Celebration

National Bird Day

On January 5th, we celebrate National Bird Day.

Did you know that one of the fastest growing group of discarded pets in this country is the exotic bird?

And while we hear a great deal about displaced dogs and cats and the protection and anti-cruelty laws that have been enacted for their protection,  birds are often ignored or short-changed when in comes to protection under anti-cruelty and pet shop laws.

In the 1990's, exotic birds became the fastest-growing pet of choice. Since 2000, there are well over 100 bird rescues or sanctuaries across the country, caring for hundreds of unwanted and abused birds in need of rescue and lifelong new homes. It is also believed that potentially untold thousands more exotic birds languish, ignored and most likely in a state of deprivation, in their cages.

Why has this happened to these magnificent birds?

Because in many cases the bird owner or, their family members, are rarely educated or understand the total commitment necessary for the care and special needs of the exotic bird. The bird may exhibit behaviors like biting, aggression or self-mutilation. The birds are prone to making loud noises and the area around the cage of one of these birds will always be a mess. It doesn't take long before the novelty of owning an exotic bird becomes a nuisance and the birds is then often left alone in a cage without adequate socialization, medical care, food, water or clean living conditions. Countless other birds will be physically abused, given away to another person who has no idea how to care for it, released outside to fend for itself, simply abandoned in an empty house or apartment, or they simply perish.

National Bird Day, is an opportunity to learn how to work to protect these magnificent creatures through public education. It is also the time to raise awareness about the enormous global influence and the devastating effects on wild parrot populations because of the impact of exotic bird trade. The parrot species, more than almost any other major group of birds, is now globally threatened and could well become extinct if actions to reverse the current trends are not taken.

If you are interested in learning more about the plight of exotic birds, you could begin with the resources listed below.

Resources:

The Avian Welfare Coalition is a working alliance of veterinarians, conservationists, avian welfare and animal protection organizations dedicated to the ethical treatment of exotic birds. For more information about the AWC please visit their website.

The Animal Protection Institute is a national non-profit animal advocacy organization with 85,000 members, working to protect animals from cruelty and exploitation through legislation, litigation, and public education. For more information about API’s exotic bird campaign, please visit their site.

Crayola Activities for Kids  Fun and educational projects for kids for National Bird Day.

National Bird Day Website

Celebrate Nature With Your Christmas Tree

Have you looked out into your backyard lately?

If you do, you might notice that it's at this time of the year that the birds and even the squirrels, are scrounging around for food as well as for nesting material. Because just like you, they need to prepare for the winter ahead.

Now, if you celebrated Christmas with a real Christmas tree, or even a holiday wreath made from natural materials, you are probably getting ready to dispose of the them in the very near future.

So, this can be a win-win solution for both you and the birds, because there is a way for you to recycle what you have into something they need to have. Just pass that used Christmas tree and slightly dried-out holiday wreath, down the food chain and re-gift them to some of nature's neediest and smallest creatures. Give them as gifts to the birds and squirrels, and you will be celebrating nature in the process.

How To Prepare The Tree To Bring Outdoors

• Take all the ornaments, lights and decorations off the tree. If you used tinsel or icicles, make sure you remove them all.
• Decide on where you plan on setting up the tree outdoors.
• Place the base of the tree in a bucket, then fill the bucket with sand, stones or water if the water will freeze to ice when placed outside. Or, you can always leave the tree in it's indoor tree stand.

How To Trim The Tree For The Birds

Basically, you can use just about any of your holiday leftovers as tree trimmings. The birds, and even squirrels aren't too picky when it comes to our table scraps. Even what we consider small portions are useful to them. Here are a few decorating suggestions to help you get started.

• Bread, the harder the better, cut into smaller pieces. - Attach by hanging with string or stick on the branches using peanut butter.
• Donuts, pastry or crackers are favorites, plain or covered with peanut butter and rolled in bird seeds. - Hang with string or yarn, or attach with peanut butter.
• Oranges or tangerines, cut into slices and hung on the tree branches.
• Apples and pears, cut into slices and hung on the tree branches.
• Cranberries on a string. - Hang like garland on the Christmas tree.
• Popcorn on a string. - Hang like garland on the tree.
• Pieces of string and yarn attached to the tree. - Used for nesting material. 

You can use all of these items to decorate a wreath as well. Just make sure that there are no items  used that contain glitter or paint. We're doing this nature's way, all natural.

So there you have it. A fantastic way for you and the entire family, to celebrate nature as we near the end of this season of holiday celebrations.

Have fun! I'm quite sure the birds and squirrels will.

How To Keep Your Pets Safe This Holiday Season: Special Treats for Dogs and Cats (Part 4)

While your dog is looking at you and your guests at the dinner table, with his limpid brown eyes, and hands are creeping towards those bits of chicken skin or steak trimmings, remember that dogs, and maybe even some of your guests, don't understand what is and isn’t healthy for a dog's diet. And let's face it, he gets enough of what is bad for his heart by cleaning up the floor while you are cooking or if you have children who drop just about as much as they eat! All that cooked people food, laden with spices and extra fat, does nothing more for a dog than upset his digestive system and mess with his health.

If you are tempted to give your pet more treats than usual over the holidays, or suspect that friends and family will be tempted to sneak food to your pets when visiting, then give everyone something especially made for your dog or cat, to feed them instead.

When making treats for dogs and cats, here are a few simple rules to keep in mind. Anything that grows below ground, except carrots, is not metabolized well by dogs and is a poison to their system over time. That includes garlic and onions. Of course another forbidden food for dogs is chocolate. We may love chocolate, but it can kill our dogs. Remember how hard it is for you to eat just one of those chocolates on the plate? ... Well dogs never eat just one ... they eat them all. That's one of the reasons chocolate can be so deadly for your dog.

When it comes to cats you should steer clear of milk and dairy products. Although cats can tolerate the occasional small amount as a treat, most cats are lactose intolerant and the milk causes vomiting and diarrhea.

So, here are a couple of relatively simple recipes to make for your dog or cat, this holiday season. Don't forget to let everyone know that if they are tempted to feed you pets, you have special treats already prepared.

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

• 2 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 Cup Powdered Milk --non-fat
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Whole Egg
• 8 Ounces Peanut Butter --(1 jar)
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Cup Cold Water

Mix above ingredients together, adding water after other ingredients are mixed. Knead for 3 to 5 minutes. Dough should form a ball. Roll to 1/2 inch thick and cut into dog bone shapes. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Morsels for Mature Cats

• 1 can sardines, packed in olive oil
• 1 cup whole grain bread crumbs
• 1 egg , beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon brewer's yeast (optional)

Pour contents of sardines in a medium bowl. Using a fork, mash into tiny pieces. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of mixture onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 325F oven for 7 minutes. Store in air tight container.

How To Keep Your Pets Safe This Holiday Season (Part 3)

We have been talking about how to keep pets, primarily dogs and cats, safe in our homes, during the holidays.

In part one of the discussion, we focused on some of the hidden dangers for our pets around Christmas trees and plants that we bring into the home during the month of December. Follow this link to read part one of How To Keep Your Pets Save This Holiday Season .

In part two of our discussion, we focused primarily on the deadly dangers for pets that are inherent in some of the foods we tend to serve throughout the holiday season. What is important to remember about these foods is that while we focus on them when talking about pet safety during the holidays, these foods are dangerous choices for animals anytime they are available in the home. You can follow this link to read part two of How To Keep Your Pets Save This Holiday Season.

Today, let's look at some additional things you need to be aware of if you have a pet in your home during the holiday season.

- Your Pet and Trash: Dogs have an exceptional sense of smell. If you have a dog, and you've ever tried to sneak a snack from the fridge, you know what I mean! And if you have a dog, you may have already figured out that you need to pet-proof the garbage or trash containers. Especially during the holidays when there seems to be an abundance of stuff to deal with, what with wrapping paper and ribbon and the food trimmings we have left over when cooking or baking. To a dog, this trash container is an inevitable goldmine, just waiting for him to strike!

But in all seriousness, here are just a few of the potential dangers for your dog, residing in that trash container:

• Spicy, greasy or fatty foods which can cause a severe stomach upset if ingested.
• Meat-soaked strings, used to hold certain cuts of meat together. If a dog eats the strings, it could become lodged in the intestines and result in a surgical emergency.
• Ham, poultry, pork chop or steak bones, if ingested by a dog, can result in choking, cause a perforation of the intestines or create an obstruction in the intestines. A disruption in the functioning of the intestines, is considered a serious medical emergency which, will probably result in a surgery at the very least..
• Plastic wrap (cellophane) or aluminum foil that have been used to cover food, will be drenched with some great smells to the nose of a dog. But again, if swallowed, they may cause choking or intestinal obstruction.
• Wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, package string and various decorating  materials are all dangerous materials if ingested by a dog.
• Not to mention the spoiled or moldy foods that could cause food poisoning, tremors or seizures in house pets.

Bottom line, if it's in the garbage - it can't be a good thing to eat. Not for people and definitely not for a dog with indiscriminating taste. Keep all garbage or trash containers pet-proofed, securely secured or stored where pets can not access them.

- Your Pets and Tobacco: I don't know if you are aware of this but tobacco products can be fatal if ingested by your pets, and the signs of poisoning usually are obvious within 15 to 45 minutes. Symptoms of tobacco poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, excessive salivation and hyperactivity. Some pets may experience cardiac arrest following a period of seizure activity. It is extremely important that all ashtrays, packages of cigarettes, nicotine patches, nicotine gum, cigars and pipe tobacco, be kept out of reach of pets. Empty ashtrays often to avoid temptation because 25% of the total nicotine in cigarettes is contained in the cigarette butt.

- Your Pets and Stranger Danger: If you have guests visiting throughout the holidays, there is a potential for additional concerns if you own pets. People may open the door and allow your pet to bolt out before anyone realizes what is happening. It may be several minutes before you become aware that your dog or cat is missing, and by then, they could be several blocks away.

If you have a puppy or small breed dog in your home, they may get accidentally stepped on and injured seriously. Children, if not supervised properly, may pick up and handle the dog inappropriately or even drop the dog causing internal injuries or broken limbs. Other problems occur when guests in your home permit your dog to engage in "cute" behaviors that you have worked hard to correct or provide the dog with unhealthy treats.

To prevent these types of scenarios from playing out in your home, be very clear with guests in your home, your rules pertaining to your dog or, even the cat if you have one. You wouldn't encourage guests to manhandle your kids or load your kids up on unhealthy foods, would you? Well the same goes for your pets.

Another thing you can do is to create a safe place for your dog. Use a playpen or a child safety gate, to keep the dog safely away from the activity. Set up an area that allows the dog to eat, drink and sleep in peace, until you decide when it is appropriate to bring him out to meet the guests ... if at all. You could always hire a babysitter, a neighbor or friend, to take care of your dog for the day to avoid the entire situation  because if your guests are unfamiliar with your pets, you can not blame them when the dog escapes, is fed unhealthy treats or allowed to do things they shouldn't.

The holidays are a time to enjoy. If you're not sure how your pets will survive, take every precaution to protect your pet. Just as a parent, a pet owner knows, you have an obligation to care for and protect the one you love.

Next time, we'll give you a couple of recipes that you can use to make some dog treats and cat treats that will be a perfect replacement for those times when someone is tempted to reach under the table with people-food!

How To Keep Your Pets Safe This Holiday Season (Part 2)

Yesterday, we began a discussion about how to keep our pets safe this holiday season. If you missed the first part of this material, you can read it here: How To Keep Your Pets Save This Holiday Season (Part 1.)

Generally, the best way to keep your pets safe, is to think of them as children. Like children, they need to be protected from the "hidden dangers" in the home, especially during a busy time of the year. To us, these "hidden dangers" are nothing more than common sense. But for your pets, these dangers depend largely on their age, ability to follow directions and training. For example a new puppy or kitten is more at risk simply because they lack the training and experience to deal with all the new temptations in the home.

So with that in mind, let's look at some more of the dangers and potential health hazards, we need to plan around to help keep our pets safe this holiday season.

Holiday Pet Hazards: Food and Beverages

- Decorating The Christmas Tree With Food:  If it has been your tradition to hang garlands made of popcorn, raisins or cranberries, it is probably not a good idea if you have pets. While beautiful to look at, if eaten by a dog or cat, these foods may create an obstruction in the throat, requiring immediate surgery to remove. In addition, candy canes and gingerbread people hanging from the Christmas tree branches are as irresistible to your pets as they are to children. And just like with the kids, one will never be enough!

- Alcoholic Beverages: It is never, ever okay, to allow your pet to ingest alcohol. Never! Don't leave alcoholic drinks where your pets can reach them. And never allow anyone else to give your pet anything alcoholic to drink either. It is never a fun thing to do. If your pet ingests even a little alcohol, the effects can be harmful and even fatal. The animal may go into a coma and lapse into respiratory arrest. Every year, hundreds of dogs die after consuming even a small amount of alcohol. So don't leave glasses of spiked eggnog and other alcoholic beverages, even for a minute, unattended where pets can reach them.

- Holiday Candy: If you have pets in your home, leaving those candy dishes out, is not a good idea. And when in the kitchen doing your holiday baking, make the kitchen off-limits too. Chocolate is extremely hazardous and potentially poisonous to your animals. In general, the less sweet the chocolate, the more toxic it could be. The amount and the type of chocolate (bakers, semi sweet, milk and dark) ingested, can cause a variety of reactions including seizures, diarrhea, hyperactivity and increased thirst, increased urination, vomiting, increased heart rate and heart failure. Depending on the dose ingested, chocolate  can be potentially poisonous to many pets. The unsweetened baking chocolate contains almost seven times more theobromine (a substance similar to caffeine) as milk chocolate.

In addition, your pets should not be offered candy or gum as treats. Candies and gum containing large amounts of the sweetener xylitol. If an animal ingests a significant amount of the sweetener xylitol, the animal can experience a sudden drop in blood sugar, which results in un-coordination, depression and seizures, because xylitol is toxic to animals. And forget about leaving treats like homemade fudge and other candy on the table covered with aluminum foil or cellophane. A determined dog or cat will eat right through foil or cellophane and now you have an additional problem because the ingested aluminum foil and cellophane can cause vomiting and intestinal blockage.

- Holiday Food Preparation and Leftovers: Pets, especially puppies and dogs, tend to be overfed during the holidays. Dogs will beg for food and well-meaning guests, as well as owners, feel guilty and feed the pet the table food left on the plates. This feeding of table food can make the dog sick as well as create an obese animal. In addition: 

• Foods that are rich and fatty, can cause stomach upset or even pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas, resulting in pain, vomiting and dehydration. The treatment for dogs with pancreatitis is usually hospitalization.

• Do not give bones, no matter how big they are, to your dog. Poultry bones can splinter and cause blockages. In fact bones from fish, meat and poultry can create serious problems if swallowed by your pet because they can splinter and cause serious lacerations throughout the intestinal tract.

• Never give uncooked meat to your pet. Uncooked meat, poultry and fish can contain disease-causing bacteria such as E.coli and parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii.

• When baking, keep all the ingredients far away from your pets, especially things like uncooked dough, nuts and fruits such as grapes and raisins.
  • Grapes and raisins contains a toxin which may damage a dog's kidneys.
  • Certain nut, like macadamia nuts, also contain an unknown toxin which can affect the digestive system, nervous system and the muscles in dogs.
  • Uncooked yeast dough, eaten by a pet, has the potential to expand and produce gas in the digestive system. At the very least the animal will experience pain, but there is the possibility that the stomach or intestines could rupture.

- Your Pet's Diet During The Holidays: The best thing you can do, is to keep your pet on its normal diet.  Any change of diet, even for one meal, may cause severe indigestion and diarrhea in your pet. This can be particularly important for dogs and cats that are being fed specific diets because of the medical or nutritional requirements. You are not doing your pet a favor, not even for one time. It is never a treat to see our pets sick, and especially not during the holidays.

In part 3 of How To Keep Your Pets Save This Holiday Season, we'll look at some additional things you can do to ensure a happy holiday for your pets. 

How To Keep Your Pets Safe This Holiday Season (Part 1)

As we pull out the boxes of decorations, and prepare to bring home the Christmas tree, if we are pet owners, there are a few things we need to keep in mind this holiday season. So before spreading those decorations around the house to create a holiday décor, and filling those candy dishes in anticipation of the arrival of friends and family, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with this helpful and important information. Your pet's life may depend on it.

Holiday Pet Hazards: Home Decorating

- The Christmas Tree: If you have a dog or a cat, it's a good idea to anchor the top of the tree to a wall with a strong rope or cord to avoid the tree from being tipped over. If you have a real tree then there are additional dangers. First, keep the area under the tree clean by picking up any pine needles that may drop. Ingested pine needles can puncture your pet's intestines. Second, you do not want pets, drinking from the water collected in the Christmas tree stand. The stagnant water is a breeding ground for bacteria and may also contain fertilizers. If your pet ingests this water they may experience, nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, diarrhea, mouth sores and loss of appetite.

To avoid potential danger, cover the tree stand tightly with a tree skirt. You might even want to consider creating some sort of barrier, a safety zone, if you will, between the Christmas tree and your pets. If you choose to have a traditional floor to ceiling Christmas tree rather than a tabletop tree, screens or portable fencing can be used to keep pets, as well as small children away from the tree and gifts.

- The Christmas Tree Decorations: Glass ornaments are pretty to look at but they could break and cause serious lacerations to your dog's or cat's paws and mouth. Other traditional tree decorations such as tinsel, icicles, ribbons, ornament hooks and angel hair, if swallowed by your pet, can become lodged in their intestines and cause an intestinal obstruction which can be fatal. You might want to try decorating your tree with things that are not quite so bright and shiny and therefore less enticing to your pets. Save the bright and shiny ornaments for another year.

- Yuletide Plants: Holly berry juice and mistletoe can be extremely toxic to your pets. If a dog or cat ingests some mistletoe, some of the outward symptoms might be frothing at the mouth, diarrhea, muscle twitching, lethargy, crying and vomiting. The plant tends to cause the animal to suffer gastrointestinal upsets and cardiovascular problems. The best plan is to avoid having these plants in the home and for an alternative, use artificial flowers made from silk.

In addition, some holiday floral arrangements contain lilies, and lilies are very dangerous for cats. Certain types of lilies, including  Stargazer, Casa Blanca, Tiger, Japanese Show and Asian, even in small amounts, can cause kidney failure in cats. The best plan is to avoid having these plants in the home if you have a cat.

- Poinsettias: The poinsettia plant is considered to be very low in toxicity. If your pet does ingest any part of the plant, they may experience mild vomiting or nausea. If you bring a poinsettia plant into your home, it's still a good idea to keep it well away from the pets.

- Dangling Electrical Cords: Whether you are adding electrical candles on the windowsills, or attaching the lights on the Christmas tree, beware of dangling cords. Puppies, kittens and even rabbits are curious and can be easily enticed by things, like electrical cords, that hang. But this is a serious health hazard. If electrical cords are chewed, your pet can be electrocuted. Make sure to keep all electrical cords out of you pet's reach by purchasing wire and cord protectors.

You might also want to use the Christmas tree lights that are pre-assembled. They wrap around the tree easily, tuck just inside the branches, and allow for connection to the electrical source near the top. This helps to eliminate the dangers of loose extension cords or dangling light wires under the tree.

Dogs, and cats to some extent, love to lay under or behind the Christmas tree. Without the precautions mentioned above, it is very easy for them to become entangled in the loose wires causing strangulation, injuries to their extremities or worse, as they try and free themselves. If they pull hard enough, the tree may even fall on them.

In our next article, we'll discuss the dangers that some foods pose to you pet during the holiday season.