We’ve all heard stories of animal bravery. It’s no wonder we refer to dogs as “man’s best friend,” when on numerous occasions we see examples of unbelievable animal valor. Even though we give our pets their due, you can’t ever say or hear enough about a heroic pet. So to commemorate the random acts of heroism performed by pets around the world, here is a short list of the top 3 most heroic dogs in history! Trakr the German shepherd- Trakr is an animal so famous that they cloned him. This heroic animal was the one to discover the final survivor buried beneath the wreckage at Ground Zero of the 9/11 attacks. The brave pooch and his handler, a Canadian police officer, spent all day September 12 2001 searching the rubble for signs of life. He eventually collapsed due to exhaustion, smoke inhalation, and burns. He recovered the day after, but eventually died due to a neurological disease that he may have contracted during the search. Trakr actually had already accrued quite a history of heroism prior to his most famous exploit. He was a police dog in Halifax, Nova Scotia, responsible for the retrieval of over one million dollars’ worth of contraband, and instrumental in the capture of dozens of criminal suspects. Trakr is truly the definition of a heroic hound. Seargent Stubby- Seargent Stubby was the most decorated war dog of WWI. The dog was a stray of unknown breeding, adopted by the 26th division of the 102nd infantry division. Stubby was initially a mascot for the division, but became adept at predicting mustard gas attacks after being exposed to the dastardly substance himself. In addition to sniffing out gas attacks, the courageous canine located wounded soldiers throughout the battlefield, and warned of incoming artillery fire due to the high pitched whine that would signal an approaching shell. After the war, Stubby enjoyed celebrity status, often leading parades. He also became the official mascot of the Georgetown University football team. Tog the Siberian Huskee- Togo is truly the unsung hero of rescue dogs. During a dreadful cold Alaskan winter, an outbreak of deadly diphtheria swept through Nome. The only way to retrieve the medicine that would save dozens of children’s lives was by dog sled. If the story sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the plot to Balto. An animated feature film that told the story of the dog that led the sled during the last leg of the relay. However, most historians consider Togo to be the real hero of the journey. At the ripe old age of 12 years, he led the team over 365 miles round trip through subzero temperatures that reached as low as -65 degrees Celsius.   The snow and wind was so heavy that the musher, Leonhard Seppala,  couldn’t even see the path. Togo had to navigate the storm on his own, and led the team to safety several times throughout the perilous journey. Check back for more tales of heroic pets!

So you’ve spent all week wearing your dog out. You’ve been to the park, on long walks, and capped it all off with a muddy trip to a lake.  You two have been on the go and keeping active, which is all well and good, but now it’s time to get cleaned up. That’s right the dreaded day on every doggy’s schedule. It’s… Bath Day! Dun Dun Dunnnnn! A puppy bath can be nightmare for many canines, but a little preparation and a positive mindset can go a long way in preventing unwanted stress. Bathing your dog doesn’t have to be a big pain if you use a no-nonsense approach. Here are a few pointers to get you started in the right direction: Don’t wash your dog too often! So how often should you bathe your dog? It depends on the breed; you’ll need to look up the specific information. Some dogs such as Shiba Inu’s have a waterproof coat that has natural oils which can be stripped if the dog is bathed too frequently. Choose a good shampoo! Those natural oils I was just talking about? They’re actually on every dog in varying amounts. So when a shampoo that isn’t specifically suited to animal fur is used, it will strip your pup’s skin in a second. Look for dog shampoos labeled: “Formulated for veterinary use.” Give your dog plenty of exercise beforehand! You have a choice. Bathe a tired dog or a fresh and frisky one. Which seems like it might be easier? It’s best to let your dogs expend a lot of energy before bathing. That way they won’t be as vigorous in their resistance. Make it fun! Try using bubbles. It doesn’t always work, but if your dog can have fun in a lake it’s not like they associate all water with a bad time. So if you bring some bubbles into the mix, you might just convince the canine that bath time is actually fun.  Stay positive! Remember that dogs feed off of your emotions. If you think this is going to be fun, and choose to see it as a bonding experience with your dog then chances are they’ll follow suit. You’re the pack leader, so make your pup fall in line. These are just some basic tips that should allow you and your dog to have a very positive experience at bath time. A lot of dogs hate being cleaned. After all, they worked hard to acquire all of those bad smells. Which, by the way, they think are pretty awesome.  So you’ll have to expect that there is some resistance, but if you follow these simple steps and come at the chore with a "can do" attitude, then you shouldn’t have much trouble bathing your dog. And if all else fails you can always try a mobile grooming service.  Make sure to keep informed with more informative articles and advice from your friends here at Petbucket!

We’ll jump right in where we left off in our last post: with the interview process. After you’ve narrowed the field of applicants and checked your potential professional pet sitter’s credentials with a phone screening, reference check, and possibly a background check,  it’s time to go to the final stage. You’ll be interviewing your pet sitter in person. This is the most exciting part of the process because you get to finally meet the caretaker your dog or cat will most closely associate with outside of your own sweet self. So here are a few things to look for in the face to face: Insurance- this is a big one. You want to make sure that your pet sitter is a pro. To do that you’ve got to find out if he or she is insured against negligence and accidents. If they aren’t then they’ll be opening themselves up to potential trouble, and if they aren’t careful enough to protect themselves, then it doesn’t give you much confidence in their determination to care for your pet, does it? What sort of related services come with the pet sitting? Will she be able to groom, walk, train, and play with the dog or cat? Or is this an exclusive “feed and let out” sort of situation? You want to get the absolute maximum amount of service for your dollar here. What sort of training or experience do they have? This could probably be taken care of in the phone screening process, but you want to reinforce what you know about the sitter. So be sure to ask again, and be aware that plenty of personal life experience with dogs and cats can translate pretty well in these situations. We take it seriously, but it’s not rocket science. Look for a written contract. Whenever dealing with a service professional in your home it’s nice to have terms written out on paper that can easily be referred back to. Find out what emergency procedures the sitter will take. Say your pet gets  injured? What steps will you’re the sitter take to insure they will be taken care of? Better to find out ahead of time just in case. These are some basic tips to gear your mind toward the important stuff. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and you should definitely come up with your own questions according to your own priorities. Once you’ve chosen your professional pet sitter the difficult part is over! You can head back to the coal mine with the peace of mind that your cat or dog is well attended while you’re away. Not only that, but they’ll be better behaved, have more exercise, and be much better tempered from the human contact that you’ve provided for them in your absence. Pat yourself on the back, and scratch them behind the ears because you two make an awesome team! Stay tuned for more pet tips from your friends here at Petbucket, and have a happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!

Sometimes keeping a steady job can be difficult. Especially if you have a pet at home who’s attention starved and lonely. Those ten hour shifts won’t work themselves and if you happen to be living the bachelor(ette) lifestyle it can be an easy thing to let your animal companions fall into neglect. Pets feed on human attention at almost the same rate they feed on their kibbles and bits, but you’ve got to work, so what’s to be done? Well, luckily for you there is a whole section of professionals dedicated to helping your provide your pet with the care that they deserve. Professional pet sitters are common, affordable, and flexible enough to mesh with almost any schedule.  However, seeing as you care so much for your dog or cat that you feel the need to provide for them while you’re away, it’s probably pretty important to you to make sure that you’re hiring someone with credentials, character, and enough experience to get the job done right. So how do you pick the perfect pet professional? There are a few important steps to take whenever letting anyone have access to your home and beloved dog or cat. First off you need to determine exactly what you’re going to require. Does your pet need more than one daily visit? How long do they need to spend with your pet? Are there other services you’ll require, like getting the mail, watering the plants, etc.? All these factors and more will affect the price of your pet sitter. Just make certain you have track of all the variables involved. Next you need to go through the screening, interviewing, and hiring processes. Those of you with managerial experience will find this to be a familiar task. First, you need to find a reliable set of sitters from which to peruse. Used to be you’d have to consult your Yellow pages. That’s technically still an option if you’re feeling old school, but with the world wide web network to browse, paper and ink might be more of a time waster than anything else.  Care.com or Craigslist are good places to start. The aforementioned yellow pages do have a website as well. There’s also a couple of national pet sitter hotlines: Pet Sitters International (336-983-9222) or National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (856-439-0324). You’ll also need to get through an interview process. Don’t just stick with your first inquiry. Build a list of potential pet sitters, and screen them all by phone. They’ll give you a list of references which you should look into individually to confirm that they aren’t just scammers or unqualified. If you’re feeling extra cautious you can pay to have a background check performed as well. Although that’s pushing the line of paranoia, still you can’t be too careful when it comes to home security. There’s plenty more to cover on such a complex subject , So this post will have to be concluded tomorrow.  Stay tuned for more advice on picking professional pet sitters!                        

Everyone hears about how owning a pet can improve their quality of life. However, it’s easy to take such claims with a grain of salt. Perhaps if people knew to a greater degree the benefits of pets, they may just go out and adopt a litter all to themselves! With the aim of education in mind, let’s take a look at some of the incredible ways our animal companions can have a significant effect on our health. For starters, pets increase serotonin and decrease cortisol. These two chemicals are associated with pleasure and stress, respectively. So the first health benefit of pet ownership is quite literally, medicinal-quality mood enhancement. Their very presence can alter human body chemistry! That alone is incredible, but the pet ownership perks don’t stop there. It’s also been shown that a lower resting blood pressure rate is one of the benefits of pets. They’ve even been attributed with the ability to relieve hypertension in children to a small degree.  Pet owners on average are usually less prone to high cholesterol and triglyceride counts, although no direct link between the animal and these health benefits have been established. It may be that people who own pets are predisposed to having a healthier lifestyle in which they go on daily walks, engage in more activity, and are less sedentary by default. Dogs and cats both actually have significant statistical impacts on heart disease as well, with cat owners  being far less susceptible to cardiac problems than their fellow folk who are rocking it feline free . Similarly, dog owners who did suffer heart attacks and survived are far more likely to make full recoveries within one year after their attacks take place, as compared to people without dogs that is. While pet ownership is a handful no matter what kind of animal you keep, dogs in particular have a habit of keeping you on your feet and moving. Because of their constant need for walks, outdoor play, and physical interaction, dog owners tend to have a far less prevalent occurrence of obesity and associated weight problems.  Combine these pet benefits with an Atkins diet and you’ll be beach ready in no time! Although dogs have an advantage in the physical fitness category, cats have a corner on the market of creepy intangible pet benefits. For some unknown and unquantifiable reason, cat owners are far less likely to suffer a stroke. The debilitating blood clots to the brain that can doom a person to a lifetime of paralyzed facial features can be prevented by having an odd furry roommate you’ve taught to poop in a box. Life certainly has its mysteries. Perhaps that’s why the Egyptians worshiped them. Regardless of whether you prefer a precious purring pussycat or a dutiful and delightful doggy, you can rest assured that owning either puts you ahead of the game in the health department. These are actually only a few of the incredible health benefits that pet ownership can provide. So remember to give your animal companion an extra treat for all that they do to protect their families!   Image via 55 weeks of photography blog

Obesity is a big problem for people. It’s an even bigger problem for pets. At least people occasionally have the wherewithal to go see a doctor and make lifestyle changes. Dogs and cats rarely have that luxury. Unfortunately, a lot of folks will tolerate an obese animal with quite a bit more humor than they will when their own waistline starts increasing. In the U.S. the obesity capital of the world, it’s estimated that a whopping fifty four percent of dogs and cats are either overweight or obese! So there’s a huge problem, people feed their fat dogs and cats too much. What can be done about it? Dogs are very much like humans in that a healthy diet and exercise are always the best way to achieve weight loss in a relatively short amount of time.  We’ve discussed the importance of proper exercise and diet for your dogs on this blog before, but as it turns out this information needs to be applied to your kitty cats as well.  It’s pretty easy to exercise your dog. Just take it outside, run around the block a few times, walk it on a leash for a while, or even visit your local dog park and let it go nuts with its friends and neighbors. Cats are as usual, slightly more complicated. Cats need constant stimulation, the trusty laser pointer works really well for a lot of folks. There are tons of other toys designed specifically with your cat in mind. If your cat hasn’t been declawed you might also consider letting it outside daily. Though coyotes can be a major threat in suburban areas depending on where you live, so be careful! Dog dietary needs are discussed in detail in this previous post, but cat’s need similar treatment. Every cat is different so you may need to do some independent research to figure out what the best diet for your pet is. However there are certain universal guidelines that you can start with. Always consult a vet before putting your cat on a diet. That’s the quickest way to determine proper portion size and dietary content. Look first at nutrients! The nutritional value of cat food is of supreme importance When trying a new dish poor a spoonful of chicken or beef broth over the food. It’ll go a long way in helping the cat accept the new taste and texture. Go for gradual weight loss. Fat cats aren’t going to take to “crash dieting” all that well. If you can use that as a start then follow your vet’s instructions to a “T” then you shouldn’t have any trouble turning your tubby tabby into a lean mean mouse catching machine. No matter whether you’ve got a dog or cat you want to ensure the best lifestyle possible for your animal companion. They only have you to depend on. So really consider what your best course of action is to tame your pet’s appetite and contain its waistline.

Most pet owners know that having a dog or cat around the house can enrich their lives immeasurably. What they might not have heard is that it can be a boon for a bouncing baby as well. Acoording to recent studies, a dog or cat can have a significant impact on an infant child’s respiratory health. What are the chances? The study comes out of Finland, a country renowned for its excellent education system and a hard line against financial corruption. They seem to be going for the feel-good hat trick with this fascinating news. This exhaustive study was undertaken by pediatricians monitoring nearly 400 children under a year old. The pediatricians looked for any health problems, defects, etc. and cross referenced that data with a weekly questionnaire presented by parents that examined their infant’s daily health and as many outlying factors as possible. Things such as siblings, daycare attendance, low weight at birth, or presence of cigarette smoke in their daily lives. The results? Pets that spent in excess of 6 hours inside the home usually meant healthier kids. 73% of the time to be exact. Children without pets were still fairly healthy, about 65% of the time. Still a majority, but what a statistical difference! If you were wondering whether or not to get a pet when you’re expecting, just know that dogs and cats give your baby a 7% head start on healthy living. As to what it breaks down to between cats and dogs, both showed a big statistical difference in infant health, but the stronger showing goes to canines. After all, cats infrequently have a pesky habit of sleeping on top of children to keep warm, that’s not all that good for a newborn. There were a range of individual health benefits, but the infants benefited most from their pets by contracting less ear infections and requiring less antibiotics. There was also a marked difference in the amount of fevers experienced by infants with dogs that spent time outside. But the question remains: why do dogs and cats prevent health issues in babies? The answer is pretty simple. Infants who are exposed to more bacteria, tracked inside along with dirt from the pet’s footsteps, develop stronger immune systems with which to fight off infections. So having a dog or cat serves as environmental training wheels for your baby to practice dealing with the elements. This research confirms what common sense has been telling parents for years. Interaction with a fluffy fun loving critter is just plain good for kids and adults alike.  The study can be read in its entirety here. It’s a fascinating read, and one more check in the pro column for pet lovers everywhere. So the moral of the story is don’t be afraid to expose your child to the outdoors or any pet on all fours, both can benefit your baby a great deal. So give your pet an extra treat for their life saving potential today!

Just in case you thought you were acting a little too crazy for your own good when it comes to your pet, I’m bringing you a story about a Brazilian hotel that is designed for romantic getaways… for your dog.  That’s right, for 50 dollars a session you can arrange a romantic rendezvous for any dog that still has its factory standard equipment intact. Animalle Mundo Pet is a pet superstore that has a sleazy motel designed for dogs. You can’t even make this stuff up. The idea is: if you are going to be breeding your dog then do it in a place that’s got some ambiance! Although I called it sleazy, the place doesn’t sound half bad. With Japanese styled pet spas, red mattresses, and—get this—a mirror on the ceiling, it sounds like an ideal love in for any frisky hound dog. Because you know, your dog may like to inspect its work from a vertical angle, if it so chooses. Now to be clear, I’m a big believer that anything worth doing is worth overdoing, but we are venturing into the theater of the absurd here. I get it, that’s very cute to think of your dog going to town and watching him/herself in the mirror, but at what point does that stop being cute and start getting creepy? Right about the time they installed that mirror, that’s when. But I digress. Animalle Mundo Pet is a huge hit. The Pet motel is part of Brazil’s expanding pet products and services market which, thanks to years of economic growth and shifts in middle class demographics, is currently exploding with billions of dollars in revenue. These niche market pet supercenters cater to a wide variety of clientele, and their services don’t just include the aforementioned “assisted reproduction.” In case you were beginning to worry that this place is run by a bunch of weirdos with no business petting puppies, let me assuage your anxieties. They have a full staff of qualified veterinarians on location, daily activities for pets, grooming services, a taxi that can pick up and drop off your pets, a dog café which sells specially made treats, and plenty of other non-breeding related enterprises. They even have a store in the building that sells “Chic Animale” a freaking 40 dollar perfume bottle for dogs. A little l’eau d’toilet that might actually resemble the smell of toilet water. The place is actually pretty extensive and does indeed offer everything a pet could possibly be pining for. So if you’re a native Brazilian or a globetrotter with an affectation for over the top pet services, you may want to stop by and check the place out. It’s in Portuguese of course, so you may need to open the page in a Google Chrome browser to get the English translation. Or take the long route and buy the Rosetta Stone. Either way, tell your pup about the birds and the bees before checking in!

Brushing your pet’s fur isn’t just a maintenance issue, it’s  a necessity! Brushing helps keep pets clean, eliminates excess shedding, and serves as a wonderful bonding experience for you and your favorite family pet. No matter how much fuzz your pet produces, a little brushing can go a long way. Dogs are not exactly what you would call cleanly animals. Therefore, it becomes necessary to engage in some regularly grooming. For short haired doggies such as Doberman pinchers, greyhounds, or Chihuahuas  this isn’t such an imperative. However, if you’ve ever owned or know someone who’s owned a Siberian huskie, border collie, or a Lhasa Apso then you’ll also understand the apocalyptically fuzzy nightmare that awaits you if you miss even a single scheduled session of brushing. So there are a few things you need to consider before smoothing out those rampant tufts and tangles in your beloved mutt. First among these considerations is the question of which brush to bust out? If you’ve got a pooch with a long, flowing, smooth coat that looks like it could be a candidate for a L’Oreal commercial you’ll need a wire pin brush or something with some softer bristles, depending on your preference.  Softer and shorter coats do better with closely set soft or medium grade bristles.  A tramp like coat that’s all matted and scruffy is going to require short firm bristles that are again spaced closely together. If that doesn’t keep your pup covered then you might need to seek out some professional grooming advice. In fact, that’s probably a good idea either way. Ask your local veterinarian or groomer what sort of brush they would recommend before breaking the bank on the super specialty brush you read about in Dog Fancy magazine. Next you need to think about how to brush your dog. It’s not a complicated process, but there are some idiosyncrasies and intricacies that bear mentioning. For example: where to start, whether to go with or against the grain, and how long to continue. Start at the dog’s head and be extra careful here, because your pup’s skull is the most sensitive part. And you may need to avoid the frisky mutt’s bite as they might think that brushing is a new game, if they aren’t used to the idea. Start at the head and work your way down the body until you get to the legs and tail. Then do those individually in any order you choose. Going against the grain is usually reserved for those shorter finer coats that won’t pull so strongly against the dog’s skin. However double coated dogs require both: with the grain for the top layer, and against to get those hard to reach bottom hairs. As for how long you need to keep this up, that’s entirely up to how clean you need your dog to be. Some mutts can be brushed for hours and still have plenty of fur in reserve so use your best judgment and get to work!

Does your dog suffer from a bad case of puppy breath? Perhaps you’re at your wit’s end with trying to figure out an unintrusive, simple, and effective method of ridding your best furry friend of the dead fish fragrance that always seems to be wafting over its tongue? Well, never fear pet lover. There are a few simple and super easy preventative measures that almost anyone can take to improve the overall quality of your dog’s breath as well as its dental health in general! It starts with the basics. Dogs love to chew, and nature has provided them with some little known benefit whenever they go about this behavior to which they are so inclined. Chewing rawhide or raw bones can greatly decrease the occurrence of bad dog breath. The reason being, that chewing on this surface acts as a sort of makeshift toothbrush, cleaning up all the plaques build-up as they chomp away. If these are too small, and your dog tends to eat them whole, you will have to purchase the larger mutton type bones that are too big to swallow. If your dog just isn’t interested in chewing, or you just prefer the more personal touch then brushing your dog’s teeth is always an option. If you do this, make sure to focus most of your efforts on the top row of teeth. That area is the most prone to tartar build-up. Another very simple solution is the water additive: Biotene. This is a dental hygiene product that has multiple uses. Veterinarians most often use it as an additive which inhibits plaque growth as well as the bacterial growth responsible for bad dog breath, whenever it’s added to a dog’s daily water supply. It’s non-toxic and completely safe for your dog to ingest daily. It’s an effective and easy method for daily teeth cleanings without relying on brushing. Though to really keep your dog’s teeth in top condition, a healthy diet is always the best dental protection. Refer back to this older blog post: /blog/57838/dog-nutrition-puts-you-in-an-awkward-position.html to help you decide which dog food best suits your pup. Or perhaps consider your own homemade recipe, which is often the best method to keep track of exactly what kind of nutrition is going into your dog’s diet. Finally, veterinarians are always the ones that are most qualified to make dental determinations on your pet’s health. You should schedule regular visits to ensure overall health, and make certain to inquire about any dog dental problems you might have encountered between visits. Bad dog breath is enough to deal with, but it can often be a symptom of a bigger problem, so be sure to consult your vet regularly. It’s also important to note that these visits need to become more frequent as your dog ages, as plaque and bacterial infections build up quicker in older dogs with weaker immune systems. If you try all that and the breath still stinks, you might need to feed them a steady diet of Altoids!