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In taking care of your Koi, protecting them from a deadly koi illness known as the KHV (or Koi Herpes Virus) is very important. Your koi are really susceptible to this kind of disease, and the only way you can protect them from this koi ailment is to make sure that they never get exposed to it. Getting the much needed information about this koi ailment will get your pets the best protection that they’re going to need.

The Facts About KHV:

So what is KHV? Since its first outbreak, a little has only been learned about the koi ailment . Knowing the facts is an essential thing for the protection and survival of your pets . The KHV is a deadly disease which has just recently popped up in the industry. In the late 1998 and early 1999, the first outbreak has been reported and confirmed in Israel, then in the following years has been confirmed in places like Europe, Asia and the United States.

This koi ailment is known to infect the victim throughout their full lifespan. Even those who do not show any signs of the virus, they are considered as carriers if they have been exposed to it. The mortality rate for those koi ailment that have been exposed is around 60 percent to 80 percent.

There is no known cure for this koi ailment . Even if proper treatment has been given to your pets , never again will they be able to go to a new home, and this is because if you put them in a healthy population, they will be able to spread the koi ailment to the others (this can cause a potentially higher rate in terms of mortality). Remember that this koi ailment can spread in various ways, like the koi ailment coming into contact with the infected ones, tools used to handle the infected fish, the water in which the infected fish swam, etc.

Stress can increase the mortality rate of the pets , although it does not directly cause the disease itself. Temperatures around 74 degrees Fahrenheit can be used to track the disease, and it will allow the necessary testing and quarantining of your pets to observe if they have been exposed or not.

Preventative Measures: Depopulation and Quarantine

Depopulation is one of the best preventative measures that you can do, which means the elimination of your whole pet population. Although it may seem as a harsh method if you look at it, with this you can really ensure that you don’t infect the other pets in your pond. Another method is by quarantining. If you buy a new fish, make it a point that you quarantine it before mixing it with your current population (for a period of no less than 15 days).

In quarantining your pets , they should be totally shunned and isolated from anything else. Separate the food, tools and water that you’ll use for the quarantined pets , and make sure that the tools that you use for them doesn’t leave the area in which they have been used. Procedures for proper hand washing in handling your pets and the essential items should be observed. Following these effective preventative measures can help you avoid your pets from catching this infectious koi ailment.

In koi pool, overpopulation of the fish is one of the hardest problems that pond owners have to deal with. This can cause big problems to your koi pond, which can even cause death to your koi. To avoid these dilemmas, here are a few ways to help prevent overpopulation in your koi pool water.

Don’t Overstock:

Overstocking is one of the common problems among new koi pond owners. When you first start purchasing your koi, decide between a number of koi that are equally playful and beautiful so as to save your own koi pond from overstocking. You can always talk with your pet store professional or dealer about your koi pond’s specs.

Tell them the total size of your koi pond, the type of filtration systems you use, and where you’re planning to place your koi pond. These helpful information can help them to successfully predict the right amount of koi that you can have in your koi pond. Don’t worry if the number may seem small, because keep in mind that this species grow rather fast and get large quickly!

One of the problems that people or owners run into is not able to turn down offers from others. When you are being offered with a koi by other pond owners, always look at the reasons as to why they’re giving you their koi (this might be due to overpopulation issues as well). Turning down offers such as this doesn’t mean you’re causing damage to the koi, but it’s just that the owner may have to find a different individual to take the offer.

Steps To Take Once Overpopulation Has Occurred:

If the time comes that your koi pond has reached overpopulation, here are some steps to remove the babies from it. A good way is to stop feeding your koi once you realize that spawning has actually occurred. Stop feeding your koi for no less than 3 weeks. Don’t worry about your koi starving, as they’ll focus more on the natural food that they can get if you’re not feeding them everyday. Their natural diet includes their young.

Although they aren’t one of those cannibalistic animals, it’s natural for them to eat their young when they’re still eggs or if they’re small, resembling insects. Once the babies looks like real fish, the adult ones will recognize this, and they’ll no longer see them as food.

It’s quite important to start this process as soon as you’ll observe spawning or babies in the koi pool water. Though cruel as this may seem, it’s only a natural process. Another way to do this is by giving those unwanted babies away. You can first check with your local pet store, as many of them have programs wherein they’ll accept those unwanted animals and provide shelter for them (some may also pay a certain amount of money for each koi since they sell them). You can also go to local zoos, local Koi societies and online forums.

Pet massage is a physical therapy akin to acupressure and chiropractic care. It can act as a great stress buster for your dogs. So this time for his birthday don’t just stop at giving your dog a big bone or getting him his favorite cake also gift him a relaxing and soothing massage. Get this dog treats that are soft for your dog today.

Pet massage is a very affective treatment to relax your dog. It will make him feel loved, pampered and give him an over all feeling of well being. In other words, a massage is not only amazing for you but can also work wonders for your pet. A pet massage also has other benefits attached to it. It’s wonderful to get your dog used to strangers and being touched by them. So giving your pet a massage can actually prove quite useful the next time you have to take him to the vet or to the groomers.

With the growing popularity of pet massage treatments, many pet parlors are sprouting up in various cities and it is certainly not unusual to find more than a few if you live in a large city. But needless to say the services of a professional can be a bit expensive. So here are some tips that will teach you to give your dog a relaxing massage without spending a dime. It will be an enjoyable experience for both of you. Your dog will love outside pet beds or smoked dog bones anytime.

Giving him a massage is the best way to show your dog how much you care. He will love the pampering and the attention and it will serve as a bonding time. For your dog it will mean a lot more than the services of a professional.

This article will guide you through a simple step by step procedure to give your pet a relaxing pet massage starting at his head and going down to his muzzle.

The first thing you need to do is to get your dog to sit in front of you.

Then start slowly with gentle, tender caresses. If you directly jump into the massage you will just frighten him so start the way you would normally pet him.

Start by petting him all over from his head down to his toes. Use long strokes that are firm and gentle. These will get his muscles ready for the massage and relax him enough to enjoy his massage. This should take about two minutes.

Next put one hand on top of his head and the other underneath his muzzle. With the hand on the head stroke him

After the head, move your attention to his ears and massage each one of them individually for a minute. A dog’s ears contain a lot of nerve endings so this will be a very pleasurable experience for him.

Finally massage his forehead and cheeks for 30 seconds each and finish off by gently massaging his muzzle for another 30 seconds

Summer is the best and most lively season for your koi pond. During this time, the temperatures are favorable, which lets you enjoy your koi pond more. But you should continue to maintain your koi pond during this time. In koi care, remembering those few important things during the summer months will help you keep the beauty and liveliness of your koi pond.

Higher level of temperatures can cause less amount of oxygen:

During summer, the level of oxygen in your koi pond will decrease. Therefore, necessary measures should be taken, especially if you live in places where warm temperatures are experienced most of the time. A good indication that your pond doesn’t have high enough concentration of oxygen is when you see your pet hanging out towards the top of the surface of the pond, seemingly gasping for air. You can put extra water features in your koi pond like fountains and waterfalls to keep the oxygen moving.

Remember this: the more motion the water has, the more available oxygen there is for your fish. Also, if these features are not available, you can always change the koi pond’s water frequently to give your fish the necessary amount of oxygen that they need.

Watch out for evaporation:

Higher amounts of heat can cause the water to evaporate quickly. What you should do for this is to pay close attention to your koi pond’s water levels, and then do the necessary adjustments. It is important to remove all of the chlorine from the water that you’re going to add.

Summertime is the time for parasites:

Heat brings on those parasites and illnesses, and as most of these parasites are invisible to the naked eye, it is important for you to watch your fish for those signs of illness. Symptoms such as scratching, rubbing against objects, shaking or shivering could indicate different types of illnesses.

Pay attention to your fish if they start to develop visible spots or changes on their body (they may also knock off their fins!). If you see any of these changes, contact your local pet store, vet, or your dealer as soon as you can. Some parasites may cause only minimal damage, but illnesses like the KHV (or Koi herpes virus) can cause real serious problems to your fish, that’s why it should be treated immediately.

Feeding your fish:

To ensure the health of your fish throughout the summertime, feed them with nutritious foods. In caring for koi, give them food that are low in protein at least one to three times daily. If your fish seem to be still hungry after you have fed them, you can slightly increase the feeding amount. Take note that feeding your fish with only small amounts of food will prevent the spoiling of food. Feeding them with larger amounts will give way to uneaten foods that will spoil quickly (which can cause issues in water quality).

Your fish will only eat what’s necessary for their survival, and will leave those extra ones. Feeding your fish will also cause less oxygen content in the koi pond’s water, and this can be an issue during the summertime, as oxygen gets depleted in high levels of temperatures. This can be resolved by feeding your fish in the cooler times of the day.

In caring for koi, summer is the best season to feed your fish through your hand. Feeding them like this will let you to get to know your fish better, and they in turn get to familiarize you as someone who takes care of them. You can even get your kids involved in feeding them (which would be an unforgettable experience for them!).

Dogs like to play in open spaces like parks and gardens. They are particularly fascinated by unexplored places that have dense vegetation. They are completely oblivious to the creepy slimy creatures that inhabit these places. There is always a chance that these dangerous reptiles or insects may bite your dog. Look at dog t shirts and puppy sweaters to help prevent your dog from some of these bites.

Normally most insect bites are trivial. They don’t usually cause any harm besides some discomfort. Their effect usually lasts only for a day or two. But, if you care for the safety and health of your dog or if you feel that your dog is in quite a bit of pain, here are some tips that will teach you to deal with all these types of injuries.

When an Insect stings you dog

Very often when your dog gets stung by an insect it may just feel irritated like the way human beings feel after they get a mosquito bite. You may just notice small swelled up red spots. Both the red spots and the swelling will vanish within a day or two. But these stings or bites can prove to be very dangerous if your dog is allergic to them. If your dog is allergic to insect bites getting one can trigger a serious response which can be quite dangerous. So if your dog is showing symptoms like joint pain, vomiting, fever, swelling and diarrhea you can be sure that your dog has got an insect or reptile bite and he is allergic to the bite. In some cases spa dog shampoo will help your dog escape some of these bites.

Many a times you will see that your dog feels very breathless after he has got a bug bite or sting. In this kind of situation you need to take your dog to the veterinarian immediately. Because these type of reaction is usually noticed only in dogs that are violently allergic to insect bites to the extent that they trigger a respiratory failure. In this case your dog will only be a few minutes away from death unless he is rushed to the hospital. This kind of reaction is called anaphylaxis and it requires immediate medical attention.

When your dogs gets a snake bite

Snakes often like to stay in areas with thick vegetation like bushes and trees or small rivers. They are very rarely heard or seen in open places. Make sure that your dog does not go to such places where snakes can pose a danger to your dog’s life.

Since most snakes are nonpoisonous, their bite may just give your dog or puppy slight pain for a few days. But if your dog is bitten by a poisonous snake he will get very ill.

There is some information given below about snake bites. If you go through it carefully you will learn to distinguish a poisonous snake from a non poisonous one.

Many snakes are dark colored or have stripes on their body. Such snakes are usually believed to be nonpoisonous. North America has many such snakes.

The poisonous species of snakes found in North America are water mocassins, cottonmouths, rattle snakes and copper heads. Most of these snakes can be identified by the colored stripes on their entire body. Alternatively they may also display blotchy colored patterns all over. The most common type of pattern is the diamond back which is always seen in poisonous snakes.

There are many pet stores in most cities that offer a variety of pets to their customers. From Lizards to dog they have them all. When you walk into a pet shop the hardest thing is to come out without buying a dog. It becomes very difficult to leave the little puppy in his cage with the pink nose and the ‘take me home’ look in his eyes. However before you fish out your wallet to pay for your new pet you need to know some truths about these pet shops and the puppies they sell.

This is why when I shop for things like adjustable dog feeders or airline approved dog crates and my other supplies for my dog I purchase online. Not to mention the prices on items like sky kennel dog crate are alot cheaper online. Anyways enough rambling back to the point.

What are Puppy Mills?

Puppy Mills as the name suggests are places where high volume breeding of dogs is done. These puppies eventually find their ways to pet stores. The breeding practices followed by the puppy mills are the most disgusting and in human at times. Unfortunately there are many pet stores that rely on puppy mills to get their supply of new pups.

Disclaimer: Even though not all pet stores resort to buying their puppies from Puppy Mills, research has indicated that a huge number of pet shops do use puppies from these Puppy mills.

A Tour of a Puppy Mill

Puppy Mills are farms which are usually located in the Midwestern parts of the United States. These establishments breed animals for sale particularly dogs. Now even though this definition sounds like a breeders definition the two couldn’t be more different. The puppies bred here are ill-treated like the cattle and chickens and the mothers usually have a very short life because of the constant breeding.

It is not unusual to find many puppies crammed into one cage with just enough food and water to survive on the puppy farms. They have minimal human contact and are never cared for enough. They are treated like a piece of meat and that’s all. The internet is ripe with pictures of the monstrosities committed by these Puppy Mills. Some of the pictures are truly very disturbing.

Why can I not buy a Puppy from the Puppy Mill?

There is no reason why you absolutely should not buy a puppy that was bred on a puppy farm. You may have to understand though that some of these puppies may develop a condition called the early stress syndrome which is attributed to the harsh conditions in the Puppy mills. These dogs may grow up to be reticent, nervous and overtly anxious. This certainly doesn’t mean that you will never find a normal puppy in a Puppy Mill. But it is always to be safe now rather than face the heart break later. So before you buy your puppy, always find out more about the establishment that you are buying from.

There is always possibility to train a cat to do certain behaviors, thus there is no detriment to practice these cat training tips. In truth, cats will do some good behaviors in their own good time. Since cats do not recognize any urgency sense on anything or anyone else in the world, the most basic sensible cat training tips would be never supposing a cat to act like a human or a dog.

What’s In It For Me?

The rewarding method is another practical cat training tip you can do as your early training. At this point, you are not allowed to punish if the cat does bad behaviors though. It is not only unkind, but it just doesn’t work. As a cat trainer, your duty is to make your cat act what you would like the cat to act – however make the cat assume it was all the cat’s own idea.

Any way, in order to have their behavior modified in, cats need a predictable reward. What is essential in this cat training tip is that ALWAYS rewarding your cat for his good behavior.

Instead of punishing bad behavior with a smack or hitting with a rolled up newspaper, just shush like a cat. Even clapping your hands sharply will get your cat’s attention. When you have your cat’s attention, then you can gently persuade the cat to do some other beloved behavior.

For instance, if you see your cat about to squat in your shoes, pick up the cat and place them in the litter box. Never hit them. If you can remember no other commonsense cat training tips than that, just follow that one.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Other reasonable cat training tips are to start training any behavior you want inside with as few distractions as possible. You also must work with your cat. Don’t begin a training session when the cat is sleeping, eating or sick. The only thing you will do is really ticking off your cat.

Perhaps you are attempting to get your cat to not eat particular house plants. You would then want to instruct your cat not to eat the plants. Things will go a lot easier for you if you take the plants away from the reach of the cat’s mouth. Don’t just leave the plants where they are and expect the cat not to touch them.

These are just some of cat training tips that will be helpful for you to get your cat mannerly. Remember, cats are not human and don’t do things out of spite. Nevertheless, they could also act abruptive if you leave enticement within their reach.

Do you want to uplift your knowledge about cat training tips? There is no better way for getting it unless finding it more here!

You will need to discipline your puppy just the way you would discipline your child. Puppies have the intelligence level of a 2/3 year old child so you will have to behave with them in the same way you would behave with a child of that age. This includes teaching them about the do’s and don’ts of the house. Some puppies may exhibit extraordinary behavioral problems but usually most puppies will indulge in little pranks like stealing clothing and other small items. Of course it’s all done in the spirit of fun. But be sure to get your dog supplies online, for your pet.

Puppies love to steal anything and everything that will fit in their mouth or can be carried away and once they have this thing in their mouth they bolt away real quick. Now when your puppy steals your sock for the first time it seems cute and funny. But I can assure you it will get very irritating to find shoes and furniture dripping with doggy drool every day in the morning after they get done slurping from the elevated dog feeders. If you don’t stop your puppy in time, as he grows older he will start thinking that his behavior is acceptable to you and so he can continue. You will also want to view these dresses for dogs right away for your puppy.

There are many simple tips that can help you to deal with your puppies stealing habit.

1. You have to understand his motive for stealing the clothes and small items. Your puppy is usually doing this to garner your attention and to get you to play with him. Unfortunately, when we see our puppy pick up a piece of clothing we start running behind him asking him to drop it. But when you do this, your puppy thinks that you are participating in his game, so he will do his best to dodge you. Instead the correct course of action would be to leave the room and slam the door on your way out. This will certainly get your puppy’s attention and without you around he will have nobody to play with so he will immediately drop the item in his mouth and start crying for you.

2. The best way to deal with this situation is to distract your dog. So if you find your dog with your clothes in his mouth you should quickly walk up to the door and jingle your keys. Dogs don’t take too much time to understand that the jingling keys mean that you are getting ready to take them out and he will prefer going out with you over playing with the cloth any day.

3. The important thing is to not just leave it at that. Since you have made him feel that you are going to take him out, do so for a few minutes even a short walk will do. Eventually your dog will start associating the sound of the keys with all the fun that he has outside with you so all you will need is your key to distract him away if you ever find him breaking a rule.

4. Finally you can also use the squirt water or gun successfully to stop your dog from misbehaving. Of course you should be careful when using the squirt bottle. You certainly want to avoid the eyes and don’t over do it. But if you find your dog misbehaving often this is a safe way to jolt him out of his bad habits. Dogs find the squirt gun particularly unpleasant and will immediately stop doing whatever it is that they are doing when you use it.

5. So whenever you see your dog running around the house with something in his mouth and if all other tricks fail, just use your squirt bottle and giving him a firm “no” command. This should be enough to stop him in his tracks

I have found out some fascinating things about Chicken Coop Plans. My Uncle Dave’s latest hobby is chickens. The benefits would be twofold, the children could enjoy the chickens as pets and everyone would get fresh organic eggs to eat.

If you wanted to make some additional money then you could sell the chicken eggs, people are willing to pay extra for fresh organic eggs.. You may find that the chickens will ‘earn’ their keep if you sell some of the eggs.. This is a way to make some profit..

Before he bought the chickens he decided to look around so he could purchase a chicken coop, however, when he saw the prices he thought he would be better off building one himself so started his investigations for chicken coop plans and designs.

He wanted a plan that was clear and easy to follow. He also felt that the children would enjoy watching the plan unfold and be involved at every step.

If you would like further information about easy chicken coop plans, check out http://www.squidoo.com/chickencoop-plans.

It was really interesting learning that there were quite a few things to be considered for example he knew he would need certain materials, insulation and take into consideration such aspects as the ventilation, positioning and nesting etc.

Apparently, you need to ensure that the coup is well ventilated and has doors so you can keep the chickens safe at night and shut them in. Chickens actually need quite a lot of protection from predators such as snakes, foxes, possoms, racoons etc. Thus for chicken safety make sure that the chicken wire is fastened securely.

You have several choices of chicken bedding as well. A few people said that sawdust is soft and makes great bedding, and that sawdust is easier to clean and will absorb the odor longer. Some people are not so happy with this choice as the chickens can scratch the sawdust from the pen and may get the dust in their eyes.. However, uncle and the children chose straw for the bedding as they read that Straw helps the water drain to the bottom and it will give the chickens something to “scratch” through. It’s safe for them to eat.

His research bought up the fact that by building your own coop you could save over 50%, especially if you wanted more chickens so chose to build a large coop. However, he didn’t want a plan where he would have to buy tools, or else, he probably wouldn’t save any mone. Uncle Dave has a lot of tools in his garage so felt he could use these to build his coop.

Uncle needed a step by step plan and some ‘know how’ on choosing the right breed of chicken for his needs.

So, if you would like to take advantage of some of his findings such as:

1. Positioning your chicken coop to prevent flooding and moisture buildup.

2. Correct ventilation to prevent harmful ammonia and carbon dioxide buildup in your chicken house.

3. How to build top class chicken housing that is easy to clean, even automatically collects eggs.

4. The 9 daily, monthly and yearly chores you must perform to keep your chickens healthy, happy and laying eggs.

Click Chicken Coop Plans Right Now - Your chickens will love you for it! I strongly urge you to click here now to learn more about how affordable and easy this is.