Research the different species to determine the care requirements,housing requirements, and overall time and interaction needed. A young hand-fed bird will likely be easier for you to handle and train. Here are a few ideas on some manageable bird species.

* Parakeets/Budgies These smart and colorful little guys are entertaining. Because of their small size they are easy to keep, clean up after, and care for. They are quit intelligent in spite of their small size around 8 inches from beak to tail. The average life span is from 5 to 9 years. While they look forward to spending time with you, they are independent. They can learn to talk and whistle tunes. Budgies should be let out of their cage for a couple of hours each day in a secure area to exercise. With the proper training they can be a joyful first bird.

* Cockatiels These guys are quit intelligent and can be extremely affectionate. At about 12 inches from beak to tail, with an average life span of 10 to 20 years. They are very social and enjoy spending time with you. You should handle and talk to your cockatiel everyday to keep him tame. They can learn to talk but prefer to whistle and mimic sounds such as the phone ringing. Cockatiels should be let out of their cage to play, and stretch their wings. Because of their natural friendly nature and playfulness they can be a fun first bird.

Finches and Canaries These little guys prefer staying in flight cages, they thrive in small flocks, and generally pay little attention to humans. This would be a good first bird if you have very little time to spend with them but love to watch birds. At about 5 inches long, with a life span of of 5 to 10 years. They a beautiful to look at and listen to their songs.

Lovebirds These adorable, colorful guys can be extremely affectionate. At about 6 inches long, with an average life span of 15 to 20 years. Lovebirds thrive on interaction, you will need to spend alot of time handling and interacting with him if you have just one, if you don’t have alot of time to spend with him you should buy a mate for him to interact with. They are very social and cannot thrive without interaction. Lovebirds are active, and must be provided with room to fly and climb around. They love to chew and need to be provided with toys that they can exercise their jaws on. They generally don’t talk.

A dogs paw pads are the hairless thick, spongy part of the paw. A paw has a large heart shaped metacarpal pad (on the front paws) or metatarsal pad (on the back paws) and usually four load bearing digital pads. The paw pads have evolved into a resilient part of the dogs body. Even though the paw pads are tough they can still get cut walking on glass, burned walking on hot asphalt or even punctured.

To help prevent paw pad injuries keep a watchful eye on where he is walking or playing. You may also want to consider dog booties. This will help shield the pads from injury and climate issues. Even with all this extra care and protection your dog could still end up getting a pad injury. Most dogs don’t like their feet handled, so it’s a good idea from the start to gently handle and inspect the pads daily, after a walk or play time. Feel each one of the dog’s pads and also between the pads, look for splinters, cuts, scrapes and cracking.This will help you gain the trust of your dog.

Some symptoms of paw pad injury to watch for are limping or not wanting to put weight on the paw,bleeding and excessive licking. If you find that your dog has a paw pad injury, treatment will depend on the injury. Here are a few first aid tips.
Burns-Try using a cold pack or running cold water over the paw and contact your veterinarian.
Chemicals-Don’t let your dog lick himself, wash the area with cold water and call your veterinarian.
Cracking-Try using a paw conditioner, this could help prevent cracking and drying.
Cuts- It’s very easy for your dogs paw to get cut. It’s important for you not to panic so that your dog doesn’t get nervous. First, determine if there is any debris, such as glass, in the wound. If there is use your judgment on removing it or not, taking out a piece of glass or anything else that may be stuck in the paw pad can cause hemorrhaging and make it worse. Swishing the paw in clean water could remove any small pieces of debris that might be in the wound. Put a clean cloth over the wound pressing on it to stop the bleeding. However if the wound is deep you may not be able to stop the bleeding and a trip to the vet may be necessary, for stitches and antibiotics.
Splinters- Try taking a pair of tweezers and removing the splinter if this does not work a trip to your veterinarian could be your best bet.

Your dogs paws and pads are difficult-to-heal areas because it is hard to stay off of them. That’s why even minor injuries could require a trip to your veterinarian. Your VETERINARIAN should be consulted whenever you are concerned or any suspicious injury needs checked out.Click Here!

I would recommend that you go to a quiet area, where you are in a comfortable position. Take a large bath towel and wrap it around him, exposing the head. This should help your cat feel more secure and also protect you from getting scratched.

We have found that using a treat to hide the pill in works for some cats unless they figure out what you are doing. You might want to try a different treat each time. This would be the easiest way. If this doesn’t work, try rubbing a small amount of butter on it to lubricate it, hold the pill between your thumb and index finger, with your other hand place your fingers over his nose, rolling the upper lip inward over his teeth (this will cause him to bite his upper lip if he bites down) gently raise his head upward, with the hand holding the pill use your remaining fingers to gently open the lower jaw, place the pill as far back in his mouth on his tongue as possible, close his mouth and rub his neck until you feel him swallow. After being successful remember to praise him and follow with a treat, food or water to ensure that the pill has gone down.

If you find that you are both still being stressed out, you might ask your vet if the medication comes in liquid form. With liquid medication I would use a syringe and place small amounts at a time in his mouth until he swallowed to help ensure that the medicine doesn’t end up all over you and your cat. As with most liquid medicines they have a nasty taste that could make this way difficult.

I was talking to my Aunt this morning and her cat named Meow (usually takes his medication easily) is suppose to take an antibiotic twice a day for two weeks, for two days she tried to give him his medication and it was a fight every time, she put a small drop on her tongue and found that it had a horrible taste, she could still taste it after brushing her teeth three times. She called her vet and found that there is an antibiotic in a shot form out now. Meow goes in tomorrow for his first of two shots, the vet said that they have been pleased with the results of the shots. This will save two weeks of stressing out.

Remember you don’t want to “Stress” out your pet as this could be harmful to him, and always remember to “PRAISE” him when the job is done.

Your parrot should be fed a variety of fruits, vegetables, some dairy & meat twice a day as an essential part of their proper diet.  This variety should be given to them in the morning and evening.  Only give them as much as they will eat in that sitting to eliminate the chance of spoiled foods.  Mold on fruits and nuts can harbor “Aspergillus” a bird with a weakened immune system can succumb to aspergillosis, a dangerous respiratory infection.

Like people, parrots will have their likes and dislikes.  Offering them a large variety from the start will encourage them to eat different foods.

Polly a Double Yellow Headed Amazon, was raised by a friend of mine and given to me when she was in her thirties. She had been offered a variety of foods from the start, so when i brought her home the routine was I would fix my plate and duplicate one for her she would then sit on the table next to me to eat, often times eating off my plate.  Polly got sick at the age of 42 and the vet could not save her (metal poisoning from a toy).  It took me a couple of years before I could bring myself to start looking for another parrot.

Mike a (9 year old we think) Catalina Macaw, was abandoned by his owner and a friend of mine that rescues birds offered him to me.  I brought Mike home thinking things would be like they were with Polly… guess what they weren’t.  Mike didn’t like people so eating from my plate wasn’t an option.  After allot of research I started going to the store and buying small quantities of different fruits and vegetables, I would give mike a mixture of the items for about three days watching him throw out the same thing over and over and eat the things he liked.  Now I buy the things he likes and try to add some of the others to see if  he will eat them yet.  Mike has been with me a year and a half now and is doing allot better with people.

Jello a (15 year old we think) Yellow Nape Amazon, was abandoned and given to me buy the same friend two days ago.   I started giving her the same things that Mike is getting…guess what I am now watching what she throws out and what she will eat.

Your parrot should have access to fresh water and seeds or pellets all day.  I have heard that seeds are like candy to your parrot and do not have all the nutritional value that she will need to live a long happy life.

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It is likely that your puppy will have accidents during the house breaking,  remember to only punish your puppy when you catch him in the act with a firm “NO” then immediately take him out side.  When he eliminates in an area that makes you happy remember to “PRAISE” him.  Timing is everything, I have found that after sleeping, eating or playing they usually need to eliminate.

Putting your puppy on a regular eating schedule and watching his behavior will help you better understand when they need to eliminate.  If your puppy whines or starts  running in circles grab the leash and get outside fast.

During the potty training time don’t let him have free reign of the house.  Confine him to a small area of the house, I would also put news paper or puppy pads down for them to use while you are not there to watch them.  Supervision is important until he understands what you want.