ePetDrugs Blog

Jodi Webb

Many pets, especially dogs, miss us when we go on vacation. Thinking about taking Rover on your next weekend getaway? It’s not a simple as throwing his favorite chewee toy in the car.

What’s Up Doc? — The first thing to do is make an appointment with your vet. Make sure he’s in tiptop shape and don’t forget a health certificate which will be needed for many types of transportation and by many hotels. Ask your vet for a recommendation of a vet at your vacation destination. If your pet suddenly becomes ill or injured you don’t want to waste precious time searching for a vet.

Planes and trains and automobiles – Consider what mode of transportation your pet is most comfortable with when making arrangements. Does he need a new/bigger pet carrier or a car restraint? Even if your pet is normally a happy traveler you might want to discuss getting a sedative with your vet, just in case.

Hi, My Name Is… — Of course your dog has a collar with your name, address, and phone number. Your home phone. That info won’t be very helpful if you and your dog are hundreds of miles from home. Pick up a second tag listing your cellphone number and attach the name and phone number of your vacation hotel to the tag(masking tape works well).

Discount Pet Meds and Pet Supplies

Jodi Webb

If you’ve spent any time standing in line at the grocery store lately, perusing the headlines of the magazines on the racks you’d know that sleep deprivation is a big problem for many Americans. While the Center for Disease Control(CDC) recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep for adults, many of us our getting by on 5 or 6. Why? Second jobs, worries, a partner’s snoring…a pet’s snoring.

John Shephard MD of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center found that 22% of the people who come to the center with sleeping problems have a pet sleep with them. Sure, drifting off to sleep with a furry friend lying next to you seems comforting but what happens next? Does your pet snore, wander around, or get up for a 3 am bathroom break? Does she hog the bed, make the room too warm, or wake you at the crack of dawn? If he disturbs the quality or quantity of your sleep, it may be time to think about new sleeping arrangements. Your pet may protest at first but ask yourself, “Is it more important for him to have me lying next to him at night or to have an energetic owner during the day?” Chances are, eventually he’ll prefer the new arrangements. After all, YOUR snoring may have been disturbing his sleep.

Discount Pet Meds and Pet Supplies

Jodi Webb

Dogs are a great boost to making new friends(cats not so much). Even if you’ve just met a person, dogs offer an instant conversation topic. Do you ever go to the park on Apple Street? Is he afraid of the Anderson’s German Shepherd? Which vet does he go to?

hen we moved into our neighborhood to get to know new people through their pets. Just make sure your kids know the rules about not approaching strange dogs(even on leashes)until you ask an owner’s permission. Some dogs have quirks: kids, running, high pitched voices. Don’t we all?

Another fun way to make friends with animal lovers long after the local dog park has been deserted for the night is www.mydogspace.com . You can make virtual friends and real life friends—some posters ask about dogs looking for friends in specific areas like central Ohio or the Denver area. Have fun!

Discount Pet Meds and Pet Supplies

Jodi Webb

I’m not a big fan of reality shows—I like my TV viewing to be an escape from reality. I get enough reality from, well, real life. But I decided to check out Greatest American Dog. If you haven’t seen it, the show throws dogs and owners together in a house and gives them a ‘challenge’ to complete each week. The dogs were painting from what I could tell on my episode. The last team standing gets $250,000.

Of course, I tuned in for the drama portion of the show. Some dog nipped at another owner. Then there was a shot of the dog’s owner weeping in the backyard about how her dog was so “stressed”. Well, let’s take a look at the situation. Removed from familiar surroundings and thrust into a house with eleven other strange humans and dogs and forced to do strange things. If I was that dog I’d be biting people too. Even as a human I might bite a few people!

Can I make a suggestion? If humans want to make fools of themselves on TV for 15 minutes of fame let them. But can we protect those who can’t volunteer for themselves—pets, children? Isn’t our responsibility to give them a good life, not torment them on the off-chance that we might win some big prize. Get a job! Live within your means! Leave your dogs alone!

Discount Pet Meds and Pet Supplies

Jodi Webb

Mootz and Nicki were not fast friends from the minute they met. Mootz, my brother’s chocolate lab puppy, was more than happy to call Nicki, my parent’s toy poodle, his new best friend. But Nicki, a toy poodle with a few years under his belt, couldn’t be bothered with this large, loud, and clumsy dog. Nicki didn’t like dogs in general—we doubted that he even believed he was a dog. I’m sure he thought of himself as a small, dignified human.

Fast forward five years and Mootz is moving into Nicki’s house. Remembering their strained relationship when Mootz was a puppy, everyone wondered if the arrangement would work. By now Nicki was partially blind and deaf and had little tolerance for change of any kind. Mootz was younger but, because he was a large breed, had already developed problems with his joints. If you listened closely you could almost hear the both of them groan as they made their way down the stairs.

To everyone’s surprise they easily became buddies. In fact, Mootz acts as a sort of seeing eye dog—sensing the big dog next to him Nicki follows his lumbering buddy around the backyard. He ventures much further into the big yard then he has in a long time. Watching the two of them lying in the grass brings to mind images of two old men sitting on a park bench feeding the birds. Except these two oldsters don’t feed the birds, they bark at them. And occasionally chase them.

Discount Pet Meds and Pet Supplies

By Jodi Webb

Global warming is melting the icebergs, causing hurricanes, killing species. Here’s one you probably never saw coming—it’s causing a feline population explosion. According to the Environmental Protection Agency earlier springs are causing mammals such as cats to go into heat earlier and stay in heat longer. Shelters have noticed that the ‘kitten season’ when litters are dumped onto their doorstops is starting earlier. They are literally bursting at the seams with unwanted kittens. Unfortunately, our country is in an economic downturn and donations to shelters are also decreasing. Many of these cute kittens are destined to be euthanized.

So its now even more important to spay and neuter your pets. If they protest tell them it wasn’t your idea—it’s global warming

Discount Pet Meds and Pet Supplies

By Jodi Webb

My family eagerly waved goodbye to a week-long heat wave that included 90 degree days–especially our dog Maggie, a seven year old animal shelter special. Maggie’s been lying around but mostly she’s been in a house with air conditioning or fans. Could it still be the heat?

Turns out dogs don’t have to be in a parked car to suffer from the heat–it can even happen in your AC if they conditions are right (or wrong). Several things can combine with the heat to cause problems–being overweight or short nosed, exercise, excitement, or even sudden temperature changes (dogs don’t have a chance to acclimate to warmer weather). Don’t judge a dog’s comfort by yours–they have fur, less effective sweat glands, and can’t pour themselves a cool drink when they’re thirsty. Watch for lethargy, weakness, loss of balance, excessive panting, roaring breathing sounds, excessive salivation, decrease in mental awareness.

Avoid heat exhaustion by taking early morning walks, avoiding excessive exercise like chasing a ball, frequently replacing their water, adding a few ice cubes to their water, giving them a kiddie pool or even a damp towel to lie on, and keeping them in a cool environment whenever possible. Another great treat for your dog in hot weather is watermelon!

Discount Pet Meds and Pet Supplies