Common Illness in Puppies – Kennel Cough

Get an Instant Quote and take the first step to protect your furry best friend.

Common Illness in Puppies – Kennel Cough

by Taylor Malowney

Puppies are susceptible to many illnesses because of their underdeveloped immune systems. The symptoms of some sicknesses may be more severe in puppies because of their inability to fight them off. Kennel cough is one of those illnesses and can progress to other, more serious illnesses and even death in puppies.

Causes

Kennel cough, or infectious canine tracheobronchitis, is a condition caused by infection of one or more viruses. It’s highly contagious, and most dogs that contract the illness have recently been in crowded quarters like a birthing den or a kennel. Puppies are especially prone to acquiring kennel cough due to their weakened immune systems.

Symptoms

As the name implies, the main indicator of infection is a dry, hacking or “honking” cough. In addition, nasal discharge and retching are also symptoms. More severely infected dogs can present with fever, lack of appetite, lethargy, and pneumonia.

Treatment

To diagnose kennel cough, your vet will require a detailed history of your pet’s health – any recent travels and when symptoms began – and urine and blood tests. In mild cases, your dog can fight kennel cough on its own, like humans with the common cold. For puppies, however, an anti-inflammatory drug will be given to reduce pain from coughing. More severe cases require antibiotics to fight off the infection. While your dog has kennel cough, it’s best to remove any constrictions from around the throat – collars, bandanas, etc. To walk your dog, use a body harness and make sure the temperature is above 40 degrees to avoid hypothermia.

Prevention

Until a dog is around a year old, it’s best not to board them in a kennel. If you have to go on vacation, place the puppy with a friend or family member. However, it’s highly recommended that you do not leave your puppy within the first year – this is a formative time when pet parents bond with their pets; leaving can stress the bond, or even break it. There is a vaccine for the kennel cough virus – talk to your veterinarian.

 Kennel cough is a fairly common condition among puppies, but can progress to a life-threatening illness if left untreated. Avoid boarding your puppy until they’re at least a year old. If your puppy develops a cough, seek veterinary treatment immediately, and ask your vet about the kennel cough vaccine.

Save on pet veterinary medical cost by insuring your pet for less than a dollar a day.  FREE Quotes at ExploreCost.com

Get Healthy With Your Pet - At a Doggy Gym

Affordable Pet HealthCare Insurance - Your Pets Deserve it

 Get Healthy With Your Pet — At a Doggy Gym

by Maeghan Ouimet

People often say pets take after their pet parents: look, demeanor, you name it. Unfortunately, health issues also tend to be shared. With nearly one-third of Americans suffering from obesity in the United States, pets are following suit. According to The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, an estimated 52 percent of American dogs are overweight or obese, while the same can be said for 57 percent of the cat population in America. The good news is that behaviors can be changed and pets and their parents can work together to lead a healthier lifestyle.

One way both pets and their parents can get fit and lose weight is to hit the gym. A wave of pet gyms are springing up across the country and most of them offer ways for parents and their pets to get healthy side by side.

 “You have to do it together, so you strengthen the human-animal bond,” Tricia Montgomery, founder and president of Chicago’s K9 Fit Club told Today. “We as the pet owner must be the one to get our dogs motivated and moving by working out with them.”

Here’s a look at four pet-focused fitness clubs across the country and the services they offer:

1. K9 Fit Club, Chicago, IL

Montgomery founded Fit Club after losing 130 pounds by working out with her dog. Today, K9 Fit Club offers classes for pets and pet parents as well as certification programs for folks who would like to create a K9 Fit Club in their own area. Montgomery says that pairing healthy behavior with pet interaction is an important step to weight loss for both two-legged and four-legged club members. Classes include cardio, agility and strength training, while also focusing on obedience training and commands. K9 Fit Club currently has locations in Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Massachusetts.

2. Fit BERNAL Fit, San Francisco, CA

This Bay Area gym offers more than the usual child day care options of many neighborhood gyms. It also offers pet care while pet parents get their workout in. Fit BERNAL Fit was one of the first gyms in the nation to offer dog day care in 2009. Most pet parents are busy and often have to opt for a walk with Fido or a visit to the gym — rarely both. Either way, one of these activities gets the short end of the stick. At Fit, pet parents can work out while Fit employees play with dogs and take them for walks. Fit also offers a dog lounge for dogs to play and socialize.

3. Frolick Dogs, Alexandria, VA

Though it opened just a few months ago, Frolick has already found a solid following in the greater Washington, D.C. area. The “canine sports club” boasts 6,000 square feet of air-conditioned space for dogs to run, jump, get groomed, board and attend wellness classes with their pet parents. Frolick takes the focus off the pet parent’s gym activities a bit more than some of the other pet gyms profiled here, but it’s wellness-first attitude makes it a welcome addition to most dogs’ daily routines.

4. Thank Dog! Bootcamp, Los Angeles, CA

At Thank Dog! your pet is your workout partner. Founder Jill Bowers thought of the idea while losing 40 pounds at a (human-only) workout bootcamp. She soon learned that lack of exercise is the top reason for behavioral problems in dogs, and realized that her wellness is equally as important as her pets’. Enter Thank Dog! The bootcamp’s goal is simple yet meaningful, pairing dog and fitness trainers together to reach its goals: “Thank Dog! Bootcamp’s mission is to transform the lives of people and their dogs by providing a unique and challenging, yet fun fitness program that combines body workouts and dog obedience for the healthy success of both man and his best friend.”

Of course, there is a cost factor to all of these gyms, but many pet parents are willing to pay. Americans happily spent billions on their pets last year. These gyms not only help pet parents get healthy, they keep pets active — a great preventative measure for future costly health issues that could arise for humans and pets alike.

Saving Seniors: How to Adopt an Older Pet

Affordable Pet HealthCare Insurance - Your Pets Deserve it

  Saving Seniors: How to Adopt an Older Pet

by Maeghan Ouimet

Most folks looking for a pet today opt for a puppy or kitten — after all, they're so damn cute. As they grow though, they tend have health issues (much like their growing human counterparts). Shockingly, a number of older pets are flooding the 3,500 animal shelters in the U.S. not because they stopped being cute or cuddly, but, more often, because they become too expensive.

“It’s often an economic thing,” Los Angeles-based photographer Lori Fusaro tells Today. “I've seen people just in tears and just so torn that they have to give up their animal … It’s really been eye-opening.”

Last year Fusaro launched a photography project called “Silver Hearts,” where she showcases the many senior animals available for adoption through her work. Her hope is to educate potential pet parents about the number of available senior pets in shelters.

Though they are generally the best behaved and lowest maintenance, according “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan‘s blog, senior pets are also most at risk for health issues in many shelters. Even those older pets that are healthy are more vulnerable because their age considers them less adoptable. As a result, they may be most in need of a loving home.

                                         Image via Canstock

Here are some shelters and advocate programs that help older pets find the happy homes they deserve:

1. The Gray Muzzle Organization

Gray Muzzle actually helps aid the monetary issues that may coincide with parenting an older pet. The organization is committed to providing funding to senior dog programs around the country. While not directly related to senior dog adoption, Gray Muzzle does provide funding to organizations to make adoptions more financially feasible for pet parents.

2. Muttville Senior Dog Rescue

This nonprofit helps save senior dogs that have been abandoned and finds them new homes or provide them with hospice. Muttville provides shelter and care for older dogs that come from both homes and animal shelters. It also provides a foster program for folks who want to foster the pets until they find permanent homes.

3. Peace of Mind Dog Rescue

The Grove, Calif.-based rescue group is dedicated to providing information about and advocate programs for senior dogs and senior people. This means that when pet parents become unable to care for their pets due to their own age and health issues, Peace of Mind will work with the pet parent to find their pet a loving home.

4. Willy’s Happy Endings

Starting as a sanctuary for “super seniors” (dogs that only have a few months left to live), Willy’s has grown into a dedicated shelter for older pets. Based in Tennessee, Willy’s now not only cares for “super seniors” as they pass on naturally, but it also offers homes to other senior dogs as well as a foster program for them.

Though it may seem too “sad” to adopt a senior pet, there are often many benefits, both emotionally and practically. Because these pets have generally already been adjusted to a home environment they generally know simple commands and are also low energy. Emotionally, people that adopt senior pets report a sense of accomplishment and love knowing they’ve saved a pet and provided them with a happy place to live out their lives.

Get pet insurance
We may be a little biased, being a pet insurance company, but we truly believe in the peace of mind it gives pet parents. Covering most non-preexisting conditions, a pet insurance policy ensures you'll never have to make hard decisions about your pet’s health. 

When the choice is between your furry family member and your finances, we all know which one we’d choose – but sometimes the choice isn't so easy. No pet parent should have to make that call, which is why we’re firm believers in the power of pet insurance.   

5 Creative Ways to Be a Pet Hero

Affordable Pet HealthCare Insurance - Your Pets Deserve it

 5 Creative Ways to Be a Pet Hero

by Taylor Malowney

          Pet Heroes

We all see the heartbreaking commercials for homeless pets – I’m looking at you, Sarah McLachlan! – and wish we could do something. But if not now, when? It’s easy to be a pet hero and you can even do it from home! Here are five creative ways to be a pet hero.

New or gently used pet supplies, like beds, are always needed as shelters!
                                                         Image via Commons license on Flkr

1. Start a supplies drive for your local shelter.
Animal shelters are always in need of funds, but often there are specific supplies they need. Check your local organization’s website for a wishlist of goods. Pet food, bedding, toys and cat litter are the most common items in need. 

Contact local pet and grocery stores for donations to animal shelters and reach out to friends and family over social media – maybe your Aunt Karen is an extreme couponer and has some extra cat food. 

Spread the word! Even gently used supplies are helpful, so stress that point when asking for donations.
2. Register to vote!
Although this may seem like more of a human hero thing, there’s plenty of legislature concerning animals, too. Animal cruelty prevention, vaccination requirements and anti-dog fighting are all subjects of bills across the nation. 

For information on animal rights politics in your area, check out the voter’s pamphlet you get in the mail. Additional information can be found online. A foster dog can be great company for a lonely pooch at home.
                                               Image via Creative Commons license of Flckr

3. Be a foster pet parent.
If you’re unable to permanently adopt or have extra room in your heart and home, consider fostering! Animal shelters are frequently overcrowded and short on space; some organizations rely entirely on foster homes to house their animals.

Requirements for foster pet parenting vary from shelter to shelter, so check before you apply. Having existing pets at home can also affect your foster eligibility, as homeless cats and dogs can be shy at first.

4.  Share shelters’ social media posts.
The internet has led to a boom in pet adoption – with thousands of adorable, adoptable pets at our fingertips, it makes sense we would be giving more pets forever homes. Animal shelters are taking advantage of the web’s cute overload factor, posting pets’ pics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Even if you’re not looking to adopt, odds are someone who sees your posts is! Retweet, share or regram homeless pets to get them more than 15 minutes. If you’re feeling particularly heroic, post pet pics firsthand.

Pet photographers should consider donating their time to an animal shelter; pet portraits help animals get adopted! Image 

Image via Creative Commons license on Flckr

5. Create for a cause!

Are you an artist? Many photographers, designers and artists donate portions from their total sales or purchases of a specific piece to charity. Others give animal shelters coupon codes, which they can use themselves or use to fundraise in raffles or silent auctions.

Consider creating a specific work and donating the proceeds to your local animal shelter! Or if you’re a pet photographer, donate your services to a shelter; high-quality, flattering photographs are needed to promote the animals online and help them get a forever home.
Get pet insurance
We may be a little biased, being a pet insurance company, but we truly believe in the peace of mind it gives pet parents. Covering most non-preexisting conditions, a pet insurance policy ensures you'll never have to make hard decisions about your pet’s health. 

When the choice is between your furry family member and your finances, we all know which one we’d choose – but sometimes the choice isn't so easy. No pet parent should have to make that call, which is why we’re firm believers in the power of pet insurance.  

What’s Behind Human, Pet Look-Alikes

Affordable Pet HealthCare Insurance - Your Pets Deserve it

 What’s Behind Human, Pet Look-Alikes

by Derek Korte

           Pawsworthy

Have you ever wondered why pet parents so often resemble their pets? Is it just a freaky coincidence, or a case of human imagination run amok?

New research suggests that people can look like their pets. The answer lies in the eyes, though scientists aren’t sure why, writes University of Arkansas psychology professor Jesse Bering in Slate.

                                                             Image via flickr/Uwe Mäurer
A Japanese psychologist, Sadahiko Nakajima, recently investigated the look-alike phenomenon. He limited the study to facial features, ruling out physical characteristics like weight or even attire that could cause a resemblance.

The research team began by taking photos of 40 dogs and their owners. (The humans were an even mix of males and females, and the dogs were a variety of breeds.) Then, they randomly split the photos into two sheets of paper, each with 20 paired photos. One sheet contained real dog and owner matches, while the other featured photos of randomly paired dogs and humans. The team then asked more than 500 Japanese undergraduate students to choose the sheet with the paired photos that looked alike.

But there’s a wrinkle: Being good scientists, the researchers obscured features of both humans and dogs in some of the photo sets. The students were able to sniff out the fake pairs with varying success, depending on the photo variation.

When the humans’ eyes were covered, students correctly identified the pairs about half of the time.

When the dogs’ eyes were covered, students were also correct about half of the time.

When only the eyes of dogs and humans were shown, the students’ accuracy rose to 74 percent.

When unobscured photos were shown, the students were correct 80 percent of the time.

Clearly, the eyes are important — though scientists can’t really explain why.

“It’s not about hairstyles, obesity, gender, height, or even eye color,” Bering writes. “Instead, it’s clearly something that’s being conveyed in the shared look about the eyes of dogs and their people.…Nakajima is just as stumped as the rest of us about the underlying mechanism.”

Whatever the scientific explanation, it seems dog owners come face-to-face with their doppelgänger every time they look their pet in the eye.

Thinking of Pet Insurance get a free, no obligation, no hassle 40 second quote.  ExploreCost