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Hermit crabs are great pets for young and old alike. They once were only souvenirs from the beach, but now they can be bought in any pet store.

Hermit crabs are wonderful starter pets for kids. They make a great alternative to the more common Guinea pigs or hamsters. Unlike what you might expect if you have never kept hermit crabs, it is possible to play with them. They have distinct personalities of their own.

You should learn good care habits to keep your pet healthy and happy and living a good long life. Here are some hints to get you started.

Before you buy your hermit crab, you need to obtain the necessary equipment and supplies. They will need an aquarium and not those tiny cages you see at the shops by the shore -- hermit crabs should have at least a ten-gallon aquarium to move around in. If you are getting more than one crab, you should get a larger aquarium.

A pet shop will suggest the best size for the number of crabs you will be keeping. Make sure the aquarium has a tight lid so your crabs don't escape! Use an appropriate size heater so the tank will maintain the correct temperature.

You will need a substrate for the tank, as well. Three to four inches of sand will be optimal, but you can also use crushed shells or other materials. If you use something other than sand, it is still a good idea to cover a portion of the bottom with sand, so the crabs will have somewhere comfortable to go for molting.

For feeding your hermit crab, you will need to get some commercial hermit crab food. You can also feed small pieces fish occasionally. Also, your crab should have some crushed eggshells or oyster shells to support their calcium levels. It is important to keep their small bones strong and healthy.

You may think that dog training aids are out there for you to spend money and not actually reap any benefits from. That is not the case.

Dog training aids are there to help you succeed in teaching your dog, this could be teaching him obedience, agility or any other type of teaching you want to do. There are many aids available but only a certain few will work with your dog and his temperament.

I find the best training aid to be treats, small pieces of human food chopped up and given to him when he has done something good has always worked wonders, that is unless your dog doesn't really have an interest in treats. This is a really cheap method of a training aid but if you want to blow some cash there are hundreds of options available for you.

For dog agility training aids that are available are e.g. anti bark collars. Many dogs have a problem when they do dog agility. They start barking constantly basically because of the hype involved. Anti bark collars do one of two things or sometimes both, they give a small electric charge when your dog barks and spray some water up into their face.

People may think this is cruel but it is completely harmless. It just lets your dog know that barking is not acceptable. These collars are available at pet shops and on the internet and are not too expensive.

For dog obedience some dog training aids that are available are dog clickers, the newest craze out on the market which allows owners instead of associating sit with a word they use a click instead and reward with treats, no punishment allowed.

Another aid available is a harness; this gets fitted around your dog's upper body so when you are teaching him to heel a slight tug on the harness pulls him back completely. The harness is a widely used obedience aid and is greatly used for bigger dogs such as German shepherds and Rottweilers.

There are also dog training aids available for around the home. These are simple and effective. Many people turn to dog training aids when nothing else has worked but they don't have to be the last thing you try, with aids so cheap these days there is no reason why you can't invest in something that will make your dogs learning process a lot more exciting!

Cats are the coolest animals on the planet. Yes, that statement is rife with conjecture and straight up personal opinion—based on personal pet preference. But they really are amazing creatures.

Cats have their own laundry or body soap solution, and can wash themselves in all areas except the one area Moms used to nag about—behind the ears…at the nape of the neck. Oh, and they can be picked up (with teeth!) by that nape of the neck, without ever flinching or griping or calling out in pain.

Cats don’t hassle or pounce, relentlessly, when you enter a room. They have little interest in your command performance attention—the quality and quantity of which had better be delivered, according to their mortal foes, dogs, or you’ll get a face full of slobber, a front full of mudprints, or a shove to the ground because the dog thinks he’s a lapdog when he is, in fact, a Rhodesian Wolfhound weighing in at over a 100 pounds.

Cats are so intuitive they know when you need them. That is, if you are weeping, depressed, lonely, or ill, they will first stare at you for a minute, likely picking up which vibe it is they need to address, and then will come close. This is not hyperbole or conjecture on my part.

Numerous studies have been done to indicate that pets in general but especially cats have been introduced into high-stress people’s homes and hospital wards—and the illnesses decreased, the stress levels reduced, and the feeling of well-being returned to degrees of something around 15% improvement.

I mentioned that cats stare. Yeah, this is one I still am trying to figure out. They will position themselves in statuesque stillness, focus on one spot, thing, or you (shudder), and with unblinking, undeterred pose will penetrate whatever (or whomever) it is they stare at.

I have paid close attention to this particular behavior on many an occasion, and can only see not a bored soul just watching the air molecules move about but a profoundly knowing being…whose eyes, when you look deeply into them, reveal eras and ages of reincarnated mystique, reveal the origin of their many dimensioned essences.

I may be interpreting this because I know the cat's history. Or know what others know thus far. Cats were a revered animal in Egypt. They were found buried in the tombs and sarcophagi of the royalty.

They were reportedly so esteemed that a person was caught harming a cat that person was executed. (Wish we had held onto this one archaic law, especially when I see how cats are sold in markets for food in some countries, or how cats are tortured by cults or kids with nothing better to do and no more brain cells than to set a now defenseless domesticated creature on fire. Makes me very angry, actually.)

And back to the physical wonderment of cats…that whole hairball thing, while at first may be disgusting or may seem pitiful (I always go into apoplectic sympathy mode as the cat looks at me to shut me up so she can be sick), is really fascinating (and makes sense). The cat is licking her hair every day and night, many times.

She is of course collecting the fallout. In her gut. She then, on scheduled intervals of time, hunkers, hacks, and hawks until the perfectly bundled thing is expelled. And then she begins the cycle all over again.

Cats have (students and professors at Cornell studied) 100 different vocalizations. My favorite is the rrow-rrow-rrow one as if my cuddly baby is chirping with giddy delight. (It is happy, it is friendly, and it is a greeting. It is also an expectation—of goodies.)

I am really not all that intellectual about cats, though I do acknowledge a deep respect for and kind of metaphysical fascination with cats. So I am always learning something new, coming to understand their biological imperatives—that they wash immediately after eating (or after you eat, even) so they don’t (their cells recall this from jungle days eons back) appear as food or prey.

Duh. I didn’t think of that. They scratch and claw stuff not only to sharpen their claws. They do so to leave scent for those competitors (in our case, the raccoons) that might even think about approaching for a nice warm bed, lots of healthy food, much smooshy affection, and the occasional starefest. Which still kinda creeps me out.

English Springer Spaniels are a good breed to consider bringing into the home if you are looking for a dog that is easy to take care of, that has a good temperament, and that has a reputation for enjoying the company of people.

The Springer Spaniel is an ideal dog for country or city life. Springers are people pleasers. They love to be around people, and they are energetic, loving companions. They are energetic and playful animals, and many owners find humor in their play. With proper training the can excel in agility, tracking, retrieving, obedience, hunting, and field trials.

They are wonderful with children and are a perfect choice for families. Of course as with any dog breed, children should always be supervised to make sure they are not antagonizing the dog.

Owners will be satisfied with a Springer because they are so friendly and eager to please. There are people who use the sweet temperament of a Golden Retriever to describe the Springer's personality. They are happy to go home and lie around the house if that is what their families are doing at the time.

They are very flexible and acclimate easily to various activity levels, as long as they are allowed to be with people as much as possible. Being a long breeder of a variety of puppies, we can attest to their absolute friendliness.

As a breed, the English Springer Spaniel is a medium sized sporting dog, and can weigh anywhere from 35-55 pounds at adulthood. They are typically healthy dogs that live happy lives that average about 10-14 years on average. Springers which are field bred have shorter hair and are generally more active than the show type Springers.

Field bred Springers have docked tails, but their tails are docked longer than the show Springers so their tails are still functional as an alert signal while hunting.

The coat colors for English Springer Spaniels comes in either two combinations of black and white or liver and white. There does exist a tri-color combination in the breed where the coat is black, liver, and white, but it is much more rare and generally requires both the sire and dam to be tri-color also. These are easily recognised by the white flash that runs down the middle of their faces.

English Springer Spaniels were bred to be natural hunters with a lot of energy, so you can expect your Springer to enjoy running around, sniffing out "game,"and retrieving things for you. Springers are happy to spend all day outside with their masters, they love water and are not particularly sensitive to weather in general.

Springers have been popular as pets and working dogs for a very long time. This is because they are an extremely old and well-established breed. They are one of the oldest and best established hunting and gun dog breed.

Hopefully, you can understand the reasons that we believe Springers are a good option for a variety of lifestyles. We have seen how easily these adoring animals are accepted as a part of any family.

When it comes to owning a puppy, there's a whole lot to think about as a new owner - vaccinations, diet, puppy obedience training, coming up with that 'special' name. And then, of course, there's the housebreaking! In my opinion, there's no better way to instil good housebreaking rules, keep your puppy (and your possessions!) safe and sound while you're out, and give your puppy his own refuge than through crate training.

Crate training puppies is a great idea for a whole 'raft' of reasons, and is infinitely more preferable than keeping your puppy in the yard while you're out. If you want to get your partnership with your new puppy off to a great start AND keep your sanity for the rest of your dog-owning life, then you need to read these........

3 Essential Tips for Crate Training Puppies!

1. Crate Training Puppies is NOT Cruel

Often, when people mention crate training puppies, peoples' first response is to decry the cruelty of keeping an animal ‘penned up' in a cage. In all reality, though, crate training truly provides an instinctive "den" for your puppy. In the wild, a coyote or wolf pup spends virtually the first Ten weeks of its life in a safe lair its mother has prepared. When done properly, crate training puppies mimics this comforting lair as a safe place to sleep and escape from the outside world.

When you're out of the house or you decide to go on vacation with your dog, the crate is a wonderful way to guarantee that both your home/car and your puppy stays safe and 'in one piece'! What crate training is NOT, is keeping your dog in a cage for 8 hours a day with total neglect to it's most basic needs.

Cruelty is leaving a puppy in the backyard to possibly be stolen, eat something poisonous or be ‘open' to nasty weather. Crate training is, in short, the very opposite!

2. Crate Training Puppies.. Goes Hand-in-Hand With Housebreaking!!

Forget those dirty puppy training pads, newspapers, and other housetraining products that may often hinder your puppy's housetraining! Breeders, animal shelters, and other experts have been crate training puppies with great success for decades and view it as an excellent way to install the desired housetraining concepts.

So what makes it so effective? A puppy will naturally try to put off soiling his resting place. If left to roam the house, your puppy will eventually go into another room to relieve himself. If crated, your puppy will try and wait until he has an opportunity to leave his "den" and relieve himself elsewhere.

This doesn't mean you should leave your puppy in his crate for hours and expect him to "hold it." Puppies, like children, have tiny bladders and digestive systems. In order for crate training to be successful in the early weeks of your puppy's life, he should be taken out every hour-directly from the crate to the yard.

Another great benefit to crate training puppies, as it relates to housebreaking, is that if he DOES have an accident, a crate is much easier to wipe than, say, a Persian rug or that silk dress you mistakenly left on the floor!

3. Crate Training Puppies - It's for Life!

Most people who are involved with crate training puppies find the technique to be such a useful tool that they use crating, in some form, for the rest of the dog's life. When a dog grows up considering the crate to be his refuge, he'll consider the crate to be his own little ‘safe haven' for as long as it's available to him.

Many full-grown dogs sleep in their crates (doors ajar) at night, and many owners still crate their dogs when they go out for the evening or take a brief day trip. Many dogs also travel very well (and safely!) by plane and car when they are securely in their crates.

Most dogs would much rather be in their crate, in a climate-controlled home with some special toys and a soft blanket than they would be out in the yard where they might get rained on, snowed on, or otherwise left to fend for themselves.

Of course, you should never leave any dog crated for more than 3 or 4 hours without a break to relieve himself. If you must crate your dog or puppy for any lengthy period, give a neighbour, relative, or friend the key to your home so they can take your dog out for a quick walk.

As you can see, crate training puppies is about so much more than just putting your dog in a cage and calling it "crate training." Dog crate training is your pet's security, your home's preservation, and an effective way to bring up a well housebroken dog without a ton of effort. When done properly, crate training puppies doesn't just make for proud owners-it makes for proud owners of happy, well-balanced dogs.

I hope you've enjoyed these free tips and techniques designed to Guarantee your Success and show you How To Train Your Dogthe easy way

The old saying Prevention is better than cure is always sound advice which also applies to preventing aquarium goldfish falling sick in the first place, rather than try to cure it when it has happened. There are a number of practices that an aquarium keeper should follow in order to minimize the risk of a domestic goldfish becoming ill.

When goldfish are added to a tank they require special care to overcome the stress caused by transportation and being moved into a new fish tank. Newly introduced fish are more likely to suffer from goldfish illness as a result of this stress.

To limit inital stress, float the bag they arrive in the aquarium for about 20 to 30 minutes so they become adjusted to the water temperature and their new tank. Look out for goldfish ich disease also known as goldfish white spot disease after adding new fish.

Like all creatures, Goldfish should be fed using a reasonable quality feed that fulfills their dietary requirements. A good goldfish food will be easily digested, limiting the volume of waste the goldfish release into the water. Inferior quality goldfish feeds can provide a diet that might be lacking in important nutrition, but they could also cause excessive waste in the aquarium, messing up the gravel bed and reducing the water quality.

The tank requires a correctly sized filtration system which acts to extract solid and liquid wastes. The basic function of a filtration system is to filter out waste and pollutants to help keep the water quality high. All aquariums requires an oxygen supply in addition to the oxygen absorbed by natural means at the water surface.

This is achieved with an air-pump in conjunction with tubing and an air stone or other device that dissipates the pumped air into lots of tiny air bubbles. A quality air pump achieves this quietly and efficiently. Gravel at the foot of the aquarium needs to be kept reasonably clean with a gravel syphon because accumulated waste can reduce water quality.

Water requires to be changed at 3 to 4 weeks. Mains water should be treated with a well known water conditioning product obtainable from local or online pet stores and aquatic centers.

An invisible dog fence must not be used as replacement for actual dog training.In order to make your invisible fence effective in teaching your dog, time and patience is necessary. There are specific instructions for effecting the invisible dog fence training but it entails careful execution.

Using the invisible dog fence training to teach your dog about his boundaries can be done on your own or with professional dog training help. However, even with professional help, you will still carry much of the burden of executing training guidelines for your dog whenever the trainer is not around.

In order for your dog to recognize an invisible fence, it will cost you time and patience. However, when both you and your dog become accustomed to this system, it should be easy then.

The length of the invisible fence training varies depending on how fast or slow your dog acquires the needed training.

At the start, small red flags are lined up along where the cables are. The tiny flags will signal the dog where his boundaries are. To prevent shocking your dog at this stage of the training, you must cover the prongs on the collar with a tape.

Then, put on your dog's leash whenever they go out within the fence boundaries. A warning beep will start off whenever it goes beyond the area, so this will ensure the dog stays within the boundaries. When this happens, pull off the dog right away and praise him if he obeys.

By doing this several times in a day, you can allow your dog to familiarize with the system and train himself to go back once the beep is activated.

Once you have allowed the dog to be acquainted with this system, you can now remove the tape from the prongs on the collar to allow the shock. Although the shock is not painful to the dog, it is enough to get their attention and alert them to turn back.

It is comparable to experiencing a static shock and then you come in contact with any form of metal. You need to make necessary adjustments for the amount of shock your dog will receive, according to its size and level of response.

However, every dog owner must be aware that not all shock collars can be adjusted so make sure to purchase those with adjustable settings. Then, check the collar level to ensure that it is safe enough for your dog whenever he goes exploring outside.

Make sure not to remove the dog's leash simultaneous with the removal of the collar prongs' cover. Keep the leash on your dog whenever he explores the area within the invisible fence.

Click the following links for more information on Electric Dog Fence systems including Pet Safe Fence and the popular Wireless Dog Fence.

If you buy Parvaid, along with other products such as Life Cell Immune Support, Doggie Pain Relief (aka Pet's Pain Formula) and Vibactra Plus, then you're buying a chance for your dog to survive the often deadly Canine Parvovirus.

All of our products, including Parvaid, are 100% natural, containing herbs that are completely human-grade. There are no synthetics and no chemicals, and that means they are completely safe and have no side-effects, which is not the case with the prescription drugs and meds that your vet will try to administer to your dog.

We understand that you may be skeptical about the success rate of herbal products such as Parvaid, so let's throw a few numbers at you.

Did you know, for example, that the majority of vets will only give your dog a 33% to 80% chance of surviving Parvo, and that's if you have him treated at the vet, animal hospital or emergency clinic, where their costs range from $500 USD to more than $10,000 USD per dog?

Parvaid, and the other products in the Parvo Treatment Gold Value Pack, on the other hand, have a success rate of around 90%.

And for around $300 USD, you can treat one or more dogs, depending on how much they weigh, including FedEx Overnight shipping (which is the only service we use if a dog has Parvo - anything else can be too slow and your dog's life is worth much more than the additional cost of overnight shipping).

So, a higher success rate for treating Parvo, while at the same time saving a fortune compared to the average vet's bill.

Doesn't that sound like a win-win situation to you?

But it doesn't stop there.

Here's something else you may not know: three quarters of dogs that remain untreated die within four to five days of symptoms first appearing.

Now, these figures refer to the older 2a and 2b strains of Parvo, but here's the kicker - the latest strain that is officially known as 2c (but often known as the F-Strain), which is becoming more prevalent all over the US as well as other countries, can take your dog's life within 24 hours of seeing the very first symptoms, and that assumes you even recognize those symptoms for what they are.

That's simply too fast to begin to react, which is why we believe the only prudent course of action is to have products such as a Parvo Treatment Gold Value Pack, which includes Parvaid, for example, on hand at all times, so that you will be prepared should the worst happen and your dog comes down with Parvo.

By doing this, you can begin treatment immediately, which is the best way to increase his chances of survival.

You may be thinking to yourself, "I understand all of that, but my dog is an adult and he's fully up to date with his shots."

Well, we don't want to burst your bubble, but this latest 2c strain doesn't care how old your dog is, or even whether you've had him vaccinated or not.

It's sad, but it's true - we're uncovering an increasing number of cases where fully-vaccinated adult dogs are being infected by and dying from Parvo!

This is just one more reason why we strongly encourage you to purchase Parvaid and the other products in the Gold Value Parvo Treatment Pack now, so that you'll have them if and when you need them.

And don't be concerned about ordering these products and then finding that they go to waste - they all have a 4+ year shelf life.

Also, most of this product range, including Parvaid, can be used for many more purposes than simply treating Parvo.

As an example, Parvaid can be used for everyday ailments such as when your dog throws up because he's eaten something that disagrees with him, or if he has gas (which also works for humans too, by the way!). If your dog's a bit off-colour and off his food, it will get him eating again too.

So, even if your dog is lucky and never gets Parvo, which we obviously hope will be the case, when you purchase Parvaid, Doggie Pain Relief, Vibactra Plus and Life Cell Immune Support (the products in our Gold Value Parvo Treatment Packs), you've still got a top-class Doggie First Aid Cabinet to make use of whenever you need it.