Rats types

Rats are rodents that belong to the Rattus genus of the family Muridae. These are the most dominant species on earth. There are several species of rats in the world. Most rodents are herbivorous, but some are omnivorous. In general, there are two basic types of rats. They are black or roof rats and Norway or brown rats. Both are thought to have originated in Asia and are now widely distributed throughout the world.

The brown rat, which is also known as the Norway rat, house rat, gray rat, barn rat, and wharf rat, is one of the best-known and is the larger of the two. Their scientific name is Rattus norvegicus. They are mostly grayish-brown, with a lighter colored stomach. A fully-grown brown rat is 18 to 26 cm long and weighs between 400 and 600 gm. They have a tail shorter than its body and their nose and muzzle are blunt. They prefer moist conditions and nest in deep burrows.

Roof rats (Rattus Rattus) are also called black rats and ship rats. They are usually black, slender, 16-21 cm long and weigh about 80-300 gram. Their tail is longer than the head and body and their nose and muzzle are pointed. As the name suggest, roof rats are climbers. Their paws enable them to climb and build nests in upper parts of dwellings, attics, rafters and crossbeams of buildings.

These rats breed when they are three to four months of age. They breed 1 to 13 times a year and produce 1 to 22 in a litter. Black rats and brown rats eat about the same things. Their diet typically includes seeds, nuts, grains, vegetables, fruits, cereals, meats and invertebrates. They consume about one-third of their weight in food every 24 hours.

They carry lethal diseases, damage structures and contaminate food. Some of the diseases potentially fatal to man that spread through rats are Weil's disease, plague, salmonella food poisoning and toxoplasmosis.

Rats provides detailed information on Rats, Rat Terrier, Pet Rats, Rat Snake and more. Rats is affiliated with Electronic Pest Control.

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Pet rats

Fancy rats make great pets for the right people. Even with the recommended minimum of play-time outside of the cage on a daily basis your pet will still spend the majority of his or her time inside of the cage called home. These animals are active pets and very intelligent creatures. Because of this, it's important to make sure that you provide a fancy rat cage that will allow your little friend to exercise physically, as well as, mentally.

The minimum floor space that is recommended for each pet rat is 24 inches by 12 inches. Please keep in mind that this is the absolute bare minimum recommendation. It is, also, recommended that if you can afford it and have the space that you get a larger cage. Vertical space can give your pet some added space. Vertical cage space isn't important and floor space but it is much better than no space at all. Fancy pet rats are very active and will utilize any space that they are given.

Ventilation is important to the health of your pet and the quality of the air you breathe. Decomposing fecal matter and urine give off ammonia gas, among other things. Many respiratory problems in rats can be traced back to ammonia gas and poor ventilation. Because of this, it is recommended that you get a wire mesh cage to use as your fancy rat cage. The open walls of these cages make ventilation a breeze when compared to aquariums or other glass tanks. You can put some litter down on the floor to help absorb the droppings. Regardless of the use of litter, you should plan on cleaning your pet's home, at least, weekly. Wire cages are, also, very handy when it comes to hanging hammocks, toys, or water bottles. Try to find a cage that does not use plastic. Rats need to chew to keep their teeth from getting too long and they will chew through a plastic cage or floor.

The author is a leader in the pet cage industry and offers quality fancy rat cages [http://qualityratcages.com/] in a variety of sizes for all of your rat cage needs.

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Rat as a pet

Rates are clean, affectionate and intelligent animals. The rat usually kept as a pet is the Norwegian Rat, Rattus norvegicus, not the Black Rat, Rasttus rattus. The average lifespan of a rat is 3 years.

Food

Rats are omnivores; they eat both animal and vegetable foods. Most Human type foods are suitable, but give mainly vegetable type foods and reserve meat for an occasional treat. Most people use a seed based mixture as a basis of the diet, but it should be supplemented with generous amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as fresh green food.

Things to Avoid

Some things are poisonous or undesirable foods for rats. Avoid giving your pet rat:

Alcoholic beverages
Anything known to be poisonous to Humans
Avocados
Bulbs and the leaves of plants grown from bulbs
Chocolate
Green Bananas
Green Potatoes
Liquorice
Onions
Potato Leaves
Raw Dry Beans or Peanuts
Raw Red Cabbage and Brussel Sprouts
Raw Sweet Potato
Rhubarb and especially rhubarb leaves
Seaweed
Tomato Leaves

The same care needs to be taken over the storage of your rat's foods as you should take over your own food.

Companions

Rats are social animals, and it is kinder to keep more than one, especially if you cannot be with your rat most of the time. It you have rats of both sexes, you can reasonable expect babies fairly soon. The females tend to be more active while the males are often more cuddly.

Buying your Rat

Unless you are already an expert on keeping rats, the ideal person to buy from is a serious rat breeder. If you buy from a pet shop, make sure that the person who serves you is knowledgeable about rats.

Housing

I suggest a minimum length for the cage of 24 inches (60 cm) and a width of at least 12 inches (30 cm). In addition, it is better if you can let the rat out of the cage and play with it. Many rat owners train their pet to sit on their shoulder.

Biting

Mostly rats do not bite. If they do it may be from fright, or because they are not used to their owner. In some cases, a male rat becomes aggressive as it becomes sexually mature. If the rat is showing excessive aggression, you may have to consider castration. If you do get your rat castrated, make sure the vet is familiar with the castration of rats.

If you are bitten by a rat, get advice from your doctor. Your doctor may recommend a tetanus injection.

Cleaning

Rats keep themselves clean, but it is necessary to clean their cage frequently.

Although rats only live for about four years on average, our Rat, Tiffany, lived for over four years. To read about her life and afterlife, see: http://www.bettatrading.com.au/Tiffany-Rat.php.

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Castration

Sterilization as a means of contraception was practiced for a long time. After learning that castrating animals prevented pregnancy, early Chinese doctors did the same thing to men and were successful in their attempts.

By 1200 B.C., castration was performed on servants of the emperor. The Assyrians and Babylonians also castrated slaves which they kept in their homes. Most of the early procedures, however, were not only crude but dangerous, especially in the absence of antiseptic substances and effective anesthetics.

In the 20th century, doctors turned to X-rays as a means of sterilizing both men and women. This was later abandoned due to radiation's harmful effects and the risk of contracting cancer.

Today, sterilization is accomplished through vasectomy for men or tubal ligation for women. Both are considered non-reversible ways of contraception. Of the two, tubal ligation is more popular but vasectomy appears to be picking up.

Vasectomy was developed in the early 1900s and is one of the few birth control methods for men. In this minor surgical procedure, each of the vas deferens, the two tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the penis, is cut and sealed.

Compared to tubal ligation, vasectomy is less physically traumatic and less expensive. It takes only 20 minutes and the stitches usually dissolve in seven to 10 days. Strenuous activity should be avoided for the next 48 hours while sex can be resumed in a week provided there is no discomfort.

"You may notice some swelling and discomfort in the scrotum for a few days. However, if the pain persists for more than a few days or becomes severe or if fever develops, call your physician," said Dr. David E. Larson, editor-in-chief of the "Mayo Clinic Family Health Book."

Many people prefer a vasectomy because it can be done quickly and involves less time away from work, the reason why more than 42 million couples throughout the world rely on this method. In the United States, more than 15 percent of men over 40 have had a vasectomy. These include celebrities like Dean Martin, Abbie Hoffman and Lord Snowden.

But things were different in the past. There was a time when interest in vasectomy declined because it was thought to lead to serious health problems. Early repots in 1977 and 1978 blamed vasectomy for a host of ailments ranging from arthritis to heart disease. Subsequent studies have refuted these claims.

"The procedure in no way interferes with a man's ability to maintain an erection or reach orgasm. Nor does it impede the production of male hormones or of sperm in the testicles. The only change is that the sperm's link to the outside has been severed permanently. After a vasectomy, you continue to ejaculate about the same amount of semen because sperm account for only a small part of the ejaculate," Larson explained. (Next: Vasectomy and prostate cancer.)

To enjoy sex in your later years, keep fit, eat right and love life. That simple advice can go a long way in preserving your sex life. For extra help, take Fematril, a safe and natural female sexual enhancer that can stimulate your mind and body. For details, go to http://www.fematril.com/.

Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premier online news magazine [http://www.HealthLinesNews.com]

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Online Veterinary Practice

Veterinary software today comes in many flavors and sold on many platforms and technologies. Though Windows-based solutions are the most common there are a number of other other software solutions. There a number of downsides to non-hosted software that is not web-based. The world of computers is rapidly evolving and software systems that are closed and tied to a single platform are becoming increasingly obsolete when stacked against online veterinary software solution.The most common vet software program is a windows-based solution that either resides on a single machine or is networked and resides on both a PC and a server. The PC will host the software and the server will host the database.

The first biggest disadvantage becomes immediately apparent: the hardware requirement. Veterinary software vendors typically require the veterinarian to purchase and maintain expensive hardware. The networked server costs at least $2000 and almost as much to maintain on a yearly basis. The PCs that host the system might be cheaper, but by no means are they cheap to maintain, patch and upgrade to the latest software standards. Before purchasing any solution from a software vendor it is important that vet clinics research and understand what and how much hardware is required to operate the software.

A second, even more pressing concern that can't be expressed in dollars, is security. On-premise systems that reside on users machines or a practice's database server are typically woefully insecure. Software vendors will promise "automated backups" and "password protected" logins but typically these vendors are small or medium size businesses with little understand of the more sophisticated security vulnerabilities. Automated backups do not protect against the loss or theft of a machine nor from a hard drive crash. Password-protected logins do not protect from weak password policies or brute force password hackers. A veterinary software systems security will only be as powerful as the people coding the software and typically vet software vendors do not having the man power and expertise to make their systems very sophisticated.

The last and probably most pressing disadvantage of most of today's software offerings is the lack of portability. We live in the age of iPads and Blackberries, where data is expected to be always on the go like the rest of us. These software systems were never designed or programmed to work on many different platforms, let alone the software be accessed from somewhere outside the office. As long as the solution is secure, there is simply no concrete disadvantage to having a solution that works inside and outside the clinic than having one that works strictly in the clinic. Software today is meant to move and vets shouldn't have to settle for less. Online veterinary practice management software has none of these distinct disadvantages. If you choose the right provider, the software system will sit on one of the major "cloud infrastructures" that guarantees 99.99% uptime and enterprise-level security. The advantage of cloud hosted solutions are many:

1. No hardware requirement: you can use the existing machines in your office or even your home. And not be tied down to a single software platform like Windows.
2. Enterprise-grade security: A few online software vendors will offer their applications on existing, ultra-secure cloud infrastructures that are used by banks and other industries where security and privacy are paramount. Veterinary software shouldn't suffer from poor security simply because the vet market may be smaller than the bank industry.
3. Portability: When software is hosted on the web it means that any web-enabled device can access it, anytime and anywhere: at work, home, at a cafe, a bookstore or on vacation.

A powerful veterinary software solution I recommend is called VetBlue http://www.eveterinarysoftware.com and has all the advantages of online software we discussed in this article and suffers from none of the setbacks of on-premise, windows-based solutions since it is hosted and available 24/7 from any web enabled PC, Mac or smartphone.

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Veterinary Practice

Another frequently asked question on How To Grow Your Veterinary Practice Is:

How Can I Track If My Marketing Is Working Within My Veterinary Practice?

This is a very good question because the key to any successful marketing campaign is tracking. This is also the difference between the sort of advertising that comes out of Madison Avenue and the sort that actually works for small businesses including veterinary practices.

So how do you go about tracking?

Here are four ways you can track if your marketing is working:

1. Campaign Specific Telephone Numbers

Did you know that it is possible to rent tracking telephone numbers? These are telephone numbers that you can put on your adverts, letters and web pages that when dialed will ring in your office but will be also be logged. For example, say you were running an identical promotion in two different local newspapers at the same time at the ad generated 50 new clients for your practice. If you used the same telephone number on both then you wouldn't know which newspaper had generated the most new clients. You might then be tempted to run the same ad again in both newspapers the following week when, in fact, one of the newspapers had generated 45 new clients and the other one had only generated 5! However, if each ad used a different tracking telephone number then you would know exactly how many had come from each.

2. Campaign Specific Codes

An alternative to using telephone numbers is to use different codes for each campaign. For example, you could specify in your ads or letters: Please mention offer code XYZ345 when making an appointment. This is a cheaper than telephone numbers but also not as reliable as you are relying on the client remembering to give the code and your reception staff remembering to keep track of it.

3. Campaign Specific Vouchers

Another well used tracking method is to include a voucher/coupon on your ad that the client has to bring with them to qualify for the promotion. Again not as good as telephone numbers but still a lot more than the majority of veterinary practice do.

4. Campaign Specific Web Pages

If you want to track clients that have come as a result of visiting your website then you could use different "landing pages" for different campaigns which could include any of the above tracking methods. You can also have Internet only offers so you know could only have been found on your website.

Use a simple spreadsheet which lists each campaign and the total cost of the campaign i.e. postage, paper, advertising costs etc. Then have columns for the number of responders (leads), the number of conversions (sales), the Cost Per Lead (total cost/leads), the Cost Per Sale (total cost/sales) and the value of the sales made. By doing this you can track if you are getting a return on your investment and determine if it is worth running the campaign again.

So don't waste money on advertising and marketing that doesn't work. Track your campaigns and focus on the ones that actually give you a positive return on investment.

Dean Biggs is co-founder of Veterinary Practice Profits based in Heathrow, FL. The aim of Veterinary Practice Profits is to teach veterinary practice owners the practice building and marketing strategies they were never taught at Veterinary school.

To get 20 FREE videos on 10 Frequently Asked Questions and 10 Questions You Should Be Asking about growing your veterinary practice plus a FREE book and CD on How To Consistently Grow Your Practice Every Year just click the following link http://www.FreeVetVideos.com

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Veterinary Practice

Ok, you have just bought your lovely new kitten and are all excited. Now it's time to consider trying to find a local veterinary or vet practice that is the best one to suit you and your kitten.

Hopefully there won't be many frequent visits, however when you do, you have to feel happy that they can treat your kitten as and when he requires care.

Before I start, it is worth mentioning that you should not be afraid to ask your vet questions while they are examining your kitten. They will only be too happy to explain what they are checking for.

So here are the seven tips or facts you should consider when choosing a vet..

1. How do other cat owners in your area feel about their vet?

2. Are their requirements the same as yours?

3. What are the practice consultation times and will they be convenient for you?

4. What services and facilities does the practice offer? And what range of animal species are normally treated? For instance you may own a Siberian Kitten, have they had any experiences with that breed before?

5. What are the routine treatment costs? There could be a variation in costs, depending on location, facilities offered and overheads.

6. Where is the practice located and is it near any transport links? Does it have a car par, and are there any branch practices which may be nearer to your home?

7. Is the practice accredited with a recognised Veterinary body or organization?

Keep a note of these tips and facts to consider and wish you all the best with your carefully considered choice.

Leo is an avid researcher and enjoys writing articles online and has been for a while now. This author covers a broad spectrum of topics however he specializes in fitness, dieting and weight loss, you can also check out his informative website at http://www.antioxidants-guide.com/ this is where you can discover the all about the baobab health benefits, its the superfruit everyone's talking about!

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Embryo Transfer

Embryo transfer is the advance technique in animal breeding whereby a sexually mature female referred as donor is injected with exogenous hormone to produce more ova which is fertilized inside her by natural or artificial service are removed evaluated and transferred into the reproductive tract of surrogate mother where it is develop naturally into mature calf.

The history of embryo transfer is not too much longer. First embryo is transferred experimentally in 1949. The first embryo calf is produced in 1951 in England. Commercially embryo transfer technology is not used until 1970. In 1970's calf is produced industrially through the application of embryo transfer. And European dual purposes breed of cattle became popular with in short period of time. Day by day ET technology developed through different technique include artificial insemination, surgical recovery of embryo, rapid development of superovulation technique etc. After 1977 the embryo transfer technique became popular all over the world.

Embryo transfer is based on the development of genetic makeup of the progeny by insertion of either frozen semen or semen from genetically valuable bull into the donor which is also genetically superior. Then after fertilization embryo is transferred into surrogate mother which gives only physical support to the embryo.

Embryo transfer technique is involved many steps. Those are given below

1. Selection of donor.

2. Selection of recipient.

3. Management of donor and recipient.

4. Superovulation and synchronization of estrous.

5. Estrous detection.

6. Preparation of materials.

7. Insemination of the donor.

8. Collection of embryo (either surgical or non surgical method).

9. Handling of embryo (identification, evaluation of embryo).

10. Storage of embryo.

11. Transfer of embryo.

Selection of donor

There are two broad criteria that have to follow. One criteria is donor have to proven genetic value. A Second criterion is donor must have high reproductive rate. Beside these donor have to fulfill the following criteria:

- Donor should be free from reproductive disease.

- Proven genetic value containing cow are used as donor.

- Donor should have high reproductive rate.

- It should not be over fated.

- Donor should be healthy, regular cycling and a history of high fertility.

- Donor should not losing weight

- Non pregnant cows are usually referred to as donor.

Selection of recipient

Recipient cow selection is an important task for embryo transfer technology. Recipient cow must be fulfilling some basic criteria. Not all cows are able to be a recipient cow. Palpation must be done before selecting the cow or heifer as a recipient. It is done by putting the hand into the cow's bottom and try to fell around to see whether everything is in working order or not. Some cows have calving problem, twisted cervix so it is best to avoid these cows as recipient through the palpation of cow.

The feature of recipient cows are almost like donor but they need some extra criteria this are given below

- Less productive milking cow.

- Fertile and high capacity to conceive in AI programmer.

- Young cows for non-surgical transfers and heifers for surgical transfer programmes etc are used as recipient in embryo transfer.

Management of donors and recipients

Donors are managed in both the farm condition and embryo transfer center. But surrogate mother needs extra care in a care center. But both the cows need some basic equipment common such as chutes and head catches, refrigerator for keeping drug and an appropriate site to work with embryo.

Skilled person are needed for estrous detection, palpation, and AI. Health management programme should be available like vaccination, quarantine for incoming animal and testing programme.

Adequate physical facilities like feed storage are needed. Food planned nutrition programmes, record keeping system are also essential for the proper management.

Superovulation and synchronization of estrous

Once the recipient cow and donor cow are selected the first step is to superovulate to produce multiple ova (eggs). To do this donor cows are treated with the gonadotropin (hormone) like follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) twice daily for 4 days in the range of 8 to 14 days of estrous. So more eggs are released from each follicle then a low dose of prostaglandin F2 alpha is treated after 2-3 days later. Different types of hormone are used for the superovulation like PMSG, FSH, HCG, GnRH, Estradiol-17 B, prostaglandin F2 alpha etc.

Estrous detection

Estrous detection is very important and skilled person is needed for the detection. It's detected visually at least twice each day early in the morning and late in the evening. The detection of estrous is done by the following way---------------

- Move around in each cow for 10-15 min and observed carefully in a close contact.

- Suspicious sign for estrous is restlessness, bawling, nudging, mounting, sniffing, tail raising, discharge of clear mucus from the valve, swelling, inflammation of the valve etc.

- A calendar should be kept contain all records of donor and recipient. At the 18-24 days of estrous observe closely for estrous detection.

- Met estrus bleeding blood from valve are also the major detection sign of estrous

Insemination of the donor

Insemination of the donor is done either by natural mating with proven bull or by artificial insemination. Artificial insemination means insertion of semen from proven bull for fertilization artificially where by semen is also collected from bull artificially.

Collection of embryo

Embryo is collected from the donor by surgical or non-surgical method. But it is recommended that non-surgical method than surgical method. The recovery by non surgical method is really simple and done at approximately seven days after breeding. It needs only one hour. But a skilled persons and adequate equipments are required for this process.

Handling of embryo

Recovered embryos are needed to evaluate for stage of development and quality of the embryo under the microscope. After collection the embryo are usually in the morula stage and become blastocyst stage. The embryo then classified in a broad categories like excellent, very good, good, poor, very poor etc. Normally excellent, very good, good categories of embryo are selected for embryo transfer programme.

Storage of embryo

Selected embryos are preserved through cryopreservation at very low temperature. The embryo is frozen to extremely cold temperatures, using liquid nitrogen. At cold condition nitrogen exist in liquid form under these specialised conditions the embryos can remain dormant until such time when pregnancy is desired.

Transfer of embryo

Transfer of embryo is done by two methods surgical and non-surgical. But again non-surgical method is more effective. It is much easier to transfer embryo to the uterus than to the oviduct trough the non-surgical method.

Application of embryo transfer

• Very low risk of disease transmission.
• Increase reproductive rate of genetically valuable female.
• Obtain offspring from genetically valuable but infertile cow
• Easy to import and export.
• Used in MOET programme successfully.
• Cost of embryo transfer is not high.
• Passive immunity from native dam.

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a.i

Recently, I read an article in the newspaper about a veterinarian who specializes in artificially inseminating animals. Naturally, as anyone would assume that means the semen has to be collected by someone as well. The vet just happened to be a woman...not that there is anything wrong with that (apologies to Seinfeld...yes, I know that doesn't make her gay, but, really, come on.)

Is it my imagination or wouldn't that just take a whole lot of fun out of for the animal? Just think, a race horse is put out to stud after making millions of dollars for his owners by winning races and this is his reward?? He's been bragging to his buddies at the local feeding trough about all the fillies he'll be bedding soon and then he sees a woman coming at him with a glove on...please tell me she wears a glove! I guess it could be a lot worse, he could see a proctologist coming towards him as he snaps on a rubber glove like I did for my last physical, but it still just doesn't seem fair to the horse. Plus, what is it liable to do to the horse's complexion? And what about blindness?!? This is getting less and less fair the more I think about it.

The article said it is safer for the animals this way because it prevents injuries to the female...all the wild animal sex, I guess. But that was probably why the horse worked so hard to win all those races in the first place, so he could be rewarded with wild animal sex.

The vet doesn't just service horses, as it were, but other animals as well. Is it me, or do you also doubt the possibilities of turtles hurting themselves by rapid, wild sexual movements? ...And how do you collect semen from a snake? Or more accurately, from where do you collect semen from a snake?

My next thought is how big of a cup do you need to collect semen from a horse and who holds it? Also, do they have to show the horses pictures of female horses in suggestive positions or do they make horse porn for this purpose (or for exceptionally weird humans?)

Oh sure, someone is going to ruin this even further for the poor animals by telling me a human doesn't collect the semen but that it is done by some kind of a machine...or worse someone has written a software program that does it. COME ON PEOPLE! We're going to get these poor animals so ticked off at us the next thing you know they won't consent to be eaten by us anymore.

How about we examine the psyche of this woman who makes a living out of doing this thing to farm animals? Wouldn't Sigmund Freud have a field day with that? But, then, by the same token, what kind of a psycho becomes a psychiatrist?...or what kind of an...becomes a proctologist?.... or what kind of a....becomes a urologist? I think anyone who has ever divorced someone in those professions could tell you! But, alas, let us not cast aspersions...no forget that, I would.

I wonder what the female animals think of all this. Oh sure, the Jewish female animals (is that where kosher meats come from?) are happy, they no longer have to come up with the flimsy headache excuses. And this makes it easier on the one that are embarrassed by their heavy thighs, this is particularly true of the cows and the pigs. But what about the female animals in bars trying to attract a husband? They can't say, "Would you like to come up to my apartment for some coffee and who knows, maybe later my veterinarian will come over with her glove and semen cup."

Isn't it likely that the lonely sheepherder out in the hills for so long might find this whole idea of artificially inseminating his herd rather offensive...never mind. That really is a whole different subject.

Steve Yeich is a humor writer with over 25 years of experience. He has written jokes for numerous comedians who have performed on the Las Vegas strip, most notably Jay Leno and Joan Rivers. He has done various forms of script writing including for movies and TV. He has also written over 100 TV and radio commercials. To see more of his articles go to http://darnfunnyonline.com.

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Diet For Dogs

While the raw diet for dogs is becoming a more and more stylish topic among dog owners lately, it's really not anything new as many pet owners might suppose. It has gained a renewed awareness and found its way into the spotlight recently due partly to the many recalls of commercial dog food in the past year.

Alarmed for their dog's health, pet owner's have begun the search for healthy alternatives to commercial pet food and the raw diet for dogs has become the passionate topic.

The raw food diet for dogs, also called the B.A.R.F diet (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones And Raw Food), is relatively effortless and it basically mimics what your dog would normally eat if it lived in the wild: raw meat, raw meaty bones and raw vegetables.

If you are considering putting your dog on the raw food diet, here is some essential information to keep in mind:

Altering from commercial food to the raw diet for dogs, it may be best to start with just the meat and bones for the first few days until your pet gets adapted to it.

Raw meaty bones that can be eaten include beef, chicken backs, necks, wings, or turkey necks. The chicken and turkey bones are pliable enough for a dog to chew and eat and they provide and exercise for your dog's jaw and upper-body muscle. It is very important to know that the bones give your pet are raw. Cooked bones can splinter easily and these pieces can cause severe internal damage to your pet.

After your pet has becomes accustomed to the meat and bones, you can then start adding in some of the more bland vegetables like carrots. Once your dog has become adjusted to bland vegetables, the other kinds of vegetables you want to give your dog are completely up to you. However, besides understanding the basic nutritional value of vegetables, you should make yourself knowledgeable of any unwanted side effects they might cause.

For example, carrots are wonderful because of their vitamins, potassium and calcium. Watercress and mustard leaf help clean out the intestines. On the flip side, potatoes are not easily digested, large amounts of onions can cause stomach problems and broccoli and cabbage can increase the amount of your dog's gas.

Some of the advantages pet owners report as a result of putting their pet on the raw food diet for dogs include: lower veterinarian bills, nicer smelling breath, improved skin and coats and an improved immune system due to the balance of pure nutrients and fatty acids.

Is the raw diet for dogs correct for your pet? While it has its advantages, no one diet is right for every dog anymore than any one diet is appropriate for every human. You should fully examine dog diets and nutritional needs and carefully weigh your options based on your pet's individual needs.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

Veterinary Technician

Veterinary science is a highly specialized field of study and as a veterinarian technician you would occupy an important niche in this career path. You can even use the vet tech job as a springboard to become a veterinarian technologist in the future.

As a veterinary technician you will be responsible for helping in the care and treatment of animals. The types of animals that you will be seeing in the course of a day will depend on the veterinarian you work.

Today, there are vets who care for exotic animal species such as reptiles and amphibians while others may choose to treat typical family pets such as dogs and cats. There are even veterinarians who specialize in large animals such as cows and horses and vets who work with the animals living in zoos. Vet techs are the ones who handle many of the important tasks related to the care and treatment of all types of animals.

Today people demand the best in veterinary care and as a veterinary technologist or vet technician you will assist in providing quality animal care services at all times.

As a vet tech you will be assisting the veterinarian. This means that you will be performing a wide assortment of duties. You will need to be able to multi-task, think quickly on your feet and be ready to respond to emergencies at all hours.

Most people who work as veterinary technicians are assigned jobs such as obtaining blood and stool samples, performing skin scrapings, and providing dental care for dogs and cats. Some techs will also help with X-rays, give shots and meds to animals or they may even be directed to help teach the owner how to properly care for their pets.

It is up to most veterinary technologists and technicians to actively promote better care and treatment of animals. This is why the job is well suited for those individuals who truly love and appreciate animals.

As a vet tech you may also provide normal office duties such as routine cleaning and organization. It is expected that most vet techs will also help provide important pre and post-operative care for animals. In some instances you will also need to prepare equipment by sterilizing them.

In the course of your work you should be expected to deal with animals that are healthy as well as many that are sick, ill or injured. Euthanizing animals is another part of the job that can be unsettling to many individuals.

For one of the positions as an entry-level vet technician, it will be necessary for you to have a 2-year associate degree. A beginning veterinarian technologist will have earned a BS degree from a 4 year college.

To help prepare yourself for a job as a vet technologist or a veterinary technician you should familiarize yourself with animal care by volunteering at a local animal rescue. You might even ask if there are any jobs available at a nearby veterinary office. After all every little bit of animal care experience will help you get your foot in the door when you are ready to apply for work as a vet tech.

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Copywrite Kenneth Echie. Kenneth is a Writer, Expert Author, and Publisher. He currently writes for Medical Assistant Careers. Get free scholarship report and find Veterinary Technician Schools by visiting.

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Veterinarians

A friend of ours who works at a local veterinary office stopped by the other day and happened to mention that she had a set of acupuncture needles and was learning how to use them. When I asked who she was going to use them on, she said that the veterinarian at her clinic intended to start offering acupuncture as an option for some of the pets that came in for treatment. Later I did a little research on the internet and it appears that her clinic isn't alone -- a good many veterinarians are turning to alternative medicine in certain cases, particularly the use of acupuncture.

According to traditional Eastern medicine, acupuncture is considered to be a method of correcting an imbalance in the flow of energy (or "qi") along certain pathways or "meridians" in the body. Small needles inserted in any of hundreds of specified acupuncture "points" redirect the flow of energy and restore the body to health. Western medicine explains the effectiveness of acupuncture by pointing out that most of these acupuncture points are located at clusters of nerves and blood vessels. Stimulating those areas through the insertion of small needles can trigger a number of reactions, including increased blood flow, the release of endorphins (the body's pain regulators), and the release of smaller amounts of cortisol, the body's own anti-inflammatory drug. The improved biochemical balance that acupuncture produces stimulates the body's natural healing abilities and promotes physical and emotional well-being.

Today veterinarians are using acupuncture to treat various conditions including chronic pain, digestive disorders, hip dysplasia, allergies, asthma, neurological problems and urinary tract disorders. Even behavioral issues can sometimes by alleviated through acupuncture treatments. Of course acupuncture by itself doesn't cure disease but it can help the body to heal itself by altering various physiological and biochemical factors.

An acupuncture session will usually involve inserting very thin needles (about the diameter of a thick hair) along the animal's bladder, kidney, and spleen meridians. The animal is conscious during the entire process and shouldn't experience any discomfort; in fact most animals actually tend to become relaxed during a typical session. The size and exact location of the needles varies depending on the size of the animal and the type of illness being treated, with short needles about half an inch in length being used on areas around the head while longer one-inch needles are used elsewhere. A typical session may last anywhere from a couple of minutes to a half hour, although a particularly complicated case can take somewhat longer. If the treatment is done by someone trained and experienced acupuncture is a very safe procedure and you should see some improvement in the animal's condition in a few days or a few weeks at most.

There are numerous documented examples of the successful use of animal acupuncture. In one instance, a woman's 16 year old border collie was diagnosed with kidney disease. Traditional veterinary medicine gave the owner two options -- dialysis or euthanasia. The collie's owner chose another option - acupuncture - and for over a year now acupuncture treatments have helped alleviate the border collie's symptoms and have relieved much of the discomfort. The disease hasn't been cured, but acupuncture has prolonged the dog's life and has done it in a way that provides a decent quality of life.

Another example from a local veterinary clinic involves a 12 year old German Shepard with degenerative spinal disease. The shepard gets weekly treatments using a number of needles in his back to maintain feeling in his spine and other needles at points in his lower legs to preserve feeling in his toes. There isn't any surgical cure for his condition and without these treatments he would soon begin to lose the use of his back legs.

While the examples above both involved dogs, acupuncture can be applied to dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, horses, cows, and even birds. Veterinarians first began to use acupuncture in the 1970's and today it's rapidly becoming an accepted part of the veterinarian's arsenal as an alternative to or in addition to drugs and surgery. It may or may not be something you would choose to have used on your pet -- but it's certainly something to think about when you look at the growing number of successes in providing help for animals, particularly those who have run out of traditional treatment options.

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Bird Cages

A penchant for domestic pets is distinct from one person to another. If you're the kind who desires low maintenance pets, then birds are good for you. As with all other house animals, these winged creatures have basic requirements that you ought to consider in order so that they can be relaxed and have a healthy state whilst in your care. One of the more critical factors to give some thought to when intending to get birds as pets is selecting the best suited from among the numerous varieties of bird cages. Listed here are some points and tips you can use to better inform yourself when purchasing an enclosure that will best suit your pet bird's needs.

Types of crates 

There's a varied selection of cages developed for every bird type. The first is the bird perch variety, constructed from concrete, wood or rope, and devised for large birds. The dome top cage is a spacious enclosure that gives birds some room to fly about. The breeding cage, designed for two mating birds, provides a couple of inner sections that has a partition in the middle section. The flight bird cage, best for community bird varieties, offers enough space for occupants to enjoy full flights. A few vets point out that angled cages are better choices compared with circular cages, which apparently cause damage to a bird's mental wellness. Bird cages also come in hanging as well as standing varieties. Make sure to choose the correct one for your pet. If undecided, ask your veterinarian or pet shop manager for suggestions.

Different types of bird cage materials 

The sort of substance the cage is made from is yet another factor you'll want to reflect on. Stainless steel is most likely the most dependable among a variety of bird cage components since it is non-toxic. It is particularly recommended that you just avoid painted cages since your pet bird can nick the paint away and swallow it, posing problems to its overall health. While top-notch quality cages come in rather expensive versus regular models, you have the reassurance that your feathery friend can stay secure inside a coop built to withstand a great deal of use.

Other things to look at when selecting a bird cage 

Yet another feature you ought to think about is the cage bar spacing. If you have a sizable bird, you should get a big pen with wide-gaped bars. For smaller birds, you obviously have to select a cage with smaller spacing between bars. The general principle is when the bird can easily squeeze its head in the gaps between the bars, then they're too far away from each other. The lock is another aspect to bear in mind. Select a cage with a tough lock to ensure the bird can't open up the doorway and fly away. On top of that, you have to pick out a cage that's easy to clean up. Typically, cages for birds are produced with a bottom that can be detached for easy washing.

Before you decide to acquire a pet bird, you have to understand that it's going to stay in a cage for its whole life. So the best action you can take for it would be to offer a stable and meticulously chosen housing. By means of understanding how to choose from the many varieties of bird cages, you will be giving your pet an important benefit. For years of pleasure, make sure to choose the best fitting, hard-wearing cage for your pet bird.

Of course, you want to give only the best for your beloved birds! From bird cages to small bird cages. But where to buy one? Especially for first time buyers? Get quality products and services only from http://www.bird-supplies.net/ and have your bird sing a happier tune!

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Vets for birds

We've all been there, done that. Made an appointment with a vet that claims to see birds, only to find out that the only bird they 'see' on a regular basis is the one that eats from the feeder outside their office window. How do you find a good vet in your area? Take the following questionnaire and see if it can't help you in your search.

1). Is the vet you are considering listed in the AAV -Association of Avian Veterinarians?

2). Is this vet recommended by any local clubs or rescue organizations? (1 point)

3). Go visit the clinic. Is it clean? Does the staff seem friendly and knowledgeable? Are there bird magazines or other tell-tale paraphernalia in the waiting area? (2 points)

4). Call other local vets and ask for a referral to a 'bird' vet. What names do you get? Do any of them suggest the prospect? (1 point)

5). Does the vet you are considering own a pet bird? (yes, 1 point) Do they breed birds? (if yes, add an additional point)

6). How many years has the potential vet been treating exotics?

1-3 years (1 point)

3-6 years (2 points)

6+ years (3 points)

Suggested Evaluation:

14 points or more: Is that the choir I hear singing? Book an appointment!

10-13 points: Probably a decent bird vet.

6-9 points: Worth a try, if this is one of the few in your area.

Less then 6 points: Is this the only vet you can find? Yikes! Be very careful.

Now that you've found a vet you want to try, lets go over some basics for the first visit.

The First Visit:

1) Are there any other birds waiting? Can you hear any other birds in the back?

2) Are there appropriate bird related items in the exam room? For example, towel, gram scale, perches, etc.

3) How does the vet handle your bird? Is he/she confident, and gentle? Pay close attention to how your bird reacts around the vet- their intuitive feelings are oftentimes better then ours. Does the vet talk to the bird? Does the vet ask the bird to step up instead of just grabbing it?

4) Be sure to ask questions! If the vet gets annoyed with your desire to understand as much as possible, be aware. Most vets automatically explain the process of what is happening (eg, "Now I am going to towel Pickles and palpate the breastbone"). Are your questions answered carefully and thoroughly?

5) Is the vet explicit about home care, and what to do with the bird once back at home. Does he/she provide any information about the best possible home setup for a sick bird, and offer any additional advice? If the vet is recommending measures such as handfeeding, giving medication, or other measures, can they explain the proper protocol for carrying out their instructions? Are they willing to show you how to best restrain your bird and give them oral medications?

6) If possible, consider paying the first bill with a credit card. That way, if anything is to go wrong, you'll have someone 'on your side' with leverage- you can dispute the charges and the vet won't get paid until or unless the card company is satisfied. The vet is more likely to try and satisfy you if they have not yet received payment.

Finding a good avian vet can be a long and often frustrating process. Don't be afraid to ask questions, seek recommendations, and interview any prospects before actually bringing your animal into the clinic. Once you find that gem of a vet, you'll want to keep them for years to come!

If you read this article and found it helpful, consider stopping by my website http://www.BirdToys.com

You can also find me and over 22,500+ other parrot owners at http://www.BirdBoard.com where you can ask questions and get immediate feedback.

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Vets for pets

Good health and hygiene are as important to animals as they are to their human masters. With proper nutrition and regular exercise domesticated animals can maintain a healthy coat and good physical condition. By visiting vets in Brooklyn dog and cat owners can receive an annual checkup that gives their pet the attention needed to keep them in top form. However even with a good bill of healthy animals should still be exercised regularly and taken out of their home to be walked or run. Dogs in particular need to be exercised daily. That does not mean tying up a dog and leaving him outside on a small balcony or area on the ground floor where they can have a little space to roam. It means walking around the block or going to a dog friendly park where the animal can be let off their leash to run free for an hour. 

For many pet owners in New York a cat is a good choice because these animals are very independent and require little attention. Even when they cuddle up to their owner and want to be petted, a cat will not need as much exercise nor have the same energy as a dog. Within the confines of an apartment building there are house cats that are content to be left inside all day. In addition to cats some pet owners in Brooklyn also have exotic animals, birds or reptiles as their companion. 

Making an ideal pet for a small space, reptiles, amphibians and fish can be kept in an aquarium or terrariums where they are able to live quietly in a glass enclosure without taking up much room or disturbing the neighbors. With a choice of pets to select from there is something that can be a comfort and friend to people of all ages. With every option from aquatic, to reptilian, to canine, to feline and aviary or birds having a pet that is healthy and strong helps many New Yorkers to maintain their own level of well being. Through their care and attention healthy animals are able to provide comfort and relieve stress for their owners. Through a physical examination from one of the vets in Brooklyn pet owners can keep their animals in perfect health. 

There are times however when even the healthiest of animals can become ill and need the services of vets in Brooklyn to restore their health. Being able to diagnose and treat a variety of dogs, cats and exotic creatures the medical professionals that work for the health of animals are able to keep the pets of New York in their best physical condition

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