Pulaski County Humane Society, Missouri

Attention, companion animal caretakers! The ASPCA would like to point out these common-sense cautions that’ll help keep your pets safe and stress-free this time of year. If you do suspect your pet has ingested a potentially dangerous substance, please call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

1. No tricks, no treats: That bowlful of candy is for trick-or-treaters, not for Scruffy and Fluffy.

* Chocolate in all forms—especially dark or baking chocolate—can be very dangerous for dogs and cats. Symptoms of significant chocolate ingestion may include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, increased thirst, urination and heart rate—and even seizures.
* Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can be poisonous to dogs. Even small amounts of xylitol sweetener can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, which leads to depression, lack of coordination and seizures. In cases of significantly low blood sugar, liver failure has been known to occur.
* Ingesting tin foil and cellophane candy wrappers can pose a choking hazard or cause intestinal blockage.

2. Popular Halloween plants such as pumpkins and decorative corn are considered to be relatively nontoxic, yet they can produce gastrointestinal upset should pets ingest them. Intestinal blockage could even occur if large pieces are swallowed.

3. Keep wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet could experience damage to his mouth from shards of glass or plastic, or receive a possibly life-threatening electrical shock.

4. A carved pumpkin certainly is festive, but do exercise extreme caution if you choose to add a candle. Pets can easily knock a lit pumpkin over and cause a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk of getting burned or singed by candle flames.

5. Dress-up can be a big mess-up for some pets. Please don't put your dog or cat in a costume UNLESS you know he or she loves it (yup, a few pets are real hams!). For pets who prefer their “birthday suits,” however, wearing a costume can cause undue stress.

6. If you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume isn't annoying or unsafe. It should not constrict the animal's movement or hearing, or impede his ability to breathe, bark or meow. Also try on costumes before the big night. If your pet seems distressed, allergic or shows abnormal behavior, consider letting him go au naturale or donning a festive bandana.

7. Take a closer look at your pet’s costume and make sure it does not have small, dangling or easily chewed-off pieces that he could choke on. Also, ill-fitting outfits can get twisted on external objects or your pet, leading to injury.

8. All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate room away from the front door during peak trick-or-treat visiting hours. Too many strangers can be scary and stressful for pets.

9. When opening the door for trick-or-treaters, take care that your cat or dog doesn't dart outside.

10. IDs, please! Always make sure your dog or cat has proper identification. If for any reason your pet escapes and becomes lost, a collar and tags and/or a microchip can increase the chances that he or she will be returned to you.

Helpful Tips When Purchasing or Adopting a Canine

Written by Geniece B. Medsker
Source: Bully Breed Magazine, Vol. 21, 1st and 2nd editions.

Whether you choose to buy from a breeder or adopt from a rescue group, you should be prepared to ask a lot of questions about the puppy or dog you hope to bring home. Here are some questions to ask:

* What possible health problems might this breed develop?
* How big will the dog get?
* How old will s/he before s/he acts like an adult dog?
* How protective will the dog be?
* How often will the dog need to be groomed?
* How does s/he get along with other animals, including other dogs?
* How is this dog around children?
* How long can s/he be left alone at home?
* How much exercise does the dog need?
* What are the best training methods for this dog?
* Does the dog show food aggressive tendencies?
* How does the dog handle veterinarian appointments? Should s/he be muzzled?
* How does the dog handle grooming appointments or have you done grooming yourself?

Your contact person and/or agency should be willing to answer all of your questions fully. The person, or agency, should also ask questions about you, your lifestyle, your family, living quarters and the role the canine will play as a new addition to the family. If the person, or agency, does not answer your questions, or does not show any interest in the life the dog will lead after it leaves their premises, you may want to look elsewhere. A responsible breeder or dedicated rescue group member is committed to making a good match between prospective owners and the dogs in their care. Don’t be surprised of a rescue group requires a home inspection and face to face interview before approving the adoption. That's the kind of person you want on your side as you make the journey into adding to your family home.

Written by Geniece B. Medsker

Source: Tasty Treats for Demanding Dogs. Gillesie, Greg R. 2001. Sterling Publishing.

It is okay to indulge your little friend at times as long as you choose nutritious nibbles. When you purchase treats, make sure you read the nutritional analysis, ingredient list to check for elements your canine might be allergic to and manufacturer’s recommended serving. Keep in mind that crunchy treats not only provide chewing exercise but are usually also lower in sugar. This means much healthier snacks for their teeth and waistline.

Some safe and tasty treats you may have in your kitchen are:

* Veggies (cooked, raw or frozen): carrots, green beans, peas, corn, celery, potatoes; cauliflower or broccoli stems but be careful as most canines will have gas after ingesting; do not feed onions or tomatoes
* Fruits (small amounts only to avoid digestive upset): apples, pears, bananas; do not feed large pit fruit, citrus, grapes or raisins
* Breads, crackers, dry cereal, rice, barley: unsweetened, low-fat, whole-grain products
* Cheese: high-fat so offer occasionally or use a reduced-fat product
* Meat: small chunks of cooked lean meat or liver
* Egg: cooked egg white; small amount of yolk occasionally is okay
* Homemade goodies: such as the recipe below

Doggie Donuts
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 egg, lightly beaten (to make lower fat, white only and can increase to 2 eggs)
2/3 cups beef or chicken broth
2 tablespoons oatmeal
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Place flour in bowel, add egg and broth, and mix well. Blend in oatmeal and garlic powder. Roll dough into a ball; roll out on a lightly floured surface to ½” thick. Cut with small doughnut cutters. Re-roll scraps and repeat. Shape last bits by hand. Arrange rings on a shallow baking dish or on a sheet of parchment paper in a single layer. Cook on high for 10 minutes in the microwave or until firm. Let cool until hardened. Store in a covered container.

Source: ASPCA.org

As the summer light fades into fall, pets across the country are adjusting to new routines as their family members go back to work or school. What were once carefree days cruising around the park or swimming in the creek are now spent sitting by the front door waiting for busy pet parents to come home.

But what if your pet doesn’t adjust peacefully to this new reality? It’s not an uncommon problem—after all, cats and dogs are particularly vulnerable to any change in their schedules, and they thrive on stimulation. With nothing to do, pets are forced to find ways to entertain themselves, which may include excessive barking or meowing, gnawing on shoes, raiding the garbage, eating houseplants and scratching furniture.

Here are some common signs that your pet may be having a hard time saying goodbye to summer:

* Urinating and defecating in the house
* Incessant barking and howling
* Chewing and digging
* Attempting to escape the house or yard
* Pacing without pause

But all is not lost! Our behaviorists have some great advice for keeping your pet’s back-to-school blues” at bay.

* Start small by desensitizing your pooch to the cause of his anxiety. Introduce several short periods of separation, and then gradually increase time spent apart.
* Help your dog associate being alone with something good such as a tasty treat. Every time you leave the house, give your dog a food-dispensing toy—the Kong is one of our favorites, but there are plenty of others.
* Please don’t scold your dog if he doesn’t adjust quickly. If you punish him, he may become more upset and the problem could get worse.
* Be patient, and work with your pet until he feels comfortable and enjoys spending time alone.

Source: ASPCA.org

Ah, fall—there’s nothing like crisp, cool air, the first months of school and luscious foliage to get you excited for the changing seasons. Your pet, too, is probably welcoming the break from hot, sticky weather. But pet parents, beware—fall is also a time of lurking dangers for our furry friends. From household poisons to cold weather hazards, the season is a minefield! Here are some tips to keep your pet snug and healthy during the autumn months.

* The use of rodenticides increases in the fall as rodents seek shelter from the cooler temperatures by attempting to move indoors. Rodenticides are highly toxic to pets—if ingested, the results could be fatal. If you must use these products, do so with extreme caution and put them in places inaccessible to your pets.

* It’s back-to-school time, and those of you with young children know that means stocking up on fun items like glue sticks, pencils and magic markers. These items are considered “low toxicity” to pets, which means they’re unlikely to cause serious problems unless large amounts are ingested. However, since gastrointestinal upset and blockages certainly are possible, be sure your children keep their school supplies out of paw’s reach.

* Training tip: If you and your pooch haven’t been active outdoors in a while because of the summer heat, do some remedial recall training. Dogs, like people, get rusty on their skills if they aren't using them.

* Fall and spring and are mushroom seasons. While 99% of mushrooms have little or no toxicity, the 1% that are highly toxic (PDF) can cause life-threatening problems in pets. Unfortunately, most of the highly toxic mushrooms are difficult to distinguish from the nontoxic ones, so the best way to keep pets from ingesting poisonous mushrooms is to keep them away from areas where any mushrooms are growing. Contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center immediately if you witness your pet eating a wild mushroom.

* In order to generate body heat, pets who exercise heavily outdoors, or who live outdoors, should be given more food during colder seasons. Make sure horses and other outdoor animals have access to clean, fresh water that is not frozen.

* Autumn is the season when snakes who are preparing for hibernation may be particularly “grumpy,” increasing the possibility of severe bites to those unlucky pups who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pet owners should know what kinds of venomous snakes may be in their environment—and where these snakes are most likely to be found—so they can keep pets out of those areas.

* Many people choose fall as the time to change their car’s engine coolant. Ethylene glycol-based coolants are highly toxic, so spills should be cleaned up immediately. Consider switching to propylene glycol-based coolants—though they aren’t completely nontoxic, they are much less toxic than other engine coolants.

Source: www.horseandponyinfo.com

Horses and ponies need special care during the Autumn and Winter months. They will need extra feeding, warm waterproof rugs and, if they are being ridden, they may also need to be clipped.

When to put rugs on horses in Autumn
Autumn is a difficult time of year, like Spring, and there are no hard and fast rules.

If the horse is not too hairy by now, put on a lightweight waterproof rug on wet, windy days. It is still mild so he would only sweat in anything heavier. You have to be ready to take off this rug if there is very warm sunshine. The rug will keep the shine on his coat and stop him getting too hairy. If the weather is warm and mild, I would take the rug off during the day and put a light rug on him at night - unless the nights are very warm. Sweating under a rug is bad because it can lead to skin infections so be careful of this.

When the horse gets so hairy with his winter coat that it difficult to dry him off after excercise, it is time to clip him and put on the winter rugs. If you want to make life easier, you can leave the rugs off until the horse has grown a winter coat, then clip him and put on the winter rugs. The drawback is that a horse in work will be harder to clean after turnout and will take longer to dry off after work.

Ponies and horses in very light work or not being ridden (who will not be clipped or only lightly clipped) can be left until they have grown more hair before putting on winter rugs.

Clipping horses and ponies
Horses and ponies in work can be clipped in the Autumn and most horse manuals will tell you to give your horse his last clip in January and to leave it at that otherwise it might interfere with the summer coat coming through but some trainers of show horses will clip horses all year round. It's really a matter of what suits you and your horse. If the summer coat has started to appear on a previously clipped horse, don't clip him again at this stage.

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