In This Chapter
- Supporting shelters and rescues with your time, knowledge, and personal resources
- Rescuing again — one saved animal is good, but two or more saved animals are great
Showing posts with label Adopting A Pet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adopting A Pet. Show all posts
Ten Ways to Support Your Local Shelter or Rescue Group
Ten Favors You Can Do for Your Adopted Pet
In This Chapter
- Providing your pet with a permanent home and a good diet
- Attending to your pet’s needs for shelter, exercise, and attention
- Establishing your pet’s physical and mental health in your home
Ten Great Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Adopted Pet
In This Chapter
- Benefiting from inexpensive spaying or neutering surgery for an adopted pet
- Maintaining health, good behavior by spaying or neutering your adopted pet
- Controlling the pet population through spaying or neutering
Snake Charming and Herp Handling: How to Train Your Exotic Pet
In This Chapter
- Training and taming your exotic pet
- Picking up reptiles, amphibians, tarantulas, and other exotics in the safest way
- Knowing what to do if a herp bites
Exotic Care and Feeding
In This Chapter
- Identifying the health problems exotic pets may experience
- Making sure your exotic pet stays healthy
- Taking care of and feeding the most common reptiles, amphibians, and other exotics
Preparing for Your Exotic Pet
In This Chapter
- Preparing your home for your new pet
- Figuring out what kind of home and environment your new pet needs
- Helping your new herp adjust to his new home, family, and life
Choosing a Creepy Crawler
In This Chapter
- Deciding whether you’re really suited for an exotic pet
- Choosing the right exotic pet
- Finding exotic pets in need of new homes
Training Your Bird
In This Chapter
- Distinguishing between normal bird behaviors and real behavioral problems
- Calming, quieting, and taming your bird
- Getting to the root of feather plucking, picking, chewing, and self-mutilation
- Socializing and training your bird
- Bonding with your bird, even through avian adolescence
Caring for Your Adopted Bird
In This Chapter
- Finding a good bird vet and scheduling regular well-bird checkups
- Exploring two important and easy ways to keep your bird healthy
- Recognizing symptoms of common health issues adopted birds can experience
- Improving your bird’s health and behavior through proper feeding and grooming
Creating a Bird-Friendly Home
In This Chapter
- Making your home safe for a new bird
- Buying and building the supplies you need
- Introducing your bird to his new home and family, including kids and pets
- Recognizing adjustment and potential health problems
From Macaws to Budgies: Choosing Your Feathered Friend
In This Chapter
- Understanding the special needs of pet birds and the extraspecial needs of adopted birds
- Deciding whether you can accept the noise, the mess, and the high care needs of birds
- Meeting the different types of birds and what they’re like
- Finding bird rescue groups and shelters with birds that need homes
Critter Behavior and Training
In This Chapter
- Understanding why adopted small animals act the way they do
- Correcting and managing behaviors and recognizing inherent small-animal qualities
- Dealing with physical and behavioral problems requiring training or management
- Training your critter to use the litter box, to be held, and to come
- Figuring out what those funny critter noises and movements probably mean
Taking Charge of Your Critter’s Care
In This Chapter
- Understanding your critter’s health-care needs
- Feeding your critter
- Discovering how to groom your critter
Getting Ready for Your Critter
In This Chapter
- Critter-proofing your home
- Buying the supplies you need
- Introducing your critter to his new home
Choosing Your Critter
In This Chapter
- Determining whether an adopted small animal is the best pet for you
- Choosing the perfect critter to adopt
- Finding a critter through a shelter or small-animal-specific rescue group
You Really Can Train a Cat
In This Chapter
- Discovering the secrets of successful litter-box training
- Dealing with your cat’s hunting instincts: scratching, climbing, attacking, hiding, running wild, and talking too much
- Helping your next cat coexist with resident pets
- Finding a feline behavioral consultant
- Teaching your cat useful basic obedience cues
Kitty Care
In This Chapter
- Deciding what, when, and how to feed your cat
- Choosing a vet and preparing for your first and subsequent visits to the veterinarian
- Protecting your cat against diseases and pests with vaccinations and pest-control products
- Grooming your cat for spectacular beauty and good health
Welcoming Home Your Adopted Cat
In This Chapter
- Cat-proofing your home
- Shopping for everything your new cat needs, from food to litter box to cat teasers and more
- Opening your home to your new cat the stress-free way
- Acquainting your cat with family members, including kids
- Introducing your new cat to other pets without causing a cat fight
Finding the Purrrfect Feline for You
In This Chapter
- Deciding on a kitten or an adult cat
- Understanding the difference between feral and stray cats, and whether they make good pets
- Recognizing the signs of good cat health
- Analyzing your potential pet cat’s temperament and personality
- Unraveling the mystery of mixed-breed kitties
- Getting clues about your cat’s future behavior based on breed type
Doggy Boot Camp: Basic Training and Behavior Management
In This Chapter
- Housetraining your dog with methods that really work
- Getting acquainted with some basic training cues and socialization strategies
- Finding a good obedience class and instructor
- Foiling escapees, barkers, jumpers, chewers, nippers, beggars, and diggers
- Dealing with separation anxiety and aggressive behavior
- Finding and using an animal behaviorist to help behavior problems
Caring for Your Adopted Dog
In This Chapter
- Discovering your adopted dog’s unique nutritional problems and requirements
- Choosing the best dog food
- Finding and visiting a great veterinarian
- Spaying or neutering and vaccinating your dog: Why they’re so important
- Recognizing health problems and knowing when to see the vet
- Grooming your dog to near-perfection, for beauty and good health
Helping Your Adopted Dog Make the Homecoming Transition
In This Chapter
- Puppy-proofing your home first
- Buying the supplies you need . . . and a few just for fun
- Introducing your adopted dog to his new life
- Spotting transitional problems that may require professional help
- Stressing routine for a better-adjusted dog
Choosing Your Dog
In This Chapter
- Deciding on your dog’s age and sex
- Recognizing signs of a healthy dog
- Detecting signs of great pet temperament
- Considering a mixed-breed or purebred dog
Rescue Me! All About Pet Rescue Groups
In This Chapter
- Discovering what a rescue group is and how it differs from an animal shelter
- Assessing and approaching rescue groups: The best way
- Checking out a rescue group, and being checked out by a rescue group
- Getting to know the pets
- Volunteering as a rescue group foster caretaker
Seeking Shelter: Finding and Using Animal Shelters
In This Chapter
- Looking at the different types of animal shelters and what they do
- Finding and recognizing a great animal shelter
- Assessing potential pets
- Questioning the shelter about policies, procedures, and pets
- Gathering all the information and documentation you need
Exploring the Pet Adoption Option
In This Chapter
- Deciding whether you really want a pet
- Analyzing your lifestyle and personality to determine the perfect kind of pet for you
- Examining the specific commitments, legal implications, and first-year costs of owning a pet
