posted by Tess on Dec 28
The groups of fishes commonly referred to as Cichlids, comprise a vast group of, generally larger and more aggressive fishes from Africa and South and Central America with a few species being found in Asia. They offer such a large variety of bright colors, shapes and habits that they have become one of the most popular fishes kept by hobbyist’s world wide.
Such is the diversity of species, breeding habits and feeding that it becomes necessary to set up different groups of Cichlids in different tanks. Some of these include African Cichlids, American Cichlids, Dwarf Cichlids or Discus. It is usually recommended that you keep these like minded fishes together and don’t mix them in general.
Selecting and Positioning Your Tank
Always try to choose a tank with the largest possible surface area and volume as most cichlids grow quite large. Make sure you always have a glass cover to stop your fish jumping out.
Position your new aquarium so that you avoid direct sunlight hitting the aquarium for too long as this can cause excessive algae problems.
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posted by Tess on Dec 26
Some people love to make their dogs as cute as can be. For these folks there are dog clothes. Cute Sweaters, doggie tee shirts, dog booties, stylish bandanas, and precocious little hats are among the items people will purchase to adorn their dogs with style. Dressing a dog is more about the owner than the animal, but as long as the clothing isn’t restrictive or overly cumbersome, most dogs don’t mind getting dressed up now and then for a night (or day) on the town and some breeds, especially those that crave attention, quite enjoy it.
The advent of the internet has taken the concept of dressing our dogs to new levels as websites offering all manner of “designer” dog clothing have popped up everywhere. With names like Glamour Dog, Designer Dog Wear, and Paw Printz Boutique (dot com, of course), these sites offer the tops in canine fashion for proud owners to place on their pups.
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posted by Tess on Dec 22
People love big, protective and loving dogs and that’s why there are a lot of german sheperd breeders.
The German Shepherd is sometimes called an Alsatian because that’s where they originated in Germany. Many Germans still called them Deutscher Schaferhund because of their original sheepdog function but the breed is not very old and was really developed from a variety of sheep herding farm dogs in the late 1800s. In 1899 Max von Stephanitz, a German cavalry officer, was president of the first German Shepherd association in Germany. Since then German Shepherds have turned up all over the world and they came to the USA as early as 1908 where they were popular with the Red Cross, the police and as guard dogs.
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posted by Tess on Dec 21
Nobody knows exactly what causes cancer in cats and dogs but a number of risk factors have been identified including stress, pollution, colorings and preservatives and an inadequate Diet.
These factors and others can damage your pet’s immune system and a compromised immune system damages the body’s natural ability to fight cancerous cells.
Finding out that your pet has cancer is devastating. But before you give way to grief, First get pro-active. You need to find out as much as possible about your pet’s condition so that you can provide him with optimum care.
Find out what type of treatments are available and consider which would be suitable for your pet’s condition. In addition to conventional treatments (which are often effective although extremely harsh) there are a number of alternative treatments which have proved extremely helpful in treating cancer in pets, including acupuncture, aromatherapy and homeopathy.
All may be used on their own, or in conjunction with conventional Cancer Treatments as supportive therapy. Many holistic vets are increasingly aware of the benefits that natural remedies and complementary therapies can offer in the total treatment program.
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posted by Tess on Dec 18
Bottom water fish are those that prefer living at the lowest level of the aquarium. It’s not that they can’t swim into the upper regions, they will when spurred by a fish that pesters them, or just for the sake of a quick dash around the tank. But for the most part, they live on the bottom, which is where most of their food comes from.
Tropical fish that prefer the bottom of the tank, usually eat algae that grows there, as well as leftover food that falls on the substrate or the broad leaves of some plants. In a way, the bottom water fish are the housekeepers of your aquarium, cleaning up scraps and preventing the build up of algae. But this is not always a sufficient diet, and they need to be given food that comes in a form or shape specifically designed to reach, and appeal to the bottom feeder.
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posted by Tess on Dec 16
Many people who’ve adopted older dogs— especially stray dogs or dogs from the animal shelter— assume that their dog has been abused in the past.
So, how do you train an abused dog?
Let’s get right to the heart of the matter and state that— in order to learn how to train an abused dog, we need to first define what an abused dog is:
Of course, there are all types of different abuse. Everything from a dog being hit with a hammer to a dog simply being left and ignored in the back yard for months or years can constitute abuse.
But for the purposes of this article, we’re going to define an abused dog as any dog that shows specific signs of extreme timidity in response to regular behavior by you. I.E., Petting, grooming, feeding, walking, etc…
These are what you might call “high-functioning” abused dogs. In contrast to dogs that have been used (for example) in laboratory experiments. Or dogs that have been physically scarred and wounded. Working with such dogs is (or should be) clearly outside of the scope of this article.
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posted by Tess on Dec 14
A Bull Mastiff owner wrote me, with the following question:
“My problem comes in a 147-pound package. Mack is a 15 month-old Bull Mastiff. He has been in and out of training since he was 10 weeks old.
He was starting to show dominance aggression at around nine months, so I found a training facility that would in-kennel train him. He was there for seven weeks. When I got him back he seemed to have a bigger problem than when he left. I was told by the trainer that he showed no signs of aggression there. He also said that he would have to schedule an in-home session which would run me another $250+. As it is, I expected a whole lot more for my $1200.
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posted by Tess on Dec 12
There are many requirements that a pet owner must meet before traveling by air with a dog. While specific regulations will vary by airline, most airlines work with the same general rules when it comes to flying dogs.
Dogs Cannot Fly Alone
Every airline that was researched for this article has a rule against flying unaccompanied dogs from one point to another. Understand that dogs are considered to be cargo to the airline. You can’t send your luggage to a city somewhere across the country without going with it (only the airline can do that - insert rim shot here) and you can’t send your dog. Unaccompanied dogs must be transported by a licensed and approved pet transportation company.
Clean Bill of Health
All airlines require that a dog that will be flying with you receive a full physical examination and be tested for various diseases (most commonly rabies) before they’ll be allowed to fly. Usually the airline will require that the exam certificate be dated within a certain amount of time before the date of the flight, so the exam you had your dog undergo two years ago will not suffice for a flight you intend to take next week.
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posted by Tess on Dec 10
So you want to keep discus fish or are already keeping discus fish. One of things you must do is keep your discus fish healthy and disease free. In this article I’m going to give you a few tips on how to keep discus fish disease free as:
One of the most common assumptions with discus is that they easily get disease and die. This is not true. They will only get disease if you mistreat them.
The root of the problem is stress, if you cause discus stress there immune system will lower and make them venerable to disease. It is important to keep stress to a minimum so below I have made you a check list of things to do.
• Make sure all water is free from chlorine and heavy metals. It is important that you invest in either an RO unit, water purifier or use a good quality tap water condition.
• Give your discus a good varied diet including frozen bloodworm and slow sinking granules.
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posted by Tess on Dec 8
What are some of the most common skin and coat problems in domestic pets?
Skin and coat problems are very common among domestic pets and appear to be on the increase. They include:
* Abscesses
* Skin odors
* Eczema
* Allergic dermatitis
* Contact dermatitis
* Dandruff
* Hair loss
* Warts
* Puppy acne
* Seborrhea
What are the causes of skin and coat problems?
Toxins are routinely eliminated through the skin, and skin and coat problems can often indicate a number of underlying concerns including toxin overload, anxiety, thyroid problems and a compromised immune system.
Other causes of skin and coat problems include:
* bacterial and fungal infections;
* fleas (some pets develop a hypersensitivity to fleabites)
* dietary allergies
* allergies to certain irritants (e.g. commercial pet shampoos)
What is Skin and Coat Tonic?
PetAlive Skin and Coat Tonic contains a combination of especially selected herbs, nutrients and biochemic tissue salts known for their tonic and healing effect on the skin and hair.
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