Your pet will have a number of health needs that will have to be met if you are to help it avoid potentially serious health problems and complications. Ensuring that your animal is vaccinated can be essential to this goal, but pet owners can sometimes neglect some fairly basic guidelines when it comes to vaccinations. Be sure to follow these guidelines to ensure that your pet's vaccinations are as effective as possible.

While it would be great to take your dog on every vacation with you, it isn't always possible to do so. Sometimes, the resort that you are staying at isn't dog-friendly. Sometimes, you just need a break from your furry friend. Whatever the case may be, you can't leave Fido at home where he will get lonely and potentially destroy your house out of boredom. Sure, you could hire a pet-sitter or have a friend or family member come over multiple times a day to take care of him, but there is also another option.

Keeping your pet clean and well-groomed is an important part of being a responsible pet owner. However, it is one of the aspects of pet ownership that is not fully understood by those that have only recently become pet owners. If you are concerned about this, you might need to consider basic tips for caring for your pet's skin and coat. Prevent Potential Skin Complications Failing to keep your pet clean can lead to some potentially serious skin complications.

Long-haired cats have beautiful coats, but they require a bit more maintenance and care than short and medium-haired cats. If you've noticed that your long-haired cat occasionally develops clumps in its fur, you should be aware that this could cause serious health problems if left alone. Read on to learn how simple fur clumps can be a serious threat to a long-haired cat's life. How Clumps Form Clumps are more common in long-haired cats fur simply because there's longer fur to work with.

As dogs get older, they can develop arthritis or other forms of joint pain. Joint pain in dogs can limit their mobility and make them very uncomfortable, so it's definitely not something to ignore. Luckily, there are specific things you can do to help ease your dog's joint pain and help stop it from becoming worse. Here are six tips for helping your dog when you suspect he is experiencing painful joints:

Unwanted feral cats are a serious problem in many neighborhoods. Statistically, a single mother cat can potentially produce up to 100 kittens within her lifetime, and a pair of mating cats and their offspring can produce up to 420,000 kittens in 7 years. This is why it's so important to make sure that cats are spayed and neutered. If you have unwanted stray cats in your neighborhood, here's how you can fix the problem.

Lyme disease can cause serious, painful symptoms in both humans and animals. Since it can be easily misdiagnosed if there is not a classic bulls-eye rash or obvious tick bite, the symptoms may go on for years. There are several methods to minimize the chance of Lyme disease affecting your household. Use Traditional Preventative Techniques Lyme is traditionally carried by ticks and is transmitted to dogs and humans after prolonged tick bites.

Summer is almost here. In some parts of the country, the temperatures are already escalating. If your dog spends any time outside, it runs the risk of developing heat stroke. This is particularly true if it doesn't have ample shade and water while it's outside, or if it gets locked in a car. Heat stroke can be fatal for dogs, especially if it's left untreated. If your dog is going to spend time outside this summer, it's important that you recognize the warning signs of heat stroke.

When it comes to your dog you want to make sure that they get the best medical care possible. Your dog is not just a pet, but a member of your family. One of the very best things that you can do for your dog is to get them neutered or spayed. If your dog is a male, getting the surgery is smart because it keeps dogs from marking their territory.

Finding out that your cat has developed kidney disease is upsetting all on its own, but unfortunately, kidney disease often doesn't come alone. When cats develop kidney disease, it can put them at risk of developing several other ailments. Read on to learn what your cat could experience with kidney disease and how to control it. Mouth Ulcers When a cat's kidney disease isn't well-controlled or it enters the later stages, your cat can develop ulcers in its mouth.