’s parents may have been a little ahead of their time, today it is completely common for people to bring their companion animals on trips of all types. If you are planning to travel with your pet, here are some tips to make the trip significantly more enjoyable for both you and your furry or feathered friends.

1. First and foremost, make sure that the place(s) you are planning to stay accepts animals. The book Vacationing with Your Pet is an invaluable resource for identifying pet friendly hotels across the country.
2. Put identification tags on all your animals - even those remaining at home. If you know the information, put a temporary tag on your dog or cat (the ones you get at the airport to put on your luggage work great) with the phone number and address of the home or hotel where you will be staying your trip.
3. Ensure that you have plenty of food and water for your pet. The Pet King Travel Bowl and Jr. Pet King Travel Bowl are compact, lightweight, and feature leak-proof lids. If you are just gone for the day, fill the bowls in advance and bring them with you. They are perfect for picnics and hotel room feedings.
4. Put a copy of the book Pet First Aid in your car or suitcase. This book is approved for use by the American Red Cross and covers just about any situation - from snake bites and bee stings to treating seizures.
5. If you are planning to travel by car (I'll talk about airplane travel in my next post), make sure that your animal is safely restrained. And never leave your companion animal in a car unattended. Every year, numerous pets die in cars because their owners left them in a hot car for “only a few minutes."

Give Your Dog A Bone

Whether you have a brand new puppy or a faithful old friend, one of the best things you can do for your dog is provide him with a chew bone or chew toy/treat of his very own. Aside from being just plain fun, bones provide important benefits:
•Bones improve dental health by helping to scrape away plaque, control tartar buildup, and maintain gum health. This diminishes bad breath, keeps teeth whiter, and reduces the risk of potentially serious dental problems.
•Bones provide stimulating activity by entertaining your dog for hours and keeping his mind stimulated. This is especially important for older dogs who may not be as active.
•Bones satisfy your dog's innate urge to chew, helping you to avoid destructive (and frequently expensive) chewing behavior from both puppies and adult dogs.
•If you have a puppy, bones relieve your puppy's teething pain, and stimulate the growth of adult teeth.
•When choosing what bones to carry, Petlane makes safety and quality their top priorities. We purchase from a company that does not allow any chemicals or preservatives to be used on the bones, uses only FDA food grade natural flavorings, and supplies only USDA inspected products. Our bones will not permanently stain your carpet – any spots can be easily removed with standard carpet cleaner. Go ahead, give your dog a bone and satisfy your dog’s innate need to chew – safely. Note that for safety reasons dogs should never be left unattended with a bone.

Pet Food

This is actually a personal experience that I felt was worth sharing. Yesterday, I took my dog on a walk to the nearby pet store. Oh and just for clarification, I do work for a pet company and I still occasionally patronize the big box stores because I do need items (such as flexi leashes) that my company does not sell.

Jade is a sniffer which means that when we walk we go about two feet an hour because Jade has to stop every 30 seconds to smell something. The pet store for him is sort of like a candy store for a kid because of the incredible mix of smells. We had only been in the store about five minutes when Jade found a specific spot right in the middle of the store that he decided he needed to claim as his. As a result, I walked very shamefacedly up to the checkout stand and said "my 6 year old, housebroken, just went for a long walk Cavalier just peed on your floor and I am so sorry."

The employee was extremely nice about it and said not to worry, it happens all the time. I pointed to the spot where Jade had peed and she headed over with cleanup solution and rag, commenting that the spot Jade picked is the number one pee spot in the store. Apparently every dog that comes in wants to claim that spot for him or herself. What bothered me about that statement was that that spot contained a large pallet of dry dog food. All I could think was that a) some poor soul is going to be buying a bag of dog food that has been peed on multiple times by multiple dogs and b) I am so relieved that I feed Jade Petlane's Pure Woof dog food which I can say with confidence has no, shall we say, unknown added ingredients.

Do Not Declaw Your Cat

The last two blog posts have been geared at simple steps you can take to allow your cat to engage in the natural behavior of scratching, and to ensure that that behavior occurs on scratching posts and not your favorite couch or chair. If you have tried all of my suggestions and you are still having problems, it is probably time to call in a behaviorist. Please do not resort to having your cat declawed.

Trimming your cat's claws is a healthy and usually painless process. Declawing on the other hand is a surgical procedure, also called onychectomy, in which the animal's toes are amputated at the last joint. Most people do not realize that a portion of the bone - not only nail - is removed. Declawing may result in permanent lameness, arthritis, and other long-term complications. It is actually illegal in many countries. To learn more about declawing and how you can help rehabilitate big cats that have been maimed from declawing operations, visit http://www.pawproject.com/.

Choosing a Scratching Post for Your Cat

You already know that cats love to scratch - you see the evidence on your furniture, drapes, and carpet. The easiest and cheapest solution to solving the scratching problem is to offer your cat two or three quality cat scratchers. The good news is that quality cat scratchers are easy to come by, and can cost as little as $12-16 dollars. Here are some tips for choosing a good quality cat scratcher:

1. Choose an angled scratcher or scratching post that goes straight up and down Cats like to stretch and scratch at the same time and angled scratchers give them this opportunity. All cats I know love the Alpine Scratcher. Avoid scratchers that lie flat on the floor.
2. Pay attention to the sturdiness and stability of the scratcher. Your cat needs a scratcher that will not move or topple over every time he goes to scratch.
3. Look for a scratcher that is made from cardboard or covered in sisal. Outdoor cats love to use trees as their scratching post and sisal and cardboard provide a similar feel; as well both surfaces also help cats to shed their outer layer of their claws - one of the reasons cats scratch in the first place).