How to Pet-Proof Your Holidays

The "end of the year" holidays can present some particular hazards to the health of your pet and consequently to your peace of mind. Here are some ideas that have worked for my mom, dad and us pets to make this time a happy one for all.

Make sure you check your veterinarian's holiday hours and emergency contacts and have the information easily accessible.

Think before you decorate with plants. Cats, dogs and birds will all nibble household plants and many, including mistletoe and some poinsettias, can make your pet very ill. Make sure your holiday greenery (and "red-ery") is out of your pet's reach.

The same is true if you have a Christmas tree. You should put only unbreakable decorations at the bottom of your tree, so there is no danger of your cat batting a glass ball and breaking it, or the pup chewing your grandmother's antique bubble lights. How about some kitty baubles or doggie toys on the lower branches instead?

Or, do what mom and dad did when they had both pets and little ones. They put the tree and gifts into a playpen. That may not stop Kitty, but at least the tree can't fall down as easily when he or she climbs it.

Another oft-forgotten item: if you have a live tree in water, wrap the base so your pets can't decide to take a drink of that water and keep the birds away from the tree as many modern live trees have been sprayed with chemicals that may be toxic to your little friends.

Be very, very careful about candles. Your cat or bird may be enticed by the flicker of the flame, and may singe his whiskers or worse. Place glass "hurricane lanterns" or other attractive covers over candles to protect your home and your pets.

Think ahead to New Years Eve and plan how to keep your pets from becoming frightened by the traditional firecrackers and other noisy merriment. Like me, some dogs may be severely traumatized by fireworks or other loud noises, so be sure to leave them inside if you go out to celebrate.

Pets, especially dogs and cats, may be stressed by the changes in household routine during the holidays, particularly if you are stressed yourself. Some cats and dogs respond to stress by becoming hyper or hysterical and some simply retreat. Plan to spend some special time with your pets to calm yourself and reassure them during this period and if your pet is especially upset with strangers visiting, prepare a "refuge" he or she can go to and escape the "maddening crowd."

To "wrap this up," have a "Meowry" Christmas, and a "Hoppy" New Year!

Until next time,

Teia

PS. This is being posted ahead of the start of the holiday season so that you can include the suggestions in your holiday plans. Birdhouse Publishing and your pet(s) thank you for keeping your pets in mind during this hectic time of year.

Budgerigars Frequently Suffer From Scaly Face

Pictured to the left is a healthy male Budgerigar.

Scaly face is a common condition in birds caused by a mite called Knemidocoptes. This scaly face condition is seen mostly in budgerigars and by knowing what symptoms to look for you will be able to provide treatment for your bird much earlier in the onset of an infestation. If the mites are not identified early, the damage could be severe.

Knemidocoptes is a burrowing mite that can cause disfiguring changes of the beak, legs and feet of birds. The mite has a three-week life cycle and stays on the bird the whole time. The mites burrow into the skin and feather follicles around the cere, feet and face where they feed on keratin. As the mites burrow, they leave characteristic honeycomb lesions. The mites are transmitted from bird to bird by close contact.

Although this mite most commonly affects budgerigars, many different species of birds are affected. This mite can affect all chickens, turkeys, finches, canaries, parakeets and parrots. Although the clinical signs of this mite can vary between species of birds, the basic lesions are the same.

Knemidocoptes occurs mostly in birds that have a weaker immune system. Lesions to look for include scaling, crusting and grayish lesions on the skin around the beak, eyes, legs and feet. The mites burrow into the skin leaving large tunnels resulting in the characteristic honeycomb lesion.

In severe cases the beak will start to grow malformed and it might become hard for the bird to breathe. Also, the legs and feet will also become malformed and the bird will become lame. Swollen nail beds and misshaped nails can also occur.

Both male and female budgerigars may be affected, but the disease is most commonly seen in fledglings and younger adults. The lesions usually appear over the course of months and the progression of the disease is slow.

Normally the first lesions to appear are at the corners of the beak. In most cases the condition is confined to the base and top of the beak. Normally the condition does not cause itching in the birds. The fact that the condition does not cause itching is why the honeycomb lesions and the location of the lesions will help your veterinarian determine that this condition is scaly face.

Your veterinarian will usually do a skin scraping of your bird to help confirm the diagnosis. Treatment usually consists of Ivermectin or Moxidectin. Either of these drugs can be given to treat the mites. These drugs can be given in varying forms and doses, so consult your veterinarian before treatment.

By knowing what signs to look for in your budgerigars, you'll be able to catch this condition in its early stages to hopefully prevent further damage and prevent further infestations.

Until next time,

Teia

Attracting Birds to Your Garden

The type of birds that will be attracted to your garden will be determined by the geographic location of your garden. For example, if you live in northern Canada, you are unlikely to attract Hummingbirds to your garden. Similarly if you live in the southern United States, you are unlikely to attract Ptarmigan to your garden.

To find out which birds are in your geographic area, you should consult bird books written by specialists from your area. You can also talk to avid bird watchers who live in your area. They should be able to tell you what you can expect to see in the way of birds coming to your garden, Libraries and book stores should have books that will identify which migrating birds may pass through your area.

Once you know what type of birds you can expect to find in your geographic area you can then get books to see what type of food and habitat that these birds require. You have to create an environment in your garden that will attract the type of birds you wish to have there.

Birds need water. If you supply this vital necessity in the form of a bird bath or a pond, you will have many types of birds come to your garden. Installation of bird feeders will provide food for visiting birds. It is also advisable to plant flowers, shrubs or trees that attract birds or provide berries or fruit that birds eat. Bird houses of the size and construction specific to certain birds resident in your area during breeding season will also attract birds to your yard. For example if purple martins reside in your area during the breeding season, installation of purple martin apartment style bird houses will probably result in these birds nesting in your bird houses. Not only will you get a chance to see these birds on a daily basis, but they will greatly reduce the number of mosquitoes in your area.

My mom and dad provide bird feeders on a year around basis in our yard and as a result we have many birds coming to visit. I often sit or lay on the arm of the love seat near the front windows and watch all these birds flying into and out of the yard. In winter we have Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Grosbeaks, Gray Jays, Ravens, Magpies, Sparrows, Pigeons, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Bohemian Waxwings and Chickadees in our yard. In the summer, we have Crows, Gray Jays, Magpies, Sparrows, Pigeons, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Evening Grosbeaks, Bohemian Waxwings, Cedar Waxwings, American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, Red-wing Blackbirds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Cowbirds, Brewers Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Dark-eyed Junks, Robins, Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows in the yard or flying above it. We occasionally have Merlins and American Kestrels swooping through the yard in the warmer weather looking for an unwary song bird to catch for a fresh meal. Other occasional visitors are Blue Jays, Kinglets, Nuthatches, Ptarmigan, Mourning Doves, Wrens, Swainson's Thrush, Warblers, Lark Bunting, Lapland Longspurs, and Snow Buntings.

We have a number of Manitoba Maple trees separating the front of our yard from the street and this encourages birds to come into our yard as does the Mountain Ash tree which produces juicy berries in the fall.

By providing food, water and quiet hiding places for birds, you will have these winged visitors in your yard in no time.

Until next time,

Teia

Ten Steps to Finding the Perfect Sitter for Your Pet

Your tickets are purchased, the flight is on time, the bags are packed and the kids are finally ready. But just as you’re rushing out the door, you run into "Bowser" with those big, sad puppy eyes. Oh No, what about "Bowser"?

When planning vacation and holiday getaways, pets are often a forgotten, last-minute detail and as your chosen companion, they shouldn’t be. In order to avoid this, I’m offering a great solution.

When you are planning your next holiday, consider using a pet sitter. It allows your dog, cat, bird, rabbit or whatever pet you have, to stay in the comfort of his own home and maintain his normal routine. These are things well-meaning friends or family, pet stores (in some areas pet stores will board your non dog or cat pet) and certainly kennels, cannot offer. Also, having a trusted pet sitter in your home can help protect your home from intruders.

So, how do you find the perfect pet sitter? Start looking before your next trip and follow these ten recommendations.

1. Personal Referrals. Ask trusted friends or family members if they can recommend a pet sitter they have used. Word-of-mouth referral by someone you know is often the best reference. If none of these can provide the name of a sitter, then check with local pet stores or the local branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) as both should know of local pet sitters. Once you have several names, proceed to step two.

2. The Interview. Set up a meeting in your home with each potential pet sitter. Watch how the sitter interacts with your pet. Are they actively involved with the pet or are they distant or restrained around him? Does your pet want the pet sitter’s attention? Don’t second-guess your pet’s reaction or your own. If your pet and the sitter don’t seem to interact in a positive way, move on.

3. Questions and more Questions. The kind and volume of questions the pet sitters ask will indicate their actual experience in caring for your particular pet. A professional sitter will take notes and you should too. If they don’t ask questions, cross them off your list.

4. Affiliations. Judging a pet sitter solely by an organization affiliation such as Pet Sitters International or National Association of Professional Pet Sitters is tempting. However, remember that national organizations do not know these individuals or their reputation. Instead, ask for local affiliations and follow-up. This is EXTREMELY important. A number of years ago, my mom and dad hired a pet sitter without doing the follow up. She impressed both of them. All of us pets reacted positively during the interview, so they made the mistake of bypassing the follow up. That was a big mistake as it turned out. She dumped a bag of dog food into our dishes and onto the kitchen floor, put several water bowls down, dumped bird food into Bert’s (the parrot) and Cisco’s (the cockatiel) dishes and proceeded to party with her boyfriend in our home for two weeks. When mom and dad came home there was rotting dog food all over the kitchen, dried pee spots all over the house and piles of dog manure everywhere (she seldom let us go out into the fenced back yard). Cisco and Bert only had seed husks in their food dishes and only a few drops of filthy water in their water dishes. All of mom and dad’s liquor was gone, the money they had left for her to buy food, etc. was gone and there were dirty dishes, empty pizza boxes and potato chip bags everywhere. Mom and dad tried to contact her, but her landlady said she had moved out a couple of days before they got home. They never did find her, so she must have left the city we were living in at that time. The clean up costs greatly exceeded the money that she would have been paid if she had done her job as promised.

5. Client References. Ask for other client references. These will help you get a clearer idea of what to expect if you hire this person. Strangely enough, the young lady mentioned above had a number of client references and when these people were phoned, they gave glowing recommendations. What made her stay at our house different we were never able to learn.

6. Bonding & Insurance. Bonding and insurance protects you in the case of damage or theft of your property. However, this does NOT ensure that the pet sitter is reliable, caring or trustworthy.

Unfortunately insurance was not available when we had the above problems. Insurance of this type is relatively new in our part of Canada.

7. The Dotted Line. Ask for a copy of their contract and carefully review the details later. A contract will protect you and your pets. It will also spell out exactly what you can and cannot expect from the pet sitter. It should also list the appropriate rates for all services offered. Do not hesitate to ask questions!

8. Arrange another visit. Arrange for the pet sitter to spend some time alone with your pets, particularly your dog(s). A walk with your dog is a great idea. Monitor your dog’s reaction. Is he happy and comfortable with the pet sitter? Or does he seem eager to get away from the sitter? This also gives the pet sitter a chance to see if she or he can appropriately handle your dog(s), particularly if one or more of your dogs is a large-breed, strong or very energetic.

9. Listen to your gut! Finally, go with your gut feeling! If it doesn’t "feel" right, it’s not, so keep looking.

10. Before you leave. Leave detailed instructions (prepared earlier), phone number(s) in the event of an emergency, and your vet’s name and number.

If you invest your time in advance and follow these steps, you will ensure the best possible pet sitting experience. So the next time you’re making those early travel plans, remember to put "Bowser" and his pet sitter on your checklist, so you can avoid those big, sad puppy eyes.

Until next time,

Teia