Archive for September, 2011
Explaining a Pet’s Death To a Child
Under 2: The child may realise the pet is gone but is more likely to be affected by the actions of those around them. If you are upset the child will pick up on that but they are too young to understand the subject of death and will probably not be affected by the pet being gone.
2 to 5: Between these ages the child will be aware that the pet is gone, and may miss playing with it. They are more likely to see the animals death as temporary, and will not be able to grasp that the pet is “not coming back”. Explaining to the child that the pet has died will probably be necessary, and it is important that you do make death sound frightening but that all pets die, and when they do die they are in a peaceful and happy place.
5 to 9: The child will be more likely to understand that death is permanent, and will be more traumatised by the pets death. They may cry a lot and experience feelings of guilt. It is important that the child understands that all pets die, and that it is not their fault.
Poor Pet Digestion
Eating too much too quickly:
It is known that some dogs eat very quickly. Some of them devour their food without even tasting it, but that’s just their instinct. However, if they ingest too much food at a time and too quickly, it can be hard on the digestive system. The stomach and intestines have a harder time working on the food. It can be hard to teach your dog how to eat more slowly, but it can be done if you introduce them to smaller portions of food at a time. You may also need to provide them with food that they do not enjoy as much so they won’t eat it as fast. It might not make them happy at the moment, but it will make them happy in the long-run when they feel healthy and energized. Cats generally do not eat as fast as dogs, but if you have one that devours its food, you can follow these tips as well.
Eating food from the human table:
We all are guilty of feeding our dogs from the table, especially when they look at us with those cute “puppy dog” eyes. However, this habit needs to go away if your pet’s digestion is being compromised. Not all dogs digest human food the same way…in fact, some dogs can’t even start to digest certain compounds in human food and should never consume certain foods at all. Many humans are unaware of this, leading to unfortunate consequences. To avoid problems, it is best to prohibit all “people foods” from your pets, no matter how much they beg. Also, if you have a dog and a cat, keep them away from each others food. Cat food can compromise dog digestion and vice versa.
Commercial Pet Food
As far as nutrition, these foods are fillers and supplements at best, but the real shocker is the amount of toxins and “animal byproduct” in each bag. These foods do much more harm than good, causing your pet’s health to decline early in life and ultimately leading to untimely death at. Consumption on an ordinary basis, commercial dog food manufacturers use meats that are far below the quality allowed by the FDA for human. This will not surprise most people. However, these meats are not only chicken by products, sick cow parts, feathers, and other unmentionable parts, but are often dead cats and dogs have been gassed and Which are received from shelters, zoo animals euthanized, and sometimes even roadkill. On top of the potential risk of infection and illnesses associated with eating such poor quality meat, the toxins used to euthanize these animals are clearly lethal. Levels of these chemicals can build up in your pet’s body and over time and sometimes acutely cause organ failure and death.