For most new pets, including dogs, cats, ferrets, birds, and reptiles, the first step to good health care is a routine screening by a veterinarian. If you're about to bring an animal into your life, you'll need to establish a relationship with a vet who can examine your new pet for problems, administer any necessary shots, and advise you on diet and other requirements. Later on, it's important to have someone you can call right away if your pet becomes ill or involved in an accident.
As with any doctor, you have a right to shop around if you're not satisfied with the first vet you try. If a particular vet doesn't seem responsive to your questions or doesn't seem to interact well with your pet -- or with you -- keep looking.

First the Vet, Then the Pet

It's wise to line up your vet and schedule the first appointment before you bring your shar-pei home, especially if a medical guarantee is in effect. (Such a guarantee is usually good for only a limited period.) Planning the first vet appointment in advance will prevent loss of valuable time.

How to Get a Vet

Word of mouth is the best way to find a good veterinarian: Ask pet-owning friends or neighbors for recommendations. You also can contact the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), an organization that promotes standards for pet care and pet care facilities. The AAHA maintains a membership of more than 12,000 vets in the United States and Canada who subscribe to its principles, and it provides veterinary referrals as well as information and literature on pet care and health. To get in touch with the AAHA, call toll-free directory assistance (1-800-555-1212) or search the Internet using the keywords "American Animal Hospital Association."

Make Sure Your Pet Is Safe at Home

Before you bring home that pup, decide where to set up a home base for the new arrival. Choose a spot where the puppy can be safely confined when you can't keep an eye out: an easy-to-control environment that's not readily damaged, such as a hallway, bathroom, or enclosed porch. Set up a bed, bowls, and toys. Put down newspaper. Then close the area off with a gate that lets the puppy see out. (Don't use an accordion-style child's gate. A puppy's head can get caught in it.) Depending on what you're doing, you can move the gate to different "safety zones" around the house so that the puppy can be closer to you and feel like part of the family. Let your new pet explore the house gradually under your supervision, but return the pup to the safety zone when you can't supervise.

The Puppy Crate: A Room, Not a Prison

If there's no safe area in your house where a new pet can be restricted, or if you just want to give your new friend a space of his own, try a crate. This is where your pet will sleep and spend time when you can't supervise closely. When used correctly, it's a perfectly humane and effective way to incorporate a puppy into your home and your life. Your new dog will easily adapt and learn that it's his own special spot.
To help your pet feel secure, place some toys inside the crate along with a blanket, towel, or piece of clothing that carries your familiar scent. (Make sure any cloth you leave in the crate is frayed, and remove such items if your pup starts to chew on them. If an animal swallows bits of cloth, the pieces can cause an intestinal obstruction.) Confine the puppy there no more than a few hours at a time or overnight. When you're nearby and can supervise, leave the door of the crate open so that the pup can wander in and out freely. It will soon become your pet's favorite hangout.

Now This Smells Like Home

If you find the cost of a crate prohibitive or simply prefer not to go that route, giving your pet a bed of her own is the next best way to help her acquire a sense of belonging and stability. For a puppy, cut down a wooden or cardboard box. (Avoid wicker beds -- pups will chew on them and can hurt themselves.) Cut it low enough so that she can get in and out easily, but leave the sides high enough to form a little enclosure to keep out drafts. Line the box with an old, frayed towel, cushion, or blanket so that she can curl up and get cozy. (If she starts to chew on this, remove it.) The smell will become familiar, and your puppy will associate it with her special spot. Later on, if the animal outgrows the box, you can put her blanket directly on the floor.

Parents-to-be have baby showers to help them prepare for the new arrival, but outfitting a non-human family member is relatively simple and a lot less expensive (assuming that you can ignore luxuries such as four-poster kitty beds and cashmere doggy vests). Your new pet will be healthy, happy, and comfortable as long as you have the right food and a few basic supplies on hand. Here are some of the essentials for your shopping list.

Give That Puppy Plenty to Chew On

For teething puppies and many older dogs, chewing is an urge that's impossible to resist, so make sure you provide your new dog with plenty of alternatives to your furniture and shoes. Give her chew toys made of hard nylon, such as Nylabones, or from a cornstarch formulation, such as Booda Velvets. Start right away to draw your pet's attention to her chew toys and give her lots of praise when she uses them.

Keep Him on a Short Leash

If you'll be getting a new puppy, get a foot leash to start with. This length provides plenty of control for training purposes. Later on, you can buy a longer retractable leash that allows your dog a wider range of movement.

Neckwear for the Well-Dressed Dog

Get your new puppy a collar made of leather, nylon, or canvas -- something strong, to which you can attach a license and ID tags. The collar should be wide enough to allow breathing and stretching room, but not so wide that the puppy can get his mouth around it or pull it off.

Every shar-pei is an individual with a unique personality. That's part of the fun -- and the challenge -- of owning a shar-pei. You can never fully anticipate how a shar-pei will change your life, but there are many factors you can think about. How will you incorporate the new shar-pei into the household? Where will your shar-pei live? Will your shar-pei go outdoors? Consider the following before you bring your new chinese shar-pei home.

A New Puppy? Clear Your Calendar

A new puppy shouldn't be alone for more than about three hours at a time. So if you're planning to bring one home, don't make too many other plans. Schedule some vacation time from work or adopt your puppy when older, responsible children can take charge during school vacations. Puppies need a lot of attention in the beginning and feel abandoned when their human companions disappear for long periods. The more time you can devote to caring for and training your pup early on, the more quickly he'll adjust.

Keep It Legal

Many vicinities require licenses for all dogs, so check with your local health department about which rules apply in your area. In most locations, you'll need to provide evidence of a rabies shot or other vaccination. See if your veterinarian has the necessary forms.

Hello! My Name Is Buffie

Whether or not your dog needs a license, get the animal an ID tag with your name and phone number on it. You can be fined for having an unlicensed dog, but the consequences may be much worse if your dog is lost with no identification.

Dogs Come In and Must Go Out

All dogs need to spend time outdoors to relieve themselves and get the necessary exercise. Before you bring home a dog, consider what kind of outdoor access she will have. To a large extent, this depends on where you live. A fenced-in backyard or dog run is ideal for exercising and keeps your dog from wandering off. City dogs will have to be walked on a leash. Plan on at least three walks a day for an older, housebroken dog and up to six or seven for a puppy. All dogs require vigorous exercise at least once a day, so factor in some playtime for the two of you.
No matter where you live, never let your dog outside unsupervised. Between traffic, other dogs, and wildlife (and even a few strange people), it's much too dangerous.

Your new pet has just left everything he knows for a strange new environment full of unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells. Is it any wonder he's scared? All pets need a period of adjustment -- but they don't all adjust in the same way. To welcome a puppy, there's no such thing as too much love and attention, but a reptile or hamster would rather be left alone for the first few days. If you understand your pet's needs before he comes home, you'll be well prepared to make him comfortable in his new surroundings.

Give Pup a Place to Curl Up

When you arrive home with your new puppy, have a special spot set up for him in a safe, restricted area of the house. Bring him to his area and show him his bed, bowls, and toys so that he can start to feel at home. Let your pet sniff around and explore his new surroundings at his own pace. Take it slowly at first; he'll need a little time to get familiar with his new home. But keep a close eye on the puppy if he ventures beyond his own area. After all, he's just a baby and will require supervision until he's trained and housebroken.

Meet the Family

To help your new puppy settle in, introduce her to your whole family and let everyone hold her and interact with her. This will give the puppy a chance to become familiar with everyone's scent. Dogs are social animals and love companionship, so your puppy will thrive on lots and lots of attention. Handle her gently in the beginning. Speak softly and don't overwhelm her with loud noises, sudden movements, or rough play. Take special care around young, overeager children. The puppy will still be getting her bearings and will need to be reassured that she's in a safe environment.

Try Diversionary Tactics

Your puppy will be happier if he can see and hear family members and know that you're nearby, even when you're busy with other things. Establish his home base in a part of the house that's well traveled and not far from the action, such as the kitchen or family room. Isolating him in a cold, damp basement or garage is a sure prescription for loneliness and antisocial behavior.

Help Him Make It Through That First Night

The first night in a new home can be lonely and frightening for a puppy. If he won't stop crying, you may want to move his bed or crate into your bedroom. Just knowing you're nearby will help him feel less isolated and may be enough to quiet him down. Keep in mind that your puppy will need to relieve himself during the night. While he's in his bed, keep his leash on and tie it to the leg of your bed so that he can't wander off. He'll be reluctant to soil the area so close to where he's sleeping. Be prepared for accidents, though, and plan on getting up at least once to take him outside or lead him to a separate area where you've put down newspapers.

In the cartoons, it's dog vs. cat and cat vs. mouse. In real life, most types of pets can learn to live together in peace and harmony -- or at least to tolerate each other. The important thing is to proceed with caution when introducing a new pet to another in your household. A number of factors are at work here, including territory, sex, age, and individual personality. Even loving families get into spats, so why should we expect our pets to behave any better?

This Will Hurt Only for a Minute

Before bringing a new pet into a household that already has resident animals, be sure the established pets are up-to-date on all their vaccinations.

Treat 'Em Like Garbo

When you bring any new pet into a house that already has pets, you'll need to establish an "isolation booth" where the newcomer can acclimate to the house or be secluded if the other animals are harassing her. A spare bathroom works for a little while (even tiny kittens get bored with the small space quickly), but a laundry room is better because it's usually a little larger. In general, any spot will do as long as it has a door that shuts (or can be gated), easy-to-clean floors, and an absence of heavy foot traffic.

Unless you're using a gate, outfit the door with a spring (available from a hardware or home supply store) so that it will automatically shut behind humans before troublemaking animals sneak in (or out).

Let's Get Acquainted . . . Slowly

Start the "getting acquainted" process by bringing the new pet within sight -- but not within fighting range -- of the resident animal. Hold the new pet firmly so that she can't escape and reassure her by stroking her while the resident pet gets a peek. (This does not mean that the resident pet will take this as an endorsement and immediately love the other animal. He's much more likely to get jealous. But he has to see her sometime, and if you pet her, at least one of the two will be calm.) Then gradually work up to putting the animals near each other for a few minutes, hours, and days.

Fluffy, Meet Rambo

Between dogs and cats, size doesn't always determine who prevails. A rambunctious new puppy may regard your cat as a toy to play with and be rewarded with a swat on the nose. The cat will hiss and scratch until the puppy backs off. Let the cat establish her own boundaries. It's best not to interfere unless one of them seems about to get hurt. Sooner or later, a pup that wants to be friends will learn to adapt his behavior to win the cat's acceptance, and eventually the two will get used to each other.

This House Isn't Big Enough for Both of Us

If you're adopting a new puppy and also have an adult dog, expect some sibling rivalry. The older dog won't like an intruder moving in on his territory and vying for your attention, and he may even try to attack the pup. Keep them apart if necessary, then bring them together for short periods when you can supervise. In the meantime, feed them separately and give them both plenty of attention. Let the senior dog have something with the puppy's scent on it to help him get used to the little guy (in advance, if possible). At the very least, he'll learn to tolerate the newcomer, and as the puppy gets bigger and stronger, their relationship will stabilize.
Seniority RulesAs busy as you might be with housebreaking or puppy adoration, make extra time for your old friend and make certain that each animal gets some one-on-one attention.

The Blue Plate Special Is for Binky

When you adopt a second (or third or fourth) pup, be sure to give each dog a separate food bowl. You need to know who's eating what. Besides, you don't want your pets to get in a lather over the second most prized possession in their lives. (The first, of course, is you.)

Your pet may be allergic to many of the same things you are: dust mites, pollen, grasses, or certain foods. Instead of coughing or sneezing, however, pets usually scratch when they are allergic to something. They also may lick the tops or bite the bottoms of their paws, and they may even chew on their tails. Other signs of allergic reactions include hair falling out in patches; dry, scaly skin; a change in coat (a dog's coat may become dry if it's normally oily or become oily if it's normally dry); body odor; and weeping eyes (look for dark tear stains under your dog's eyes). A vet can perform tests to find out whether your pet is allergic and to what. Here are some treatments that can help relieve the problem.

Can the Corn

Corn, which is a common ingredient in dog foods, can cause allergic reactions. If your dog is showing signs of allergies, read the label on her food to be certain it does not contain corn. If it does, switch to a brand without corn.

Oatmeal Isn't Just for Breakfast

If your dog scratches herself often, try bathing her with an oatmeal-based shampoo made especially for animals. The bath won't cure an allergy, but it can relieve your pet's symptoms and discomfort.

Use a Shampoo with Aloe

Aloe-based shampoos, can help relieve allergy symptoms such as itching and skin rashes in dogs. Or you can bathe your dog with your own aloe-based shampoo. Make sure you use a product that doesn't have unnecessary ingredients (for instance, don't choose a shampoo and conditioner or a shampoo for color-treated hair), which could aggravate the situation. Use the shampoo only when your dog is exhibiting the symptoms; suspend use when the animal seems fine.

Arthritis is a painful disease of the joints that often develops after a pet has been injured or in older animals after years of wear and tear. It's caused when the bony ball of a joint actually rubs against the joint socket. Both cats and dogs can get arthritis. Dogs that are born with the condition known as hip dysplasia are very prone to developing this ailment.

Thinner Bodies Ache Less

An arthritic dog or cat has more trouble moving around when she gains weight. Try to help your pet maintain her optimum weight with a healthy diet and regular activity.

Walk On

Regular activity helps keep joints from getting stiff, so be sure your arthritic dog gets some exercise every day. Walk your pet at a gentle but steady pace for about 20 minutes daily.

Don't Give Fido a Hard Day's Night

If your dog has arthritis, provide her with a soft, comfortable place to sleep. Sleeping on a hard floor will aggravate stiffness in arthritic joints.

Take Two and Call Me in the Morning

With initial permission from your vet, you can give your arthritic dog low doses of coated buffered aspirin when arthritis is causing pain. (Don't substitute unbuffered aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen, which could be harmful -- even fatal -- to your pet.)

Bad breath in pets is just as offensive as it is in humans. But besides being a turnoff, halitosis can be a sign of a health problem. It may indicate an accumulation of tartar on your pet's teeth, which can result in gingivitis, or gum disease. (Bad teeth and gums also can produce bacteria that your pet will swallow, causing other health concerns.) Or it may be a sign of digestive problems. Here are some ways to get your pet's breath smelling sweeter again.

Try a Little Tartar Control

If you check the gums of a pet with bad breath, you may see tartar -- a hard, yellow-brown or grayish-white substance. If so you can buy a specially made rubber thimble and toothpaste, then brush the animal's teeth according to the package instructions. (You can substitute a washcloth wrapped around your finger for the rubber thimble, but don't substitute human toothpaste for pet toothpaste. Toothpaste for people often contains ingredients that may be harmful to your pet, such as salicylates.)

Be the Captain of Crunch

For tartar control, feed your dog or cat some form of dry pet food, or "crunchies", every day. Or give your dog bones to chew.

Every species has a certain body temperature range that is considered normal. The temperature of a warm-blooded animal such as a cat or dog should remain constant regardless of the animal's surroundings. When such a pet develops a fever, he requires a vet's attention to get things back to normal. The temperature of a cold-blooded animal such as an iguana fluctuates with the temperature of the pet's surroundings, which means that you can often solve the problem simply by turning up the heat.

How to Take Your Shar-Pei's Temperature

When dogs get sick, they can run fevers just like people do. The only way to tell for sure whether your pet has a fever is to take her temperature (you can't tell by feeling her nose or forehead). You can do this with a rectal thermometer made for humans, lubricated lightly. If your pet's temperature is above 101.5?F, she has a fever, and you should call the vet.

Your shar-pei isn't going to Hollywood, so why worry about whether he has perfect teeth? Healthy teeth and gums may be among the most important aspects of an animal's survival. Without them, your pet can't eat properly, groom himself, or protect himself from danger. Lack of regular dental care could lead to gum disease or abscessed teeth, either of which could result in tooth loss and other health problems.
It's easy to take care of your pet's teeth and gums. You just need to make home dental care a part of your pet care routine and be sure that a dental examination and (if necessary) scraping of the teeth are part of your furry friend's yearly checkup with the vet. During a dental exam, the vet will look not only for tartar buildup but also for tiny cavities along the gum line, called neck lesions. Unfortunately, these can't be filled the way human dental cavities can. Instead, the decayed teeth have to be pulled.
Be sure to keep an eye out for indications of possible dental disease: bad breath, excessive drooling, difficulty chewing, loss of appetite, and loose or lost teeth. If any of these problems persists, check with your vet for treatment.

Four out of Five Dentists Recommend . . .

Brush your cat or dog's teeth regularly -- daily if possible, but once a week at least. Brushing with a special pet toothbrush and pet toothpaste gets rid of foreign matter stuck between the teeth and around the gums. It also reduces plaque and tartar buildup and stimulates blood flow in the gums. And it gives you an opportunity to examine your pet's mouth for other problems, such as cuts or tumors. To help yourself remember to brush your pet's teeth, you might want to do the job at the same time every day or every week.

Let Your Finger Do the Brushing

To prepare your pet to accept tooth brushing and to get the animal used to having your hands in and around his mouth, start the dental care by just rubbing your finger back and forth along the outside of his teeth, where tartar builds up. Do this once a day for several days before graduating to toothpaste and a brushing device.

Let Her Get Her Licks In

Pet toothpastes come in a variety of flavors, including poultry, liver, beef, and malt. Some come packaged in a starter kit with a toothbrush shaped for your pet's mouth -- cat or dog. Choose the brush and paste best suited to your pet. Put a dab of paste on the end of your finger and let your pet sniff it and lick it off your finger. Then put another dab on your finger and rub it along the outside of her teeth.

If the animal accepts the finger and toothpaste routine, next time try putting the toothpaste on the brush and actually brushing your pet's teeth, using a back-and-forth motion along the outside of the teeth. You don't need to open the mouth and brush the inside of the teeth because most of the nasty buildup occurs on the outside.

Just Water, Please

Some pets will let you brush with plain water, but they won't accept toothpaste. Don't despair. Skip the paste and use the brush anyway, with just enough water to moisten the brush and your pet's mouth. This isn't as effective as the full-scale routine, but it's much better than not brushing.

Run the Rinse Cycle

If your cat or dog simply won't stand for any kind of brushing, ask your vet to prescribe a dental rinse, which you can squirt over your pet's teeth two or three times a week to help clean them. The rinse isn't as effective as brushing, but it's better than nothing.

Ah, There's the Rub!

If either you or your pet finds the toothbrush awkward, try one of the rubber finger brushes available at pet supply stores. They look like rubber thimbles covered with nubs and are designed to fit over your finger. Just slip one on and rub it back and forth along your pet's teeth and gum line, with or without toothpaste.

Control Tartar with Treats

Help control tartar buildup on your pet's teeth by giving him crunchy tartar control "treats" made especially for this purpose. You'll find them in the pet food section of the supermarket or pet supply store. Look for the words "tartar control" on the label. Don't overdo it. One or two treats a day should suffice.

Her Trouble May Be a Tumor

If your pet's mouth is swollen and smells awful, or if the animal is drooling and appears to have an appetite but can't eat, she may have a tumor inside her mouth. You may want to look inside the mouth and carefully feel around with your finger, but call the vet about the problem even if you don't find anything. The doctor will be able to determine for certain whether there is a growth and what type of treatment is best.

Chew on This

To promote your dog's dental health, buy him one or two different kinds of chew toys. Try any of the nylon chew toys or rubber bones. While your pup plays with these toys, they will massage his gums and control the buildup of plaque and tartar. Experiment to see which types your pooch prefers, then be sure to keep him supplied.

These Rocks Don't Roll

Some dogs habitually chew rocks -- not a good idea because the process grinds down their teeth and sometimes even breaks a tooth. If a tooth becomes so ground down that a nerve is exposed or near the surface, chewing will produce a sharp pain, and your pet will have trouble eating her normal dinner. To avoid this, keep an eye on your pooch while she's outside, and whenever she appears headed for a rocky repast, distract her with some other plaything or activity.
If you think your dog has actually swallowed a rock, call the vet. Sometimes a rock is vomited up or passed with feces, but if it is not, it will block the intestine and have to be removed surgically. If your pet assumes the "prayer position" -- lying on the floor or ground with his paws pointing forward and his rear end raised -- and appears at the same time to be in abdominal pain, get him to the vet immediately. It's likely that his intestine is blocked.

When your shar-pei gets diarrhea, the cause may be anything from simple overeating to poisoning or an intestinal blockage. The tricks are to recognize which is which and to know when to call the vet. As long as the symptoms consist only of loose stools containing no blood and the animal still has an appetite for food and water, the condition is probably mild enough to respond to home treatment. Here are some ways to firm things up.

Try a Boiled Dinner

If your dog or cat develops mild diarrhea, feed the pet a little boiled hamburger or chicken and rice at regular mealtimes for three or four days.

You also can feed your ailing pet strained-meat baby foods from a jar. They're bland and can help return things to normal.

Go Heavy on the Starch

If your dsharpei has mild diarrhea, feed her plain cooked pasta at mealtimes. The starch should thicken things up. If the diarrhea doesn't clear up within three or four days, or if it has gotten worse and she has lost her appetite, call the vet.

Dry skin in animals can be a sign of lack of moisture in the skin, or it can signal an allergy or other illness. In rabbits, the problem may cause ear discomfort; in snakes, it may inhibit shedding. If your furry friend is doing a lot of scratching or rubbing, or if your snake doesn't seem to be shedding on schedule, dry skin may be the culprit. Don't fret; there are several things you can do to relieve the situation. But if your pet has other symptoms besides dry skin, such as severe itching or sores, or if the condition doesn't clear up within a few weeks, call your vet.

Try Regular Brushing

Your pet's dry or flaky skin may be caused by a lack of natural oils. You can stimulate more oil and distribute it more evenly simply by brushing the animal all over every day.

Let Your Pet Feel His Oats

Relieve the itch by giving your pup or kitty a bath with an oatmeal-based shampoo made for pets.

Or use the same kind of oatmeal bath that people use to relieve dry, itchy skin. Try Aveeno, which most doctors recommend for children with chicken pox. It's available over the counter at pharmacies.

Pets can get eye irritations ranging from scratches to conjunctivitis (an inflammation of the membrane inside the eyelid) to allergic reactions. Common clues that your pet is suffering from some type of eye irritation are a discharge or watery eyes, rubbing or blinking the eyes, or an irritation of the eyelid or skin surrounding the eyes. Try these home treatments, and if the condition doesn't clear up promptly, consult your vet.

The Eyes Have It

Dogs, cats, and rabbits can get conjunctivitis, also called pinkeye, which is usually caused by an infection or an allergic reaction. If your pet develops this condition, his eyes will have some gunky discharge, and the skin around the eyelids will be reddish and crusty. To relieve your pal's discomfort, soak a clean washcloth in warm water and wring it out. Then gently wipe away the discharge from both eyes.

If your pet will let you, hold a clean portion of the warm, moist cloth against the closed eye for a few minutes like a compress. Do this as often as your pet seems to need it on the first day, then once or twice a day after that until the condition improves. In the meantime, it's smart to call your vet for advice, in case he recommends further treatment.
If your pet will not let you touch the eye, or if she's holding the eye closed, call the vet immediately.

Some Animals Just Don't Do Well with Change

If you think that your pet's eye problems may be an allergic reaction, you should try to determine what the animal may be allergic to. Could it be a new brand of food or a new bed? If possible, change the conditions -- go back to your old brand of food or try a different bed.

He's Scratched the Surface

Your dog or cat is squinting or pawing at his eye. The eye may be teary, but you don't see any obvious irritant. Your pet could have a scratched cornea. Take the animal to the vet, who will drip a dye stain into the affected eye to highlight any scratch. If she finds one, she will probably prescribe eyedrops or an ointment to treat the condition.

Don't be tempted to medicate your pet without contacting the vet. Medications for eye problems such as conjunctivitis contain steroids that will actually delay the healing of a scratch, so it's important to get the correct diagnosis from your vet.

Fleas are an itchy subject for every pet owner. You're afraid of finding evidence of even one of the loathsome creatures in your home or on your pet. But the only way to keep fleas totally out of the picture is to keep all your pets indoors all the time -- nearly impossible for dogs and not desirable for every cat. Keeping just one pet inside won't solve the problem either, because an outdoor pet is bound to bring a few fleas into the house, where they'll jump to an indoor pet. You need to go on flea patrol, hunting them down and knocking them dead. And you need to do it early in the season -- not, say, in September, when an unchecked flea population may have reached the millions.
Wage the war against fleas on three separate fronts: (1) Shampoo your pet with flea shampoo and spray the animal between shampoos with flea spray; (2) collar your pet with a flea collar; and (3) treat the outdoor environment into which your pet ventures.
There are many flea products available, and they work in different ways. Those that offer immediate relief usually do so through a "quick knockdown" -- in other words, they kill adult fleas on contact or when the fleas bite, but they do not harm larvae or sterilize any remaining adults. Others take longer to relieve symptoms because they work by killing larvae or sterilizing adults, but this also means that they do a more thorough job of getting rid of fleas over the long term.
To check for fleas, run your fingers through your pet's fur, spreading the fur so that you can see down to the skin. There you might see "flea dirt," a dust that is actually flea excrement. Or comb through your pet's fur with a wire brush, looking for fleas and flea dirt. Also look for the black, gritty dust in areas of your house where your pet has been lying down. If you think you have trouble, here's what you can do.

Get in a Lather

Use a flea shampoo to get your pet's fur squeaky clean while simultaneously killing pests. Some shampoos are made just for dogs, others are for dogs and cats, and still others are safe even for kittens. Be sure to consult your pet supply store owner or your vet about which product is right for your pet. The answer will depend on factors such as where you live, how old your pet is, and whether the animal has sensitive skin.

It Could Be Just Her Cup of Tea

For a natural alternative to conventional flea shampoos, try one that contains tea tree oil. The oil, which comes from the Melaleuca alternifolia plant, is soothing to your pet's skin and helps repel fleas. Shampoo your pet at the beginning of the flea season, then just a few times thereafter, if needed.

The Family That Sprays Together . . . Kills the Fleas

For immediate relief, use a flea spray on your pet. It won't solve the problem over the long term because it doesn't kill flea eggs, but it does kill adult fleas on contact and repel others. As with flea shampoos, consult with your vet or pet supply store owner about which product is best for your pet.

Collar the Critters

Another way to combat fleas is to put a flea collar on your pet. These devices are impregnated with chemicals that act in a variety of ways, depending on the individual product. They may kill fleas, repel fleas, or kill flea eggs. Consult with your vet or pet supply store owner about which product is best for your pet.

Let Your Pet Feast on Yeast

To repel fleas, feed your pet a combination of brewer's yeast and garlic once a day during flea season. You can buy this combination in tablet or powder form. Some animals like the taste of the tablets so much that they'll eat them like treats. If this doesn't work, buy the powder and mix it into your pet's meals. In either case, follow dosage instructions on the product label. The mixture will make your pet taste bad to fleas when they bite, and, as an added bonus, it will help condition the skin.

It's a Wash

To reduce the spread of fleas, keep your home clean, paying special attention to the areas inhabited by your pet. If your dog has a bed, wash it regularly. If your cat sleeps on a favorite upholstered chair, vacuum and shampoo it regularly as well. Vacuum and shampoo household carpets and rugs, too, so that fleas won't have a place to thrive.

Leave Leaves around the House

To keep fleas out of your house, buy a bunch of eucalyptus leaves, cut up the bunch, and stick both stems and leaves in open glass jars. Place a jar or two in each room of the house where your pet spends time, especially in rooms with carpets (fleas love to hide in carpeting). You can buy bunches of eucalyptus in the crafts section of a discount store.

Ban Bonzo from the Basement

Fleas love to live in old basements with dirt or cement floors. They'll dig into the dirt or make themselves at home in the cracks of the cement. If your house has a cellar with an old cement floor, vacuum the cracks regularly. If the floor is dirt, try using a flea fogger or household spray at the beginning of the flea season. And make the basement off-limits to your pet.

If You Prefer an Herbal Essence

Perhaps you prefer not to use insecticides, your pet has sensitive skin, or you have small children and you'd like to keep them away from contact with such chemicals. In any of these cases, give your pet a flea collar with active ingredients such as eucalyptus, cedar, lemongrass, rosemary, and marigold. These collars will not exterminate fleas, but they will deter the pests -- without harming other living things.

Shake Off the Visitors

If you visit someone whose pet or home has fleas, toss your clothes in the wash as soon as you return home. Otherwise, you'll bring those unwanted critters into your house -- attached to your pants leg, sneaker, or some other article of clothing.

Call In the Heavy Artillery

If all else fails, call for professional help. Your vet has some special weapons that you can launch against the insect enemy. She may prescribe pills for your dog or offer liquid medication to be mixed with your cat's food. Some vets also offer a powerful medication that is administered through just one drop of liquid on the back of a dog or cat's neck. The medicine is applied once a month or as needed.

They Can't Land -- They Can't Even Live

If your dog has a flea bite allergy, often called flea allergy dermatitis, that causes him to scratch incessantly and perhaps get bumps or hives from flea bites, you may opt for a product developed specifically for animals with sensitive skin. Try applying a flea treatment such as Bio Spot. When fleas try to land on your sensitive pet, they are repelled. In addition, contact with the chemical kills them. Preventing flea bites in this manner helps prevent an allergic skin reaction in your pet. The product consists of one or two tubes of ointment. When dabbed on the animal's skin, it travels like an oil slick over the pet's body.

In most parts of the country, mosquitoes are a fact of life. Although people in the United States rarely have to contend with any of the serious diseases that mosquitoes can carry, our pets are definitely at risk for a deadly, mosquito-borne illness: heartworm disease. Heartworms are tiny parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. When these worms mature inside a dog or cat, they clog the arteries, "choke" the heart, and ultimately kill the pet. Since the disease itself is so devastating, by far the best treatment is prevention.

Prevention Is Good for the Heart

To prevent heartworm problems before they start, ask your vet to treat your healthy pet with heartworm medication, which kills the larvae before they can grow and fill an animal's arteries. Your puppy or kitten can start treatment at an early age -- as young as six to eight weeks -- and can be given either a daily pill or a once-a-month chewable "treat." Heartworm medication is crucial for pets that live in areas where mosquitoes thrive -- particularly in the Northwest and on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. But recently, cases of heartworm disease have begun to show up even in California. Most vets recommend treating your pet no matter where in the country you live.

Testing, One-Two-Three

Before you start your pup on heartworm medication, you'll need to get the animal tested to determine whether she's already carrying heartworms. An animal that already has heartworm disease can't go on the preventive medication until the existing heartworms are treated, because the preventive medication doesn't cure the full-blown disease. (So far, although there is a test for heartworm in cats, it isn't considered 100 percent reliable. Unless a kitten is showing symptoms of heartworms, it's best to go ahead and put your kitty on a preventive program.)

Wait, Don't Switch

If you have both a cat and a dog, make sure you don't switch their heartworm medications. The medicines come in different doses for different types of animals.

When Mosquitoes Leave, So Do Heartworms

If you live in the Northeast or another region that gets a definite frost (effectively ending the mosquito season), you can opt to discontinue treatment for the winter. But before you resume treatment in the spring, your pet will have to be retested. If you live in a warmer region such as the Southeast or an area that's continuously damp such as the Northwest, it's important to continue treatment year-round because mosquitoes thrive in those regions all year and thus may infect your pet with heartworm larvae at any time.

Hyperthermia (Overheating)

When the weather heats up, so do your pets. They can get overheated and may have a tough time releasing enough heat to cool themselves down. They have very few sweat glands, so instead they pant to release excess heat. Severe overheating, or hyperthermia, means that the body's temperature has risen above acceptable levels, which can cause brain damage and even death.
Certain animals are more prone to overheating than others. Black or furry dogs, as well as black or longhaired cats, build up plenty of body heat. And bulldogs and other breeds with "pushed-in" faces sometimes pant so hard that they can't breathe well.
Signs of severe overheating are weakness, unresponsiveness, disorientation, and rapid panting. If your pet shows any combination of these symptoms or is unconscious, you need to call the vet. But there are plenty of things you can do to help your pet cool down in less severe instances, and there are even actions you can take to lessen the effects of severe overheating before your pet gets to the animal hospital.

A Cold Shower Will Help

If your shar-pei is showing signs of severe overheating but is still conscious, hose the animal off with cold water, then provide water to drink. Putting an ice pack on your pet's head also will help. As soon as you finish supplying this first aid, call the vet. Taking these steps can stop your pet's temperature from rising and could help prevent brain damage or even death.

If you don't want to turn a hose on your shar-pei, immerse him in a cold bath for several seconds (or as long as he'll stand for it). Or dunk him in a lake, pool, or brook, being careful to keep his head above water. Then give him water to drink and call the vet.

If He's Out Cold

If your shar-pei is unconscious, use a rectal thermometer to take his temperature and determine whether the unconsciousness is probably due to hyperthermia. If your pet's temperature is 105F or higher, immerse him in a cool bath, keeping his head above water. Remove the animal after just one minute, then take him immediately to the nearest emergency animal hospital. Do not wrap the animal in a towel; that will only keep the heat in.

If your shar-pei is unconscious and hyperthermic but too heavy for you to lift into a tub, hose him off for several seconds before taking him to the animal hospital. If necessary, get help carrying him to the car.

Not Everyone Likes It Hot

If your dog or cat is panting rapidly, he's too hot. When animals pant too hard, they create more body heat and become dehydrated from salivating. Move your distressed pet to a cool, quiet spot -- under a shady tree or in a room with a fan or air conditioner turned on. Provide plenty of water for your pet to drink and try to keep the atmosphere calm.

Make Theirs on the Rocks

To help your shar-pei pup cool down, give him a few ice cubes to chew on. The crunchy cubes are fun to eat and provide essential fluids your pet needs to get the cooling process going.

They may have fur, but those four-legged pets of ours still get cold when the temperature drops. Add snow, sleet, wind, and rain, and our friends with the natural fur coats are bound to be shivering just like the rest of us. Prolonged exposure to a chill will lead to hypothermia -- a dangerous drop in core body temperature -- in pets just as it will in humans. You need to know what signs to watch for and how to "winterize" your pet.
Signs of hypothermia include prolonged and violent shivering, which speeds up an animal's metabolism and thus serves as a short-term way for the body to keep warm. But it takes energy to shiver, and if an animal is cold for too long, that energy will run out, and the body temperature will start to drop. Then signs of more advanced hypothermia -- weakness, disorientation, lethargy -- will start to show. Left untreated, these conditions will eventually lead to unconsciousness and even death.
It's true that some animals are built to withstand frosty temps. Huskies, malamutes, and Samoyeds, for example, have dense fur coats that make them well suited for winter weather. Even Labs and golden retrievers do pretty well. But shorthaired or small dogs such as Jack Russells just aren't up to the task. Neither are injured or sick cats or other small animals such as rabbits. Older pets have a tough time with the cold, too, especially those with arthritis, kidney ailments, or respiratory problems. Here's what you can do to help them cope.

These Aren't Dog Days

Your shar-pei needs to spend some time outdoors, but it's cold out there. Fine. Just keep the outside jaunt short, depending on how cold it is and your pet's individual condition. If Rover is big and strong, with a thick winter coat, let him enjoy his 20-minute walk in 25?F weather (even if you have to bundle up). If Fluffy is 13 years old and weighs about 5 pounds, follow her around the yard for 5 to 10 minutes, then shoo her back inside. If it's 40?F and blowing rain, put a doggy coat on your Jack Russell before you both venture out.

Shiver Me Timbers

If your shar-pei shows signs of hypothermia, bring him indoors immediately. Wrap him in blankets, then crank up the heat a few degrees or light a fire in the woodstove. Stay with your pet until the signs begin to disappear: He stops shivering, he seems more alert and responsive, and his temperature reaches 100°F. When the animal is comfortable, give him some food and water; fuel helps generate warmth and strength. If your pet's condition does not improve, or if he loses consciousness, call the vet immediately.

If Your Pet's All Wet

Animals can easily end up with hypothermia if they get wet on a chilly day and don't have a chance to dry off. For instance, if your cat spends a night outside in a cold rain or your dog crashes through the ice on a pond or stream, hypothermia is an all-too-likely result. So if your pet gets wet and chilled, be sure to get him indoors to a warm room as quickly as possible. Throw a few beach towels or bath towels in the dryer for several minutes, then wrap them around your animal while they're still warm. Be especially careful to wrap the warmth around your pet's chest and abdomen and where the legs connect to the body. Keep rotating towels between dryer and pet until the animal's condition improves. And if it doesn't improve, call the vet.

Keep Her Warm and Cozy

If you don't have a dryer, wrap your pet in one or two large towels anyway and drape one or two more over a radiator, near a lit woodstove or fireplace, or in front of any other available heat source. Then rotate the towels between heat source and pet. Stay with your pet until she's warm and dry, then give her some food and water. If the animal's condition does not improve, or if she loses consciousness, don't hesitate to call the vet immediately.

Maybe It's Strictly a Summer Home

Even if your dog spends hours in the backyard pen during the summer, don't assume that he'll be okay there for the same amount of time in winter. If you want to use the pen, make sure your dog can handle the cold. Is he small? Does he have short hair? Is he old, or has he been sick? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, leave the pen for summertime fun.

Make the Pen a Pal

If your pooch is young and strong, has a good coat, and seems to enjoy being outdoors in winter, go ahead and use the pen. But make sure that the enclosure has an area that is sheltered from the wind. If the pen is not attached to an outside wall of the house or garage (which provides your pet some shelter), attach a blanket or rug to one side of the fence. Also provide some type of overhead covering under which your dog can huddle. Put a bowl of warm water in the sheltered area so that she can drink. Even provide her with an old wool blanket or two or a scattered bale of straw in which she can "nest." Check on her at least several times a day and replace the drinking water if it freezes over. Above all, bring your dog inside if she shows signs of being cold.

Buy a New Winter Coat

If your shorthaired or small dog starts shivering the minute he pokes his nose outside, buy him a coat. There are a variety of dog coats in many sizes, styles, and colors available.

Mosquitoes, flies, bees, and other bugs just love to chomp on animal flesh. To them, each pet is juicier than the last. When your pal comes home whimpering or meowing after being bitten, you need to figure out what type of insect has attacked your pet. Then you can help relieve the animal's discomfort.

Give Mosquito Bites the Cold Shoulder

The most dangerous consequence of a mosquito bite to your dog or cat is heartworm disease. But your kitty -- and, less often, your pooch -- also may develop a common allergic reaction to a mosquito bite. Swelling, redness, and a mild rash on or around the eyelids could very well mean that Fluffy has been bitten by a mosquito. Since it's tricky to try to apply soothing creams or lotions to the eye area, apply a cold compress instead. Dampen a clean cloth with cold water or wrap a couple of ice cubes in a clean cloth, then hold the compress against the injured eyelid for a few moments or as long as your pet will allow it. The cold should reduce both the swelling and the pain.

Make a Stinging Comment

If your dog has been stung by a bee, her face may swell and she may break out in hives. Both are allergic reactions. The first time you see such symptoms, it is wise to call the vet. He may suggest giving the animal Benadryl -- the over-the-counter antihistamine commonly given to people -- and tell you the correct dosage for your pet.

It's Okay to Pour Salt in the Wound

If the bee sting is in your dog's foot, you can try soaking the foot in Epsom salts and water (in the proportions given on the package) for 15 to 20 minutes to relieve pain and swelling. If you are outdoors and you have nothing else available, a handful of cool mud packed on the sting can reduce pain and swelling. Of course, when you get your pet home, wash the mud off.

Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me

Deerflies typically attack in packs, swarming around the face and ears of your pet while he's walking in the woods. He may come home with bits of dried blood on those areas, from bites. You can do two things to prevent this. First, rub a gel-type insect repellent on the tips of the dog's ears before heading out. Second, save your jaunts in the woods for the evening, when deerflies are not as prevalent as they are during the day. Evening is generally when mosquitoes appear, however, so you may have to choose between the lesser of two evils -- or avoid walking in the woods until cold weather arrives.

A lot of itching in animals is due to allergies, ear mites, or fleas, and each of those problems has its own treatments. But itching has other sources as well, and dogs and cats aren't the only pets that suffer. Rabbits, birds, and fish get itches occasionally, too.

Try a Cereal Approach

Some rashes and sores seem to have no obvious source. What do you do if your pet breaks out in itchy sores or a rash and you've ruled out fleas, mites, and allergies? Try bathing the animal with an oatmeal- or aloe-based shampoo (available at pet supply stores).

Is Sparky Riding a Scooter?

If you see your dog "scooting" along on her rear end or incessantly rubbing that area to scratch an itch, she may have an impacted anal gland, worms, or maggots. All three sound pretty hideous, but they can be treated. If your pet spends time in an outdoor pen, clean it thoroughly. The animal may have sat in feces, allowing maggots to develop and hatch. In any case, call your vet, who will want to see the dog to determine the exact cause of the problem and treat it.

From time to time, your shar-pei may have to take pills, perhaps as part of a flea treatment or as a painkiller for arthritis. You can't just hand a pill to your shar-pei with a glass of water and expect the animal to swallow it. Some pets are all too adept at identifying even those pills that you've taken great pains to conceal in a bit of food -- and they have no compunction about spitting them out. Always watch carefully to be sure your shar-pei actually swallows any pills you give him, and keep trying different approaches until the medicine really does go down. Here are some possibilities.

Play Hide-and-Seek

Mix a pill in with your pet's moist food at mealtime. If the pill is large enough, you may be able to disguise it by breaking it up or crushing it before adding it to the food. Be sure to check with your vet first, however, as some medications are coated and should not be crushed.

Alternatively, mix the pill in with a little moist pet food and hold the mixture in the palm of your hand for your pet to eat like a treat. Then follow up with something else to eat, such as a crunchy snack or, if it's mealtime, the animal's usual meal.

Give Her a Massage

One way to get a reluctant pet to take medicine is to open the animal's jaws wide and pop the pill in her mouth. Place it on top of her tongue, as far back as you can without causing her discomfort. Then hold her jaws closed and massage her throat, helping her to swallow. Don't release her jaws until she swallows. Once she does, let go of her jaws and watch to make sure she doesn't spit out the pill. If she does, try this method again.

Blow in His Face, and He'll Follow You Anywhere

An alternative method of pill popping begins the same way. Open your pet's jaws wide and insert the pill as far back in his mouth, on top of his tongue, as you can without causing him discomfort. Then hold his jaws closed and blow a quick puff of air in his face. When he blinks, he'll also swallow the pill. Let go of your pet's jaws and watch to make sure he doesn't spit out the pill. If he does, try again.

If at First You Don't Succeed . . .

If you've tried all these methods and just can't convince your pal to swallow her pills, ask the vet if the medication can be given in some other form, such as a chewable treat or a liquid that can be mixed in with your pet's food. Many medications do come in more than one form.

Try This Grape Idea

Many dogs like to eat seedless grapes for snacks. Insert your dog's pill into the center of a grape and feed it to him as a treat. Then follow with several untreated grapes to complete his snack.

From time to time, pets eat things they shouldn't. The average household is filled with toxic temptations, from houseplants to pesticides, cleaners to human medications. Then there's the outside world, where the sweet scent of antifreeze or the fun of rock chewing beckons. Sometimes pet owners even feed their pets things that seem like treats -- chocolate, for instance -- but turn out to be toxic.
The obvious first line of defense is to be on the alert for things that shouldn't pass through your pet's lips or beak, whether those substances are the contents of the medicine cabinet or the plants in the window box. But you can't monitor your pet's every taste, so it's important to recognize the symptoms that mean a pet may have tried something toxic. In dogs and cats, watch for drooling, glazed eyes, vomiting, apparent stomach cramps, lethargy, and seizures. Birds that have been poisoned typically have respiratory trouble and may even fall off perches.
If you suspect that your pet has been poisoned, call your vet, the nearest animal emergency clinic, or even your state poison control center. Look for the poison control center phone number on the same page as the other emergency numbers in your phone book and post it near your phone.

Close the Door on Trash

If your shar-pei roams freely around the house, make sure he can't get into the kitchen trash, where he's bound to eat something he shouldn't. Keep your trash in a can with a secure lid or in a locked cabinet under the sink. Empty it regularly so that your shar-pei isn't attracted by tempting odors.

Some Things Should Stay in the Closet

Household cleaners, as well as medicines intended for people, can wreak havoc on an animal's system. Keep all such products out of sight and out of reach.

Find a Better Mousetrap

If you have cats and dogs that roam your house freely, don't use ant or rodent poison to get rid of pests. The pesticides in both are highly toxic to pets that accidentally ingest them. For example, warafin, one of the ingredients commonly found in mouse and rat poisons, prevents an animal's blood from clotting and may cause a pet to cough up blood or pass blood in the urine. Other rodent poisons cause kidney damage in pets. Find another way to get rid of those pests.

If your pet does blunder into ant or rat poison, try to locate the container and save it for the vet. Information about the ingredients will be helpful in treating your pet.

It happens every year: Those tricky ticks appear in early spring, hang around until midsummer, then sometimes return in early fall and linger until cold weather sets in. If you live in an area with a regular rainy season, expect to find these pests on your shar-pei during that time as well.
These days, ticks are showing up in growing numbers and in a widening geographic area. They love to feast on the blood of pets -- from cats and dogs to snakes -- and in so doing can spread illnesses such as Lyme disease and, less frequently, Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In addition, they may cause temporary paralysis in an animal while they are attached.
Although Lyme disease has usually been associated with the tiny deer tick, recent evidence shows that the larger, common tick may carry the disease as well. It makes sense to treat all these pests as enemies. (Even those that don't carry disease are pretty disgusting.) Here are some ways to make those ticks take a tumble.

Check Mate

During tick season, check your shar-pei every day for ticks. If your pal is a reptile, examine his skin, especially in areas with folds. If your friend is furry, run your fingers through her coat, checking for any little bumps. If she has long hair, comb it; your comb may catch a creature or two. Examine all around her ears -- inside and underneath. Check the area where her front legs join her body, as well as skin folds, under her back legs, and anywhere else a tick might be able to burrow.

Watch for Hitchhikers

During the season, perform a tick inspection anytime your pet returns from being outdoors. Experts once advised people to cut their lawns so that ticks couldn't hide in tall grass, but even manicured estates aren't safe anymore. Ticks seem to be everywhere. So if your shar-pei has been outside, assume that the animal may have given a tick a ride home.

Stay Out of Dangerous Neighborhoods

Ticks especially like wet areas such as marshes, swamps, and reservoirs, so it's smart to avoid those spots -- or at least to check especially carefully for the pests after returning from a jaunt to such a location.

Don't Let Them Move In

Although ticks don't breed in your home the way fleas do, they enter your house clinging to pets, clothes, patio furniture -- anything you bring in from outdoors. You need to check your home regularly for ticks. Pay special attention to the laundry hamper, carpets, upholstered furniture, even bedding. And, of course, check the areas that your pet frequents.

Tick Them Off

To remove a tick from your shar-pei, dab a little rubbing alcohol on the tick with a cotton ball or swab. Wait two to three minutes. Then, with tweezers or a tissue, grasp the tick as close to the skin as you can without pinching your shar-pei and gently pull the tick out. Don't flush the tick down the toilet. It won't necessarily drown and may even climb back out. Instead, drop the pest in a glass jar with a tablespoon or so of rubbing alcohol, then close the jar tight. That will kill the tick.

A Little Dab'll Do Ya!

Another way to remove a tick from your shar-pei -- particularly if the pest has not yet locked on too securely -- is to rub petroleum jelly on and around the tick, including the head. This suffocates the pest. Or use dishwashing liquid, which has the same effect. Wait a few minutes, then pull the tick out with tweezers or a tissue. Don't worry about separating the tick's head from its body, leaving the head embedded in your pet's skin. Contrary to popular belief, this rarely happens.

Get Yourself Some Extra Pull

If you just can't bear to get near a tick, don't try to detach it from your pet by burning it with a lit match or lighter! You'll only succeed in burning your pet and probably yourself as well. Instead, buy a tick remover at a pet supply store and keep it on hand. Tick removers come in several versions. One type, made of metal, is about the length of a nail clipper and has a slit in the end designed to grasp the tick while you pull. It's a good, safe tool to have on hand.

You always thought your pet had sharp eyes, but now she bumps into furniture. She scrambles right past the balls you toss. She tilts her head when you enter the room. She tends to settle into corners, where she feels safe. And when you look closely at her eyes, her pupils are huge.
These are all signs of vision loss, which can occur for a number of reasons. If the loss is sudden, your pet may have a detached retina, a condition in which something triggers swelling that actually causes the retina to separate from the back of the eyeball. Triggers include cancer, Lyme disease, fungal disease, autoimmune response, kidney disease, even high blood pressure. Or your pet may have lost her sight suddenly due to a blow to the head -- say, from a car. More gradual vision loss may be caused by cataracts or glaucoma. Signs of this include eyes that are bulging and sore to the touch. (If you touch your cat's closed eyelid, she reacts as if in pain.)
Even if there is no cure for your pet's condition, be assured that blind animals adapt relatively well to their situations. But before you start thinking about the worst-case scenario, call your vet for an accurate diagnosis and recommendations for treatment. And consider the following possibilities as well.

This Is No Time to Remodel

A pet with deteriorating eyesight needs to memorize the lay of the land. Try to leave the furniture in its familiar layout, at least in the rooms where your pet spends most of his time. If you must move things, be sure to show your pet around, walking through each room with him until he's comfortable with the new floor plan.

Follow the Scent

To help your pet find her way around the house, put a dab of perfume on the corner of the couch or any other large or sharp piece of furniture. Use good perfume -- the cheap stuff will damage your furniture -- and test it first in an inconspicuous spot to be sure it won't do any harm. Don't overdo it; if the whole room smells like perfume, you'll defeat your purpose.

Just Say the Word

To help your pet navigate through the house safely, teach him a few words associated with location or danger. When he's near the stairs, say "Stairs." When he's near the fireplace, say "Fire." Reinforce each word by removing him from a dangerous spot or helping him negotiate a difficult obstacle.

Give Her Aid and Comfort

The loss of sight is frightening, so remember to comfort and reassure your pet whenever possible. Talk to her when you enter or leave a room so that she knows where you are. Reassure her as you carry her to the car. Pet her and comfort her if something startles her during a walk outside. She'll adapt much more easily to vision loss -- whether it's short- or long-term -- with your coaching.

Rover stuck his nose in the garbage and sucked down all the nasty treats he could find. Tabby dropped a dead mouse on your doorstep. Now both are sick from -- if not sorry for -- their escapades. Vomiting is a natural reaction to something that shouldn't be in your pet's system. The animal may vomit after swallowing garbage, table scraps, or prey -- or a hairball, rock, sock, or string. Or the problem could be a symptom of poisoning, parasites, food allergies, kidney or thyroid malfunction, or a disease such as distemper, parvovirus, diabetes, or cancer.
If your pet has vomited more than two or three times in 24 hours, appears to have lost weight, or is lethargic or dehydrated, call the vet. Report any details that may be helpful. Has the animal's diet or appetite changed? Could he have swallowed a foreign object or been poisoned? Does he have a fever? Does his breath have a urine-like smell, which could indicate kidney failure or diabetes? Any information you can give the vet will help in your pet's diagnosis and treatment.
If your pet vomits no more than three times in a 24-hour period, shows no other signs of illness, or has a condition that the vet has already identified and given you the green light to treat, it's safe to use appropriate home remedies to help your pet feel in the pink again.

Fast after Food

If your pet has vomited a couple of times but still appears alert, without other symptoms of illness, remove food and water for 24 hours. Withholding nourishment may seem cruel, but it's not. It gives your pet's tummy a chance to rest and return to normal. Giving your pet water at this time could make him queasy again, and he might vomit even more fluid, which could lead to dehydration.

Ice Is Nice

After 12 hours of fasting, if your pet seems quiet and comfortable and is not vomiting, offer her an ice cube to lick or crunch on. This will help reintroduce fluids to her body without putting too much in her stomach.

Take a Sip

If your pet is still not vomiting after 24 hours without food, offer him a small amount of water. If he drinks it without vomiting, offer him another small drink an hour or so later. Although he does need fluids, too much water may make him queasy, starting the vomiting process all over again.

Strike Up the Bland

If your kitty or pup stops vomiting during the 24-hour fast, it's okay to start feeding her again. But don't return immediately to her normal diet. Instead, introduce bland foods. Mix together equal parts cooked white rice and cottage cheese, feeding her about one-quarter to one-half cup at regular mealtimes for two or three days. Then start working her normal food back into the routine, continuing the rice-cheese mixture for most meals but replacing one rice-cheese meal with a small helping of the animal's usual food. Continue this pattern for three days. If she's still holding down her food after that, return to her regular diet.

If the Fast Fails

If your pet begins vomiting again once you resume feedings or didn't stop after the 24-hour fast, call the vet.

Give Him a Pinch

Vomiting can leave an animal dehydrated, especially if he is very old, very young, or very small. Check by pinching your pet's skin; if it doesn't snap back into place, your pal is probably dehydrated. Offering him water to drink isn't enough to solve the problem. Call the vet, who will want to rehydrate your animal with intravenous fluids.

Please Keep Off the Grass

Some pets develop a habit of eating grass, then vomiting it. This isn't an indication of medical problems, but it isn't pleasant for either you or your pet. So if your pet has a taste for the green stuff, try to discourage the habit. When you walk your dog, keep moving. Toss your kitty a little ball, a wadded-up piece of aluminum foil, or a toy mouse to play with. Throw your pup a Frisbee. In other words, distract your pal any way you can while he's outdoors.

Serve Him the Early Bird Special

If your pet vomits routinely overnight, she may have acid reflux -- a condition in which digestive juices back up out of the stomach and into the esophagus. Nothing is medically wrong with her, but the results are messy, inconvenient, and upsetting to both of you. Try feeding her dinner an hour or so earlier in the evening than you usually do -- say, at 5:00 p.m. instead of at 6:00. That way, she'll be able to rid her system of waste before she goes to sleep. And if your pet still throws up, at least you'll be prepared to clean up before you both retire for the night.

Three Meals Are Better Than Two

If the vet diagnoses your pet with acid reflux, try feeding her three small meals a day instead of two larger ones. If she has less food in her stomach at any given time, she may be less apt to vomit it. Don't change the overall amount of food you give her; just split it into three portions instead of two.

Will He Swallow This?

Dogs with acid reflux sometimes benefit from a preventive such as Tagamet caplets, an over-the-counter medication available at pharmacies. Ask your vet whether this type of medication might help your pet and, if so, how much to give the animal.

The media constantly tell us that we're a nation of overweight people. But what about our pets? Do they have the same tendency to gain weight, with the same consequences? The answer is yes -- pets often consume more calories than their bodies need. Obesity can aggravate respiratory problems, diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease. Just a pound or two may make a difference in an animal's health, so it's important to watch your pet's diet, exercise routine, and weight.
An average-size cat should weigh between 8 and 10 pounds; so should an average-size rabbit. Dogs' weights vary more because of the great variation in breed sizes. A small dog, such as a Jack Russell terrier, may weigh the same as a cat; a larger breed, such as a golden or Labrador retriever, may weigh 60 pounds. Irish wolfhounds and Newfoundlands weigh even more. Ask your vet or breeder what your pet's optimum weight is.

Try This Rib Joint

The easiest way to tell whether your pet is overweight is by feeling for his ribs. Place the palm of your hand on the side of his rib cage and press gently. If you feel his ribs with this gentle pressure, he probably weighs the right amount. If you have to push harder to feel the ribs, he's overweight.

Help Lassie to Lighten Up

If you're concerned about your pet's weight, ask the animal's doctor if she recommends one of the prescription weight-reduction diets that are available only through vets. Be forewarned, however, that these are not intended to be used for more than a year.

Give Her a Senior Discount

Senior diets help dogs and cats over six years of age maintain their optimum weights. Supermarkets and pet supply stores carry these foods, which are easily identified by their labels. Check with your vet before switching your pet to a senior diet.

The Four-Step Diet Plan

Anytime you introduce your pet to a new diet, do so gradually. On the first day, mix one part new food with three parts old food at each meal. Keep this up for a few days, then start mixing equal amounts of new and old food at each meal. Next, move to three parts new food and one part old. Finally, after a few days or a week, start serving just the new food.
Save the "People Food" for the People
Table scraps -- those juicy morsels of meat, butter, and bacon grease -- are notorious pound packers for pets. Seal food scraps tight or stash them where your animal can't reach them -- for instance, in a covered trash can in the garage.

Nix the Snacks

If you're in the habit of giving your pet snacks during the day, cut back. Either give her a smaller portion each time or cut down on the number of times you offer a snack each day. Your pet's regular meals should be designed to give her all the calories she needs, making snacks superfluous.

Check with the Neighbors

If you've increased your pet's exercise and cut down on snacks but your pal still isn't losing weight (and the vet has given him an otherwise clean bill of health), check with your neighbors. Is anyone slipping your pet treats? Is your kitty trotting next door for a bowl of milk? Are the neighborhood kids tossing table scraps to your pup while he's in his outdoor pen? If so, explain that although you appreciate the intended kindness, your pet is on a diet.

This Carrot Is a Gem

Many dogs actually like the taste and crunch of raw vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and green beans. Toss your pet a few of these each day instead of higher-calorie snacks. If these treats seem to cause indigestion, with excessive gas or diarrhea, back off and try an alternative.

An Apple a Day Keeps the Pounds Away

Apples and oranges are low-fat snacks that your pup can eat, but they may loosen the stool. If your pet develops a chronic loose stool or even diarrhea from these fruits, switch to something else.

Zero Temperature, Zero Calories

If your pooch has trouble digesting raw vegetables or fruits, or if the weather is hot, give her a couple of ice cubes to crunch on. She'll have the fun of eating a treat without gaining an ounce.

Try the Grape Escape

Many dogs love the taste of seedless grapes, so give your pup two or three of these instead of a higher-calorie snack.

Play a Game of Squash

Diets are rough on everyone, including pets. If your pup doesn't get enough to eat, he'll whine and follow you everywhere. Satisfy his hunger by replacing half of his canned food ration at each meal with an equal amount of canned pumpkin or squash. His tummy will feel full, but he'll be consuming far fewer calories.

Pick up the Pace

Both you and your dog need exercise to maintain your optimum weights and health. Take a brisk walk together twice a day, keeping up the pace for 15 to 20 minutes each time. If you and your pet haven't been walking regularly, or if your dog has arthritis or other health problems, start with, say, 10 minutes of slow walking at a time. When your pet seems more fit and energetic, increase the workout.

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms wreak havoc on your pet's health. They can cause weight loss, weakness, dehydration, even anemia in pets, and some types can be transmitted to humans. You can bet that your pet's intestine or stomach will contain at least one or two of these wiggly little creatures at some time in his life, so it's a good idea to brush up on your worm wisdom.
Most kittens and puppies have some form of worm infestation -- either because they contracted the problem while in the womb or because they ingested worm larvae from their mother's milk while nursing. For that reason, it's important to have your new kitten or pup tested for worms at his first checkup with the vet. If you are adopting an animal from a professional breeder, ask whether your new pet has already been wormed.
Worms are fairly easy to treat, usually with a prescription for several days' worth of oral medication and a follow-up visit to the vet three to four weeks later. Note, however, that although cats and dogs often receive the same type of medication for worm treatment, the dosages differ. If you own both types of animals, don't give Fido's medication to Fluffy or vice versa. Doing so could be harmful to your pets.

Tape This Segment

If you see your kitty or pup scooting along the ground on her fanny, or if she suddenly seems obsessed with licking her anal area, check her for tapeworms. Tapeworm segments, found on the skin and in the hair around the anal area, look like bits of rice. You also may find segments in her stool. Take her to the vet, who will prescribe medication.
Encourage Playing, Not Preying.
If your cat or dog is an avid hunter, check the animal regularly for tapeworms. Rodents, in particular, tend to carry tapeworms that are transmitted easily to your pet when he goes hunting. Although you can't completely prevent your pet from doing what comes naturally, you can discourage the behavior. Keep your dog on a leash when he's outside or minimize the amount of time your cat spends roaming free. Make sure your pet has plenty of food he likes at home and plenty of toys to play with.

Beat the Fleas

If your pet has a tapeworm problem, be sure you are doing all you can to battle fleas as well. The tapeworm segments released by your pet are filled with eggs, which in turn are eaten by flea larvae. When the infected flea larvae become adults, they will reinfect your pet with tapeworms.

Hop Off the Merry-Go-Round

If you see spaghetti-like strands in your pet's droppings or vomit, she probably has roundworms. If she's had them for a while, she also may lose weight and appear weak. Have your pet treated by the vet as soon as possible -- for the animal's benefit and your own. Roundworms can be transmitted to humans, causing a disease called visceral larva migrans, in which the worms infect different parts of the body, such as the inside of the eye. Prompt attention from the vet can stop the problem before it progresses.

Be the Dean of Clean

To prevent any future infestation of roundworms in your pet, clean up carefully after your animal. Keep the dog's outdoor play area or the cat's litter box pristine at all times.

He's Captain Hook

If your kitty or pup has diarrhea -- possibly with blood in it or very dark in color -- have the vet check a sample for hookworms. You won't see the actual worms in your pet's stool because they literally hook themselves to your pet's intestinal walls. But the vet will be able to spot the eggs through a microscope. He'll prescribe medication and most likely recommend a follow-up check in two to four weeks.

As with roundworms, prevent future infestations by keeping your pet's litter box or outdoor play area as clean as possible.

Be Heartless

If your dog or cat seems to have ongoing worm problems, ask your vet about heartworm medication that also combats other types of worms. For instance, Heartgard for Cats contains ivermectin to control heartworms as well as other medication to remove and control hookworms. No preventive will eradicate all types of worms, but since you need to be protecting your pet from heartworms on an ongoing basis, you may be able to solve a couple of problems at once.

Crack the Whip

Dogs are much more likely than cats to contract whipworms, but it is possible for your kitty to have them as well. The main symptom is a bloody stool. Try to collect a sample and take it to the vet for testing. (You won't actually see the worms, but your vet will be able to detect the eggs with a microscope.) The doctor will prescribe medication for about a week and recommend a follow-up check in three to four weeks.