My Science School

•  Partially close fish-food dispensers

Some fish food containers have large open tops; others have far too many large holes — and both can lead to overfeeding your aquarium or goldfish-bowl fish. Cover half of the container mouth with masking tape to better control the dispersal of fish flakes.

• Pantihose as tank cleaners

Save an old pair of pantihose for yet another household use: once you've removed the fish, the water and any ornaments from an aquarium tank, you can turn old pantihose into a cleaning tool in two ways: fit a leg over your arm so that you have the foot over your fingers like a mitten, or ball the pantihose up and use them as you would a sponge. No matter which method you choose, make a simple vinegar and water solution (1 part white vinegar to 1 part water) and use pantihose to wipe down the sides and bottom of the tank.

•  Put aquarium water to good use

When you change the water in your tank, don't pour it down the drain. It's excellent for hatching brine shrimp (the favourite food of sea horses, if you keep a sea horse or two in your aquarium) and it makes an excellent fertilizer for houseplants and outdoor ornamentals alike. The nutrients in the water make flowering plants and vegetables thrive like few other fertilizers. And don't be put off by the smell — it will dissipate about an hour after you water your plants.

•  Pep up a goldfish with salt

Treat your goldfish to a swim in the ocean: a simulated ocean. Stir 1 teaspoon marine salt into 1 litre room-temperature water and pour it into a wide-mouthed container. Let your fish swim for about 15 minutes in this slightly salty mix and then return the fish to the tank. The saltwater will put a little pep in her step. Caution: it is essential to use marine salt. Never use table salt as the pH is too high. If the fish shows the slightest sign of distress, immediately return it to the tank.

•  Tasty treats for hermit crabs

Enhance a hermit crab's diet by adding bits of any of the following to its food dish: mango, papaya, coconut, apples, pureed apple, bananas, grapes, pineapple, strawberries, melons, carrots, spinach, leafy green lettuces (not iceberg), broccoli, grass, leaves, strips of bark from deciduous trees (not conifers), unsalted nuts, sultanas, unsalted crackers, unsweetened cereals and plain rice cakes. A wide-ranging crustacean menu indeed.

• Save your tortoise's gravel

Don't throw away the gravel or aggregate in your tortoise's bowl every time you clean it. Dump the gravel, aggregate and any other bowl materials into a colander. Place the colander over a bucket and pour water over the contents until the gravel is clean. Next, pour household bleach over everything. Finally, run water over the contents of the colander until the smell of bleach has completely gone.

•  A lost snake

 It's easy to lose a snake, but don't panic. Here are two good ways to find your missing pet:

1.  Place foil or crinkly plastic packing material around the room in potential hiding places, so you can hear the snake moving around.


2.  Sprinkle some flour on the floor in areas where you suspect your pet might be hiding.

•  Bring the outdoors in for a pet lizard

Your pet lizard will enjoy having fresh small tree branches in his cage. Lizards like to climb and hang out on the branches that you can collect from the garden.

•  Lazy lizards

Caged lizards like to relax, so make your pet a little hammock. String a section of old pillowcase or a bandana between two corners of the cage and you will soon see your lizard resting comfortably in his new piece of furniture.

•  A reptile cage catch-all

Keep the area around a reptile's cage neat by placing an old plastic shower curtain or plastic tablecloth beneath the cage. When it's time to tidy up, bundle up the plastic liner, brush sand or crumbs or any other bits of rubbish into the bin and then wipe the liner with a sponge before returning it to its original spot.

•  Give rabbits plenty of paper

A pet bunny with something to burrow into will be a happy one. Offer your rabbit shredded newspaper, crumpled-up phone book pages or other similar paper, placing it in the bottom of his cage so that he can dig away.

•  A cardboard hidey-hole for a bunny

Rabbits enjoy the comfort of a 'cave'. Remove the lid from a cardboard box and cut out a door shape. Turn the box upside down in the rabbit cage and your pet will use it as a cosy hideaway.

•  A roll to gnaw on

Almost all pet animals — dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, ferrets — enjoy gnawing on an empty cardboard roll. So do some birds, such as cockatiels. Put some rolls aside for your pets. They also like to gnaw on cardboard tissue boxes, but remember to remove the plastic liner attached to tissue boxes' dispensing slots.

•  A healthy home for guinea pigs

Guinea pigs need lots of exercise, so it's important that they have a big cage, but they also need to have a few 'destinations' within a large cage in order to get that much-needed exercise. The easiest way to do this is to put in a sturdy, small cardboard box with a couple of holes for entry and exit. A large plastic or cardboard tube is also great for encouraging exercise. By doing this — and providing plenty of fresh green grass and vegetables for vitamin C —your guinea pigs will be able to run around within their new home and eat well, resulting in good health and a longer life.

•  Nibble, nibble, nibble

Most pet rodents enjoy chew toys, which can end up being ridiculously expensive. But you can provide just as much munching pleasure for free. As well as all those empty cardboard rolls and small cardboard boxes, give your nibblers small blocks of wood left over from carpentry projects. Caution: never give rodents treated wood to chew on as it could be toxic.

• Make a tube-sock tail wrap

Rather than buying a tail wrap, make one from a length of elasticized tubular bandaging, or Tubigrip (available from pharmacies) — a cost-effective way to protect your horse's tail on your way to a show. Here's how:

1. On each side of the tube's cuff, cut a strip that will remain attached — each one about 8cm long and 2cm wide.

2. Braid your horse's tail and slip the tube sock over it.

3. Interlace one of the loose tube-sock strips with the top of the braid, then tie the second sock strip to the first one, knotting it tightly, to keep the tube sock in place.

• A simple cure for rain rots

Rain scald, or rain rot, is a common skin infection affecting horses, particularly in winter when their skin stays wet for long periods of time. After giving the affected area a good brushing, apply iodine solution (available from pharmacies and some supermarkets) to the scabs, leave it on for a few minutes, then rinse off. Repeat a few times a week until the condition clears up. Don't blanket your horse while he's being treated for rain rot. Caution: keep iodine away from the horses’ eyes, and consult a vet if the infection doesn't clear up within 2 weeks as your horse may require antibiotic therapy.

•  Shine her up

After hosing off your horse, sponge on a solution of white vinegar and water (1 part vinegar to 10 parts water). This simple mixture will remove soap residue, help to repel flies and also shine up her coat.

•  Alternatives to expensive hoof dressing

Keeping a horse's hooves in good condition is essential to his wellbeing. Like human nail tissue, hooves are made of keratin and need to be nourished to prevent cracking and splitting. There are plenty of commercial hoof products available on the market, but here are three dressings you probably already have at home:

1.  Margarine


2.  Olive oil cooking spray


3.  WD-40

In cold areas, it's important to apply dressing to the hooves to prevent snow freezing in a hoof. This makes it hard for a galloping horse to place its feet flat on the ground, often leading to sprains. Just remember that any of these dressings may make the hoof and shoe slippery, so make sure you don't apply too much in winter too frequently,

•  Deter flies and other insects

Keep flies away from your horse's eyes by mixing together a few drops of any of the following oils: tea-tree, eucalyptus oil, lavender or citronella. Dab a cotton wool ball in the oil mix and wipe along your horse's cheeks and forehead, then watch the flies flee! Another great remedy is to feed your horse garlic so that his garlic breath drives away insect pests.

•  Shine up metal parts of a saddle

Clean and polish your horse's chrome bits, buckles and straps with toothpaste. This handy and inexpensive polish works wonders on the shiny parts of a saddle.

•  Saddle smarts

When you take apart your saddle for cleaning, it's easy to forget which stirrup strap is left and which is right. Take two empty toilet-paper tubes and mark one Left, one Right. As you remove each strap, lace the strap through the correct paper tube and buckle it. And remember to rotate your stirrup leathers to prevent stretching on one side, or they'll end up uneven.

•  Hair gel keeps manes tidy

Forget fancy grooming techniques and tools; if hair gel works for you, it will work for your horse, too. Use a dollop to make braiding easy and to keep stray hairs from popping out of place on show day. A bit of hairspray will tame stray hairs, too.

•  Smear stalls with chilli to stop chewing

To keep stalls from being chewed on by nickering nags, simply wipe some hot chilli paste, hot mustard or wasabi paste onto the stall. Horses hate the taste of anything hot and spicy, so they will leave the wood alone.

•  Prevent chewing with oil of cloves

Puppies do chew — even on the legs of tables and chairs. Discourage chewing by dabbing the most attractive spots (your shoes, a cardboard box and anything wooden your puppy can get his teeth around) with oil of cloves. The bitter odour and taste are a deterrent to nibbling.

•  Frozen teething bagels

This is a great method for soothing painful gums in young teething puppies: freeze a few bagels until they are rock-solid and ice-cold. Let the puppy chew on them to ease his painful choppers. When the bagel becomes soft, take it away before he eats it and replace with a dog toy.

•  Odour-eating vinegar

Accidents do happen, especially with new pets. Eliminate unpleasant urine smells from carpets with a 50:50 solution of white vinegar and warm water. Pour it onto the affected area so that it soaks through to the carpet padding, then allow it to sit for half an hour. Wash the affected area with cool water until the vinegar is rinsed out, then pat the carpet dry with towels. Cover with a 1cm-thick layer of dry, clean white rags, towels or paper towels, weight them down with heavy objects (bricks, paperweights, door stops and the like) and let the absorbent material sit for several hours to soak up the moisture.

•  Clear the air with coffee beans

Some pet owners have found that they can remove pet odours from a room simply by heating a cupful of freshly ground coffee beans in a cast-iron frying pan over low heat. As soon as the scent is released, remove the pan to the smelly room and put it on a trivet. By the time the ground beans have cooled, much of the pet odour should have dissipated.

•  Do away with pet hair

It's embarrassing when guests don't want to sit on your sofa because they don't enjoy 'wearing' your pet's coat on their clothing. Here are some ways to remove dog and cat hair from your furniture and clothing — and prevent pet hair from getting there in the first place:

1.  Lightly mist your hair-covered garment with water, then put it in the tumble-dryer with a damp towel and a fabric-softener sheet. Dry on the air cycle for a few minutes.


2.  Gently rub upholstered furniture and clothing with a slightly damp kitchen sponge to remove pet hair.


3.  Wrap your hand with masking tape or gaffer tape, sticky side out. Run both your palm and the back of your hand over furniture or clothes to collect hair.


4.  Put on a rubber glove and rub your fingers back and forth over furniture until the pet hair forms a ball and you can lift it off.


5.  Cover a sponge, a whiteboard eraser or your hand with a fabric-softener sheet and rub away pet hair.


6.  Try vacuuming your pet, using the brush attachment on your vacuum. If she doesn't mind the noise, make this a weekly task that will collect loose hairs before they start flying around the house. If your pet doesn't like being vacuumed, try holding the vacuum brush about 5cm away from her fur.

• Kill carpet odour with bicarb

If a musty smell has infiltrated the carpet, as often happens with recently cleaned pet urine spots, use bicarbonate of soda to neutralize it. Once the carpet has thoroughly dried, sweeten the area by working about 2-3 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda into the pile. Wait for 15 minutes before vacuuming it up.

•  Foil as a noisy deterrent

Noise deters pets from jumping on furniture. To train cats to stay off upholstered sofas and chairs, top the cushions with aluminium foil. When cats jump onto furniture, the crunching sound of foil acts as a deterrent.

•  Recycle a plastic shower curtain

Covering your furniture with an old plastic shower curtain is likely to keep pets at arm's length. It isn't comfortable to lie on and the crunchy plastic makes an unpleasant noise when animals climb onto it, which they hate.

• Mix your own repellents

Homemade flea repellents are easy to mix and bottle, so why not give them a try?

Use them to spray your dog or cat almost all over, especially under the 'armpits', behind the ears and around the head, taking care to shield the eyes. When you spray at the base of the tail, avoid spraying your pet's genitals. Here are two quick and easy recipes:

1. Lemon spray Cut 2 lemons into small pieces put the pieces into a saucepan of 1 litre water and boil the pieces for 1 hour. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture stand overnight. Strain the lemony liquid into a spray bottle and spray your pet as directed above.


2. Vinegar flea repellent Repel fleas with a solution made from 10 parts water to 1 part white vinegar. Pour it into a spray bottle and spray your pet as directed above.

•  Pine scent in the doghouse

A pile of fresh pine needles, or cedar shavings, placed underneath a dog's bed will discourage fleas from settling.

•  Draw a line in the salt

Pour table salt around all the crevices of the kennel to keep fleas well away from your dog's cosy abode.

•  Cedar deterrents

Add cedar chips or cedar sawdust to the stuffing for your pet's pillow or bedding. If your dog has a kennel, hang or nail a cedar block inside. The odour of cedar repels fleas as well as other nuisance insects, including moths.

•  Scent flea collars with essential oils

Shop-bought flea collars often carry an unpleasant odour, and you may hesitate to put a chemical-laden collar so close to your pet's skin. Fit your pet with a natural, pleasant-smelling flea collar instead. Rub a few drops of tea-tree essential oil, or lavender, eucalyptus or scented geranium, into an ordinary webbed or rope collar or a dog bandana and then refresh the oil weekly.

•  Kill flea eggs with salt

 This flea killer takes a little time to work its magic. Sprinkle salt on your carpets to kill flea eggs; let it sit for a day, then vacuum. Repeat the process a few days later to make sure you haven't missed any flea eggs. Each time you vacuum the salt, tie up and discard the vacuum cleaner bag that you've used.

• Eggs make coats shine

A weekly scrambled egg added to your cat or dog's food will keep her coat shiny and it's a healthy treat most pets love. However, raw eggs are off limits, because they may be contaminated with salmonella.

• Unsticking something sticky

That sticky something in your pet's fur could be pine sap, mud or something unmentionable. Before you get out the scissors and cut away the gummy patch, leaving your dog or cat with a bald spot, try mixing 1 teaspoon mild shampoo or washing-up liquid with 60-120ml warm water and whisk well. Wearing rubber gloves, apply some of the solution to your pet's sticky spot, rubbing it in with your fingers. Then comb the spot with a wire-toothed brush. Once you've removed the sticky stuff, wash away any soapy residue with warm water.

• Mouthwash for skin problems

You may think that mouthwashes are for oral hygiene only. But they're also a good all-round disinfectant for your dog or cat (and for you, too, for that matter). Use one of the stronger mouthwash brands as an astringent on your pet's skin to disinfect wounds, clean cuts and scrapes, and cool down boils and other hot spots. Just moisten a cotton wool ball with mouthwash and dab it onto the affected area to help a wounded dog or cat heal more quickly.

• A bicarb bed freshener

In between washings of your pet's bedding, sprinkle it with bicarbonate of soda, then let it sit for about an hour. Shake off the bicarb outdoors, then vacuum off the rest. This will freshen and deodourise the bedding.

• Shrink an old jumper to fit your dog!

To keep your dog warm during cold-weather walks, provide her with a jumper by shrinking one of your old round-necked or v-necked woollen ones to dog size. (Use a child's jumper if your dog is small.) First, measure the jumper against your dog; if it's at least three times too big, it should work. Put it into the washing machine with 60ml mild detergent and set the water temperature to hot, on a large wash even though the load consists of a single item. After removing the jumper, press it between two towels to squeeze out as much water as possible. While it's damp, it's time for a fitting. Reshape the jumper so that the neck is wide enough to fit easily over your dog's head. (If it won't, cut a slit and bind the edges with seam binding to prevent fraying.) The arms of the jumper should fit over the dog's two front legs and the body of the jumper should reach about halfway down her back. Lay the jumper on a drying rack and let it dry in a well-ventilated room. Lastly, take your dog out to strut her stuff in her new warm winter outfit - which didn't cost a cent.

• Recycle a belt as a collar

Save money by making a pet collar from a small leather belt that's no longer used. (A grosgrain belt is suitable for smaller, lightweight pets, but only if it has a binding along its length.) Cut the belt to the desired length for your little dog or cat. Place the new collar on a block of wood and poke holes in it with an awl or heavy metal skewer, then buckle it around your pet's neck to make sure it fits comfortably. For a cat, split the collar and add in a piece of elastic so that it can slip off if she gets it caught.

• Shoe-bag pet-stuff organizer

A hanging shoe bag placed inside a kitchen cupboard door or in the laundry or garage can help control all your pet clutter. Use the pockets for storing toys, treats, cloths — even your pet's vital health statistics, including the vet's name and number. With everything in one place, you — or a pet-sitter — should find it easier to locate what you need whenever you need it.

• Polish makes your pet easy to find

Glow-in-the-dark, pet-safe nail polish (available at pet shops or online) dabbed onto your cat or dog's collar — and on claws — will make him easier to spot when he's out after dark.

• Keep basic info handy

Place all important papers that relate to your pet in a small lidded box (an old lunch box is ideal) so that you can easily find it if you have to run to the vet's surgery in an emergency. In the same way, a pet sitter will be able to easily find everything in one place if they need to.

• Don't throw away an old comb

Use it as a belly scratcher for your dog or cat. Your fingernails will do the job, too, but pets seem to love the feel of a fine-toothed comb digging into their fur.

• Healthy stir-ins

When cooking, save the rich liquid from steamed vegetables and the drippings from meat and stir a spoonful or two into your cat's food bowl, adding a little warm water to thin the juices if necessary. If your cooking session doesn't coincide with pet feeding time, put the juices in a jar and store in the fridge for later use. Heat the stir-ins in the microwave to warm, not hot, before sharing them with your cat.

• Clean up a cat brush using pantihose

To clean up a cat brush with ease, slip a small piece of a pair of pantihose over the head of the brush before grooming, making sure the bristles poke through. Once grooming is finished, remove the pantihose, which should now be laden with cat fur, and discard.

• A mouse pad for a cat bowl

When you replace your computer mouse pad, use the old one as a placemat for your pet's food bowl. It will be perfect for keeping it from skidding and for catching spills.

• Ant-proof your pet's food

When you feed dogs or cats outdoors, keep ants out of the food bowl with this trick: put your pet's bowl in the centre of a baking tray filled with water.

• Petroleum jelly = fewer hairballs

Just add 1 teaspoon petroleum jelly to your cat's daily feedings to help ease hairballs through the digestive tract. (Note: vegetable oils and other oils won't work because your cat will absorb and digest them.) To control hairballs, give your cat a good brushing every day.

• Foil litter-tray smells

Once odour penetrates the bottom of a litter tray, it is almost impossible to remove completely — a good reason to whip up this easy-to-make aluminium-foil odour-barrier. Cut a piece of cardboard box to size, cover it with heavy-duty aluminium foil and secure the foil to the cardboard with masking tape. When changing the cat litter, don't throw away your homemade liner; instead, wipe over the foil with a wet sponge soaked in a solution of 2 parts vinegar to 1 part bicarbonate of soda. If you treat the liner gently, you should be able to get at least three or four uses out of it.

• Slice a lemon to neutralize odour

There's nothing pleasant about the smell of a litter tray — but here's a way to control odour in the area where the box sits. Place half a lemon, cut-side up, on a saucer and put it on the floor a few centimetres from the litter tray. (A scientist could explain to you why the smell of lemon in the air neutralizes unpleasant odours, but suffice to say that lemon gives bicarbonate of soda a run for its money when it comes to odour control.) For tough odours, place several lemon halves on a paper plate or try a combination of orange, lemon and lime halves.

• Three ways to sweeten a litter tray

If you're buying the kind of cat litter that neutralizes litter-tray odours, you're probably, spending a lot every week on this essential. Here are three suggestions that will help you to achieve the same result for less expense:

1. Add 1/3 cup (60g) bicarbonate of soda to ordinary litter and mix well.


2. Sprinkle 1/2 cup (60g) baby powder onto the litter to keep it fresh.


3. Stir a handful of dried parsley or other aromatic dried herb into the litter.

• No-cost litter-tray cleaners

Instead of using branded or supermarket own-brand cleaning products, choose one of these kitchen cupboard or under-the-sink items to keep a litter tray as fresh as possible. After removing the litter and liner (if you use one), clean the litter tray weekly with:

1. Vinegar


2. Household ammonia


3. Lemon oil


4. A solution of 1 part household bleach to 10 parts water.

Finish the job by rinsing the litter box with plain water. Then wipe it completely dry with a clean cloth before refilling again.

• A doormat for cats

To keep your cat from tracking dusty paw prints onto the floor when she leaves her litter tray, place a carpet remnant or an old placemat on the side of the tray where she makes her exit.

• File claws with sandpaper

Most dogs don't like having their claws filed, but doing so will keep them in good condition and avoid splitting in cold weather. To ease your dog's stress about the nail-filing devices used by groomers, cut a small round of medium-grit sandpaper, wrap it around your index finger and gently work at it, stopping frequently to praise your dog and reinforcing his good behaviour with a treat.

• Use tube socks for post-shampoo itchiness

Many dogs have skin that is sensitive to shampoos, leaving them scratching and irritated after their bath (which they no doubt didn't I want in the first place). Keep a larger dog from scratching his neck and face by putting his back feet in cotton tube socks and pulling them up as far as you can; if you have a smaller dog (with shorter legs), try a pair of cotton baby socks.

• Use olive oil on matted hair

Loosen your dog's matted hair by rubbing a little olive oil into the knot. Then gently comb through the matted area with a wire brush until the brush teeth glide smoothly through his coat.

• Oil away tar

Remove tar from your dog's foot pads by gently rubbing them with baby oil or petroleum jelly. Then wash away the residue with a mild solution of soapy water. To keep tar pick-up to a minimum on your walks, carefully trim the hair that grows between your pet's toes.

• Dab off tear residue with baby oil

Some dogs' tear ducts create a residue that collects in the hair below the corner of the eye. This may stain the hair of light-coloured dogs and, despite products sold to 'whiten' it, vets say there is little you can do — so it's best not to fret. Still, you should remove the gunk. Pour a little baby oil onto a cotton ball and gently work it into the area to loosen the residue and make it easier to dab off. You could also use a very mild face-freshening toner, but take great care to keep it out of your dog's eyes.

• Vinegar ear cleaner

All floppy-eared dogs — especially water dogs such as Labradors and retrievers — should have their ears gently cleaned at least once a week to prevent waxy build-up and infections, which result in both pain and odour. Mix 1 part white vinegar to 1 part water; dip a cotton wool ball into the mixture and carefully wipe out your dog's ears, but without inserting the cotton wool ball into the ear canal. Use a separate cotton wool ball for each ear to avoid cross contamination in case of infection.

• Prevent dog-hair blockages with a kitchen scouring pad

At bath time, you can keep your dog's hair from clogging the bath drain by placing a nylon scouring pad or a snipped-off section of kitchen sponge over the drain. This porous barrier will collect hair, which you can then easily remove and discard.

• Keep your dog on a 'tight' lead

Your dog will appreciate the elasticity of a lead that's made from an old pair of pantihose. The idea is to knot it at 10-12 cm intervals and create a handle at the end by looping the pantihose and then knotting it.

• Cool him with a wet T-shirt

If you're feeling the heat, your dog may be too. If you're walking him on a very hot day, dampen a large (or small, depending on the dog's size) children's cotton T-shirt with cool water, wring it dry and fit it over his head, pushing his two front paws through the sleeves. Tie a knot on the side to take up the slack, making sure that the shirt fits comfortably — neither too tight nor too loose. (Check it periodically to make sure it stays that way.) If the shirt dries out after a while, give it a quick spray with water.

• Glow-in-the-dark collar

Even a few regularly spaced strips of reflective tape placed along your dog's (or cat's) collar will help drivers to see them if they happen to be out at night or at dusk.

• Plastic bag pooper-scooper

Never throw away plastic shopping bags. Among many other uses they make perfect pooper-scoopers and they're free. Just stick your hand into the bag, pick up the mess with your gloved hand and turn the bag inside out before tying it off and disposing of it.

• Cardboard cleaning tool

 Cut a section from an empty cereal box to use as a disposable pooper-scooper whenever you walk your dog. Slide it under the pile of dog poo and put both the pile and your scooper directly into a plastic shopping bag. Tie the whole thing up and throw it in the bin.

• Soothe paws with petroleum jelly

Extreme temperatures can damage a dog's paws during a walk. Hot pavements and freezing paths may irritate your dog's foot pads, leading to cracking. To soothe his feet and help initiate healing, rub a little petroleum jelly onto his paws. Before he comes back into the house wipe any excess off his paws so that he won't track it onto the carpet or upholstery.

• Go bananas!

Add about a third of a soft banana to 1-1/2 cups dry food. Slice it, mash it or stir it into the pellets. Not only does it add variety and a bit of healthy sweetness, which most dogs seem to love, but a bit of banana can also settle your dog's stomach.

• Healthy snacks

If you have ever been on a diet, you know all about carrying around peeled baby carrots to satisfy a hunger pang between meals. The good news is that dogs generally love carrots, too. They're sweet and healthy enough to make them a regular part of his diet in place of a biscuit.

• Yogurt pots as doggie travel carriers

Save larger plastic yogurt pots with fitted lids; when you're taking your dog along on a journey, they are the perfect size for his favourite small treats. Though most dogs don't like to eat during travel, you can reward him for his good behaviour once you have reached your destination.

• Put the jerk back in the food

Is your faithful friend a little finicky? Try this safe trick: put a stick of beef jerky into a new bag of dry dog food and reseal it for 24 hours. The scent might make the dry food more tempting to your canine.

• Get your dog to take a pill

There's no reason to wrestle your dog to the ground to try to get him to take a tablet; this is what cheese is for. All you need is some strongly flavoured cheddar cheese. Grate a small amount or buy ready-grated. Warm a little bit in your hands and roll it into a cheese 'pill', then insert the medicine and it should go down in just a matter of seconds.

Credit: Reader's Digest

Picture credit: Google

Special drugs called antibiotics are used to treat diseases caused by bacteria. Early antibiotics were made from moulds and fungi, but today they are produced artificially from chemicals. Antibiotics work by breaking down the cells of the bacteria. There is some concern that the continued use of antibiotics could create problems for the future because the bacteria are becoming resistant to the drugs.

Any substance that inhibits the growth and replication of a bacterium or kills it outright can be called an antibiotic. Antibiotics are a type of antimicrobial designed to target bacterial infections within (or on) the body. This makes antibiotics subtly different from the other main kinds of antimicrobials widely used today:

• Antiseptics are used to sterilise surfaces of living tissue when the risk of infection is high, such as during surgery.


• Disinfectants are non-selective antimicrobials, killing a wide range of micro-organisms including bacteria. They are used on non-living surfaces, for example in hospitals.

Of course, bacteria are not the only microbes that can be harmful to us. Fungi and viruses can also be a danger to humans, and they are targeted by antifungals and antivirals, respectively. Only substances that target bacteria are called antibiotics, while the name antimicrobial is an umbrella term for anything that inhibits or kills microbial cells including antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals and chemicals such as antiseptics.

Most antibiotics used today are produced in laboratories, but they are often based on compounds scientists have found in nature. Some microbes, for example, produce substances specifically to kill other nearby bacteria in order to gain an advantage when competing for food, water or other limited resources. However, some microbes only produce antibiotics in the laboratory.

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. Some are highly specialized and are only effective against certain bacteria. Others, known as broad-spectrum antibiotics, attack a wide range of bacteria, including ones that are beneficial to us.

There are two main ways in which antibiotics target bacteria. They either prevent the reproduction of bacteria, or they kill the bacteria, for example by stopping the mechanism responsible for building their cell walls.

Picture credit: Google

Some people may be more at risk from disease than others. in many developing countries, people may be short of food or may not have access to clean water. In such circumstances, they are at risk from nutritional diseases such as scurvy and rickets, as well as those that thrive in areas with poor sanitation, such as cholera and hepatitis. In industrialized nations, the population may have an increased risk of cancer and heart disease, brought about by high-fat diets and unhealthy lifestyles.

Some groups of people appear to be at higher risk of more complicated or severe illness, including:

• Pregnant women;


• Infants and young children particularly under age 2;


• people of any age with certain chronic health conditions (including asthma or lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease or some neurological conditions);


• People with severely compromised immune systems.

Currently, people age 65 or older are the least likely to be infected with the pandemic influenza, but those who do get sick are also at high risk of developing serious complications, just as they are from seasonal flu.

Who recommends that pregnant women, or others at higher risk of severe illness and their caregivers, be vaccinated against pandemic influenza and take all the necessary precautions, including hygiene measures, to prevent the spread of illness.

Vaccination against the pandemic influenza is prudent for everyone to reduce chances of infection.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is spread primarily by contact with blood and blood products. Blood transfusions and the sharing of used needles and syringes have been the main causes of the spread of HCV in the United States. With the introduction in 1991 of routine blood screening for HCV antibody and improvements in the test in mid-1992, transfusion-related hepatitis C has virtually disappeared. At present, injection drug use is the most common risk factor for contracting the disease. However, there are patients who get hepatitis C without any known exposure to blood or to drug use.

Those individuals most at risk for hepatitis C infection are:

• People who had blood transfusions, blood products, or organ donations before June, 1992, when sensitive tests for HCV were introduced for blood screening.


• Health care workers who suffer needle-stick accidents.


• Injection drug users, including those who may have used drugs once many years ago.


• Infants born to HCV-infected mothers.


• Other groups who appear to be at slightly increased risk for hepatitis C are:


• People with high-risk sexual behavior, multiple partners, and sexually transmitted diseases.


• People who snort cocaine using shared equipment.


• People who have shared toothbrushes, razors and other personal items with a family member that is HCV-infected.

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