77th Asheville AKC All Breed Dog Show

Critters on the Move will be in Fletcher, NC (just below Asheville) this weekend for the 77th Asheville Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show. The show takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center. Critters on the Move will have their tent set up outside with all of the other vendors, ready to photograph all of your dogs and then discuss all of your options for those pictures.

Critters on the Move will work with breeders, groomers, rescue groups, dog and other pet owners to put a decal of their dog or pet on their car, truck, and home or office window. Come to Asheville, see the mountains and drop by the Critters tent at the Asheville AKC's All Breed Dog Show. Critters on the Move loves all pets.


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Heartworms - Some Basics You Shold Know

From WebMD Healthy Pets

Heartworms in dogs are easy to prevent but difficult and costly to cure. Our friends at WebMD Healthy Pets asked Sheldon Rubin, 2007-2010 president of the American Heartworm Society, to separate facts from the myths about heartworm infestations in dogs. Here is some information he provided.

Prevention methods for heartworms is so important because dogs get heartworms only by being bitten by an infected mosquito. There is no other way for dogs get heartworms - period. Also, since there is no way to tell if a mosquito is infected, prevention is the only safe way to keep your dog from getting heartworms.

Heartworm disease has now been reported in all 50 states. The bite of just one mosquito infected with the heartworm larvae can give your dog heartworm disease. Simply stated, if you have mosquitoes and animals (mammals)/pets, you are going to have the threat of heartworms.

Once bitten by an infected mosquito, it takes about seven months for the larvae to mature into adult heartworms. They then lodge in the heart, lungs and surrounding blood vessels and begin reproducing. Adult worms can grow up to 12 inches in length. They can live from five to seven years and a dog can have as many as 250 worms in its system.

Infected dogs cannot give/transmit heartworms to other dogs or people. Once again, the only way a dog gets heartworms is to be bitten by an infected mosquito. Heartworms are a specific parasite that affects only dogs, cats, and other mammals. In rare cases, heartworms have infected people, but they are not able to complete their life cycle and mature.

Is it OK to adopt a dog with heartworms, many people ask? The answer is a definitive - YES! It is perfectly acceptable to adopt a dog with heartworms, but you have to be dedicated to having the disease treated appropriately. Having heartworms is a horrible disease that can lead to the dog's death if left untreated.

Preventing heartworms is easier and cheaper than you might think. For less than the cost of going to Starbucks for a weekly coffee, you can prevent heartworm disease in your dog. There are monthly pills, monthly topicals that you put on the skin, and there's also a six-month injectable product. The damage that's done to the dog and the cost of the treatment is way more than the cost to prevent heartworm disease.

If a dog is infected with heartworms, there wil be no visible symptoms. As more and more worms crowd the heart and lungs, most dogs will develop a cough. As it progresses, they won't be able to exercise as much as before; they'll become winded easier. Eventually, most dogs will die if the worms are not treated. Prevention is the key to keeping your dog healthy.

After it has been determined that your dog has heartworms, treatment is required. The safest way to treat heartworms includes an extensive pretreatment workup, including X-rays, blood work and all the tests needed to establish how serious the infection is. The drug that you treat with is called Immiticide. It's an injectable, arsenic-based product. The dog is given two or three injections that will kill the adult heartworms in the blood vessels of the heart. With all the prep work, it can run up to $1,000. But just the treatment can be done for about $300 in some areas.

Treatment of the heartworms is necessary to kill them and rid your dog of the disease. Your dog will not "outgrow" them. Without treatment, your dog stands a very good chance of dying. Once rid of the heartworms, start/continue to administer your prescribed heartworm medicine. Dogs are able to get heartworms again. This makes prevention of the utmost importance for the care of your dog.

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They Tell You How They Really Feel

"A cat has absolute emotional honesty. Human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not."
Ernest Hemingway


6 pack of dogs is brought to you by the pet lovers at:

Health Mistakes Dog Owners Make

WebMD asked veterinarians what were the most common health mistakes dog owners make? Most pet owners want what is best for their dogs, yet sometimes they make serious mistakes. According to the vets polled, here are five of the most common mistakes.

DOG HEALTH MISTAKES

1. Not Getting Preventive Care - This is by far the most mistake dog owners make. Yearly exams are essential for your pet's health and, most importantly, allow your vet to catch problems early.




2. Neglecting Dental Care - Dogs need regular dental care for the same reason we do: to prevent gum disease. A fact not realized by most pet owners - gum disease is five times as common in dogs as people. Daily brushing and good quality food are key ingredients in a general dental plan for your dog.




3. Overfeeding -Overweight or obese dogs are at greater risk for arthritis and other orthopaedic issues, as well as other health problems. Talk to your vet. Together choose a quality food and establish feeding patterns. Get tips on exercise and treats. An important aspect of treats, according to leading trainers, is, as a rule, most treats are too large.




4. Sharing Medication - A dangerous health mistake owners make is giving dogs human medications. Pain medications like Advil, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen can be extremely toxic to dogs. Just like with children, always keep medications secure and always consult your vet before administering any type of medicine.
   



5. Delaying Critical Care - Humans often adopt a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to medical care. That could end up fatal if applied to a dog. Dogs instinctively hide any infirmities. Don't wait to see if a health problem in your dog gets better on its own. Call your vet if you notice any changes in your dog's behavior or eating, they vomit, act lethargic, has diarrhea or runs a fever.

Hopefully you are not making any of these mistakes with your dogs. If you are, and your dog is still healthy, you might want to consider yourself fortunate and start helping your dog lead a long and healthier life.

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Fostering... great for you and the pet!

We at 6 pack of dogs have recently joined the thousands of animal lovers across the country that volunteer to foster abandoned animals/pets. In our case, we chose to foster an abandoned basset hound. We are not ashamed, in any way, to admit that we were foster failures. A foster failure is someone that agrees to foster a dog but ends up falling in love with the dog and ends up adopting it themselves.

Our sweet basset baby, Ronnie (pictured here), came from Carolina Basset Hound Rescue (CBHR). Since becoming a part of CBHR, we have not only fostered and adopted, we have also volunteered to perform home visits and transport bassets to their foster homes. We have found every aspect of the fostering experience rewarding and fun. We have also come to discover that the people involved at CBHR are "earth angels". Their dedication and commitment is amazing. This could be said, we are fairly certain, of most rescue organizations. We would be remiss if I did not mention the two other rescue organizations from which we have adopted rescues. Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue and Weimararner Rescue of North Texas continue to do amazing things with their weimaraners here in North Carolina and Texas.

Fostering is a wonderful way for anyone to volunteer to help less fortunate or animals in need. Critters on the Move and DogPerils, the people who bring this blog to you, are dedicated to helping in the plight of these animals. With fostering in mind, we thought it would be nice to share some of the reasons people should consider fostering. We will be talking mostly about dogs but, please be assured, that we believe in helping all of God's creatures.

The #1 reason that you should think about fostering a dog and the reason the idea of fostering dogs came into being is/was to ease the overcrowding of animal shelters. Other reasons, in no particular order are:

• The amazing and unconditional love you receive from your foster dog




• The new chance at a happy life you are offering your foster dog




• The way it promotes volunteering and the whole family experience it offers everyone in your household




• Fostering costs much less than you think




• Fostering, like loving your own pet, is, above all, FUN!




• The rewards you get from fostering are innumerable




• Fostering can be done wherever you live - city or country & house or apartment




• Fostering is ready and available whenever you are

Love animals or dogs and are not able to make a lifelong commitment? Consider volunteering or fostering.

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