Best Pet Supplies

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!  

Recently, a lot of attention has been placed on the importance of keeping your dog’s nails trimmed.  I’m sure you have all seen the new commercials for the dremel type tools for trimming your dog’s nails.  I’ve had a lot of people ask me what type of dog nail trimmer is best and I wondered about that too, so I did a lot of research on it and asked many pet groomers and veterinarians what they thought about it.

What I found was there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to trimming your dog’s nails.  Many factors come into play such as the breed of the dog and what the pet owner’s preferences are.  One thing I found is that most pet groomers prefer the old fashioned way using clippers specially designed for dog’s nails. They sometimes use the dremel type tool also to polish the nail and to get rid of rough edges. 

If your dog’s nails have become rather long, using the dremel tool takes longer to get the nail shorter and most dogs aren’t very patient when it comes to messing with their paws.  However, it may help in maintaining the shortness of the nail, once they have been trimmed.

Most pet owners are fearful that they may cut their dog’s nails too short and accidently cut into the “quick”.  Though that is a  possibility, it can still happen using the dremel type tool.  Everyone I talked to strongly agreed that you don’t have to get all of your dog’s nails trimmed in one sitting.  Slow and easy will get you where you want to go and your dog will gradually get used to the idea of getting his nails trimmed.  This is especially true if your dog has dark colored nails where you can’t see the quick.  If you trim just a little bit off each time, you reduce the risk of hurting your dog.  There are also special metal files that will take care of sharp and rough edges.

If you are still nervous about clipping your dog’s nails, the best course of action would be to take him to a groomer for an initial trim and then after that, maintaining them should be easy for you.

Be sure to check out the excellent grooming tools available to keep your dog’s nails trimmed and his coat shiny and healthy and matt free at First Rate Pets!

Some dogs just have sparkling personalities and need a collar, leash, or dog tee shirt or other dog apparel with some bling accents to show off their sassy walk and talk.  I’d say it was a girl dog thing, but some boys want to shine, too!

Whether he’s “high maintenance” or “bad to the bone”, or her inner soul is really a flamenco dancer or cheerleader, an ensemble can be had to give your dog just the right flair.   If your flamboyant canine doesn’t care to wear embellished clothes, the bling of a sparkling collar or leash catches the light just as beautifully.

If you like cats and are not allergic to them, they make wonderful pets for a number of reasons.  For one thing, they are happy in a small apartment or home, and often hang out in one room most of the time.  They are self-sufficient, not minding if you are at work all day, but glad when you are home.  They can also be left alone for several days as long as they have food and water and their litter boxes are relatively clean.

I love cats because of their beauty and independence.  When it comes to personality, no two are alike.  Despite their reputation for not needing anyone, most cats are quite devoted to their people, though many seem to choose one person as their favorite.  Most cats enjoy playing with cat toys until an advanced age, and they are always entertaining to watch, doing silly things unexpectedly and giving their people a good laugh.

Do you want a fish aquarium, but not the hassles of cleaning and maintaining a large one?

First Rate Pets has the answer!  They carry a small one gallon fish aquarium that’s designed to fit just about anywhere!  You can display it in your office or just about anywhere at home.  The unique design of this fish aquarium allows it to be placed in any corner of a shelf or desk and best of all, it comes with everything you need to set it up–the only thing you have to add is water and fish!

It’s perfect for the beginner or expert and can be easily moved to any place you want so you can enjoy watching your fish swim about.  It even comes with a hood with a light so you can enjoy them at night, too!

It’s also very affordable and the perfect addition to your home or office!

You can find many more fish aquarium supplies, too, if you have a larger aquarium at First Rate Pets!

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!

So many people love to dress up their dogs in cute tee shirts, dresses, and even Halloween costumes!  There are probably as many reasons as there are people who just love it (and their dogs, too!)

I’ve found there are some very good practical reasons.  People just love to show off their dog’s personalities and their own for one.  But dressing them up in tee shirts or dresses, or other apparel not only gives them a cute look of their own, it provides protection from the elements when they spend a lot of their time outdoors in severe winter weather.  Even though pets have fur, it isn’t always adequate to keep them warm.  Short haired dogs especially need insulation from the cold since they don’t have hair on their chest or belly.  Also if your dog has had surgery and has shaved areas because of it, dog apparell will help keep your dog warm and protected.

 Have you ever had the problem that your dog wants to go out, but it’s raining?  I know I have and wet fur is not one of my favorite smells!  That problem can easily be avoided by getting him a rain slicker!  Booties and dog boots can also keep him from tracking in mud all over your nice clean floors and furniture!  And booties and boots are practical if you two like to go for walks or go hiking together.  They will help protect his paws from rough terrain or snow, ice, and the salt that is put down to melt ice.

Be sure to check out all of the adorable dresses, tee shirts, costumes and inclimate weather dog apparel for your dog at FirstRatePets.com!  You’ll be amazed at what you will find! 

Halloween will soon be here!  Can you believe it?  Where did the summer go!?

Are you and your dog ready for Halloween?  There is a large selection of dog costumes for all size dogs and all personalities at First Rate Pets.com!  There are even some neat Halloween toys!

You really should check out all of the cute Halloween dog costumes and dog toys and you and your dog will be all set for Halloween and will be the talk of the town!