Animal Care Guide

Many people agree that having a pet is a joy. But it can be a lot of work too. Some incidents of animal abuse is neglect. Sometimes these people didn't know how to care for their pet so they gave up. In this post, I will be explaining how to care for some domestic house pets like dogs, cats and rodents.

Food: Make sure your pet has food that suits their nutritional needs. Be sure you know the diet of your pet. Most animals need to be fed once or twice a day. Do not give your pet human food. It's not good for human food often has minerals and items in it that can be harmful to animals. Make sure your pet has plenty of clean and  fresh water.

Exercise:
Your pet needs exercise just like humans. Every pet needs a different type of exercise. Dogs need plenty of exercise so make sure you walk them or play fetch with them every day. Cats also love some quality playtime with you. Laser pointers gets your cat moving. For rodents like hamsters and gerbils, you can put an exercise wheel in their cage.

Grooming:
It's good to brush your pet every day to get rid of loose or shedding hair. Cats will have less hairballs and shed less if they're brushed on regularly. Look for fleas, ticks, leaves, and other things that might be caught in your pet's fur. Try bathing your dog once a month and cat every few months. Don't do it too often because too many can take away the natural oils from their skin and can cause rashes. If you have a cat and it gives you a hard time you can go to your the vet and have them give it a bath. Or you could bring your cat or dog to places likes Petsmart. There they bathe and groom your pet. Don't forget to trim your pets claws. Most rodents don't need their claws trimmed.

Health:
Animals need to see vets for a check up like we do with our doctors. Make sure your pet's vaccinations are up-to-date.

Love/bathroom/shelter:
Give your pet a lot of affection. This creates a strong bond and lets them know they're loved. You also need to give your pet a place to go to the bathroom. Cats need a litter box, rodents need a cage, and dogs need to go outside. Your pet needs a place to go like a tank, cage, or a doghouse. If your dog or cat spends a lot of time outdoors, make sure they still have a nice place to. Shelter keeps pets protected from cold, heat, wind and rain.

In my opinion, animals can be hard to take care of. That is why people should be fully committed when purchasing a pet and know what needs to be done. A lot of situations of neglect happen because the pet became too much to handle or the owner thought it was okay to not do everything the pet needed. These situations can be avoided. But there are situations where the owner just does not care. I don't get why someone would own a pet if they did not care. I think a pet should be part of the family.

Sources:
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/family/pets/article7.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Care-of-Your-Pet

Puppy mills

Puppy mills are dog breeding facilities that usually have bad living conditions. The breeders only purpose is to sell the puppies. Which means, they don't care about the well being of the mothers or the puppies, just as long as they have cute puppies to sell. They also have kitty mills and sometimes a cross between both.

Breeders will breed a female dog every time she is in heat which results in decreasing sizes of litters. This means, a five year old dog could have given birth to 10 liters of puppies. Puppies are also usually taken away from their mother way before the eight to ten weeks that are recommended. I think that is just awful. The puppies are then sold to brokers and are taken to a pet shop in crates. Only half the puppies survive the travel to the pet shop. This is probably due to the fact that puppy mills do not give the right amount of food and water to the animals. The food and water is usually contaminated and crawling with bugs. Sometimes they don`t give any at all. There is also many diseases in puppy mills. This is because the breeders don't provide the right care and treatment for the animals. Some of these include eye problems, heart disease, kidney disease, respiratory disorders etc.

Other problems with puppy mills are they are sometimes kept in cages no bigger than their bodies or a big cages with many dogs. They are also left in their own waste. Other times the bottom of the cages are wired so their waste can go through. These hurt their paws and it's not uncommon for cages to be stacked on top of each other. Some mills have around ten animals but others have over 1000! On the bright side, there are groups of people who help these animals and take them out of the mill. I am amazed by these people. They go into these terrible environment so they can save the lives of puppies or kittens. It is very heroic of them.

My opinion on puppy mills is that they should have more laws against them. Some of the states in the u.s  have minor standards. For example, some states let people keep animals in a cage six inches long. Other states have more strict standards and that's how it should be. I'm so glad that there are people who help and recue these poor animals. I'm also extremely happy to see them get back to health and get a forever home with people who love them. I'm completly against puppy mills and I hope for a day where puppy mills get more well known so people know how to spot them and to stop them.


Sources:
http://www.aspca.org/fight-cruelty/puppy-mills/puppy-mill-faq
http://www.petsadviser.com/animal-welfare/puppy-mill-dog-health-problems/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppy_mill
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-puppy-mills
https://www.google.ca/imghp

Introduction to my Blog: Animal Cruelty

Animal cruelty might seem like something you don't see in our society but it is everywhere. We see it in our cosmetics, fashion, entertainment etc. Here at my blog, I will be writing about the animal cruelty which only purpose is to hurt the animals for entertainment/testing/other. I won't be talking much about the consumption of animals since it is for survival.  But I will talk about unnecessary measures slaughter houses take. I personally believe there is no point in hurting an innocent being. Be it human or not. Animals feel pain just like us. We wouldn't want to be treated like this so why make another living creature go through the pain?

On my blog I will be writing a lot about domestic animals. Some of my topics will include animal testing, animals served as entertainment purposes, animals in sports and animal abuse. I will also write an animal raising guide. My purpose is to shine some light on these topics since we don't hear much about them. Some things we hear are myths and some are sugar coated. I hope to learn new things as well since some of the things I thought I knew might have been myths.

I've always been an animal lover. I've owned many pets and as a kid my favourite TV shows were usually animal shows. I admit I don't know a lot about animal cruelty other than what I have heard in society. My goal for this blog is to learn more while I research so I know exactly what's going on. It will probably make me think twice the next time I purchase something or the next time I see something on TV.

Fact: A Canadian Police study found that 70 percent of people arrested for animal cruelty had past records of other violent crimes.


Sources: *WARNING: SITES MAY INCLUDE GRAPHIC CONTENT*
http://emptyallcages.com/2012/09/13/25-facts-about-animal-cruelty-2/