Pets

Heartworm Disease is 'a preventable disease, which is why it's so frustrating as a practitioner when you see a case,' says Melanie McLean, D.V.M., a veterinarian at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Treatment can be hard on animals, and McLean says 'it's much easier and healthier for the pet to prevent the disease in the first place.'

Heartworm disease due to Dirofilaria immitis continues to cause severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage, and death in pets, mainly dogs, cats, and ferrets in many parts of the world, even though safe, highly effective and convenient preventatives have been available for the past two decades.

Dog trainers regularly use language that you may find confusing at first. Don't worry. This article gets you started by providing you with dog training and animal behavior terms and definitions. Once you understand these terms, you'll speak the same language as your dog trainer.

Cat fleas are dark reddish-brown in color. the females are 2 - 2.5 mm long and the males slightly smaller. The life cycle of the flea begins when the female lays eggs which hatch into larvae. Each larva eventually spins a cocoon where it transforms into a pupa and finally emerges as an adult flea.

Fleas are probably the most successful creatures on the planet in terms of reproduction. There are over 2,400 species. One female flea will produce 25,000 offspring in one month. They are difficult to control for a variety of reasons.

Every dog needs a collar, chiefly because they need something on which to hang their leash, license, ID and rabies vaccination tag. There are so many styles of collar out there that it's easy to get one that reflects your dog's (or your) personality.

If you are already the guardian of a cat and want to adopt another, it is best to adopt one that is younger, smaller, and the opposite sex of the one you now have. Your older, larger cat will be more accepting of a younger, smaller cat. To avoid inter/male, inter/female rivalry, it is best to adopt the opposite sex.

Positive dog training means using rewards/positive reinforcement rather than punishment and corrections to train. With positive methods, the dog is guided/lured into doing the behavior and rewarded (usually with a food treat) when he complies. Because harsh methods are not used, training can begin very early, and most puppies quickly learn the basics without ever having their collars jerked or seeing a rolled-up newspaper!

Cats are like people. They are all different. Like people, it is difficult to tell how they will turn out as adults. There are, however, some important factors influencing whether or not a cat will extend that basic shyness into fear.

No two dogs, or two human handlers, are alike. You should treat every dog and every handler as an individual. Here is a list of commonly used training tools. These tools help each dog, and each handler has a positive, successful training experience promoting the human-canine bond.