HART-Empire Network II - Pet Related Channel

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Named after the Latin word for thief, furonem, Ferrets are among the most popular of household pets today. Like cats, they can be both curious and friendly, and with some effort can be trained. They’re very social animals and prefer to be in groups.

Often, humans are a part of that social group. Ferrets have been domesticated pets for possibly as long as 2,500 years. They were a favorite among royalty in the late Middle Ages.

As members of the large weasel family, they are cousins to 65 different species, including badgers, otters, ermine and mink, and - of course - weasels. They’re sleek, with short fur and come in a variety of brown colors with black highlights. There’s even an albino form, with all white fur and pink eyes. Males are typically around 18 inches and 2.5 lbs, females slightly smaller.

The Latin name is appropriate since ferrets will often take toys, food or other small objects and hide them. No one has a definitive answer on why, but like squirrels and others it probably derives from the need to hoard food. That behavior helps them feed through lean times, especially winter.

Often mistakenly believed to have an unpleasant odor, they do give off a natural musky scent from glands. Those glands are often removed by commercial ferret vendors, but the odor is just as often a buildup of smells from improper care. Many pet stores and some ferret owners will simply put a few ferrets in a cage with food and water - sometimes with a litter box - and then forget about it for days.

But ferrets, unlike cats, require a little more care than that to keep the odors down and keep the ferret in optimal health. They’re prone to a number of diseases if they don’t get the proper diet.

That diet should consist of high protein and high fat foods, such as fresh chicken or commercial ferret food with around 38% meat-based protein and 15% fat. For the first few years after ferrets became popular household pets, owners would feed them wet or dry cat food. But that diet is best for cats, not ferrets. If fresh meat, which is the ferrets natural diet, isn’t an option then a carefully balanced commercial ferret pet food is preferable.

Ferrets are, like dogs, intelligent animals and can be trained to perform a number of amusing, and sometimes useful, tasks. Ferrets were used in the preparation of recent Royal ceremonies to string cable through conduits. That task is a natural for these slender hunters who for centuries have been used to hunt rabbits down holes.

Possibly descendant from (and often hybrid bred with) polecats, they can be unintentionally fierce. They sleep for 18 hours a day, but when awake are very active and love to play-bite. They’ve often been observed to engage in something owners have dubbed a ‘war dance’. The ferrets stand up on their hind legs, and jerk their heads and move sideways.

Fun, loyal, cute and smart. Now that’s the kind of pet everyone should have.

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Not every dog gets spayed (removal of female reproductive organs) or neutered (removal of male organs). Whether through an intention to breed or other motive, many individuals leave their companions intact. Left with a full complement of nature’s hormones, these dogs can react differently than their surgically altered counterparts.

Males with the normal amount of testosterone tend to be prone to seek alpha (leader) status, and when exposed to a female in heat will often ignore commands. Licking behavior increases, the male will gently head butt a female in the neck, and eventually try to mount.

Separated from the female, they’ll exhibit rapid breathing and pacing, often going without eating for two days or more. They’ll often even refuse water after hours of not drinking.

Females left unaltered will experience a menstrual cycle about twice per year. During that roughly three week interval, there’s an increased tendency to wander and a greater willingness to accept the attention of strange dogs. Previously passive females will dig under a fence and display their hind parts with tails lifted to males of almost any breed.

Getting compliance to commands during these times is difficult, but not always impossible. If you’ve consistently retained the alpha (leader) role in the ‘pack’, you have a say in who mates who when. You’ll need to be especially assertive during these times, but even excited males will obey up to a point.

Even outside of mating periods, unneutered males will typically exhibit a stronger push toward dominance, especially in the first year or two. The counter for this is simply a refusal to accept anything less than alpha status. But far from being harsh, there are several alternatives.

Most dogs love to play. Distracting that assertive male with a tennis ball, a short rope or other favorite toy decreases tension on both sides of the equation. You control the ball, you hand out or take away the toy, and you ensure compliance with your wishes by leash, treat and firm voice command. All these help remind the dog that you’re in charge.

When leash training or walking, these assertive males will have a stronger tendency to pull ahead. To counter this, keep the leash a couple of inches BEHIND you. If the dog strains at the leash, initiate a sharp, firm jerk to the right (NOT back) accompanied by a strong ‘HEEL’. That assumes the dog walks on your left and the leash is held in your left hand, as is usually the case. Reverse directions as needed.

Unless your dog is very small this won’t injure them. Dogs have very strong neck muscles. The goal is to put them off balance and to control, not to punish.

Untreated dogs require extra patience - as if the normal amount weren’t already enormous. But they’re also less likely to be fearful in stressful situations and more willing to take risks. For people with certain lifestyles who enjoy taking their friend with them, that can be a big plus.

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I think I am going to be in mourning forever. I have not stopped crying in a week. It started when I knew the inevitable day was looming around the corner for me and my Benny. Now that this day is finished, the first day without my Benny causes another constant flow of tears.

I want to share this article with you from Adam the dog trainer. I am such a promoter of dog training. It’s not that hard and the rewards are tremendously satisfying…for all.

From the video title on Youtube:

Dogproblems.com founder Adam G. Katz shows you how to introduce the down-command to your dog. There are three phases of dog training: The teaching phase, the reinforcement phase, and the proofing phase. This exercise “teaches” the dog what the basic position of “down” should look like.

—————————————————–

SUCCESS STORY: TOUGH JACK RUSSELL TERRIER GETS TRAINED

Message:
Hi Adam,

All I can say is BOW-WOW! I have 4 Jack Russells and bought your book. One 1 on 1 session with your loose leash training and we were able to have a very nice walk- all 5 of us. I have bought the halti, choke chains, flat collar, gentle leader and now I have the pinch collars. Man-o-man-o-man what a transformation. They were always trying to scratch off the head halters. Choking with the choke chain and just plain pulling my arms out of socket with the flat collar. Now they walk beside me. We have a long way to go, but I think we will have a much better go of it now. I am so glad I ran across your website. Wish I would have found it sooner. It would of saved us time, money and aggravation.

Thanks So Much, Cyndi

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LEARN HOW TO FIX YOUR DOG’S BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, RIGHT NOW!

“Who Else Wants To Learn The Dog Obedience Training Secrets To Stop Your Dog’s Behavior Problems… Virtually Overnight?

Click link to read more… http://www.experts-at/DogProblems.htm

If I had a better category, I’d might start this post with…

[SHAMELESS PROMOTION ON]

I’m in the process of creating a bunch of “stores” or “product-related-theme” blog under the @ HART Market brand (RSS Feed)

Pets @ HART Market - Affiliate Store

Currently, this new store datafeed at Pets @ HART Market includes fine products from Oh My Dog Supplies company. All products are carried and provided by them (and you get free shipping on dog beds) .. and yes, I hopefully might be able to earn small commissions to help finance growth of other stores in the “HART Market”.

You might have noticed a few random links found just above the comment section of each post here at PetLvr.com - [The Blog]. Over time and hopefully by Christmas 2007 there will be a large assortment of products offered and available for my PetLvr readers.

Other Stores

* Blogging For A Cause - Amazon Store - 100% of all commissions earned from the sale of any products generated by customers accessing Amazon.com through this banner will be donated to a Pet Rescue Charity.

* PetLvr - Amazon Book Store - 100% of all commissions earned from the sale of any products generated by customers accessing Amazon.com through this banner, will be bootstrapped back into the HART-Empire Network growth .. (it does cost money, unfortunately, to keep everything up and running!)

[/SHAMELESS PROMOTION OFF]

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No project, apart from raising a child, requires more patience than dog training. All breeds have different attributes that present challenges. Some are intelligent, but boisterous and easily distracted. Some are eager to please, but dim-witted. But special considerations are required for size.

Small dogs are easily transported, providing more choices for a training area around the home or away from it. But they tend to bark more readily and are often either too fearful or too bold. Extra effort directed toward bark suppression is often required.

As with any training regimen, start young and train regularly. Be sure to establish early on your ‘alpha’ (leader of the pack) status. Respond firmly to any challenge. Don’t give in to ‘cuteness’.

When leash training a smaller dog be especially careful to correct sideways on the neck (by jerk, tug or restraint) rather than back. When the dog pulls forward, jerk sideways to correct and inform, not to punish. Even a small dog has strong neck muscles, but also has an easily bruised throat.

Be careful not to apply excessive pressure on the hindquarters when encouraging a sit. Small dogs are sturdy, but the size difference between it and you makes it too easy to force when you want to direct.

Large dogs, too, come with inherent challenges. As the weight/strength ratio between trainer and dog tips in favor of the dog, several considerations come into play.

The first is - always be alert. A small dog that tugs on the leash unexpectedly can be annoying, a large one can be dangerous. If a German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Rhodesian Ridgeback, or even a larger breed chooses to jet after a cat you need to be prepared to resist.

Select at least an inch thick leash of good nylon or leather. Make sure his collar is wide and equipped with quality fasteners that won’t break under tension. When walking, grasp the loop at the end of the leash in your right hand and insert your thumb through the loop.

Then take a few inches of the leash to your left and fold and drape them over your left palm. Insert your left hand’s thumb through the little loop formed. Clamp the leash across your left palm. (For right handed people, walking with the dog on the left. Reverse directions as needed.)

As with small dogs, perform corrections by jerking sideways, not back. Their throats, too, can be bruised by excessive force. Just jerk and release. It also helps put them momentarily off balance.

Large dogs, even socialized ones, will sometimes go after small children. Whether they see them as prey or as someone their size to play with it’s sometimes hard to tell. Take care not to allow jumping. Always be prepared with leash corrections, until training reaches the stage where they will reliably respond to pure voice commands.

Large dogs can much more easily jump fences, and just as often fail to clear one cleanly. When they clear it, you have a potential lawsuit, when they don’t you may have a vet bill. They’ll rarely break a bone this way, but it’s common to get scrapes on the belly which the dog will turn into hot spots - raw patches of skin - requiring treatment.

In either case, make sure that barriers are high and sturdy. Even the best trained dog will sometimes respond to instinct and go after a cat or other dog.

Both large and small dogs need daily training to learn and reinforce guidelines about what is or isn’t acceptable behavior. But in both cases the rewards are safer and more loving pets. Dogs like clear, consistent rules and need to know who is the leader and who the follower. You should be the first, the dog the latter.

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Oh .. this was an interesting email I just received:

Fellow Dog Lovers and Pooch Pals,

We want to give you an insider treat from your friends at Channel Frederator.

I’m Jeaux Janovsky, Channel Frederator’s Community Manager and dog lover. I’m writing to you because I know you are as much a fan of the canine as I am, and I wanted to share a new hilarious cartoon we’ve produced spoofing the video dating scene, but from the pooch point of view!!!

It hilariously illustrates how difficult it is to find love…even in the canine world. Video Dating is where “dogs in heat go to meet and greet”

“Dog Video Dating” is the fourth installment of The Meth Minute 39, 39 original animated shorts by creator / animator Dan Meth. To share our appreciation of our Fine, Furry Friends, and to induct you into the Friends of Frederator club, we thought it would be cool to offer you a sneak peek exclusive to the fourth episode along with
the embed code to post on your site, if you wish.

“Dog Video Dating” will be released worldwide on the world wide web, Thursday at Noon EST at www.methminute39.com, but you’ll be able to premiere it on your website a day early, you know, kinda like the whole early bird getting the worm analogy!

* There you go. Welcome to the Premier.

FYI - there are 3 other episodes in the right sidebar .. and you can subscribe to future episodes with any of the choices in the left sidebar.

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My Benny, with my Golden, Nikki…Who will miss him tremendously!

I have just received the news from my vet. Between now and the next few days I will have to put my Benny, 6 year old Black Lab, to sleep. The Vet has put him on one type of medicine, but, he does not think it will help him.

My heart and soul are just too sad to post the next week…I have not cried so much for a long long time.

My Benny is an amazing companion and friend. He has been with me through some pretty serious issues…

I will accompany him into the vets room and stay with him till the end. He is after all, my friend, buddy and companion.

Tags: Benny, Euthenasia

LAST WEEK! PROMO ENDS THIS SATURDAY!!

The WHS is moving! Help us get our furry friends ‘home’ before we move so they don’t have to move with us! We have ~40 dogs and over 150 cats to adopt!

Effective October 1st and for a limited time-

Adult cats $20.00! Adult medium/large breed dogs $50.00! This incredible deal includes spay/neuter, vaccine, vet exam, microchip, 6 weeks of pet insurance and more!!

Pogo, 134913

Pogo is a lovely cat who wasn’t adapting well to shelter life- too busy and stressful for him! Pogo is currently in a foster home, and we hope he can be adopted right from his foster home rather than coming back to the shelter- poor Pogo has been with us in and out of foster care since January! Pogo likes other cats, is very playful & frisky so is best suited to teens/adults who can keep up with him. He has quite the purrsonality! Please call Foster @ 982-2049 or email foster@humanesociety.mb.ca to arrange a visit.

Kinoi, 140749

Kinoi is a curvaceous 3 ½ year old spayed female available for adoption at Best West St. James- one of our Satellite Adoption Centres- located at 1150 St James Street, 783-0952. Kinoi was surrendered by her owner in May- we can’t figure out why such a happy and sweet girl remains homeless, especially when so many others are getting adopted. Please consider Kinoi or any one of our beautiful cats available for adoption at The WHS or at one of our 10 SAC locations- log onto www.winnipeghumanesociety.ca for exact locations.

If you would like to adopt one of these pets, please contact:

Chantal Young
Adoption Coordinator
204.982.3558

The Winnipeg Humane Society
5 Kent Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
R2L 1X3
204.982.2021

Email: chantaly@humanesociety.mb.ca
www.winnipeghumanesociety.ca

Where every adoptable dog finds a home and cats get a second chance at life!

Saving just one dog won’t change the world… but it surely will change the world for that one dog.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF OUR NEW ADDRESS

We cease operations at our current location at the end of day Saturday, October 20, 2007. The Grand Opening for the new WHS is October 25, 2007 at 12:30pm at our new location, 45 Hurst Way.

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