Pets that have the potential to creep out moms the most are often popular with preteen boys. Reptiles in general especially snakes, and to a lesser degree, frogs and toads – are high on the list, but the number one mess-with-mom’s-world pet choice has to be spiders. Nearly any spider may be a pet, but most are not recommended. Black widows, for instance, can be and have been kept as pets. They are interesting to watch and easy to care for. Black widows spin a fairly haphazard web and watching the web creation can be quite fascinating. A live cricket and a spray of water on the web once a week is all that is needed to sustain them. They are also poisonous.

By far the most popular of the arachnid pets are tarantulas. There are about 800 species of tarantula throughout the world. Many are now available for sale at pet shops and reptile shows. Tarantulas are easy to care for, but although the ones sold as pets may be safely handled, it is not advisable since they are invertebrate and may be injured by handling. The best habitat for your pet tarantula will depend on the type you choose, but most often a screen-topped aquarium or terrarium, minimum five gallon, will suffice. Equip the habitat with a shallow water dish, a substrate layer suitable for burrowing, and a place for your tarantula to hide. They will eat crickets and other live insects and generally feed a couple of times a week.

If you start with a young spiderling, you will see your tarantula grow. Part of this process includes molting. The shedding of its skin can take up to several hours; do not be alarmed if you see your tarantula on its back, and do not disturb it during the molting process as this could kill your pet.

We’ve fostered so many cats over the years, usually for just a short time before they were adopted, that most of them have blurred together in my memory. A few stand out, though, and Sparky the Cornish Rex is one of them.

Why? Well, to be honest, because of his looks. The Humane Society rep explained Cornish Rexes to me this way: “They’re ugly, but some people like them.”

It turned out this breed of cat had no guard hairs. I didn’t know what those were, but when I saw Sparky, I realized most of the hairs on a cat must be guard hairs. All he had was a thin layer of curly white hair all over. He looked more pink than anything. The lack of hair also made his ears look huge and the rest of him look painfully thin. It was strange to realize that this was what a typical fluffy cat looked like underneath.

But though Sparky didn’t look very cuddly, he was pretty affectionate and liked to rub against people and sit in our laps. Most Cornish Rexes are; I think it’s their way of keeping warm. I think that also explains their habit of squeezing into tiny spaces, like between the back door and the screen door. We had to be careful closing that door all the time he was with us.

Cornish Rexes have been around since the 1940′s, when their ancestor, Kallibunker, was born with a mutation that kept him from growing guard hairs. Instead of being scorned as a freak, he was used to father a breed. Today, Cornish Rexes have lots of fans.

Sparky, for example, was adopted by a family with a child who was allergic to animal hair. Though it’s a myth that Cornish Rexes are hypoallergenic, they felt he was worth a trial adoption. Before the end of the week, they knew he was there for good.

Cornish Rexes are great if you can see the inner cat — and I don’t mean the pink part.

This  is one of the handiest pet owners’ references I’ve seen yet. Why?

• It lives up to its title and then some. The “remedies” are not only for medical problems, but for issues like boredom, fears, and the habit of jumping up on you when you come home.
• At 400 pages, it covers the essentials without being thick enough to discourage you.
• The introduction includes a vaccination chart, a list of safe and unsafe medications, and tips on everything from choosing your pet to pet-proofing the house.
• Topics are listed alphabetically, from acne to wounds, making them quick and easy to find.
• Plenty of experts have contributed to it — including some I’ve consulted for my own articles.
• The articles on sickness and injury have “When to see the vet” boxes. After all, home remedies can only go so far.
• Many articles have sections for cats only and for dogs only. After all, giving a cat a bath is not the same thing as giving a dog a bath. (The book doesn’t downplay how hard a cat bath can be, either — “like wrestling barbed wire”.)
• The book advises you to spay and/or neuter your pets — but also shows you how to birth puppies and kittens, if need be. Nobody’s perfect . . .
• The line drawing illustrations are clear and easy to understand.
• My cat liked the cat puzzler I made him following the directions on page 82 (you just cut some holes, big enough for a cat to reach into, in a shallow box and put a small ball inside).

This book is written by the editors of Prevention Magazine Health Books and published by Rodale.

At first glance, animals seem to react to hot weather the same ways we do — by slowing down, drinking more water (or something), and catching a breeze where they can. However, for them it’s more than seeking comfort — it can mean life or death.

We all know better than to leave a dog or cat in a car in hot weather. What we may not realize is that the animal will start reacting to the heat much faster than we would. As the U.S. government blog Gov Gab notes, dogs’ and cats’ bodies are less efficient at cooling themselves. It can take only a few minutes for damage to set in.

(Gov Gab goes on to say that signs of heat injury in a pet are a bright red tongue, thick, sticky saliva, rapid panting, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, dizziness, and shock. If you think it’s happening to your pet, you can hose him down or put him into cold water — if he lets you. Of course, you should also call the vet.)

On the other hand, one summer problem pets may have is the same as one of ours — sunburn. Yes, they can get it, especially in spots where their fur is thin or just doesn’t grow — like the nose, especially if it’s light colored. There are pet sunscreen products you can buy if this threatens to be a problem.

Unless you don’t wear shoes, you probably don’t give much thought to the heat of the sidewalk you’re walking on — but your dog can burn his feet on a hot one. It’s better to exercise him at a cool time of day, anyway.

If the heat is getting to you, remember it may be getting to your pet even worse. Keeping that in mind will help you have a good summer together.

With this article I bring to you my latest Gracie update.

I recently went back to live in Boston, so I have not seen her on a daily basis, but when I came home last weekend, I definitely saw some progress happening with that dog. My mom was smart enough to bring her outside to greet me because she apparently knew that Gracie was excited to see me. That being said, she still pees when she is over-stimulated, but at least she is no longer doing what she used to do which was urinating the moment someone comes into the house. However, she does urinate when a male comes into the house; we think this is due to her being scared of the man in her last household.

Here is one more gross story for you about Gracie relieving herself before I switch the topic. So apparently our puppy was sick again last week. I think that she has been healthy for only one or two weeks of the month or two that we have had her. In any case, this week she had her typical stomach problems, but being the smart dog that she was, she decided to make her mess in our bathtub. Though that is pretty disgusting, I would much rather clean up a mess like that from a bathtub floor than from the carpet. So we’ve somehow managed to train our dog to make a mess in certain spots of the house; I suppose that could be called a success?

Other than that lesson, our pooch has definitely been learning from her lessons at school. She now will sit and wait for you to give her permission to go through a doorway. She also is starting to leave the cat alone more frequently. Though the hissing and the growling noises are heard loud and clear, the amount that we do hear the noises has drastically decreased. Another behavior that has been toned down is her tendency to pick everything up and tote it around the house!

So, though she is still a handful, I have definitely seen some strong steps in the right direction!

Since I my last post on this website, a lot has happened in the world of Gracie. She has started her Wednesday night training classes and those have been going well! Of course, she really does not respond well if you do not have a treat to reward her with, but eventually she will be able to do everything that she has learned without needing the positive reinforcement.

The only thing that I do not like is that my mom is the only one taking the class with her. However, this is not too big of a deal due to the fact that my mom is going to be spending the most time with her after my sisters and I go to college. The other thing is that my mom has been trying to teach us what she has learned, but she has not been able to tell us everything so I think that we are confusing the poor dog.

However, after you spend a chunk of time trying to get her attention (her attention span is about 2 seconds long), Gracie is able to do a lot of simple tasks. For instance, we can now get her to sit by just making the hand motion. She also stays in place very well and will then come when you tell her to come to you. She will also sit in front of a door, allow you to go through, and then will come through on your command. However, none of this happens if she is not focused on you. Keeping her interested in you is a major issue, so we will continue to work on this as time goes by.

Also, two other accomplishments are that she is less crazy inside of the house and she has drastically reduced the amount in which she treats humans as chew toys. Yay! When she does play a little too rough, she has trouble understanding “that’s enough” and seeing that we are done playing, but that is something that we are working on too.

On a sad note, she has a bump behind her ear that has turned out to be composed of cancer cells. We are supposed to wait for a month or so because this is common in puppies, but right now we do not have any clear information about the lump.

Last time, we heard from Terri Jay, professional pet psychic. This week, she tells us some more about her work.

Terri does readings for humans as well as pets, and says there are definitely differences between the two. You might think animals would be harder to reach than people, but she says, “Pets are easier and never in denial of what the issue is. Humans have so many preconceived notions about how things are and how they should be. Pets are much more honest about their situation.”

Not that they use words — what she gets from pets are “visual images, tastes, smells, sounds and feelings.” The feelings can be emotional or physical.

No one kind of animal is easier to reach than any other — Terri says it’s easy to communicate even with wild animals. She does enjoy working with horses and helping them improve their lives. It’s also important, for safety reasons, to deal with pain in horses.

Dogs have a wide range of problems — health, pain, getting lost, even competition issues. What about cats? Terri says, “Cats are very good at training their owners.” A lot of us cat people suspected that already.

You don’t have to be a professional psychic to communicate better with your pets. Terri gives workshops and has written a how-to manual. “I use this manual in my workshops and by the end of the one day intensive, everyone is doing readings for everyone else,” she says. You can find details about this and her next workshop on her site.

Animals are cute, and everybody loves an entertaining video of a dog playing a piano or a cat getting a little excited while watching a bird from inside.  There are hundreds of cute videos of animals all over the web, it probably inspires you to create your own funny video to share with the world. All you need is video camera, access to the internet,  a cute pet, and an ideal situation.  Read further on how to create a masterpiece.

1- Encourage Playtime

Its good for cats and dogs to release pent up energy, but it also makes for excellent entertainment.  Some of the best videos include animals playing with toys and/or each other. Sometimes your pet finds a toy in an unexpected object like a box or big plastic tub.  Capture these cute moments on tape!

2- Think Unexpected

Now this is going to be a bit tricker since you don’t carry a video camera everywhere you go. Next time you see your pet do something that you wished you capture on video, try to recreate that situation.  Did your cat successfully open a door? Did your dog like to play mother to a plush toy? Whatever your fuzzy pal likes to do, try to recreate that situation and the record it on video.

3- Revel In The Season

If its summertime, have your puppy play in a kiddie pool filled with water.  Or attempt to dress up your kitty in a Halloween costume this fall.   Not only do these make for excellent videos but they also make great photo opportunities too!

4- Just Roll The Video

The easiest way to capture entertaining footage is to just roll the camera. Some of the best videos come from no script, no plan, and no props.  Chances are you’ll end up recording some of your pet’s funniest antics ever.

Is it possible to communicate with pets psychically? Even to help them this way? Many owners would be skeptical.

But Terri Jay, a psychic who works with animals as well as people, says, “I don’t worry about proving to skeptics that this is possible. I have so many people who believe in what I do . . . I believe that what someone thinks about me or my work is truly none of my business.”

Terri is typically consulted for pets that have health, behavior, or performance problems. Owners also call her when they’re considering getting another pet and wondering how the current pets would react, or when they’re thinking about euthanasia. Sometimes, she’s asked to help find lost pets. Terri says, “I can usually determine whether or not the pet is still alive, what direction the pet went in, whether or not someone is caring for the pet and specific directions on what to do in order to have the greatest chance of getting the pet back.”

She usually works by phone, which lets her serve clients all over the world. There’s no need to try to get the pet on the line. She says, “I ask my client what pet they want to communicate with, their name, what breed, species and age. Just this little bit of information is enough for me to feel the pet and then I share what I am getting. I may also ask questions since what the pet is telling me or showing me may not make any sense to me . . .” If the information doesn’t make sense, Terri just passes it on non-judgmentally.

Sessions run for an hour and cost $75 each.

Terri teaches workshops on animal communication — the next is on July 10th in Reno, Nevada. Details are on her site, where you can also buy her how-to manual.

Last week, we looked at the question of whether pets feel grief when another pet dies, and what we can do about it. There are no answers that fit all pets — like humans, they’re all different, and some show grief while others don’t. If they do, the best thing an owner can do for them is provide a very stable and loving environment.

Let’s ask a more specific question: Is it necessary, or even good, for a surviving pet to see the remains of a companion? Some humans find this a necessary step in coping with grief, but does it help animals, or traumatize them?

Terri Jay, a pet psychic, says the answer, as usual, varies:

“If the pet dies of natural causes at home, then yes, the other pets should be allowed to sniff the remains, lay near the remains or whatever they feel comfortable doing. The same would be true of an at-home euthanasia. If an animal dies of being attacked by a stray dog or other predator and is a bloody mess, the smell of blood is very disturbing to the household pets and they should be kept away. If a pet is taken to the vet to be euthanized, it is too traumatic for the other pets to go . . .”

It’s not necessary to bring home the body or ashes for them to see, either, Terri says. (Though you may want to do this anyway.)

“The most important thing for all family members is for all of them to be allowed to grieve,” she says.

So the best thing for your pet is to be free to do whatever he wants to cope with the situation. A little attention to his behavior should tell you what that is.Then both of you can begin to work through the grief.