PETS Info Blog

We hear so much about adopting a dog or cat but rarely hear about adopting a bird. Birds are wonderful pets that provide comfort, companionship and entertainment.

In 2002, ASPCA declared that January would be dedicated to finding happy homes for the thousands of companion birds that are abandoned annually. These precious feathered friends will fly into your home and capture your heart.

There are countless breeds of birds to adopt. Do your research to learn which type would fit into your lifestyle for a long and rewarding relationship with your feathered friend. Some of the things to consider before adopting are cost, noise level, space and commitment. We have written a little about the five most popular breeds to get you started.

Parakeets/Budgies

Parakeets are the most popular pet birds, they offer the companionship without the burden of a 50 year plus commitment. If you have never before owned a bird or have children the parakeet would be a good choice for you. They require less space and maintenance than larger bird species. These little beautifully colored birds are quite intelligent and affectionate. Most are content to sing and whistle but don’t be surprised if they learn to say a word or two. With time and patients they will love to be stroked, held and talked to. They will require around thirty minutes a day of interaction with you. Parakeets are drawn to shiny things (a mirror is a must), things that make noise, and objects they can move around with their beaks or feet. The average life expectancy is 12 to 14 years.

Cockatiels

These Australian natives are colorful medium sized and members of the parrot family. Their advanced whistling and singing abilities are remarkable. They are capable of talking but prefer to whistle and mimic sounds. Cockatiels can be very vocal when they wake up, before they go to sleep and if you have been out for a while and come home to them. They can get spoiled and learn now to control you with their excessive screaming. This behavior occurs because they are extremely social birds. Males are a bit more vocal where the females are fairly quiet. A single bird will be more attached to their owner and will be more demanding of your attention. Getting two birds will help give them the socializing they require. The average life expectancy is 15 to 20 years.

Finches and Canaries

Finches and Canaries are good choices for a family with children or older adults since they require less maintenance and prefer to stay in a cage. Canaries are famous for their singing while Finches are known for their extraordinary colors and markings. They are not usually finger-tamed and need the largest cage you can afford so they have plenty of room. Most finches need to be in pairs one male, one female or large groups. Canaries on the other hand, have a reputation of needing to be housed alone. The male canary sings only to attract a mate, so there will be less singing if a female is present. If you must keep a single male make sure he has a large cage to fly around and several toys to entertain himself. These little birds thrive in small flocks and do not need much human interaction. They are perfect pets for those who love to watch birds. Finches and canaries tend to be messy eaters so it would be wise to place their cage in an area that can be easily cleaned up. They are charming, captivating, peaceful to watch and can live for up to 10 years.

Lovebirds

Some say the Lovebirds are the most preferred pet bird. Many people believe lovebirds must be kept in pairs but this is not true. A single lovebird bonds to you rather than to another lovebird making a better pet. If less interaction is what you want and you are away from home a lot then get two. Lovebirds will play endlessly and are quite the clowns. Lovebirds are a small parrot with the same intelligence and abilities of larger parrots. They need plenty of toys to keep them from getting bored. Be aware of their ability to escape their own cages to play around the house. And watch your buttons as they love to pull them off! They love to snuggle and preen. Lovebirds can learn to mimic sounds and have been know to speak on occasion. These birds are fairly quiet companions, making them ideal for those who live in apartments or condominiums. The Lovebird has a life expectancy of up to 20 years.

African Greys

African Greys have been said to be the most intelligent of birds but are not for everyone! A home with small children would not be recommended. They require a large commitment of your time, effort, patience and attention. For good mental health they need three hours out of their cage daily and 45 minutes of physical interaction. These birds are very strong and they can bite with their strong pointed beak. A lot of stimulating toys are needed due to their high intelligence and to avoid boredom. Have several toys so they can be switched and rotated regularly to keep them constantly stimulated. If your African Grey does not interact with different people regularly they will bond to one person and be shy around strangers. Most greys do not start speaking until 2 years old and have the capacity to have a vocabulary of over 2000 words. Do not choose an African Grey for their ability to speak since you will get no guarantee of that happening. It has been said that they can mimic well which is true but they can actually learn to speak in sentences and answer questions. Adequate space is required for a larger cage to accommodate your bird. They are full of character and are more human than some will admit. They are cautious birds but once you win the trust of an African Grey they will become your best friend. Greys typically live 50-70 years.

Be a responsible pet owner and take your bird to your vet for proper care. Remember birds can live for quite a while, but dirty cages and poor nutrition can shorten their life span.

Visit your local shelter or visit bird adoption to find your new forever friend.

What is the LeashLocket?
It’s a retractable leash that your dog can carry right on his collar. Sounds simple, right. It’s definitely one of those, “Now-why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” products that improves upon something you already know and love with a handy little twist. While some of our writers prefer plain-Jane lead leashes, several of us prefer retractable leashes.

To see what it’s all about, take a look at the LeashLocket in action:

What we found in test runs (pun intended)
We had the choice between a small (for dogs up to 50 pounds) or a large (for dogs up to 90 pounds) LeashLocket to test drive for ourselves. We chose a small one thinking we’d be testing it out on a Cairn terrier. In fact, we tested it out on 3 different Cairn terriers to begin with, and here’s how that went:

The hardest part about switching to a LeashLocket was getting the little band with a snap to fit around the collar. Once we figured that out, the rest was easy.

We attached the new leash to Maggie first and took her for a walk to see how the leash felt in our hands. Maggie didn’t notice any difference being at the end of the different leash, of course, but it felt a tad awkward for us at first. We’re used to carrying the bulkier retractable leashes we’ve been using for years. But in no time at all, we got really used to the smaller, lighter-weight “handle” and things went really well.

On our way back to the house we snapped the LeashLocket onto Maggie’s collar and while she minded the 2 1/2 ounce bulk at first, discovering she was now free to run ahead to the porch seemed to make her forget all about having to carry the leash for us. MoJo and Maxine’s test runs went the same, though neither of them seemed to notice the Locket being attached to their collars at all since it was already there when we placed the collars around their necks.

The picture isn’t Maggie, or MoJo, or Maxine . . . it’s LeashLocket’s Lucy. Our pictures didn’t turn out quite as well as theirs, so we decided to show Lucy here. Overall we found the LeashLocket to be super-comfy in our hands and a great fit for several situations including a trip to the vet.

What we found in even MORE test runs
We liked the LeashLocket so well that we decided to push it to the extremes, just to see how well it would perform and how various dogs would react to having to carry it around on their collars . . .

Pixie, the 6-pound Chihuahua
In order to see if Pixie could handle having a LeashLocket on her collar I first attached it to the collar and then immediately distracted her after placing her collar back on. She was distracted a bit at first but quickly lost interest in the foreign object, preferring to fetch her toys and receive her Cheerio rewards. Once she was comfy with the idea of carrying a leash around, I took her for a walk and was pleasantly surprised by how easy the new leash was on my hands. In fact, Pixie is great on a leash so I ended up carrying the locket in my pocket. I’m definitely going to grab one of these for myself since I have to pass this one on to another tester.

Buster Beans, the 32-lb rescue mutt
Buster is hyper, there’s no two ways about that. He’s my best friend and minds really well inside but he tends to get overly excited on walks so I was a bit leery (and even took a back-up lead with me) when I first tried the LeashLocket. To my surprise, I was able to contain Buster’s excitement just as well as I am with a regular lead. My hand got a tad cramped holding the smaller, palm-sized handle but the wrist strap made me feel more secure about it. It’s definitely handy to be able to have Buster carry his leash so that at any given moment I can grab the fob and take him for a walk. He never sees it coming so he’s not dancing around as soon as he sees me coming with the leash.

So the LeashLocket has come full circle and since everyone who’s tested it has had such good luck, we decided to put it to a huge test, above and beyond what either of the LeashLocket sizes are made for. Remember, we’re testing a small LeashLocket, for dogs that weigh up to 50 pounds. Roxanne, a 100-lb Rottweiler, is perhaps the best dog we’ve ever seen when it comes to walking on a leash so we decided there would be no harm in giving her a test run with the 4 ounce gadget!

The trouble – her collar was just too wide to fit the snap attachment. The fix – we got her a skinnier collar just for the test run. A permanent fix would either be a larger snap attachment, or a custom fix where we sew the snap attachment onto one of her collars. When we order a LeashLocket for her, we’ll definitely get the large version, anyway, so we’ll see how we can accommodate her collar at that point.

Roxanne did really, really well carrying the LeashLocket around never even noticing it was there. She didn’t seem thrilled that we could pet her and automatically she found herself leash-bound, but we loved the new power. We had no trouble walking her with the LeashLocket at all but could see where a dog of her size could cause difficulties holding onto it as opposed to gripping a traditional retractable leash with a large handle. To be perfectly honest, Roxanne is one of those dogs who just having a leash attached puts them into leash-mode. With a leash attached, she simply doesn’t try to pull and prod ahead.

We didn’t try the leash on the 120+ pound Rottie we have because we didn’t see any point in breaking the leash. He’s not quite as in tune with “leash-mode” as Roxanne and the thought of him getting away with something while on a lead just wasn’t worth pushing the limits with a small LeashLocket.

The bottom line
These leashes are awesome. We can recommend them to anyone looking for a simple, retractable leash for their dogs. It’s convenient. It’s comfortable for both the dog and the human. It’s one of the handiest products to have in your pet tool arsenal. The wrist strap is optional, but I don’t think any of us would have enjoyed the LeashLocket nearly as much without it.

Who got to keep the test LeashLocket?

All of the testers really enjoyed the LeashLocket but once it made its rounds back to us we decided to find someone who could really benefit from it’s handiness and might not otherwise be able to afford getting one for themselves. So, we looked at pet shelters, foster homes, and finally found ourselves in the perfect situation to make someone’s day.

While visiting a family member at an independent living facility, we met one of his neighbors with a little furry lap dog. Arthritis makes it difficult to attach the leash to the dog’s collar and when we saw her struggling, we knew we had the perfect solution for her. We gift wrapped it, put her name on it, and placed it under the angel tree. She’ll be unwrapping her LeashLocket this coming Sunday and we’re certain she’ll adore it.

Where to Buy a LeashLocket?

Grab one for yourself at LeashLocket.com while they’ve still got their Holiday Sale going. They’re $24.99 each ($10 off) with a special introductory shipping offer of $4.99 (in the continental US). Be sure to add the optional wrist strap for $3.95, it makes the LeashLocket so much nicer.

The Official Press Release

LeashLocket™ Retractable Leash Praised at DaVinci Investor Showcase
Denver, CO … LeashLocket™, the retractable leash in a locket that lets your dog carry the leash for a change, received its first public accolade in the form of an honorable mention at the 7th annual DaVinci Investor Showcase, held in Westminster, CO on November 5th.

“It’s wonderful to receive this kind of recognition, and from such an innovative organization,” said LeashLocket™ inventor Dave Marshall. “Everyone on the LeashLocket team has been working hard to bring this idea to fruition, so to have it recognized after only seven weeks on the market is a very welcome boost for all of us.”

LeashLocket™, which made its market debut Sept. 13-15 at SuperZoo pet product convention in Las Vegas, was one of eight inventions recognized at the awards. The DaVinci Institute drew 41 inventors from across the United States for this year’s competition, where they were evaluated by a team of celebrity judges and viewed by 750 attendees, a record number for the showcase.

The idea for LeashLocket™, an ergonomic, palm-sized retractable leash, first came about during the 4th of July weekend in 2009 when Dave, his wife Val, and their kids Dirk and Aly were camping in the Rockies with friends. The friends had brought their standard Schnauzer, Xena, who ran into a nearby campsite and frightened campers there. Xena’s owner didn’t have her leash handy, and had to drag her dog back to the other campsite by the collar. That’s when Dave had his a-ha moment.

“I thought now why couldn’t there be a leash that could be carried on your dog’s collar or harness for a change? I knew it would need to be one you could quickly and easily shorten when you need more control, but one that could also be lengthened when you have more freedom.”

LeashLocket™‘s design was perfected through more than two years of development and production by a team of 10 engineers and leading pet-product experts. Today it’s the strongest retractable leash, ounce for ounce, on the market, and provides an excellent way for pet owners to improve the instant control, safety, and convenience of every walk with their dog.

Using LeashLocket™ is a snap. After fastening the magnetic snap attachment around your dog’s collar or harness, just connect the snaphook to your dog’s D-ring as usual and use it as you would any other retractable leash. At the end of the walk, you retract LeashLocket™ all the way to your dog’s collar or harness and then snap the locket onto the collar attachment. Your dog is now carrying the leash securely on the collar or harness, ready to grab and go the next time you need it!

LeashLocket™ is available in two sizes directly through www.leashlocket.com. The Small size securely holds dogs up to 55 pounds. It weighs just over 2.5 ounces and withstands a pull force of 170 pounds. The Large size is for dogs up to 90 pounds. It weighs just under 4 ounces and withstands a pull force of 280 pounds. Both leashes extend to nearly 6 feet, the length of a conventional dog leash. LeashLocket, Ltd. is now in the process of forming relationships with pet product retailers across the nation, who will be stocking LeashLocket™ soon.

 

The holidays are a time to gather with family and friends and celebrate. But did you know the holidays pose a number of threats to your pets? As you enjoy the holiday season this year, keep your pets safe by following these simple guidelines.

Decorations and Your Pets
Holiday decorations can be especially hazardous to pets. Dogs and cats are both allergic to holly, mistletoe, poinsettia and lilies, so make sure to keep these plants well out of reach of pets. Tinsel, ribbons and wrapping paper are shiny, attractive toys to cats, but can cause serious intestinal blockages if ingested.

Lighted candles and menorahs can be easily knocked over by wagging tails and rambunctious pets, so place these on high tables or mantels where pets can’t reach them. Dogs and cats also tend to chew on electrical cords for lights and displays, putting them at risk for dangerous shocks or electrocution. Make sure these cords are kept away from pets, or taped securely to a wall or floor.

Dried pine needles from wreaths or Christmas trees can actually puncture your pet’s stomach, so sweep up any dropped needles daily, and consider putting a fence or other barrier in place to keep your dog away. If you don’t put up a barrier, anchor the tree well so that it’s not easily knocked over by your pets. Keep tree ornaments that might be tempting to your dog and cat off the lower branches, and avoid any edible ornaments such as cranberry or popcorn strings that might cause your pet to climb the tree and possibly knock it over. And a tree skirt covering the water bowl at the base of the tree is an easy way to keep your pet from getting sick after drinking stagnant tree water.

Careful With the Leftovers
Your guests at the holidays may not know that certain foods can be very hazardous to your pet. Turkey or ham bones may seem like a nice treat for Fido, but they splinter when chewed and can cause serious damage to your dog’s intestinal tract. Raisins, grapes and chocolate are especially poisonous to dogs, and can cause death in very small amounts, so keep any cookies, candies or breads containing them away from pets. Onions, garlic and avocados are also mildly poisonous to pets, so don’t add any dips, gravy or stuffing to their meals without checking the ingredients first.

Holiday Guests and Your Pets
The holidays are often when families and friends gather, and a little planning can help make your pet safer around your house guests.

During parties, not all of your guests may be pet-friendly, and you may consider keeping your pets crated or in a separate room, away from the festivities, with plenty of toys and water to keep them occupied. Pets are easily agitated by loud music and noises like New Year’s Eve poppers, so often they are more content in a quieter area.

Make sure to keep all foods and alcoholic beverages up and away from your pet while you’re busy with your guests, and sweep up any confetti or streamers after they leave. Using food and garbage containers with lids, and cleaning up leftovers right away, are safe precautions. And if you have people visiting from out of town, ask they keep any medications zipped up and out of reach of curious pets.

Now that you’ve learned all that you need to know about holiday pet safety, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your family, including your furry four-legged family members.