Introducing Pets to New Family Members

Your dog is your baby, the center of your world — that is, until you have a baby.

However, bringing a new baby into the family does not have to mean your dog is left out in the cold.

Your dog has had your undivided attention and is used to being pampered, so when you bring home a baby, it is natural that some jealously will occur. Setting aside even a few minutes a day to spend quality time with your pet can go a long way.

Just like babies, dogs are creatures of habit; therefore, keeping the routine as normal as possible will eliminate acting out after the baby is home. Also, allowing your dog to explore the baby’s nursery, and exposing him to the smells of baby items such as powders, lotions and diapers will help your dog become familiar with the new smells and surroundings that come with a new baby.

Once your child is mobile, it is crucial to supervise all interactions between your child and the dog. This is a great opportunity to teach your child boundaries and the importance of being gentle with your dog.

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Cat or Dog: Which One Makes the Best Pet

Dog vs Cat: an age-old question and has been battled out by strictly canine lovers and hissed at by the feline fanciers. The truth is, they both make great pets. The real question is: which one is the right pet for you?

First on the list, rule out allergies.
Lots of people are allergic to cats, and some people have allergic reactions to some dogs. There are 'hypo-allergenic' dogs that have hair (like us), and not fur and do not shed, or shed incrementally. Poodles, ShihTzus, Cockers, etc. are examples of pets who need to be 'groomed' and much less a problem to humans with allergies.

The undercoat on dogs that have 'fur' (that do not need grooming, but do shed) usually have at least two coats to their fur. The top coat contains guard hairs, coarser and longer than the undercoat, but does not insulate the pet like the flyaway undercoat that sheds with the seasons. The undercoat is lost during the warmer months, but unfortunately not all at once, needing regular brushing or combing. Anyone who has a Northern breed dog, i.e. Malamute, Husky, German Shepherd, etc. knows that you can practically knit a half dozen sweaters if you saved all the undercoat these dogs molt each year.

As far as hypo-allergenic cats the Cornish Rex would qualify being hairless, except for down. Most breeds of cats have three different types of fur in their coats. The outer fur or guard hairs, a middle layer called the awn hair, and the down hair undercoat, which is very fine and only 1 cm long. Cornish Rexes only have the down undercoat. The Sphinx cat is totally hairless.

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Feral Cats: Love Them and Leave Them (Neutered)

‘Community’ cats provide a very valuable service. After Katrina, in many areas, the feral [wild] cats were all dead or temporarily gone. Neighborhoods were barely being rebuilt and at the same time inundated with snakes coming to feed on the rodent population. Feral cats continue to be the most effective control of rodents and insects, pests that are endemic in a sub-tropic port city.

What is necessary is that the cats be spayed/neutered to prevent continued population growth. Once sterilized the cats do not give off pheromones that attract more cats into their area. While they are territorial and remain in the area, after sterilization cats will not fight, yowl or mate. They will hunt even when well fed and neutered.

Removal of cats is always unsuccessful, as a ‘vacuum effect’ occurs and new cats will replace the ones removed within four to six months. Relocating feral cats is a long and laborious process. There are not enough barns existing to house all the ferals that exist or that people want ‘gone.’ (Plus they still must be spayed/neutered before being relocated and vaccinated.) Relocation does not always work either. Cats are territorial and have a built in ‘compass’ and they will return to their original safe neighborhood if at all possible. We have all heard stories of cats going hundreds, even thousands, of miles to return to their home.

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Keep Pets Safe from Dangerous Plants

(12/27/12) — By Traci D. Howerton, Social Media Editor, as published in The Advocate, New Orleans edition

We all want to keep our pets happy and healthy. While we may do a great job at feeding them and keeping them groomed and up-to-date on vaccinations and preventive medicines, we can sometimes overlook a less-than-obvious danger: plants.

But they’re there, sometimes as close as our own backyards, such as the sago palm, or in the holiday decorations, such as poinsettias.

The following is a list of some of the plants most toxic to pets.

Sago palm: Also known as the Palm Sunday palm, the entire plant and the seeds in particular contain a potent toxin called cycasin that can be fatal, even if the dog only eats a single seed. Ingestion of any part or amount of this plant warrants immediate emergency treatment.

Azalea: Ingesting even just a few leaves can cause serious issues such as upset stomach, drooling, loss of appetite, weakness and leg paralysis, and in some cases, coma or death.

Daffodils: They contain poisonous alkaloids that can cause vomiting, excessive salivation, diarrhea, convulsions, tremors and heart problems. The bulbs are the most dangerous part of the plant.

Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane): This plant is often recommended as an ideal houseplant for natural air purification. When eaten, it not only burns the mouth and throat, but causes the esophagus to swell, potentially blocking the dog’s airway.

Hibiscus: Signs of ingestion include vomiting and diarrhea.

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Keeping the Cold Out Warms Even the Heart

(12/11/12) — By Lise McComiskey, Feral Dog Coordinator

This morning, as I walked around the shelter, still quite cozy from the eight patio heaters disbursed throughout, and watched the pups as they stayed snuggled up on their blankets, I thought about where I was four years ago this morning.... I was sad that Amelia was shivering in an abandoned house. I and ARNO took care of Amelia the rottie for nine months on the streets until we could bring her to safety (read Amelia’s story), but it broke my heart that morning that I pulled up and it was snowing, yes snowing, in New Orleans, and Amelia was huddled inside on the bare floors of the abandoned house. By late morning, the bottom half of dog houses, stuffed with straw, were tucked under the house and blankets now covered the bare floors of the abandoned house. On any given day for the rest of that winter, that is usually where I could find Amelia, snuggled in her straw or on her blankets.

Since that day, Amelia is no longer on the street and she has a wonderful home and family of her own which she shares with two other dogs, one of them her daughter from a litter we rescued before her. (picture of Amelia, on the left, with her sister Pangea) Amelia will never be cold again. ARNO has helped many, many dogs since Amelia -- up to 7100 currently -- and we continue to help as many as we can and sometimes that means blankets in dog houses for dogs who live outdoors, propane to the tune of eight or nine tanks a night at the shelter, and of course, the blankets our own shelter dogs and love so much.

Please help ARNO out this winter, stop by and donate some old blankets, quilts, towels, comforters or take a bag or two offsite to launder so that we ALWAYS have clean blankets to share with our pups. Donate to ARNO because it really does take a community to keep all of our efforts on track.

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