PETS

Hope this forum comes up with some good ideas. I could sure use them.
Have 3 (possibly 4 if my daughter comes to stay with us) dogs. Live in the
country and they go inside/outside continually all day. I realize this would
not be possible if things go bad. Trying to think of some plan. What about
this if i can get my hubby to do some building:

Have a front deck, covered, no railing or fence. Deck then turns to the left
along the other side of the house, not covered in that area. What about
fencing in both covered and uncovered areas of the deck, covering the
part that is not covered, having steps go down to an area, either ground
or gravel, for peeing and pooping. That would have to be fenced and
covered also. Near front door, on first deck i mentioned, put some dog
houses with in/out doors of some kind. Hopefully by the time needed it
would be warmer (now gets down to about 20 degrees each night) and
dogs would stay outdoors all the time. Hopefully dog houses would be
warm enough for sleeping at night. Wouldn't give them much area for
exercise, but can't think of anything else.

Someone would have to feed/ water / gather poop daily. Each dog would
have to be walked daily, without protection of cover. Assume person
going outside to take care of and walk dogs would be masked and
gloved. Anything other personal protection necessary (remember, we live
in country and no other people would be around). Would have to be very
careful when walking dogs not to let them sniff at bird poop.

More thoughts would be very appreciated. Rocky

I wanted to post this but first I'd like to say that I am NOT a vet so PLEASE talk to your vet about this first:
My sister has a dog that has been sick for a little while and has lost some weight. Even though he is about 6 years old, the vet told her that it was OK to buy the dog "puppy chow" for a while becuase it is higher in calories and it might help him to gain weight back. (I am sure that there may be better alternatives than this, but that's what the vet told her she could do if she wanted to. Her dog is recovering and will be fine but my sister said he did lose some weight and she was concerned about that)

If there is pandemic and pet owners have difficulty buying enough pet food, maybe it might be a good idea to consider buying some Puppy or Kitten food (even if you have an adult pet)  to help your pet maintain his or her weight , especially if you don't have as much food available as your pet normally would eat.
Like I said, I am not a vet, so this may not be good advice. My sister just told me that her vet said it has extra calories and I thought that if animals are not able to eat as much as they are used to , they may lose weight and having this higher calories food may help them to maintain their weight for a while.


Edited by jackson

have you considered getting in rice and pasta for the dogs. Its bulky so fills them up and provides calories. It is the protein bit that may be a problem  Anyone any ideas please for the protein.  And if you could freeze some beef fat straight off the cow that also provides energy

Edited by steve 101

I also pLAN to supplement my dogs diet with rice some powder eggs and mashed beans .  I have never bought into the idea that God invented dog food, he invented food .  .  My dog has always  eaten what we eat and he is healthy,  I had one dog and feed him dog food and he was dead in five years from cancer.    The next dog refused to eat dog food and he lived 17 years and was healthy til the end

 

Just watch the fat and sugar.  

Thanks Stormrider.  

WE have cats and a dog..just bought this pup actually..but it is smaller then our biggest cat and about the same size as our kitten..plus we have 2 cockatiels..and of course the fish....

I am locking our pets down the moment I have to...I have stocked up on kitty litter(not a lot) but use it to weigh down the trunk(boot) in the winter...

How about making a walk way for pets..an inclosure and covering top with plastic sheeting to stop bird droppings from getting in...and prevents pets from eating dead birds...

I am sure if you see 50-100 to alot of dead birds on your street or area you are not going to let pets outside...

Hi, Rocky. I would highly recommend closing off the deck and side now while supplies are still available. We build a porch for our cats (13!!) when we moved up here w/o a thought of a bird-flu. We wrapped it with fine wire on the outside and heavy-duty chicken wire on the inside. No problem with bugs getting in or the cats getting out. For in the winter we got that plastic that you use for hot-houses (can't remember the name), keeps rain out and some warmth in. Found out by accident that the cats like banana boxes, so they each have their own with old towels and blankets inside. They've been very happy. You can also order these heat-retaining floor covers for your dogs. Check out a pet magazine, they always advertise for them in there.  Hope this helps.