Spring ... planting gardens, cleaning house,
spaying the cat, training the puppy all come to mind.
 
 

Hazards to avoid! 
Gardeners beware of pesticide and poisons you use that may be attractive to your pet or your neighbors pet! Snail bait is very attractive to dogs and will cause moderate to life threatening disease of the central nervous system.  Even the liquid snail bait has been known to cause injury when the dog would lick it off the dirt.  Recent reports of newer baits combining carbaryl with the usual metaldehyde could mean severe liver damage or death to animals that may ingest it.  Non-toxic methods of snail and slug control would eliminate this hazard.  Consult Organic Gardening Magazine.  If you think your dog or cat has ingested a toxin seek veterinary care immediately.
 
 
 

House cleaning includes the pets premises, too!
With products that reduce flea egg and larvae populations in our pets environments spring cleaning is less work these days.  These products have not been approved for use in rabbits but treating the home with an insect growth regulator (Precor) will reduce the numbers of fleas in those homes that share space with bunnies.  Outdoor rabbits should have their bedding changed routinely and flea powders are safe to use on the rabbit.
 
 
 

Spaying Your Cat!
As the days get a little longer, the light triggers the brains of our cats. Those that were born  the previous summer will be reaching their sexual maturity and for females that means cycling into what is called "heat".  Lets do everyone a favor and make an appointment for Fluffy to have an ovariohysterectomy (spay) soon!  Her heat cycle with its accompanying behavior will last about two weeks and unless she is spayed or gets pregnant it will recur every few weeks.  A female in heat is not an easy pet to live with and the prowling tom cats fighting for her attention do not add any charm to the scene.  Schedule a visit to your veterinarian for population control measures and noise abatement!
 
 
 
 

Puppy Behavior!
If your household was one of the many across America that added a puppy to the family over the holiday season now is the time to enroll in behavior classes where you are taught dog language. We fool ourselves into thinking the classes are for our dogs when we do not want to admit that the communication barrier is really our own.  What was a cute little pup that we could cuddle and pick up may, depending upon breed type, become a large out-of-control monster in the living room surrounded by couch stuffing.  Or worse, it becomes a health hazard to little humans and the elderly because it has not learned that its teeth are only for eating food and it is supposed to walk on all four feet, not just two.  ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH FOR DOGS IN AMERICA IS EUTHANASIA FOR BAD BEHAVIOR.  Some may not be overtly killed because they bit someone or  are destructive in the home, instead they are relinquished to animal shelters where, if not adopted, they are killed in the disguise of overpopulation.