As unfortunate as it sounds, your happy, friendly, best friend can become injured through every day activities. Dogs love to explore, chase and hunt, sometimes to the extent that they create unwanted injuries.

To care for a dog’s broken bone, there are certain actions you will want to take before transporting your dog to the veterinarian. If your dog appears panicked or scared, you may want to muzzle the dog to prevent your dog from biting you. Before moving your dog, be sure to secure the bones by wrapping the injured area with a towel or blanket – this wrap will act as a splint to reduce pain from movement and prevent further injury. Use a rope or some type of cloth to tie the wrap to hold it in place. In addition to wrapping the wound, cover your dog with a blanket to keep your dog warm as such injuries generally induce shock.

Broken bones are considered emergency situations and veterinary help should be sought immediately.

Have you ever wondered why your cat just suddenly bolts for the door? The door opens and out goes the cat at 100 miles per hour!

Cats are certainly attracted to the sights, sounds and smells of the outdoors as well as to a bit of sunshine every now and then. You can help your cat enjoy the indoors more by providing plenty of fresh food and water, play toys, and an occasional favorite television show or radio station. For some cats, the best thing is a companion – whether that be a stay at home care taker or another cat to pal around with.

Cats do need fresh air and some time outdoors, but you should take some precautions before letting your cat out on its own. Be sure to have your cat spayed or neutered at an early age to prevent an unwanted explosion in the pet population around your neighborhood. Also, while it is not recommended to de-claw your cat completely, cats without claws must be watched closely and not be allowed to roam freely. Claws provide cats the needed traction to escape, climb and fight back if the situation requires it.

Potty training or housebreaking a new small puppy is no small task. I’ve learned a few tricks over the years that have worked well with the various puppies I’ve owned.

Dogs have a natural instinct to keep their living space clean and will not go potty when confined to a small space, especially near their sleeping area. To keep your puppy from waking up and going potty in the house in the middle of the night, attach a leash to the puppy’s collar and tie off the loose end to a stationary object next to the puppy’s bed. Your puppy will not go potty next to its own bedding – expect to be woken up if he really does need to go. No matter what hour it is, this is an important learning moment for your puppy. Take your puppy outdoors and be patient until he has finished going potty.

If you have to leave your new puppy home alone during the day, a modified approach to this method can be employed to keep your puppy in an enclosed area where it will not want to go potty. The trick is to be able to break away from work throughout the day to give your puppy a chance to go potty. This can be a challenge to your schedule, so you may want to plan on taking some time off of work to be available to train your puppy in its first few days in the home.