The most frequently asked question in the spring is when to put out the hummingbird feeders?

We found this great article on www.tripswithpets.com and thought it was very informative…

With Spring upon us, moving season is just around the corner!  If you’re planning a move with your pet, it’s important to do some homework and be prepared.  Moving has the potential to create a lot of anxiety for pets…particularly for older pets, most cats, and skittish pets.  Pre-move preparation is the key to helping ensure your move goes as smoothly as possible for your pet and you.

Here are the top 10 pre-moving day tips for pets:

1. Pet Laws and Regulations: Become familiar with the state/province leash laws, pet ordinances, and pet licensing requirements.  For state/province laws, contact the State Department of Agriculture or State Veterinarian’s office.  For local ordinances, contact the City Clerks’ office, local humane organization, or animal control facility in the area in which you’ll be relocating.

If you are planning to rent a house or apartment, be sure to carefully review the lease to ensure that pets are allowed before you move in.

◦    United States:  Overview of State Leash Laws
◦    Canada:  Province and Local Pet Laws

2. Talk To Your Pet’s Vet: Talk to your veterinarian about traveling with a pet who doesn’t like to travel. They can recommend behavior modification tactics or medication that might lessen the stress of travel. Depending on your new address, your pet may also need additional vaccinations, medications, and health certificates. In addition, be sure to get a copy of all your pet’s medical records for your pet’s new vet.

3. Secure a New Vet: Be sure to have a new veterinarian lined up before you move.  Ask your current vet for a referral or research a new veterinarian online.

◦    Directory of Veterinarians

4. New Identification Tag: Get a new pet ID tag that includes your pet’s name, your name, new address and telephone number. An up-to-date ID tag is a lost pet’s ticket home.

5. Maintain Normal Routine: Pets are creatures of habit and love routine.  Do your best to not throw off their routine by gradually packing over a period of time.  The less commotion and more normalcy, the better!

6. Secure Your Pet in Car: Have a plan for how you’re going to properly secure your pet in your vehicle.   This is a crucial element of pet travel that is not taken seriously enough. The reality is that hundreds of pets are injured or even killed each year because they are allowed free reign in cars, trucks, RVs, and SUVs.  Even more real is the toll in human life and property damage caused when an “enthusiastic” animal distracts a driver, leading to an accident. Vehicle pet barriers, pet seat belts, pet car seats, and pet travel crates are all excellent ways to keep your pet (and you) safe when traveling in your vehicle.  It’s important to familiarize your pet with the vehicle restraint of choice weeks or months before traveling so that they are comfortable.

7. Secure Pet Friendly Accommodations in Advance: If your move is such that you’ll need to make overnight stops along the way, be sure to secure these accommodations before you hit the road.  Our Search By Route feature will allow you to find pet friendly accommodations along your route by plugging in your origination location and final destination.  Pet policies do change some times without notice and accommodations may be limited so it’s recommended that you book a pet friendly hotel in advance.

8. Plan Ahead for Air Travel: Check with your veterinarian and the airline if your pet will be flying.  The airline will require a health certificate issued by your vet.  You’ll also want to purchase an appropriate airline approved pet carrier.  Be sure you take the time to familiarize your pet with it at least one month prior to travel. Visit our Airline Pet Policies page to familiarize yourself with the rules specific to the airline you are flying.  For more on safe air travel, see Pet Travel Tips for Flying.

9. Calm Energy: Even though moving is typically a crazy and hectic time for you, it’s important to keep yourself as calm and relaxed as possible. We all know that our pets sense our energy and when we’re amped up, they get stress.  So, whatever works for you to keep your sense of calm, do it!

10. Tell Your Pet: This may seem out there to some, BUT, have a talk with your pet letting them know about the move.  Let them know what to expect on moving day, about the new house, the yard, etc…  If nothing else, it will make you feel better, which in turn will help your pet.

Moving to a new home with your pet doesn’t have to be stressful if you are prepared and plan ahead!

Whether it’s down the street or across the country, here are a few tips for traveling with your pet.

The five words my dog loves more than anything are “wanna go for a RIDE!” Half way through the sentence his eyes get big, ears perk, and his head tilts to the side in anticipation of that last word, and then he hears it…RIDE!  At that point he starts tap dancing across the kitchen floor and barks incessantly until we’re in the car. I love as much as anything to see him that happy. Unfortunately, everything about our car rides goes against what most would deem safe and also what I advise to my customers. It’s time to practice what I preach.

Bruno’s favorite thing to do is stand on my lap and put his head out the window. Usually I would keep the rides short and like a dummy I think to myself that if it’s only a mile or two there’s no way anything could happen.  Well the good news is nothing has happened but I’ve read far too many horror stories recently for me to continue risking injury to both myself and my buddy. If you think about it, having a dog unrestrained in the car can be as distracting as texting and if an accident were to occur, a dog could be propelled with a lot more velocity than one would think. The Automobile Association of America (AAA) estimates that a 10 pound dog will exert about 500lbs of pressure in a 50 mph crash, and an 80 pound dog will exert 2,400lbs of pressure in a crash at only 30 mph.

So now that I’ve got your attention let’s explore the options. If your dog is 20lbs or less, there are booster seats that allow your pooch to see out the window and they have a tether that attaches to a harness. Always make sure to put your dog in a harness, not a collar, when restraining them to any vehicle. If you choose to put the booster in the front seat, make certain that the airbag is turned off on the passenger side. The impact of an airbag can easily crush a small dog. That’s another reason why a dog should never sit on your lap when you drive. For larger dogs, there are a couple of options. They make car harnesses that double as a walking harness. The harness has a loop that allows a seat belt to be pulled through. If you already have a harness, Herm Springer makes a great product called the Ultimate Seat Leash that will connect from the seat belt to your harness.

Kennels are also a good option when transporting a dog or a cat. The worst part of owning a cat has got to be the part when you have to take him or her to the vet. Just getting them into the kennel can take as long as driving. A lot of the anxiety cats experience during the commute is seeing the rapid movement of things passing by outside the window. The best thing to use would be a kennel with as little visibility as possible. For pets that experience anxiety or get car sick a mild sedative may be in order. There are wonderful all natural options that may save you the cost of going to the vet. Most of the products use herbs and plants like valerian root, kava-kava and chamomile. These are also ideal for a long road trip or plane ride. It is suggested to use these a couple hours prior to departure. I would recommend doing a trial a few days prior to taking a long road trip just to see if the effects are ideal for the type of trip your pet will be taking.

I now vow to keep the safety of my pet, my passengers and myself as a priority when traveling knowing there will always be the promise of future tap dancing across the kitchen floor. Happy trails…

Did you know?

If honey bees disappear, so will our fruits, vegetables and eventually all life.

If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left.  – Albert Einstein

The 5th and 6th grade students of Birmingham Covington School are working on a project with the help of local bee keepers.  Their goal is to create their own hives and re-pollinate Birmingham, MI in Spring of 2012.

Please visit their site http://www.bcsbees.com/#!petition for more info and sign their petition to show your support of their efforts and grow more awareness of the threat to the honey bee.
The petition can be found at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/222/574/307/

Thanks!

Every year there are a few people on your list who are a challenge to buy for, right?  What about those people who you’re on the fence about buying something for?  I have the solution.  The easiest thing to do is to get a gift for someone’s pet.  Buying something for a pet is a very thoughtful thing to do, and it shows you care.  Most people love their pets as much as their kids, so if you make the pet happy, then you are definitely going to make the owner happy.  The nice thing is that you can get away with spending five or ten dollars and get a really nice treat or toy for their furry friend.

Having a retail store for almost 20 years, I’ve always loved seeing the once-a-year customers around December.  People who may not have a pet of their own come to the store looking for a nice gift to get a neighbor, co-worker, family member or the mailman.  Buying a gift for someone’s pet is a simple act of kindness and an easy way to make people happy.

If you don’t have a pet of your own, the best thing for you to do is to find the nearest independently owned store in your area.  It is unlikely that you will get the same personalized attention or find specialty items at the chain stores.  If you’re not completely sure, don’t be afraid to tell a sales associate at the store that you’re looking to buy something for someone else’s pet.  Ask them to show you what’s popular or special holiday products.  Try your best to go with something natural, without fillers or artificial ingredients.  Ask the clerk if they have any treats that are made locally.  There are a lot of great treat companies based right here in the Metro-Detroit area.  Most stores will have bakery style treats dipped in yogurt or carob.  These are great for dogs and even come in fun holiday shapes like Santa, Christmas trees, snowmen and even menorahs and Stars of David for Hanukkah.

If it’s a toy you are in search of, there are a lot of holiday-themed dog and cat toys.  Take the opportunity to look for products made in the U.S.A.  They may be slightly more expensive but the quality is great and you can feel good about supporting the home team.  It’s also something you can point out with pride to the recipient of the gift.  The better toys are the ones that are interactive and keep the pet occupied.  Toys that dispense treats or food offer the owner a little break while entertaining the pet at the same time.  They also make breed-specific or generic calendars for all animals.  Now that’s a gift that keeps on giving all year long!

Anything you get for the pet will be appreciated.  Toys and treats won’t set you back a lot of money and some start as low as a dollar.  Buy a few things and put them in a cute bag to make a nice presentation.  Unlike the gift card that we have all resorted to, a “pet gift” will be more impactful and remembered.  If it’s someone you need to get on the good side of or someone you want to show appreciation for, when you buy something for a person’s pet, you can’t lose!

With the help of all of our wonderful customers, we were voted the Best Pet Supply store in all of Metro Detroit!!!!  It was announced during the Thanksgiving Day Parade.  We are so grateful to everyone that supports our family business and our goal stays the same…to keep all of our customers and their pets happy!  Thanks again!

http://4thebest.clickondetroit.com/place/4449-premier-pet-supply

In the late 1940s, Edward Lowe, a young man who worked at his dad’s company that sold industrial absorbents, gave a neighbor a supply of an absorbent called “Fuller’s Earth” to replace the ashes she was using in her cat’s litter box.  She was sold on the clay so Lowe started marketing it as “Kitty Litter.”  Kitty litter became immensely popular and a new industry was born.

These days, the options are overwhelming.  The traditional clay-based litters still exist but eco-friendly, plant-based products are becoming increasingly popular.  Litters now are made from recycled newspaper, kernel corn, wheat, nut shells, pine, and silica.

Gravel-like litters do not contain gravel; they are actually clay or sodium bentonite.  Most sodium bentonite clay is mined using only a scraper or bucket loader.  The result of this operation is a depression or a pit that must then be reclaimed.  While laws mandate the reclamation of land impacted by mining operations, there remain heated disputes over the extent and timing of such reclamation efforts and whether the environmental impacts of strip mining can ever be addressed through reclamation.  Of course, after it is used, the litter must also be disposed of.  Clay cat litter is sent to landfills where its sits for an eternity.  Since one assumes all cat clay litter purchased and used eventually gets thrown out, we are talking about a huge amount of cat litter ending up in landfills every year.  The net result is that clay-based cat litter has a sizable environmental impact in both its manufacture and disposal.

That being said, more and more people are converting to the all-natural, biodegradable litter options.  The benefits are not only great for farmers and the environment but also for the cat’s health.  I’ve had several customers who have mentioned healthier respiratory results for themselves and their cats after switching to a natural litter due to the reduced dust.  Don’t think these litters won’t work as well either.  They will!  They even clump and are super absorbent.  The starches in the plant-based litters will bind together when mixed with moisture.  There are even multi-cat household options with more starches added for more clumping power.

Another option is silica-based litter.  Silica gel is a patented formula that makes sodium silicate more porous.  This litter is made from silica dioxide, the type of sand found in quartz.  It is then mixed with oxygen and water to make silica gel.  It looks like small white beads.  Since it is made from sand, silica gel also has a mining component.  The big upside to silica gel, though, is that it does not need to be changed as frequently as clay-based litter.  In fact, in many single-cat households, a single bag weighing 4-5 pounds needs to be changed only once a month.  Thus, the disposal implications of silica gel litter, in terms of landfill volume, is considerably less than that associated with clay-based litter.

Some companies claim their litter is flushable, but in my personal opinion, they are not.  As anyone who has ever suffered a stopped-up drain knows, putting anything, even something described as “flushable,” down the drain increases the likelihood that you will be dealing with a problem later.  For that reason, many users of “flushable” plant-based cat litter will dispose of it in the garden or in a compost pile.  Be sure to always dispose of the cat’s feces separately into the garbage in order to reduce the risk of a parasite called toxoplasma ghondii from being passed.  This parasite derived from cat feces cannot be filtered by wastewater treatment facilities.

There are also lots of litter additives on the market to help reduce the smell of the litter box.  A Michigan product that is all natural is one I’ve had the greatest feedback on.  It’s called “Nature’s Absorbent” and does a fantastic job of locking up the ammonia smell when mixed with any litter.  At around $3.00 for a bag that lasts up to 2 months, it’s a wonderful product that will ensure your house won’t smell like a litter box.

Keep in mind when changing to a new litter that it is best to do it gradually. Put the new litter on the bottom of the box and the old one on top so there will be an easier transition. Now you know the scoop when it comes to poop!