PetSet Boutique

Like people, some dogs cannot be comfortable on a stack of worn down pillows or a hard, cold floor with sheets.  Canines require the a reasonable amount of sleep and rest like humans, so purchasing a dog bed for your furry little friend would be a great idea; after all, you wouldn’t want to sleep on a cold floor yourself, would you?

There are lots of fun choices of cool dog beds.  To some, it may seem a bit far-fetched to buy a dog a luxury bed, but why wouldn’t you do that for your best friend?

The most popular hamster is the Syrian or Golden Hamster, that is commonly kept as a pet.  

 It is also sometimes called a “fancy” hamster. 

 Hamsters should be kept in cages or aquarium type dwellings available in pet supplies.  Glass containers keep hamsters from throwing litter out of their cages, provide a better view into the hamster’s home, while creating a quieter and more sheltered interior.  Self-built dwellings should avoid materials that are dangerous to the animals. Plywood and conifer wood is not suitable, due to hamsters gnawing at their houses.  Glue and resin are poisonous to them  A purchased cage can be equipped with several intermediate levels, connected using stairs. 

Hamsters thrive best in a well-lit room of constant, moderate temperature (18 to 26°C, 64 to 80°F), in a place out of strong sunlight that could cause dangerous overheating.  Dwarf hamsters like it a bit cooler  The floor of a hamster’s cage is generally covered with  litter.  Litter made from recycled paper or wood lacking aromatic oils (such as aspen) is healthiest. Cat litter can be deadly, and cedar, pine, or other softwood-based litters may contain elements that can irritate a hamster’s respiratory system, liver, and skin. A good commercial bedding available.

  “Exercise wheels” allow hamsters to run full speed.  Choice tests have shown that adult Syrian hamsters prefer wheels that are as large as possible.  Olive oil (which is harmless to a hamster) can be used to lubricate the axle of the exercise wheel.  Vegetable oil can also be used in the same manner.  Lack of exercises for a hamster may cause it to suffer and get paralysis.  Affected hamsters will have a hunched over posture. 

Hamsters are nest builders, so you can supply twigs, leaves and wood bits so that they can build a secure spot in a corner of their cage.   Avoid using newspapers as the ink  might be ingested when the hamster chews on it.

Hamsters, are also gnawers, and need to be supplied with appropriate materials for this behavior.  An example, an edible gnaw toy can be placed in the cage. Failure to give your hamster a gnaw toy can cause dental problems, as the incisors, which grow continually, will become too long and cause discomfort and/or eating problems.    Fresh vegetables  and fruits, seeds, and insects like grasshoppers make up an important diet for hamsters.   

 Take note not all foods are suitable for hamsters tomatoes, rubarb and citrus fruits are dangerous for hamsters.  Dry food generally makes up the bulk of a hamster’s diet. The standard rodent food sold in pet stores, most other kinds of seeds, kernels, and nuts can be given.  Bird food like millet is a noteworthy alternative for small hamsters.

I like to take my dog for a jog in the morning, but on darker or cloudy days, we’re less visible.  I want to make sure that my dog gets out of the house, but I don’t want to risk his safety, which is why I purchased a dog safety vest for him.  Similar to the vests worn by construction workers and crossing guards, this bright orange vest has reflective tape and can be seen in the dark and foggy mornings.

Now when we go out, I don’t have to worry about either one of us getting hurt due to low visibility.

Lift the cat litter box and tilt it toward the back. Shake the box gently up and down. You should see urine balls emerge and float toward the top. Repeat this step, lifting the box and shaking a few times but this time at the opposite end. At this point, the majority of the waste is now on the surface and available for easy removal. If shaking the box causes the litter to throw off a lot of dust, skip this step. The dustiness of the litter will depend on the brand and quality that you buy.

Remove clumps from the edges. All too often you’ll find a clump of litter cemented to the box. This stuff is clay and it sticks well. Do not attempt to scrape this mess off. It will fall into crumbs that are impossible to remove with a scoop and will contaminate your litter and the box will stink of urine no matter what. This is important - keep the pee balls intact to the extent possible. Here’s the trick: remove the cemented waste by lifting the box so that you can tap on the outside of the box and knock off the cling on in one piece. If you have a liner, pull on it so that the clump turns on its side and falls off of the plastic.

Scoop waste into a zip bag, zip close, then put into a small trash can with a lid. Take out with the trash. You will never have a smell or the mess of a spill.

Replenish the litter. Use enough litter up to 2 inches tall, since most cats (especially long-haired) won’t use litter that’s deeper or might dig a big hole, causing litter to spill over the sides. Use your scoop to grade the gravel so that it slopes up high on both ends of the litter box, forming a gentle trough. This slope is key to keeping your box clean - you want to maximize the depth of the litter where the cat pees so that the litter can absorb the waste before it reaches the plastic sides or bottom of the box and sticks to it like glue. Cats, especially male cats, tend to urinate at either end of the box, rarely in the middle.

I wanted to share with you a couple of personal incidents with rawhide dog chews. 

I had a beautiful Britney Spaniel and I gave her a rawhide bone to chew on.  My son went in the kitchen and she was laying on the floor dying.  He yelled and I went running in to find her sprawled out on the floor and unable to breath.  Prying open her mouth I found a chunk of rawhide she had chewed off lodged in her throat.  I had to shove my hand down in her throat to retrieve it and give her mouth to nose air.  I was very lucky that she survived and from that moment on she never left my side.   I truly believe she knew I saved her life.

 Another incident occurred when I went to visit my mother one day and during our conversation I happened to look over and saw her Spits gasping for air.  I ran over to check on her and she had a piece of rawhide lodged in her throat.  I quickly pushed my fingers into her mouth and removed it, however, she wasn’t as grateful as my Britney she tried to bite me.  

You will not find rawhide on my site.  I do not want to add to a pets death or discomfort.

I hope this information has been helpful.  Please use Rawhide Chews with caution and Monitor your pet.  It could save his/her life!

Our modern dogs diverged from wolves about 100,000 years ago, and dogs were domesticated from those wolf ancestors about 15,000 years ago.  This date would make dogs the first species to be domesticated by humans.

Evidence suggests that dogs were first domesticated in East Asia or possibly China, and some of the humans who entered North America took dogs with them from Asia. As people migrated around the planet, a variety of dog forms migrated with them. The agricultural revolution and subsequent urban revolution led to an increase in the dog population and a demand for specialization. This demand for specialization provided the opportunity for selective breeding to create specialized working dogs and pets.

Today we can find training information and items to help train a domestic dog by using no-pull trainers, dvd training, wooden gates and more.

The domestic cat has had a very long history with man that  dating back over 9,500 years.  Cats were often considered evil with the Devil because of their aloof and independent nature, cats were killed en masse.If this bias toward cats had not existed, local rodent populations could have been kept down, lessening the spread of plague-infected fleas from host to host.

I am glad that cats are the way they are today because I love to take my cat Sabrina everywhere I go in her cat tote carrier.