Category: Lifestyle

The post How to Contact a Vet During a Hurricane: 5 Tips for Immediate Support by Nicole Cosgrove appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

If you find yourself on the direct path of a hurricane and are simultaneously making decisions about your furry family members who may need veterinary assistance, we are here to help.

These types of storms often require evacuation or taking refuge in interior rooms within your house, but to make this process easier on you, we’ll explore five ways to ensure your pets can continue to be taken care of if you find yourself hunkering down in the middle of one of these storms.

Need Vet Advice Now?

If you need veterinary advice for your pet now, we recommend PangoVet’s TeleVet service. You can have a video consultation with a real veterinarian from the comfort of wherever you are, no travel needed. PangoVet’s vets can provide you with personalized care and advice, and hopefully help ease your mind during a difficult time. Please note they do not offer prescriptions and are not for emergencies.

Top 5 Tips on How You Can Talk With a Vet During a Hurricane

1. Evacuate to a Safe Region Where You Can Access Vet Assistance

If there are evacuation orders in place, it is in your and your furry friends’ best interest to take these seriously and evacuate to a safe region of your country.

This is especially true should your pet be elderly, chronically ill, or suffer from severe anxiety in storms.

In preparation for evacuation, pack:

There are pet-friendly hotels and hosted accommodation options across the world, and during hurricanes, you can check with your local civil defense website or helpline for designated shelters outside the hurricane strike zone.

From there, go ahead with the following instructions as best as you can:

2. Discuss Options With Your Vet Before Taking Refuge

In the scenario where you are taking refuge at home rather than evacuating, you can always contact your vet prior to the hurricane making landfall to discuss options.

Your vet should have a well-prepared communication plan in place to keep you informed about the clinic’s status, emergency contacts, and any changes in service availability. Most vets will utilize a diverse range of communication strategies during these times such as social media, text messaging, or phone calls to ensure there are regular updates.

Many vets now have access to patient clinical notes in a cloud-based system and should continue to have access to your pet’s notes during this time so long as internet and power access remain intact.

Your regular vet can provide the most personalized advice and broadest remote medical care possible in these situations. Ask if they have a telehealth platform for phone or video calls and who you can call if they aren’t available. You can create a dependable action plan for emergencies by discussing your upcoming circumstances.

3. Contact a TeleVet Service

If you have access to cell service or the internet but can’t contact your regular vet in a hurricane situation, a trusted TeleVet service is a fantastic option to speak with a professional and get personalized help when you need it, without having to travel again in the storm.

TeleVets, also known as veterinary telehealth services, provide professional help and discuss your pet’s needs via text messages, photos, and video. They can continue to give medical advice during this time on injuries, allergy relief, sickness, controlling anxiety, and other issues.

Along with professional advice, they can then teach you how to take care of your pet during this time and recommend products or techniques to alleviate symptoms until you have access to a hands-on professional again.

Speak To a Vet Online From the Comfort of Your Couch!

If you need to speak with a vet but can’t get to one, head over to PangoVet. It’s an online service where you can talk to a vet online and get the personalized advice you need for your pet — all at an affordable price!

Click to Speak With a Vet

4. Portable Satellite Internet

Portable Satellite WiFi Internet Hotspots are a fantastic solution whether you are evacuating or taking refuge. These small devices can travel with you and keep you connected to WiFi via satellites on your phone or laptop should cellular connectivity be inaccessible during the hurricane.

This option will allow you to continue to access the range of online TeleVet services outlined above and through your portable satellite internet, you will continue to have access to phone and video calls or messaging with a professional should you need it. Video calling may be particularly crucial because when you and your vet can exchange visual information, they can better understand the issue, provide more appropriate advice, and guide you as you treat your pet.

5. Get a Satellite Phone

Although a satellite phone might not be the most cost-effective option, they are a fantastic way to connect with your vet or a televet during a hurricane should you need to. The Garmin inReach Mini 2 is one of the top-rated ones available.

Satellite phones allow you to make calls from anywhere on the planet, in fact, sailors use them from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and if they are good enough to make a call out there, they will almost certainly hold up during a hurricane.

However, they don’t come cheap, and buying one will set you back over a thousand dollars alongside the additional cost of calling minutes. Because hurricanes are finite situations, a better option may be to rent one from a company in your area. Companies across America and the world rent out satellite phones for as little as $65 USD per week with same-day delivery. This may well be an avenue worth exploring prior to landfall to ensure reliable communication remains available throughout the hurricane.

Conclusion

You never know if you’ll find yourself in the firing line of the next hurricane or not, so we recommend that if you live near water, ensure you have a plan, communicate with your vet should your pet have a chronic illness, allergies, or severe anxiety, and know your communication strategy should the internet or phone capacities in your area be unavailable.

Most importantly, if there is an evacuation order in place for your area, act early, and take your pets with you if at all possible.

Remember, TeleVets are a click away, and with the magic of modern technology, you and your furry friends should be in a great position to ride out any storm with ongoing support from professionals should you need it.

• If you want to read more about disaster preparedness for you and your dog, you can learn more about it here.

The post How to Contact a Vet During a Hurricane: 5 Tips for Immediate Support by Nicole Cosgrove appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

The post What Kind of Dog Is Mackenzie from Bluey? Breed Facts & Explanation by Ashley Bates appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

If you have a child right now, you will know all about Bluey! It’s all the craze these days, competing with predecessors like Blue’s Clues and Dora the Explorer.

If you’ve watched it with your children, you may be able to pinpoint that Bluey and Bingo are Australian Cattle Dogs. But how about the other dogs, like Mackenzie? What kind of dog is Mackenzie? We have all the information you could want about Mackenzie’s breed!

What Dog Breed Is Mackenzie?

Mackenzie is a Border Collie. Mackenzie came in with the originals, first appearing in Season 1 of Bluey on the episode “Fruitbat”. This little boy dog moved to Australia from New Zealand. Mackenzie is a straightforward little dog that loves herding and jumping.

Very popular in Australia, the Border Collie is often used in competition and show to herd sheep and do a variety of other agility related tasks. The Border Collie is considered to be the smartest of all dog breeds and is highly revered for their keen intelligence and ultra awareness. In the show, Mackenzie is a fun-loving little dog with high energy.

Much to their breed design, the Border Collie is also very high in energy and ready to learn the next new thing.

Let’s Learn About Border Collies

Since we already know quite a bit about Mackenzie from Bluey, let’s learn a little bit more about the Border Collie breed itself.

After all, it’s exciting to see a fictional dog and think that it would be a perfect addition to your family, without realizing the overall intensity of owning the breed.

Border Collie Pups

Border Collie puppies will be extremely all over the place and eager to explore! These dogs have a thirst for knowledge and will bounce around from every stimulating scene to the other. These dogs will be very fast to learn, so don’t be afraid to teach them very early on. They will master concepts like potty training and basic commands in just a few short months, impressing you every day with their keen intelligence.

It is always best to find a reputable breeder. This ensures that your dog comes from a good bloodline with solid genetics. Steer clear of backyard breeding operations and puppy mills. Make sure that anyone you purchase a dog from is knowledgeable about the breed and has given the dog the proper vetting and care prior to you bringing the dog home.

Border Collie Physical Characteristics

Border Collies are very agile, medium size dogs with sturdy bodies. These dogs are masters at agility, touting lean muscles and quick speeds.

They can come in a variety of colors. The most popular look for a Border Collie is black and white. They tend to have medium to long flowing coats.

Border Collie Personality

Border Collies are very adventurous, eager to please, affectionate, and curious. They are ready to take the world by storm. Border Collies absolutely love running around and would benefit from a fenced in backyard. Keep in mind that these dogs are herding dogs. They have a tendency to herd other animals and even small children. For this reason, we recommend them for children, age, 6 and older.

The Border Collie is revered again and again for their intense intelligence. These dogs can pick up just about any concept anyone is willing to teach them. They are thirsty for new information and will soak it in every chance they get.

If a Border Collie is well-socialized and active, they will likely be very mannerly dogs. However, if you don’t work with your Collie the way you should and they have a lot of downtime with nothing going on, they might develop separation anxiety and anxious tendencies.

The Border Collie works best in homes with lots of space to roam and many exciting activities happening in a day. The Border Collie is not for families who are gone most of the time or have very limited time to commit to training or exercise.

Border Collie Diet

Border Collies burn quite a few calories in a day. For this reason, it’s incredibly important to give them a high calorie, protein-dense recipe that will replenish what they lose in a day. Wet canned food and dry kibble are still viable options.

However, we highly recommend reading ingredients labels to ensure quality so they get the best diet possible. You can always go for fresh, raw, or homemade meals, permitting you clear it with your veterinarian first.

Border Collie Exercise

The Border Collie needs plenty of exercise! These exercise-intensive dogs love nothing more than their time out of the house. They will accompany you on car rides, hiking adventures, vacations, and dog park visits.

On average, these dogs can sometimes require up to 2 hours of exercise in a day. Be sure you’re the kind of person who likes to be on the go enough to keep up. Otherwise, it’s incredibly important to give them a large fenced-in area where they can explore.

Since Border Collies are so agile and active, they can easily jump fences and dig under enclosures. Always secure the area—especially for untrained dogs.

Border Collie Training

A Border Collie will benefit very much from training. They will soak it up, enjoying each moment spent with their person. A Border Collie can pick up just about any concept or willing to teach them, but they do require a lot of experience.

These dogs might not be the best choices for novice owners due to their exercise and mental stimulation needs. Sometimes, because of the dog’s training needs, many owners elect the help of a professional. Professional trainer rates may vary and training techniques will be different from person to person.

Border Collie Health

The Border Collie was bred to be a very healthy dog. They are definitely hardy and quick to heal, so if you are looking for the chance of having lower-cost vet bills, they might be a fabulous choice.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that that will be the case with every dog. They are susceptible to several environmental and congenital disorders and illnesses. Here are some of the most common:

The key to ensuring your Border Collie has the best health is to take them to their annual vet checkups. If anything starts to develop, your vet can get ahead of it. Plus, if you have their health monitored, you can change their diet and exercise plan around accordingly.

Conclusion

Now you understand that Mackenzie is a Border Collie. If you love McKenzie, you now understand more about his overall breed, and you can probably pinpoint whether or not you’d like to have one for yourself.

Border Collies are just most assuredly not for everyone. However, many folks can find room in their hearts for this loyal, athletic breed.

Featured Image Credit: Property of Bluey Wiki. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.

The post What Kind of Dog Is Mackenzie from Bluey? Breed Facts & Explanation by Ashley Bates appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.