If Your Dog Is One of These 21 Breeds, It’s Vital To Clean Their Ears Weekly

According to pet insurance companies, ear infections are one of the top reasons people visit a veterinarian. This painful condition could be alleviated if dog owners were more consistent about caring for their dog’s ears, such as frequent inspections, and weekly cleanings.

These 21 Breeds Are At The Highest Risk of Ear Infections
If your dog has floppy ears, in other words, the ear itself folds down over the ear canal, they are at a higher risk than other dogs for infections. The following breeds (and their mixes) are particularly prone to ear troubles:

For more information, click here: If Your Dog Is One of These 21 Breeds, It’s Vital To Clean Their Ears Weekly

Nursing Juliet

In a world that relentlessly enforces limits, the love of a pet is a refuge for unconstrained emotion, especially for a child.

Here’s the moment when I knew. Juliet — the wiry lab-mutt we’d recently adopted from the pound — raced into our bedroom. In her enthusiasm, her gangly paws entangled a loose rug and she lost her footing. She catapulted through the air, an ebony mass of fur soaring toward the bed where our three-week old infant was lying flat as a Kansas pancake. It happened so quickly that all I could do was watch in fear as she plowed toward our 7-pound baby.

It was over in a split second. Somehow, in all of Juliet’s airborne frenzy, she managed to retain awareness of that speck of life beneath her and landed four paws safely around the baby. That’s when I knew everything would be fine. We parked the baby’s bassinet atop Juliet’s crate — our earliest iteration of bunk beds — and the love affair began.

A dog is both Rorschach and receptacle, a two-way highway for love unbounded and unadulterated. In a world that relentlessly enforces limits, the love of a pet is a refuge for unconstrained emotion, especially for a child.

It became even more apparent as Juliet aged. That infant on the bed is finishing high school, with two other teenagers right behind. While adolescents tend to be blithely self-centered in all manner of human interaction, when it came to Juliet, my three were solicitous, tender and concerned. They treated her as a treasured child whose every fault could be forgiven and whose every personality quirk was lauded like a work of Mozart, retold with the pride of parentage.

To read more on this story, click here: Nursing Juliet

25 Images That'll Make You Never Want to Wear Animals

Most of the world’s leather comes from India, where animal-protection laws are blatantly ignored. Cows like these are forced to march for days to their own slaughter, and they do so without food, water, or medical attention.

In India, it’s illegal to slaughter calves or milk-producing cows—but this, like so many other laws, is often disregarded.

To read more on this story, click here: 25 Images That'll Make You Never Want to Wear Animals

Artificial Insemination Used to Breed Lions for the First Time

Artificial insemination isn't new, but the technique is still breaking new ground -- and it might just save one of the world's better known species. South Africa's University of Pretoria has successfully used artificial conception with lions for the first time, producing two cubs (Isabel and Victor, above) who've been healthy since their birth on August 25th. This wasn't a simple case of repeating familiar methods, either. The researchers relied on a new approach that could represent a breakthrough for species conservation.

After collectiong sperm from a male lion, the team gauged the hormone levels of eligible females through blood samples to see when they would be well-suited to carrying the cubs. The only requirement was training the lionesses to rest next to a fence so that they could readily provide samples. Previous methods would have required moving the lions out of their existing habitat. Here, the females could stay in their existing environment.

To read more on this story, click here: Artificial Insemination Used to Breed Lions for the First Time 

Angry Cockatoo Starts Cursing At Her Dad After He Asks Her To Go To Her Cage

Our pets are the sunshine of our lives. Their affection, their love, and sometimes, just them being themselves, light up our entire day. But there are moments when even these love- showering creatures do not come to terms with us. Just like this cockatoo, who, in the video below, is not just upset from her dad. She is so furious that she can be heard swearing all her anger away.


Pebble, an angelic looking bird, is a beautiful cockatoo who seems to be very calm. However, the reality is far from that. She seems to be completely unable to express her anger vocally.

Recently, Pebble’s dad had asked her to get inside her cage, which she clearly wasn’t happy about. That is why she started swearing her heart out at him. As she screamed the nasty words, she flapped her wings and puffed her crest to make sure her dad notices her rage.

To see more pictures and the video, click here: Angry Cockatoo Starts Cursing At Her Dad After He Asks Her To Go To Her Cage

Tips on Trimming Your Dog’s Nails

If you hear your dog's paws clicking like they have on tap shoes…. it’s time for a trim! You can usually here it when they walk across a hard surface, like hardwood flooring.

Most dogs detest having their feet handled, however, if you, so clipping their nails at an early stage, they will get used to it. Always reward your dog with a treat after the trimming session.

A dog’s toenail is made up of the nail itself and the quick. The quick is the pink part of your dog’s toenails that provides the blood supply to the nail. Try to avoid cutting into the quick because it bleeds quite a bit and it’s quite sensitive.

If your dog’s nails does bleed, use kwik stop to stop the bleeding. Kwik stop is a sulfer product.  When packed on the bleeding nail it stops the bleeding almost immediately.

Dogs with black nails:

Both of my dogs had black nails.  I went out and purchased the nail clippers. After seeing that their nails were black,( I hadn’t noticed because hair usually covered their nails), I decided to let the professionals do it. I had them trimmed with they went for grooming.

The groomer told me that I can cut their nails, and showed me under the nail there is a groove and the quick has a more fleshy look to it. She said that I should always cut about an 1/8 of an inch in front of that groove.

Here is a step by step chart showing exactly how to cut dark nails. With dark nails when you trim just a bit off it will look chalky. That means you can trim a bit more. Then when you see a wetness appear and then a small dot appear stop! Usually the same length is good for all nails.

Please view the videos below showing how to properly trim your dog’s nails.

If your dog’s nails does bleed, use kwik stop to stop the bleeding. Kwik stop is a sulfer product.  When packed on the bleeding nail it stops the bleeding almost immediately.

Tips on Trimming Your Cat's Claws

Trimming your cat's nails is the humane answer to declawing. The best time to trim your cat's nails is when your cat is  relaxed or sleepy. Never try to trim your cat’s nails right after a stressful experience or an energetic round of play.

The Humane Society of the United States says, trimming a cat's claws every few weeks is an important part of maintaining your pet's health and protects him, you, your family and visitors as well as the sofa, curtains and other furniture.

The more regularly you clip the claws the less anxious the cat will get. Always reward your cat with a treat when you are finished. Keep a barber's styptic pen or styptic powder handy in case you accidentally cut into the quick. If this should happen, apply the powder to the nail to stop the bleeding.

                 Gently press the cat's toe pads to reveal sharp nails in need of a trim.

                                   Trimming cat's nail diagram showing the quick

Videos:

This Woman Helps Disabled Dogs Walk Again!

This story really got the tear ducts goin’.

In 2016, Butler, Pennsylvania residents Tanya and her husband adopted one-and-a-half-year old pup Joey, who had been found at six weeks with his legs intentionally cut off. Joey was rehabilitated and received prosthetics that have made a huge difference to his life.

They were so deeply affected by their experience with Joey, that in 2017, they started an organization, Joey’s P.A.W. (which stands for Prosthetics or A Wheelchair). Their goal is to help other disabled dogs achieve mobility through partial or full prosthetic and/or wheelchair funding.

To read more on this story, click here: This Woman Helps Disabled Dogs Walk Again!