Must-have Products for Your Dog

While choosing a collar for your dog, ensure that you take the size and breed of the dog into account, as a wrong collar will prove harmful to your canine in the long run.

Think you can just share your old stuff with your dog and all will be well? Wrong. It is extremely important to make sure your dog gets the best possible accessories that are tailor-made for him. It is only going to make him, and consequently, you happier.

It goes without saying that a pet owner always includes food items and a medicine kit, while considering the essential items for his/her pet. Hence, we have enlisted those items that you might fail to notice. The following is a list of all must-have products that you ought to buy for your adorable canine.

Must-have Accessories for Your Dog

Food and Water Bowls

Whether he's a puppy or a fully-grown dog, he's definitely going to need one of these. Food and water bowls come in handy even when you're traveling. These bowls come in various shapes, sizes, colors, and are made up of different material. Today, you get ceramic, plastic, stainless steel, and glass varieties that are reasonably priced and easy to clean.If you want to go for cheaper options, plastic bowls are the right choice, but they come with their own set of demerits. Plastic bowls can easily facilitate bacterial buildup that can cause infections to your dog. Ceramic and glass bowls, although safe, are heavy and can be troublesome. The best material recommended is stainless steel. These bowls are a bit heavy on the pocket, but can be easily sterilized.Make sure you choose the right one according to the size and temperament of the dog, since some dogs even double it up as a playing toy.

Collars and Leashes

A collar is an absolute necessity for your dog since it contains his license and identification, in case he gets lost. Identification tags are often attached to the collar bearing the owner's name and contact information. Collars are generally available in nylon, leather, metal, or polyester. Nylon ones with a buckle are advisable that are fastened loosely around the dog's neck.A leash is attached to the collar and is useful when you take your dog for a walk or during his training period. In general, a leash should be between 4 to 6 feet along with a loop handle, and preferably of nylon webbing. During the obedience training period, it is recommended to use longer ones.

Dog Beds

Of course, dogs too need pampering and comfort! If you're not of the type to share your own bed with your pet, and need some space at least at night, then dog bedding is the easiest solution. Needless to say, this comes only after the dog is trained to housebreak. Your dog's bed can get as elaborative and decorative as you want it to be. It can range right from an old used pillow or a blanket for him to snuggle in, or specific elements catering to his likes and dislikes.

Dog Toys

Now, we all know how much dogs love to play, jump, and run around. So, all kinds of toys definitely have to make it to the list of must-have products. Be it stuffed toys, squeaky kinds, ropes and balls, or even thinking toys, dogs never refrain from enjoying to the fullest. Toys, especially those involving chewing, play a major role in your puppy's physical development too. Ideally, your dog should be encouraged to play with hard and long-lasting rubber toys, and not stuffed ones as he's most likely to destroy them later and can ingest the small, torn pieces.

Dog House

A dog house or kennel is often a place outside the house. Usually, pups are wary of staying in dog houses before they get accustomed to the entire house. A dog house gives an entirely different kind of a personal space to the canine and can be built especially for guard dogs. It can be a personalized one according to the breed and size of your dog. Smaller houses are also available in case you stay in an apartment.

Grooming Kit

Paying attention to your dog's hygiene is absolutely essential at all ages. Almost every dog needs grooming on some or the other level. The grooming requirements will differ depending on the breed of your dog, but the basic needs, such as trimming the toenails, brushing his teeth, and cleaning his ears are common to all breeds.It is important that you wash, condition, brush, and comb your dog's coat on a regular basis. Dog shampoos, conditioners, brushes, and toothpastes are easily available at any pet store. However, consult your vet before you choose any particular brand of grooming supplies for your pet.

Crates or Carriers

Crates and travel carriers are made especially for those owners who travel often and do not wish to leave their pet behind. They are available in several sizes and shapes including plastic, steel, and fiberglass. Couple the crate with a soft blanket, and it makes for a cozy room for the dog when you're traveling.

There you go! Now that you have a list of all the necessary items your dog needs, take a trip to a nearby pet store as soon as possible.

What do Birds Eat?

Do you love watching birds and feeding them? Wondering what to put in the bird feeders? Birds could be herbivorous, carnivorous or omnivorous. Though most of them eat seeds, worms, plants, sap, berries, suet, nuts or meat, some are selective and will not touch all the available food. If you are a bird lover and love feeding them, you must identify the different types of birds and give them food that they might enjoy. Here is some information that might help you.

Dietary Habits of Birds

Well, there are many food items that might interest birds. While a large number of birds feed on flower nectar, berries, nuts, seeds, tree sap, buds of trees and shrubs, there are various species that eat insects/worms. Some of them hunt and eat small animals, while some scavenge on dead animals. Availability of food is an important factor in determining their eating habits. For instance, sparrows will eat seeds throughout the year, but if seeds are not available, they will eat worms. Birds need to eat more to keep themselves warm during winters. During this time, they are most likely to eat whatever is available. You could give them mealworms, seeds, corn, nuts and meat in winters. Here's some information on different types of food that will attract birds. Put these food items in the bird feeders and you will see a lot of birds visiting your garden.

Granivorous Birds

A good way to attract them would be to put seeds and grains in bird feeders. These birds have strong and stout beaks that help in crushing seed shells. In case you have birds like cardinals, chickadees and nuthatches coming to your garden, you could either put safflower seeds in the feeders or even spread it on the ground. You can even put different types of seeds such as millet, niger seeds and corn. If you often see sparrows, juncos and cardinals in your garden, you could give cracked corn, corn cobs or cornmeal mush. If you wish to keep finches as pets, you could give them grains and even some home-cooked food.

Nectivorous Birds

As the name suggests, nectivorous birds are birds that feed on nectar. They flit from flower to flower in search for nectar. These may even visit nectar feeders. If you wish to attract them, you could keep sugar water. Hummingbirds, sunbirds and honeycreepers are nectivores. Hummingbirds enjoy drinking sugar water. You could even add honey to water. This nectar recipe will certainly help in attracting them. Cardinals, finches, woodpeckers and chickadees will also keep coming back to your garden if you keep sugar water. Some of the nectivorous birds also eat insects.

Frugivorous Birds

Many birds enjoy eating fruits, so you could also keep sliced fruits. For cockatiels, you can keep a pellet based diet that includes fruits, vegetables and seeds. Parrots, channel billed cuckoos, fig birds, toucan, orioles, bowerbirds, and certain types of woodpeckers and doves enjoy having fruits. They have solid and deep beaks that help them to eat fruits. You can feed them fruits and berries that grow in your region. Raisins, grapes, pears, oranges, bananas, peaches and apple are some of the fruits that will attract fruit-eating birds. Do cut the fruits into small slices. You could also place specialized formula for frugivorous birds.

Insectivorous Birds

Many birds need live food. You could get mealworms from the pet stores for them. Swallows, warblers, flycatchers, kingfishers and lyrebird, catbirds, eastern bluebird, chickadees, nuthatches and certain types of woodpeckers are insectivores. Warblers are often referred to as generalists as their diet comprises a wide variety of insects. Woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees often feed on larvae or insects that are present in the crevices of the bark of the trees. Blackbirds, crows and bluebirds often feed on bugs, caterpillars or grubs on the ground. Swallows, swifts, warblers and flycatchers feed on flying insects.

Omnivorous Birds

The birds that eat insects, meat, seeds as well as fruit are placed in the category of omnivorous birds. Ducks, blue jays, woodpeckers, emu, crows and quails are examples of birds that eat worms, insects, insect larvae, meat, fruits and seeds. Certain types of finches feed on berries, seeds as well as insects. These birds practically eat anything that can be digested. They will eat anything ranging from nuts, suet, baked goods such as bread crumbs, crackers, pancakes, soaked dried fruit, meat, insects or other leftover kitchen scraps.

Carnivorous Birds

Birds that primarily eat meat are referred to as carnivores. These are also called birds of prey. Birds such as kites, falcons, hawks, vultures and eagles hunt and eat small mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. Some of them hunt and eat specific types of animals. For instance, sharp-skinned hawks have a specialized diet that mainly includes robins, warblers and sparrows whereas ospreys are fish-eaters. They may have different hunting habits. While some may capture their prey independently, some of them may hunt in groups. Some of them even snatch or steal their prey from other birds. Bald eagles and peregrine falcons are examples of such carnivorous birds.

If you are keen on finding out about different kinds of birds and their eating habits, you must also try to understand more about their anatomy. You might have seen many birds nibbling on seeds. Well, their cone-shaped beak makes it easier to eat hard seeds. Birds like finches, sparrows and cardinals use their thick beak to eat seeds. Some might also adapt to their environment. If you are a bird-lover, you can keep such food items in the feeders to attract several birds to your garden. This way birds will keep coming back for food and you can have a great time watching them.