Gold Nugget Dog

Help Your Pets asked:


Vacations are extremely difficult for those who have pets. –We are always trying to figure out where we can leave them in safe, capable hands. For those who have friends they can trust, they often leave the pet at home or with their friend. If you don’t have someone the dog or cat knows to take care of them, you may want to look into boarding your pet.

Boarding your pet can be a difficult decision because choosing the wrong place will allow for bad behavior or neuroses to develop. What to look for when you are boarding your pet is rather simple, if you read these below tips:

• Check more than one boarding house.

• Compare the cost of the boarding houses you have looked into. You are looking for a moderately priced boarding house for your pet. If the price seems outrageously cheap, there could be a chance that the proper equipment and care are lacking. Boarding houses on the more expensive end might offer extra luxuries, however it’s up to you to decide if those luxuries are within your affordability. Before deciding, you should compare the offers of each boarding house to make sure you are not overpaying for the same services you could find at a less costly boarding house.

• Get a bit of background information about the staff that will be handling your pet. Are they loving pet owners? Is this just another summer job for an inexperienced individual? Do they want to be a vet? There are all types of questions to ask regarding their personal tastes. Someone who isn’t into pets, but has the job because that was all that was available is probably not going to be the best handler. On the other hand, someone who wants the knowledge for further education may be the best person you ever find.

• When choosing to board your pet you should choose a facility that has no more than ten pets at a time. The facility should also be able to comfortably house those ten pets. This type of place offers a better likelihood of giving your pet individual attention and care, as opposed to an over-crowded and under-staffed place.

• You also have the option of boarding your pet with a private person. A private pet sitter usually allows the pet to stay in their home, and they treat the pet as if it was theirs while you are gone. It is a more intimate surrounding and can help the pet feel less anxious in your absence.

• No matter where you choose to board your pet you should always personally check out the facility beforehand. Make sure the cages are spotless, that there is no overwhelming pet odor, and see the activities they offer for the pets—sit in on a few if they allow it. In fact, a surprise inspection never hurts. You can find out a lot by showing up and asking to see the facilities without calling ahead.

Once you have found the place to board your pet, you will need to introduce your pet to the staff, as well as the other “tenants”. This can be done with a couple of visits a week before you are actually going to leave. Pets can become very stressed in surroundings and situations they are unaccustomed to, therefore the more you familiarize your pet with the boarding kennel, the less likely they are to feel anxiety when you leave.

Nikky Hughes: Pet Portraits asked:


 

Anyone who has owned a pet knows that buying pet supplies can become an extremely expensive endeavor. Pet needs are almost always underestimated until you actually have the animal living in your home, and you quickly realize that the animal needs proper bedding, toys, a carrier, leash, outdoor containment, grooming tools, as well as medicine and food. Properly taking care of your pet shouldn’t have to cost a fortune.

The resources below will help you find pet supplies, medicine, and food that will cost far less than the retail prices you’ll find at any grocery or department store.

Coupons for Pet Supplies

One of the first places to look for significant savings on pet supplies is through using coupons. Coupons can provide some significant savings on supplies, sometimes up to or greater than 50%. Various outlets, such as PetSmart, even offer free shopping for orders over a certain size. This means that by simply doing your pet supply shopping online, you are saving a fortune.

One of the best coupon providers with the most coupons for pet supplies is Coupon Mountain, with coupons for pet supplies, pet medications, and online deals for most of the major pet supply retailers. A few examples of the deals to be found at Coupon Mountain



$5 to $20 off K9 Advantix at 1-800-PetMeds

Get $15 off orders of $75 or more at PetCo

15% off orders over $40 at PETsMART

10% off any order at DogToys.com

15% off orders over $100 at PetCareRx

15% off Lambert Kay Pet Care products



This is only a very small sample of the long list of coupons and deals provided at Coupon Mountain.

Direct Pet Superstore

Direct Pet Superstore is a large discount retailer of everything you could possibly need for your pet. This includes toys, treats, grooming supplies, flea & tick management, medicines, and even an entire section with additional coupons and promotions.

Direct Pet has an entire section dedicated to saving money on your pet’s prescriptions called “Pet RX”. You can find medicine from Pfizer, Virbac, Boehringer Ingelheim, and other pharmalogicals at impressively competitive prices.

Other ways to save at Direct Pet Superstore:



Sign up and you will be notified of exclusive specials on new products and sale prices for existing products.

A current promotion is a $100 shopping spree for five lucky winners.

Request a free catalog

Discounts on supplies and medicine throughout the website



My Pet Outlet

MyPetOutlet.com is a fantastic discount pet supply website with multiple deals going on every month. A few examples from the main page include Dr Noys Swizzle Teaser for 15% off, a Merrick Meaty Beef Dog Bone at 25% off, and Kitty Hoots “Zoom” Organic cat nip at 20% off.

Categories at MyPetOutlet.com include supplies fro dogs, cats, birds, fish, and even reptiles and small animals. There’s even a clearance section where you can find some rock bottom prices. This week MyPetOutlet.com is offering 15% off every order over 50, as well as a free toy and free shipping. With prices this low, it doesn’t make sense to walk into a retail pet store anymore – shopping online saves so much more.

Pet Portraits, Send 5% Savings to an Animal Rescue Foundation

One of the most unique things you can do to capture the character of your pet, and to show people how much love you have for your furry friend, is to have a pet portrait done by professional artist Nikky Hughes of Los Angeles. Nikky was classically trained at the Mission Renaissance art school, and she focuses on capturing not only the beauty, but the unique character of each animal. She will accept photos through the mail of pets, and then create stunning portraits from those pictures. Pet portraits are ideal because they can be done from a photo (as apposed to getting the pet to “pose” at a studio.)

The great thing about Nikky is that she’s a pet lover herself, and this is reflected in how she runs her business. She discounts every commissioned painting by 5%, and sends those savings as a donation to an animal rescue foundation. This shows how Nikky’s love for all animals is not only reflected in her heartfelt portraits, but also in how she runs her business.

PetCo

Of course, another way to save a fortune off of pet supplies that you wouldn’t normally save if you simply visit a brick-and-mortar store, is to visit that store’s website. Petco also has a comprehensive online website where shoppers can shop virtually for all pet supplies. Petco provides internet only discounts to internet shoppers, such as free shopping, some of the lowest prices available anywhere for Frontline products, and each category (dogs, cats, fish, etc.) has a section devoted to sales, where you can find some impressive discounts off all kinds of pet products.

Help Your Pets asked:


There are three main ways to adopt a pet for your family. The location of the pet really depends on what type of breed you are looking for. In this article we will discuss mostly dogs and cats, how to adopt them, and where to adopt them.

The three main ways to adopt a pet include a breeder, private owner, or retail location. The retail location can be a pet store or humane society. First let’s discuss a breeder. If you are going to adopt a dog or cat of a specific mix, you are going to want to find a breeder that offers that particular combination. Most often you can find a breeder through an online internet source that gives you a description of the breed. You will want to check out a few breeders to compare the cost of that pet, as well as the facilities. You should never exchange money until you have seen the dog or can be guaranteed the breeder has the animal’s best interests at heart. Most often, adopting through a breeder is going to be expensive, and they do not pay for vet costs once you have adopted the pet. In other words, if you have exchanged the money but haven’t picked up the dog, any vet visits will be for you to take care of, even neutering or spaying will be out of your pocket.

With a humane society, you will find any pet is going to be neutered or spayed before the animal will be released. This type of location offers rescued animals, pre-owned, and occasionally new pets. The retail stores will be the same depending on what city you are located in. Although some retail stores will just have specific breeds directly from the breeders. In these places you cannot adopt a dog or cat until it has all of the proper shots and has been neutered or spayed. They will also be looking into your background.

In fact, both the breeders and retail shops are going to want your history. They will ask why you are adopting a pet, perhaps even stop by your home or ask where it is located, as well as call some references. Most places will not allow a pet to be adopted until they are satisfied that it is going to a good, “forever home”.

With private owners you will experience something a little different. Private owners are not breeders, but someone who can no longer take care of their pet or has had a litter of kittens or dogs. It is very easy to adopt from most private owners as they have the pets up for free or a small fee. You will be responsible for the neutering or spaying. Also, the fee is usually less than the humane societies and breeders. The conditions may be less than stellar for some homes. It will depend on where you have found your pet. You always want to make sure the cat or dog is healthy and has had at least one visit to the vet before private adoption.

Brian Jenkins asked:


Owning a pet can be far more expensive than most people realize. There are shots and physical exams, regular medications to keep them pest and parasite-free, boarding fees for those times we go on vacation and the unexpected expenses of illness or accidental injury. Despite all that, most pet owners will tell you unequivocally that their pet is worth every penny spent on them. Even if your pet is worth every penny you spend on health care – and then some – wouldn’t it be nice to spend less on caring for your pet’s health? With pet insurance, you can.

Whether you think of your pet as a valued possession or a family member, pet insurance only makes sense. Pet insurance offers many benefits beyond cutting costs on health care for your pet. Depending on the policy you choose, your pet insurance could also cover many of the common expenses of owning a pet.

Health Care for Your Pet

Few pet insurance policies cover routine care for your pet, but some do. In general, you will have to pay for regular physical checkups and shots. Beyond that, though, pet insurance will help pay medical expenses for illnesses and accidents. While few pet insurance policies will pay the entire medical bill if your pet becomes ill, it can be a hefty savings for you.

Pet insurance works just like health insurance for people. You pay a monthly premium to insure your pet. The insurance company pays out if your pet becomes ill or is injured. The average pet insurance policy will cost you less than $300 a year. If your pet is diagnosed with a long-term health condition, the health insurance will cut your vet and medical bill by thousands of dollars.

Many insurers do not cover hereditary conditions in breeds that are prone to them, so it’s important to check the fine print of the policies you choose carefully. Similar to human health insurance, most policies also do not cover pre-existing conditions, so again, be certain that you read the fine print carefully.

Accident Insurance

Illness is only one of the medical expenses that your pet may require you to spend. Pet owners in the US spend nearly $11 billion a year for medical treatment for pets who have been injured in accidents. It can cost over $3,000 to treat a broken hip incurred when a dog is hit by a car. If your pet swallows a foreign object that becomes lodged in his intestines, it can cost over $2,500 to remove it. Even after you subtract required co-pays and the percentage of the bill that your policy may require you to pay, a pet insurance policy can save you thousands of dollars in care over the course of just one accident.

Other Benefits of Pet Insurance Policies

Many pet insurance policies provide other benefits besides health and medical coverage. Some of the other benefits that you might find included in a pet insurance policy include:



Pet recovery expenses

Most pet insurance policies pay out a benefit to pet owners if their pet is lost. The pet recovery benefit will usually cover the cost of placing advertisements in local newspapers and copying expenses for posters advertising for your lost pet.

Insurance against theft

If your pet is stolen, some pet insurance policies will pay you the value of your pet. It won’t replace your pet of course, but it can help console a heartbroken child with a new kitten.

Death benefit

Your pet insurance policy may pay for burial or disposal of your pet’s remains if the animal dies while covered by the insurance policy.

Medical expenses for someone injured by your dog

If your pet injures someone other than a family member or household resident, pet insurance may cover medical expenses for their care. In most cases, there is a cap on the amount paid out for this benefit, just as there is with most other benefits.

Property damage caused by your pet

If Rover digs up your neighbor’s rosebushes or damages your rented apartment, the reimbursement for the damages will usually come out of your pocket. Many pet insurance policies will pay a percentage of those damages.

Boarding if you become ill

The last thing you should have to worry about if you become ill is how your pet will be cared for during your hospitalization. One of the lesser-known benefits offered by many pet insurance policies is a boarding benefit that will cover part of the cost of boarding your pet if you are hospitalized for an illness.



One of the most important benefits of pet insurance, though, is one that can’t be quantified – it’s the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you can afford the expense of caring for your pet if something unexpected happens. If your pet is a member of the family, knowing that you can afford the expense of an unexpected illness is invaluable.

Nikky Hughes: Pet Portraits asked:


You’ve heard of horoscopes, but have you ever heard of pet horoscopes? Many people believe that the position of planets and stars have a tremendous impact on the actions and events within our daily lives. Those who ascribe to this belief also understand that those impacts have an effect on all life, not just human life. This means that the position of planets and stars can impact the lives of our pets as well!

To determine the sign of your pet, just compare the month that your pet was born to the dates on the pet horoscope guide. Each range of dates has its own unique sign, identical to human astrological signs.

Where to Find Pet Horoscopes

Pet horoscopes are very unique because a pet’s life is obviously quite different than a human’s, with different concerns, desires, fears, and hopes. Reading your pet’s weekly horoscope can be great fun – just as much fun as reading your own. However, since pet horoscopes are not quite as common as human horoscopes, they can be a little more difficult to find. Below are several websites that list horoscopes for pets every week.

Petroscopes for Pet Horoscopes

Petroscopes for Pet Horoscopes is a great website focused solely on providing both weekly and yearly pet horoscopes. The main page features the yearly horoscope for each zodiac sign.

Here’s an example of a yearly pet horoscope from petroscopes.com:

“Taurus: Taurus is entering a difficult and tiring period. In spite of his natural cautiousness, your Taurus pet may seem so exhausted at times that you feel it necessary to take him to see the local vet. You may also notice your pet exhibiting signs of loneliness – try to give him as much affection as you can.”

This website features some great yearly pet horoscopes, but make note of the fact that the weekly horoscopes are not always updated in a very timely manner.

VPI Pet Insurance

The VPI Pet Insurance Company (yes, there really is such a thing as pet insurance!) provides timely and updated pet horoscopes. The page for 2008 summarizes the year for all pets as follows:

“This year, pets will discover their role as a constant companion is an important one. In 2008, Mother Nature will play a part in pets’ lives throughout the four seasons.”

The horoscope section of this website also offers a “Pet Education Center” that includes sections on “First Aid For Your Pet”, “First Time Pet Owners”, and “Pet Toxins & Poisons”. The website offers a brief horoscope blurb on the main page, and a link for each zodiac sign to a more comprehensive prediction page.

Clicking on the link for the prediction page for any of the signs brings you to a page that describes the personality of that sign (a very fun read, to compare it to your pet’s personality), as well as the effects of astrological events on the life of your pet during each season of the year. The website is laid out very well, organized cleanly and with very fun graphics.

Cat’s Central

Cat’s & Kittens Central provides a fun web page called Winky’s Pet Horoscopes, which is focused primarily on cats. The page touts Winky’s Pet Horoscopes as “The Internet’s #1 Feline Astrologer!” This web page allows you to view your cat’s monthly horoscope. If you don’t know your cat’s exact birthday, Winy says you can simply use the day your pet came into your life.

Each page for the monthly horoscope of each sign features an adorable photo of a cat given the title the zodiac sign “of the Month.” The horoscopes themselves are tailored specifically for cats and very fun to read. For example, Aries for this month reads:

“The moon is set to eclipse Pluto this month, but you needn’t worry yourself about that - after all, Pluto was a badly drawn cartoon dog and you, being of the feline persuasion, are far removed from such things.”

The humor and wit is great. The website, overall, is somewhat amateurish in design, but it isn’t overrun by ads and it’s very easy to navigate. The well-written horoscopes are definitely the star of the show at this site.

Nikky’s Pet Profiles

Another unique way to commemorate your pet and his or her zodiac sign is through a painted pet portrait utilizing an astrology theme and integrating the pet’s zodiac sign..

Pet portraits are very popular and sweeping the country. Nikky Hughes, of Los Angeles, offers amazing pet portraits that utilize unique backgrounds and themes. She is always happy to do portraits on request, and a pet’s zodiac sign would easily fit into the creative and witty existing portfolio of pet portraits that are displayed at her website.

Nikky was classically trained at the Mission Renaissance art school, and she focuses on capturing not only the beauty, but the unique character of each animal. There are more ways to enjoy horoscopes than simply reading them each day – feature your cat in a beautiful painted portrait that incorporates the zodiac, and you have an astrological masterpiece that will last a lifetime.

Neil Gerstein asked:


In your quest to find the best WoW Hunter pet you will want to avoid using Caster pets. Caster pet are bad because their stat growth is inferior. Instead of having a pets essential Strength and Stamina stats, Caster pets use the unnecessary High Spirit and Intellect stats. There are a couple of ways to identify a Caster pet. If they have any magical abilities or they have a “Mana Bar” prior to taming them, it is most likely a Caster pet.

Now that you have had a brief overview of the pets available to the WoW Hunter class, let us study the two standard and most popular types of pets, the tank pets or the DPS Pets. In case you want or need your pet to do various things, perhaps the strongest selection for you is to go for the well-rounded pets, which are more generalized in their abilities and functions. Bears and boars are by far the strongest choice for Tanking. As boars and bears are easier to feed, they appear to be mere common Hunter’s pets. For Tanking, if you are looking for a pet with great endurance, then choosing a turtle sounds like a good idea.

Cats are thought to be the best overall selection when selecting a Hunters pet for DPS or fighting ability. The reasons why cats make the most powerful and best WoW Hunter’s pet is because they can master several powers rather quickly, they are easier to feed and can damage enemies in various and innovative ways. In addition to cats, you could also pick out ravagers, owls, wind serpents and spiders for fighting abilities, although my own personal favorite killing machines are raptors. Raptors will rip the face right off your enemy, chew it up and spit it out. So, if you’re feeling especially gory, raptors are the way to go.

Now, talk briefly about a very important subject regarding your World of Warcraft Hunter’s pets. What I want to talk about is the maintenance of your pets. Let me start by saying “Pets require a lot of maintenance.” It’s your job to keep your pet happy and to keep your pet happy you are going to need to keep it well fed, continuously level them up and teach them new skills. Not only will this plan of attack keep your pet happy, but it will also benefit you as well with a well trained and more powerful pet.

WoW Hunter Pet Guide - WoW Hunter’s Pets 3 Levels Of Happiness

Unhappy - This is the lowest level of happiness that your pet can be. Unhappy is also how you begin your relationship with your pet after you tame them. While in this state of unhappiness, your pet will only do about 75% of its regular damage as well as lose loyalty. If left in this state for too long, your pet may run away. I know I would! You can tell if your pet is unhappy by the frowning red face next to your pets portrait.

Content - When your pet is content, it will dish out damage at 100% as well as gain loyalty at a slow rate. You can tell if your pet is content by the yellow smiley face next to your pets portrait.

Happy - A happy pet will gladly slaughter your enemy by inflicting 125% damage upon them. Your pet also gains loyalty very quickly while in this happy state. You can tell if your pet is happy by the green smiley face next to your pets portrait. Obviously, this is where we want to keep our pet.

WoW Hunter Pet Guide - WoW Hunter’s Pets 6 Levels Of Loyalty

Your pet’s Loyalty is a very important stat that affects a couple of other key areas dealing with your World of Warcraft pet. Here are the six levels of loyalty: Rebellious, Unruly, Submissive, Dependable, Faithful and Man’s Best Friend. There is no hidden secret here. The longer you keep your pets happy, the more loyal it will become towards your WoW Hunter class character.

The higher your pet is on the loyalty ladder, the less food will be needed to keep your pet happy. This next bit of information is important so please pay attention. Each and every new loyalty level increase made by your pets results in points being given to you so you can train your WoW Hunter pets. Conversely, it all works in reverse too. For instance, if you fail to keep your pet happy, it will lose loyalty. If you are constantly getting your pet killed or failing to feed it properly, there is a chance your pet may run away.

WoW Hunter Pet Guide - About Feeding Your WoW Hunter’s Pets

In order to increase your pets happiness, it will take more than just feeding it. You will need to feed it something it enjoys eating. To see what your pet prefers to eat, click on your profile to open it up then click on your pet tab and locate the green smiley icon with your mouse pointer. Now that you know what your WoW Hunter’s pet likes to eat, make sure you feed it enough to keep it happy and loyal. Each time your pet levels, his preferred diet will increase, and if you continue to feed him the amount he was eating prior to leveling up, he will gain happiness at a much slower rate, while feeding your pet the correct amount will allow it to acquire a great amount of happiness. So, make it a habit to click on your pet’s tab often.

WoW Hunter Pet Guide - How To Feed Your WoW Hunter’s Pets

1. Click on the “Feed Pet” Icon.

2. Click on the food you wish to feed your pet.

3. Allow your pet enough time to eat the food (about 10 seconds).

If you do not allow your pet ample time to finish its food prior to clicking on the “Feed Pet” icon again will only waste the food you previously fed it. All of the happiness left on the previous piece of food will be lost.

WoW Hunter Pet Guide - Training Your WoW Hunter’s Pets

In the World of Warcraft there are a couple of ways available for you to feed your pet. One way is by taking your pet over to a “Pet Trainer”. You can find the Pet Trainer over by your Hunter’s Class Trainer. The name Pet Trainer is somewhat of a misnomer. The Pet Trainer will teach you new skills and abilities on how to buff up your WoW Hunter’s pet with Health, Armor and/or Attack skills. These skills and abilities are put into your spell book, not on the pet. If you ever change pets, you won’t have to locate the Pet Trainer when your new pet is able to use the skills and abilities.

The other way for you to learn additional pet skills and abilities is by taming wild animals. For your Hunter to learn the pet abilities “Prowl” and “Claw”, he would have to tame a wild cat. By taming a wild bear, your Wow Hunter would be able to learn the pet ability “Claw”. Not every cat will know the Prowl skill and not every bear will know the Claw skill. There are different types of cats like there are different kinds of bears. Specific wild animals will know specific skills and abilities as well as higher levels of the different skills and abilities.

A good rule of thumb to follow here is: The tougher the wild animal, the tougher the skills or abilities you can learn from it. If you do tame a wild animal with a skill or ability that you want to learn, it will not come to you automatically. For you to learn the Prowl skill from a cat you just tamed, you will first need to ascertain if the cat has the skill and if it does, you must use the cat and his Prowl skill as often as possible in battle. When you have finally learned the skill or ability, a message will pop-up on the screen stating “You have learned the Prowl skill”. Now that you have learned the Prowl ability, you no longer need of that particular cat to use it. You can now use it on any tamed Hunter’s pet you want.

WoW Hunter Pet Guide - Training Your WoW Hunter’s Pet

Now that you have learned some skills and abilities from taming wild animals or the Pet Trainer it’s time to teach them to your favorite pet. If you don’t already have him out, take the pet you want to train out of your stable of pets. Now open up your spell book and click on the general tab where you will open up your Beast Training ability. There you will find out how many training points you have available along with all of the WoW Hunter pet abilities and skills you have learned. The training points are used for purchasing new abilities and skills. These are the training points you get as bonuses when your loyalty goes up. So, make sure your pets are very happy so your loyalty goes up and you get training points to use. Easy, isn’t it?

Next, you’ll want to choose a skill or ability you want your pet to learn along with the rank of that skill or ability. Remember, not all pets can learn every skill or ability. For instance, while all bears can learn Claw, boars can’t. Also, higher rank skills and abilities cost more points and if you teach your pet a skill or ability with a high rank, you won’t be able to teach it any of the lower ranks of the same skill or ability. Sometimes, a lower ranked skill will be all your Hunter’s pet needs to get the job done. That’s all there is to it. For many Hunter’s, the fun part is planning on what skills and abilities will be needed to make the ultimate super pet, then going out and taming the beasties who have the skills and abilities on my list, then putting my super-pet together and see how it performs.

People often ask me which World of Warcraft Hunter’s pet is my favorite. As for myself, I like the wolf for both its brilliant looks as well as its blood-curdling song. The assortment of attack speeds this awesome pet has will come in handy as well. With the many options available to you, it certainly makes your research a whole lot easier when you consider the two aspects of how easy is it to maintain and feed your pets. Here are some of the questions you should get answers to prior to beginning your career as a World of Warcraft Hunter. How expensive are the pets foods, how easy is it to procure your pets foods and what sort of food habits do these pets have or do they live on special diet regimens. For basic level huntsmen, spending too much cash on pet food fails to make any sense. The other things to think about are what sort of work you have to put in to increase the pet’s performance and to bring it even with your own level advancements. This can play a key role in your decision to choose a particular kind of pet.