Cuddly and adorable!

What strikes your mind? Of course, rabbits do.

There it comes hopping along, your pet rabbit, who is the latest addition to your family.

Rabbits fulfil the cute quotient and make excellent pets. Domestic rabbits are found in abundance today. Most people are fond of raising pets that are comforting and provide an enjoyable time to the owner. Rabbits are furry animals that hop around and burrow into the ground. Their snowy fur and adorable size make them favoured and exotic pets. Even their shyness is an endearing feature.

Have you just got your new rabbit and getting used to the idea of having a pet? It may seem like a daunting task.  Especially in case of these small animals such as rabbits, extra attention is required. Rabbits tend to be quite shy creatures and are wary of humans until they are accustomed to them.

You’ll first have to learn to be friends with your pet rabbit. Be gentle and do not stress him out. Coax him to be friends with you and those around you. Make sure he isn’t agitated around you, so that you do not get kicked by him when you try to lift him and pet him. Remember, rabbits have really strong hind legs and if they feel uncomfortable around you they might kick you! It will not only hurt you, but could cause serious harm to the rabbits themselves.

No one ever wants their pet to be sick, and in the case of rabbits, you might not even be aware of your pet being sick. It is difficult to detect any illness that your pet rabbit might be ailing from. With care and patient observation, you might soon become a rabbit expert and just know when your pet is sick and needs a visit to the vet.

Here are some ways to discover if your pet rabbit is sick:

1. Check your Rabbit’s Eyes: If your rabbit has contracted some eye infection, it will definitely show. Young rabbits are more prone to Conjunctivitis (more commonly known as pink eye). Your rabbit’s eye might be swollen and appear to be red. There might be quite some discharge from the eyes, which may cause the eyes to become sticky and close. The infection may spread to both eyes even, and cause both eyes to be shut. This is caused due to a bacterial infection and must be treated immediately.

      Look out for: Red eyes, discharge from eye.

An infected eye.

2. Ears might have mites: Rabbits have distinctive ears that make them appear adorable. Cute as it may look, the ears of the rabbit might be infested with mites which are external parasites. Mites may cause accumulation of serum in their ears. You would notice if your rabbit has mites in its ears, because it would be constantly scratching its ears. This could result in bacterial infections if left unchecked, and if severe may lead to weight loss and even nerve damage. A consultation with the vet would be good here too and the rabbit’s ears must be cleaned to remove the serum in the ears.

     Look out for: Vigorous scratching of ears

3. Diarrhoea is dangerous: It really is a no-brainer that if your rabbit has acute diarrhoea that is sick and needs veterinary attention immediately. If your rabbit is really young and suddenly it has diarrhoea, it could even lead to death within a day or two if not cared for.

     Look out for: Diarrhoea

4. Hair Loss: Hair loss is an indicator of fungal infection that your pet rabbit might have contracted. If your rabbit has patchy skin and it has hair loss, which might mostly be found in its face. The fungus might cause skin abrasions, so look out for wounds in the skin of your pet rabbit too. Do not wait too long to get it checked, even though it might turn out to be a false alarm.

     Look out for: Hair loss near nose, eyes and skin abrasions

5. Crooked Teeth: Everyone’s bound to notice the long and large front teeth that rabbits have. Straight long teeth are indispensable for your rabbit to munch those yummy carrots and other food that you give him. The uneven growth of rabbit teeth is a serious problem and the condition is known as Malocclusion. Unless you go to the vet have the teeth evened regularly, it is going to be extremely difficult for your pet to eat its meals.

     Look out for: Overgrown and uneven teeth

Overgrown teeth can cause serious harm.

6. Wry Neck: Have you noticed your rabbit tilting its head all the time? This is a sign of a severe ear infection. When a rabbit’s inner ear gets infected, it starts tilting its head all the time. Even after the infection gets treated your pet might still have that stiff neck forever. You should make sure that you get your rabbit treated before its infection spreads to the inner ear causing this head tilt.

     Look out for: Head tilting

This might all look scary, but you will begin to notice these things when you spend time with your pet rabbit. In most likelihood, if you look after your pet well, feed him nutritious food as well as clean his cage regularly, your rabbit is going to be hale and healthy. Just observe your pet regularly, so that you will know when he is not eating properly or is lethargic and sickly. Then a visit to the vet is warranted for.

All you ever need is patience, care and most importantly love for your pet rabbit!

The post Is Your Rabbit Sick? appeared first on Pet Attack.

You always adore your dog. You are mad about your dog. You put all your heart and mind in taking care of your pet. You always keep a clear track of their behaviour, their psychology and most importantly their food and nutrition. We would never want them to fall sick. We always like them moving and jumping around the house and cheering us up. We love them dearly and want them to love us back.
Most dog owners have probably seen their canine friend graze on grass at one point or another. A few theorists exist to explain this as an odd beahviour but nothing is definitive. Dogs love yo munch away on grass and some even make it a part of their daily routine. But why exactly do they gobble up the green stuff in your yard?

One common reason we make up is that ‘dog eating grass’ is an act of them falling sick. Dogs use that grass to binge and purge because of a build up of bile in their stomach. Many dog owners get startled on seeing this kind of a behaviour. They think if their dog is retarted or something. However, on consulting the vet, he or she explains that they eat grass to try to force themselves to throw up to make themselves feel better. The gallbladder produces bile and it is excreted into the stomach which aids in the digestion of fats. On an empty stomach, bile can cause an acidic or sick feeling that triggers the dog to to grass in order to vomit up whatever is making them feel ill. Most often a dog vomits up the bile and grass combo only to dive into their breakfast a few minutes later as if nothing wrong ever happened.

When should you be worried? If the grass eating frequency increases or occurs more than once a week, a visit to a vet is needed. The nausea or acidic stomach could be caused by an unknown condition and only antacids can calm that hollow stomach. So not exactly harmful, your dog may be eating grass for a specific purpose, or simply just idly chewing on it for no reason. Many theorists speculate that a dog who chew on grass may have an anxiety issue. Just as we try to ease off our anxiety, dogs try and control their anxiety through a compulsive disorder, in this case through chewing and eating grass. If you notice your dog expressing signs of anxiety like excessive blinking, panting or turning in circles for no concrete reason, and then out of nowhere you see it eating the grass, it maybe doing so to control anxiety. It is important that we consult our vet about the nervous dog and he may prescribe a mild sedative to administer in the event of another episode.

‘Pico’ is a technical term for the disorder characterized by eating things that aren’t food. Sometimes Pica indicates that your dog has some type of nutritional deficiency though it is often simply a sign of boredom, especially when practiced by puppies and younger dogs. Dog eating grass is actually quiet common and has been observed in wild dogs too. It is completely natural and this form of pica does not usually cause too much problem. While most veterinarians consider it a normal dog behaviour, grass is the most commonly eaten item among the dogs.
There are many suggested reasons why your dogs eat grass. This includes improving digestion, treating intestinal worms or fulfilling some unmet nutritional need, including the need for fiber. A published study reports on a miniature poodle that ate grass and vomited constantly for seven days. Three days after putting the dog on a high-fiber diet, the owner reported that the dog eventually stopped eating grass entirely. So there remains a possibility that your dog just likes the way grass tastes or feels. Gastrointestinal issues like upset stomach, nausea, bloating and illness from pathogenic microbes makes the dog run frantically out of the house. Once out, it will chow down on any grass available or maybe even plant leaves, taking large bites and swallowing plants whole. It is their natural remedy. They also do it in the hunt for a specific type of plant and after proper identification, it will calmly nibble on the plant. Wolves and other wild Canids are known to regularly eat plant matter, suggesting dog’s grass eating as innate and perfectly normal.
Dogs unlike their catty counterparts aren’t carnivores. But they are also not like your garden-variety omnivores. For tens of thousands of years, these opportunistic scavengers have devoured anything and everything, as long as it fulfilled their basic dietary requirements. The modern dog, partly because because of evolution and domestication, is no longer like its ancestors, which frequently ate their prey entirely, including stomach content of plant eating animals. Instead dogs seek out plants as an alternative source. It is grass – the closest at hand- while wild canines are known to feed on wild berries, fruits and other vegetable matter too.
Nutritional necessity: Some experts see no danger in letting your dog might crave, especially if its on a commercial diet. If your dog has been munching away on grass or houseplants, then you may want to introduce natural herbs or cooked vegetables into his diet. Dogs aren’t finecky like cats, but aren’t very fond of raw vegetables either. But they gulp down anything that they find is tasty. Giving them a carrot to snack on during the day or buying a good quality green dietary supplement to their meal will reduce their habit of grass eating. Proper suggestions will come from a knowledgeable pet store employee or a food store that carries healthy dog food.

However the potential dangers follow. Lawns sprayed with herbicides and pesticides can be very lethal and toxic to your dog if it chews affected grass. Fertilizers, weeds build up in their systems certain troubles like accidental indigestion. Keeping the lawn clear of chemicals and natural and diacouraging your dog from random munching while on walks is every owner’s randon duty. If you find that the grass eating is out of boredom, engage your pet in some interactive,fun activities. Interactive games and giving it a toy to chew rather than letting it resort to grass eating method is what should be done. Discourage it from eating grasd that is not soft, green cultivated grass that we enjoy in our backward gardens, although this is not pverly detrimental to the dog. We can also buy a small tray of grass or start a herbal home garden just for the sake of our pooch. This gives him an alternative to the outdoor grass and landscaping, thereby protecting him from further discontentment and vexation. Also other animals can leave feces behind that will e infected with worms or flea eggs and if the dog fees on the infected grass and is not vaccinated, it is very likely that your dog will contract them.
Trainjng your pooch, keeping a watchful eye when its outside and being dilligent with your discipline is the key to bteakjg your dog off from this behaviour. Give poaitive reinforcement when the dog doesn’t eat it and negative reinforcement when it attempts to eat it. Reward your dog. Regular veterinary appointments to monitor your dog’s health is necessary. And never hesitate to discuss with your veterinary doctor regarding trivial matters. Understanding your dog’s difficulties is what they expect of you. It’s not so difficult as learing rocket science absolutely new. Just a different way of communication which we, at times confuse to comprehend.

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There’s nothing that makes a dog owner more distraught than seeing their dog sick. Certain illnesses are common among dogs and continue to fester, and one must be aware of the illnesses as well as its probable cures. Some of them don’t necessary require medical aid, but it is always better to follow medical advice. It helps to know about these illnesses not just to prevent them from happening but also to ease them out of their suffering. Some illnesses are not evident right from the start. Therefore, one must always be on the constant lookout for signs and symptoms. Here is a lowdown on some of the most common ailments among dogs.

Fleas- extremely common among dogs and can fester just as easily. The one good thing about them is that they are easy to spot, as one gets suspicious when your dog starts scratching itself more than usual. The scratching proceeds to biting, hair loss and bleeding. These blood sucking creatures should preferably not be treated with synthetic or artificial repellents unless absolutely necessary. Frequent baths with lukewarm water and mild soap is the easiest way to combat fleas. Use of flea combs, flea collars and flea sprays is another effective way to deal with fleas. Flea combs physically remove fleas while flea sprays provide with a shine to your dogs coat too. Some natural repellents such as lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and lavender oil are just as good in getting rid of fleas.

Ear infections-are most common among dogs, especially breeds such as cocker spaniels and beagles that have hanging ears. This is owing to their smaller ear canals which are prone to ear infections. The tell tale signs include swelling of the ear, strange odor from the ear, redness and frequent vigorous scratching or head shaking. Thorough cleansing with a gentle cleanser, preferably vet prescribed is needed as the ear is a sensitive body part. One must not overdo, if frequent cleansing causes irritation or pain to the dog. Extra moisture aggravates the problem, so the dog should be kept out of water. Also, heredity, food and climate can be incompatible with your dog, which could be a probable cause of the infection.

Worms-tapeworms, roundworms and ringworms are common parasites in dogs. They are typically acquired from food or drinking something that contains worms or if bitten by mosquitoes and flies that carry them. What is troublesome is that they are difficult to spot and the symptoms become evident only after the situation worsens. Usually when your dog starts portraying symptoms such as coughing, vomiting, potbellies, low energy, change in appetite, itching, irritation, rapid weight loss and dull coat, it could mean that it is caused by worms. Fleas and ticks are common carriers of worms, so they should be prevented. Worms can only be treated by providing proper medical aid. Regular checkups every three to six months by your veterinarian doctor is absolutely essential to ensure your dog’s good health.

Arthritis- is fairly common among dogs but sadly is surprisingly hard to recognize. Owners tend to ignore limps as a result of physical activity, but limping along with favoring one leg over another while walking are sure signs of arthritis. An otherwise active dog suddenly starts showing reluctance to run or even walk, or if it tires too easily could also signify arthritis. Arthritis is difficult to heal completely. Moderate exercise can help in the healing process. At the same time one must make sure that it does not jump around too much or exert himself. Overweight dogs are especially prone to effects of arthritis. Hence weight loss and increased physical activity is especially important in such a case. Arthritis being a severe condition needs proper veterinarian help and guidance for treatment.

Typically dullness in an otherwise happy dog, decrease/loss of appetite, loss of hair, diarrhea, excessive sleeping, lethargy or whining are signs that one must not ignore. One must not shrug it off as just another bad day. Even if these symptoms subside after a few days, one must stick to precautionary measures as advised by the veterinary doctor to prevent future relapse. A sick dog can be allowed to go venture outside the confines of the house as long as relevant precautions are taken. Such as the weather conditions must be taken into consideration. If it is too cold, a soft coat is essential. Similarly in hot weather, the dog’s paws must be protected at all times.

A sick dog in the house does not bode well with the family members either. To aid in quicker recovery, the dog must be kept comfortable all the time. A warm cozy bed in a calm and quiet place is necessary. Its favorite toy, good nutrition and a constantly filled bowl of water by its side will ensure in a better recovery. One must take special care of elderly dogs as they are prone to greater side effects. Keeping a constant check in the progress of his recovery is essential so that in case of any relapse, the doctor can be referred to immediately, and necessary measures can be taken.

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