Pets World

Dogs belong in packs and when they are domesticated, they still look at their families as their 'packs.' They need to be social and they need attention. The way dogs have been domesticated has created a bit of a problem. Allowing your dog to spend time with other dogs is not satisfactory. They need time with their human friends. Sure, we have lives that are extremely busy, so it can be difficult to give our dogs as much attention as we need. As we rush around like maniacs trying to get important things done, trying to spend time with our dogs can feel like a burden.

When you're feeling like this, spending time with your dog sure can seem like more of a chore than having a relaxing, fun time with your four legged friend. Taking him or her for a walk can feel like a chore among a million chores that you have to accomplish. This definitely lessens the quality of the time you spend with your dog. It shouldn't be this way but sometimes it seems like life has you by the collar!

The way that we live really does affect our dogs. For instance, if we are stressed out all the time, what kind of personal time we have, our general demeanor really have a lot to do with our dogs' temperament. The dogs sometimes take on their human companions' moods and feelings - to the point that if you're depressed or stressed out all the time, your dog can be anxious and depressed as well. Also, if we are busy with certain things, walking the dog or spending time with him can be pushed to the back burner and your dog will truly suffer because of this. There are a few things that you can do to make time for your dog so that he or she is not lonely!

* Take your dog with you when you are out doing the normal daily tasks. Whether you have to go pay bills, drive your children here or there or even going out for a drive, take your dog. He or she will love going, even if she has to sit in the car. Getting out of the house and having something different to look at is a great thing for your dog to get a chance to do. If you will have other people in the car, for instance if you will be driving your kids around or picking up friends, this is a great way for your furry friend to socialize. One thing you should be sure of is to never leave your dog for more than a half an hour in the car and you should NEVER leave your dog in the car on a hot day. This could result in fatal injuries due to the heat.

* Let your pooch sleep in the bedroom with you at night. He or she doesn't have to sleep on the bed - they can have a cozy spot in the corner. Still, just the time together with you is enough to put him or her at ease. Neither one of you have to do anything but you're spending time together anyway. This is a great thing to do. If you've noticed how dogs lie together when they are puppies, you will understand that dogs have an instinct to be close to the pack during times when they are vulnerable, like sleeping. This helps them to feel secure and safe. So, for an easy way to keep your dog happy and healthy, allow them to sleep in the bedroom with you at night. * Try exploring different areas with your dog. Becoming accustomed to the same old route can also become boring. Although dogs like familiar surroundings, they also appreciate exploring new areas and seeing new things. Taking your dog through the woods or down a new path or even to the beach would be a great idea. You could even take your dog on a hike. The key is for you to enjoy the time you spend together as well because then you will want to do it more often and that will help the relationship between you and your dog!

* Spend time with your dog while you're doing other things. You can multi-task and you won't have to feel guilty that you're not spending time with your dog. For instance, while you are watching television, you can brush and groom your dog. Or, if you're ready for a relaxing nap, allow your pooch to hop up on the couch and snooze along with you (unless of course he or she is a large breed dog - then you might get pushed off onto the floor!) Doing simple things like this can be very enjoyable for your dog and doesn't take much extra effort and no extra time from you!

* Encourage the other members of your household to play with your dog and spend time with him or her. If you live alone, you could hire a dog walker a few times a week (someone that you fully trust with your pet) and allow your dog the chance to interact with others and have a good time. If the dog lives in a house with children, this is great because children usually have tons of time and energy. Make sure that your dog understands that he or she is not dominant over the children and that the dog will obey the children's commands before you allow the child to play with the dog alone. Not only will this help keep your dog happy and well-adjusted, but it takes some of the responsibility off of your shoulders as well.

While you still need to spend a good amount of time with your dog, giving him or her attention, making sure that he or she is healthy and happy, you can make your life easier in some ways using the tips and tricks above.

Many people are taking many steps to try and live an eco-friendly lifestyle. One area in our lives that is easy to go "green" in, and often gets overlooked, is our pets. Here are five easy changes you can make to start being a more environmentally friendly pet owner:

• Don't use a lint roller. Instead, use a Fur-Zoff to clean up pet hair. Fur-Zoff is made from recycled materials and lasts forever. Lint rollers waste tons of paper, plastic, and money. A Fur-Zoff is only $9.99 at FurZoff.net
• Use biodegradable pet waste bags. Don't use a plastic bag for picking up the presents your pet leaves behind in the yard. Opt for a biodegradable bag, or even better, try using the stuff for compost.
• Eat Green. Buy organic pet food. It may cost a little more but it's a simple step to take. Newman's Own Organics is a good option for pet food.
• Play Green. Make pet toys out of old stuff or buy toys made from recycled materials. Look around your garage; I'm sure you have something that will work. Get creative!
• Adopt from a shelter. There are more pets than people born every day. Too many and the planet won't be able to sustain the population

This is just a start to becoming a "green" pet owner. They're simple steps to take, but you'll be surprised at the difference they make. Take the time to share with friends and family the changes you are making in being a "green" pet owner. It will help everyone make the changes together, resulting in a better environment for us and our furry friends.

Pet owners should know the sex of their pets, and dwarf hamster owners are no exception. It is not enough to ensure that they are cleaned, housed and fed; it is necessary to know whether you own a male or a female hamster as well.

As easy as it sounds, sexing dwarf hamsters can pose quite a challenge, most especially for new owners who know nothing about it.

This is because the tiny built of these hamsters makes it hard to determine their sex. Moreover, they are very fast and always moving around, and this surely makes sexing dwarf hamsters all the more difficult.

There are different varieties of dwarf hamsters. You will find that one of the most elusive and skittish hamsters are the Roborovski hamsters. If you have these at home, you probably know what I am talking about. If you have one of those Chinese dwarf hamsters, lucky you! These are easier to check since the males have more visible testicles as they are larger in size compared to most.

However, it is important to take note that when sexing dwarf hamsters, you need to exert some effort to make sure you get it right. Remember that these little ones are very energetic and move real fast. If you are not careful and gentle with them, you could end up hurting these little creatures.

When sexing dwarf hamsters, here are a few guidelines to prevent hurting your pet. The first thing to do is to check the scent gland which is visible in the male species. It is a yellow stain found somewhere around the belly button. All you need to do is to hold the dwarf hamster with its back resting on the palm of your hand. Your index finger and your thumb should be holding its chin or legs.

Then, your free hand should be used to clear the fur on its belly button area so you can see it easily. Next, let's talk about safety measures when sexing dwarf hamsters. You can make use of a large container that is covered with a towel. Inspect your hamster over it so that in the instance he moves or falls off, he will just end up in the container, thus preventing injury or possible escape.

There is also what is known as the glass view method which makes use of a clear glass container. It should be small in size so that your dwarf hamster will not be able to move around much, but not too small though that he or she will be uncomfortable inside it. From this container, you can simply observe and find out whether what you have is a male or female dwarf hamster.

We are the people who end up saying, "Aww," when we witness young kittens prancing around their mothers. Yes, kittens can be adorable! But what can you say about all the different species of cats that are there in the world. Maybe at a distance they are gorgeous but up close most people like to avoid the bigger cats of the world. But nonetheless, they are beautiful. All of you must be thinking why am I talking about cats, well, the reason is that the Zoo of Puerto Vallarta recently celebrated new additions to their small pride!

Since the past couple of weeks a wave of news cubs, have been welcomed at el Zoológico de Vallarta. A range of animals like Pumas, Jaguars, Leopards have come into their little kingdom. In total 2 African Leopards, 3 Americans Pumas, 2 Black Panthers (Melanistic Jaguars, one male and one female,) a White-headed Capuchin Monkey, 3 Common Jaguars, 5 African Dwarf Goats, and a few Guinea Pigs have been born. This is not the end folks! The Zoo of Puerto Vallarta is awaiting the arrivals of a Striped Hyena, a Canadian Wolf, a white Bengal Tiger, three Spider Monkeys, a Black Jaguar and an orange Bengal Tiger, over the coming weeks. Isn't that exciting? It is a sight worth watching!

The family who owns the Zoo, the Castañeda family, is deeply concerned about these animals and continuously strives for their preservation. They also believe that it is the utmost care and affection that they provide to the animals that in turn helps them to reproduce even in their confinement.

Speaking of animals, the Red Bone Team of PVYAFCA recently went to El Morro to fish for Tuna. This team even caught two large sized Tuna of about the 60 lb. during their 6 hour long Charter. The Bay of Banderas is home for the small Jacks, Bonitos and Dorados. Even big sized Sail Fish have been spotted in these regions. Big sized Rooster fish are also being brought in by Punta Mita.

The great fishing season has begun and the "Toroaba" boat has brought good hearty catches of Tuna, Dorado and even some Sail Fish. What was most exciting about this was that they even managed to get hold of some Black and Blue Marlin which was at the La Corbeteña.

At the El Banco, fish like Blue and Black Marlin, in addition to Tuna, Dorado and Sail Fish have been spotted. The season of fishing has very well taken off and will hopefully continue till the month of December. With the way the fish have been flowing in, a number of locals and tourists of Puerto Vallarta have begun their fishing escapades. It is fun and exciting and an activity that you can do with your entire family.

If you are a fan of fishing, Puerto Vallarta should be on your game plan. The coming months are expected to bring great catches for everyone. So do not miss out on your opportunity to bring home a trophy fish! You will receive the grandest fishing tours and the best boats to do your fishing around the Banderas Bay. So hurry and start your fishing season!

There are many different types of cages out there to buy when shopping for the right cage for your bird. When choosing a cage, not all cages are the same and some birds will not like one that is designed for another type of bird.The first thing that you need to look for when buying a parrot cage is to make sure that you are buying a cage that is safe for your bird. There are quite a few things that you have to look for when buying a cage that suitable for your parrot making it sometimes hard to find the right one.When going through all the expenses of buying a bird cage you have to understand that the biggest expense you are going to incur outside of purchasing the bird itself. So getting the cage that makes your parrot the happiest is something that you will definitely want to do.This is not the time to try to be cheap and cut corners. If you buy the right cage you will not have to worry about the expense of another for a long time to come. The first thing that you want to look for is the safety of the Bird Cages that you are looking at. You want to make sure that the bars of the cage are not easily bent.Stainless steel bars are the best thing that you can buy when looking for a bird cage. With that said, if you purchase anything else you may get a cage that the bars are made weak and make them easy to bend. Investing in a stainless steel cage upfront will keep your parrot much safer.One thing that you do not want to happen is for the bird to get metal poisoning from bars that rust easily. The one thing that stainless steel will do is not rust. And since they aren't going to rust it will keep the bird much safer.When talking about the bars that are on the cage you will want them to be the right spacing. The problem with getting bars that are to far apart is that the bird can squeeze his or her head through the bars and get stuck or even escape through them which are two things you don't want to happen.When shopping for a Parrot Cage you also want to make sure that you are taking size into consideration. The more room the parrot has the happier he or she will be. Remember that you will want to focus on width of the Bird Cages just as much as the height because parrots like to fly from side to side. The Parrot Cage that you purchase should also be one with a large enough door that the bird can easily and comfortably walk or fly out without getting hurt or stuck.Another thing that you want to take into consideration when getting a bird cage is to make sure that the one you buy comes with an easy to remove litter tray. This will make it much easier to clean the cage without disturbing the bird. All in all you need to keep an eye on a few things to ensure that your bird is safe and happy.