Best Pet Supplies

Do you love to cook and try new recipes or do you know someone who does?  Are you or someone you know concerned about what treats are given to your dog or cat?  If you answered yes to both of these questions have I found the greatest gift!  What could be more practical and safe than to make your own treats  for your beloved friend?  Most pet treats are full of fillers and by-products that your pet defintely does not need!  Not only are they unhealthy, but they can cause all kinds of health issues for your pet.  When you make homemade treats, you know exactly what goes into them and you can feel good about giving them to your pets.  Check out these great pet treat recipe books and they even come with FREE treat cutters to make it even more simple!

It always seemed to me that dog coats, boots, and sweaters were always made for small dogs.  Well, I have two big dogs that I always take hunting with me and I know after they’ve been out in the wintery weather for awhile  they get cold and don’t perform as well as they could.  They lose interest and try to seek out a warm place.  They also get a build up of ice and snow in their paws which I know isn’t good for them.  That’s when I started looking for boots and coats made for bigger dogs because I realized I would be helping my dogs stay warm and focused in cold weather and their paws would be protected.  I found some excellent durable coats and warm boots for them at great prices and I even found some that are camo which match my coat!   If you are concerned about them being visible and not mistaken for game, there are coats that feature reflective strips, too!  Oh, and they also have coats, boots, and sweaters for small and medium dogs that you and your dog will just love!  Be sure to browse through their entire collection of  fall and winter apparel for all size dogs–you’ll be glad you did (and so will your dog).

Pet owners often wonder if buying their dog toys is a necessity or just an extravagance.  Actually, buying your dog toys mimics activites that they would be doing if they were wild.  Let me explain in a little bit more detail.  I believe there are three distinct categories that most dog toys fit in:  chewing,  activity,  and comfort toys. 

• Dogs are just natural chewers!  Puppies like to chew to ease tension and to help soothe their gums during teething.  This instinct to chew continues on into adulthood to help keep their jaws strong and to relieve boredom.
• Although activity levels vary greatly between breed and age of the dog, activity toys such as retrieval toys and tug of war toys are very beneficial in keeping your dog healthy and active and also strengthens the bond between dog and owner.
• All adult dogs and puppies love having a toy they can call their own.  Giving them their own toy can help reduce destructive behavior when they are left alone.  Toys can also be a comfort to your dog in stressful situations just like a doll or toy comforts a child.

As you can see, buying your dog toys is very beneficial in many ways!  And if you have more than one dog, your should consider getting each dog his or her very own toy.

There are a large variety of dog toys from plush to rubber to fit the need of any dog large or small, young or old.

The other day we covered why it’s important to check and clean your dog’s or cat’s ears.  Today, I’m going to give some tipes on how to clean your pet’s ears.

First off, I definitely do not recommend using cotton swabs or Q-tips as they are usually called.  It makes it too easy to go too deep into a pet’s ears and possibly causing damage to the ear drum.  Cotton balls are the best to use as long as you don’t push them too deep into the ear canal as this can actually push the ear wax and debris further into the ear.

Pull your pet’s ear back and place approximately 5-8 drops of ear cleaner into the ear.  Massage the base of the ear to loosen ear wax and debris.  You should hear a “squishing” sound which means you’ve gotten the cleaner down where it needs to be.  Your pet will want to shake his head.  This is definitely okay because it helps in removing all that foreign stuff.  Using a cotton ball, you can remove excess cleaner from the outer part of the ear canal so it won’t go everywhere when your pet shakes his or her head!  After you are finished cleaning the ear canal, there are powders that you can also use to keep the ear dry which will keep ear mites out and will also prevent any bacterial infection that can be a problem in your pet’s ears if they remain dampened.

Cleaning your pet’s ears should be done at least once a month.  There are a lot of good products to clean your pet’s ears including liquid cleaners, ear powders, and even pre moistened cloths.  They all work well and it really depends on your personal choice of which is easiest for you and your pet!  You can find everything you need to keep your pets ears clean at First Rate Pets and they are very affordable!  Check out all of their grooming supplies and you’ll find keeping your pet clean, happy, and healthy is easier than you thought!

Checking and cleaning your dog’s or cat’s ears is very important to their overall health.  Prevention of ear wax buildup and mites in their ears can mean the difference between a very happy healthy pet or expensive trips to the vet.

When checking your dog or cat’s ears, make sure they are calm and in a quiet environment.  Most pets don’t like their ears messed with.  Look for wax buildup, any kind of discharge, and a brownish substance which may indicate your pet has ear mites.

There are several good products that can be used safely on your pet’s ears whether you have a cat or dog (or both).  Powders are great for keeping your pet’s ears dry which will inhibite the growth of bacteria and will keep mites out of the ear.  Liquid cleaners will remove excess ear wax and dirt.  Combined they will help you keep your pet’s ears clean and healthy.  You can find a large selection of ear care products at First Rate Pets that will help you maintain the health of your pet.

Be sure to check out our blog Friday as I will publish a more in depth article on how to clean your dog or cats ears using the helpful ear products available.

Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away and soon your house will be full of tempting wonderful smells of pies baking, turkey roasting and lots of other aromas that tempt not only you, but your pet, too!  People usually give in to that sad puppy face or the persistant cat but it can be dangerous for your pet if you give them certain foods.  Giving them a bite or two of cooked turkey won’t hurt them, but please don’t give them turkey bones or raw turkey.  They are very bad for them.  Stuffing with sage and/or onion  is also very bad for pets as it can cause stomache upset and affect their central nervous system and cats are especially sensitive to alot of the ingredients in stuffing.  In order to keep your pets happy and safe this Thanksgiving, why not spoil your dogs with rawhide treats made especially with them in mind or kitty treats that you can make quickly and easily!  You can find recipes and great dog treats at First Rate Pets and keep your peace of mind in knowing you aren’t putting your pets at risk this Thanksgiving and you and your guests can give them a “guilt-free treat” that they will love!

Dogs just naturally love to chew, especially on plush toys.  Although plush toys are great for smaller dogs or dogs that don’t chew alot, bigger dogs will literaly chew all of the stuffing out of plush toys and it ends up making a big mess for you!

Now there are plush toys that dogs just love to chew on, but there is no stuffing in them to make that big fluffy mess!  These plush dog toys are great for all dogs and will give them something soft to chew on and play with without making a mess for you.  I highly recommend them for any size dog that just loves to chew alot.  Check out all of the great dog toys at First Rate Pets  and I’m sure you’ll find the perfect one for your dog!

Halloween is fast approaching!  I love Halloween because it’s so much fun to decorate my house inside and out with spooky lights and decorations!  On Halloween night you’ve got to turn out all the lights, put a scarey movie on (not too scarey!), and light some scented candles to get everyone in the mood!  The kids especially love it because they get to dress up in funny or scarey costumes and go out and get as much candy as they can while “Trick or Treating”.  I like to dress up my dogs in their favorite dog Halloween costumes, too,  and take them out for a short walk before all of the trick or treaters start coming out. Yep, Halloween has to be one of my favorite holidays, but it can also be very stressing and/or frightening for your pet.

Here are a few tips that I’ve tried with my dogs and cats and they seem to work pretty well:

• If at all possible, keep your pets confined to a room they are familiar with so they won’t be in the middle of all of the excitement when trick or treaters come calling. (I put my cats in one room and the dogs in another.)
• Please ensure that no candy is within their reach!  Candy is very bad and sometimes extremely toxic to cats and dogs and can cause serious illness and sometimes even death.
• Be sure to praise your cat or dog endlessly and give them their own treats so they don’t think they are in trouble for anything.
• Be sure to check on them often and reassure them that nothing bad is going on and that they are safe.

Once all of the excitement is over for the evening, invite them back into the living room to watch the scarey movies with you.

 

Rabies is a serious disease caused by a virus.  Each year it kills more than 50,000 people and millions of animals around the world.  Rabies has been reported in every state except Hawaii. Wild animals are the primary source of this terrible disease.  Fortunately, rabies is preventable through yearly vaccinations for your pet.  Unfortunately, there is no cure if a pet should be infected by this horrible disease.  Affordable rabies vaccinations (and all vaccinations) is something your pet cannot go without!  Do you know the signs of rabies?  Some of the signs that an animal may have rabies are:  

• changes in the animal’s behavior
• general sickness
• problems swallowing
• increased drooling
• aggression or fearfulness
• staggering or seizures

Rabies in animals always leads to a painful and cruel death.  Please make sure your pets (all mammals including dogs, cats and ferrets) receive their yearly rabies vaccine to prevent them from becoming another statistic!

Taking your pet to the veterinarian to receive all of their vaccinations is not only the most important thing you can do for your pet, but can minimize the chance that your pet may become seriously ill or may even die from a preventable disease. The old saying “prevention is worth of pound of cure” has never been truer.

This message was brought to you by the fine folks at  First Rate Pets where they really believe that you and your pet are truly First Rate!  

I adopted a senior dog from our local humane society recently and he had a terrible skin irritation.  But he was the sweetest friendliest dog I’d ever seen and I told myself that I could “fix” his terrible skin problem.

I tried so many different things- diet, oatmeal rinses, all types of shampoo, but they only seemed to help some but didn’t take care of his itching and skin dryness.

I came across an all natural herbal pet soap which I was skeptical about at first, but now I’m so happy I decided to give it a try!  It’s a bar soap which lasts so much longer and isn’t messy like other shampoos and it actually fixed my dog’s skin problem the first time I used it!  The best part is that it’s 100% natural and makes my dog smell really good and makes him feel great! Now my new dog is actually free from the dry skin and itching and he’s also flea and tick free!  What a wonderful product! You really should try this new pet soap called Nikki’s Natural Herbal Pet Soap if you have a pet with skin ailments.  And, yes!, you can safely use it on cats, too and you can find this soap and other grooming supplies at First Rate Pets!