Family Travel Reminders

Many families will travel out of town for the holidays. Some will take the roads and some will go by air. No matter which way you and your family travel, Forbes Living TV shares some reminders to keep handy.

Who will take care of the house, mail and family pets while you are away? Now is the time to reserve the best caretakers for these valuable assets. Be sure to add some buffer time to the schedule to allow for delayed flights or heavy traffic congestion. Add an extra day to the schedule, if needed. Make a list of what needs to be done daily.

Families who are taking flights out of town should consider downloading movies on tablets or digital devices a week or more before the flight departs. Sometimes the download is slow even on a fast connection.  The same applies for adding apps and especially those related for travel.

If special meals, such as a gluten-free one, are needed for family members, place that request when reserving the flight and seats. If the reservation is already made, call the airline and add the request well in advance of the flight.

familykenkel also suggests checking the baggage restrictions for all connecting flights. Your checked suitcase may be too big and heavy for the regional airline connection to the destination point. Know before you go.

With a little advance planning, a family holiday trip can go smoothly. Why leave some things to chance?

Tips for Pets Who Miss Their Kid-Siblings

The family pet mopes all day long waiting for the kids to get home from school. Some become so anxious that they destroy blinds, doors and other objects. A neighbor’s pooch becomes so upset when her family is out of the house that it viewed up three sets of mini blinds before they brought in another dog to keep the wild one calm. Familykenkel offers tips for pets that miss their kid-siblings when school starts.

A great summer for the dog or cat is having their human siblings around to play with and cuddle up to. But once school starts, what’s a sad and lonely pet to do until the school bus comes back or the front door opens? Make school departure time happy and fun with treats and toys. Toss the ball one more time or give the family four-legger a treat before heading out. Make a safe place for the animal to stay in during the day. Crates work well for this especially if the dog is trained to go in it when young. This is their safe space. Don’t draw out saying see ya later to the dog. Make it quick and then go out the door. If school already started, start the new school routine for the pooch over the weekend. Familykenkel recommends getting the family pet used to the new schedule as soon as possible. If the animal has serious anxiety problems, go see the vet and ask if there is anything that can help. Animals are family members just like their human buddies. Look after then and they will look after you.

The Powerball is Yours – Now What?

It is hard to resist playing the lottery and powerball lottery when the jackpots are high. Now let’s image that you wake up Sunday morning and check your tickets to see if you won and learn that you won it all. Now what?

Keep in mind that about 70 percent of lottery winners end up broke. We are assuming you filled out the back of the tickets and contacted the state lottery to let them know you won.

• Make copies of the ticket and secure it in a safe place.
• Ask friends and relatives for the name of a good financial advisor. This person should not be someone who will agree with you about investments of charitable giving.
• Start making investment so you will be paid every month until the day you die. If not, it is likely you might spend all of your money on yourself and everyone else before making the life change to the other side.
• Take time to think about what you want to do with all that money. Generally speaking, younger winners spend it all and soon are back to living paycheck to paycheck. Older winners do not. Familykenkel suggests talking it over with a trusted person in your life. Write the plan down.
• Be careful. Don’t trust everyone you know who suddenly wants to be your new best friend/financial advisor.
• Find something meaningful to do with your life. Go overseas and volunteer. Stay in the States and volunteer. Buy land and start your own private dog park.

Coming Craze of Membership Dog Parks

There are dog parks and then there are the spiffy membership dog parks. These are cropping across the East Coast and soon may be coming to open green spaces near you. Familykenkel takes a look at what these elite walk and play parks have to offer.

In New York City and a few other places, people are buying unused land and turning it into a great place for dogs to walk, run, play and socialize. For a fee. These are membership only parks where dogs are screened to see if they have been socialized and to see if they are aggressive. Perhaps the pet owners should be screened also.  They are paying the fees – which can be as low as $25 per year to $425 a year – to have a private space where they know the other dogs and pet owners. While some of the parks have steep fees, which cover all of expenses they put into it, like insurance and waste removal, other parks are not charging the pet owners for them.

Familykenkel knows that every dog park, whether it is run by the city or privately, will have its share of pet owners who let the dogs run around without any supervision and those who do not pick up after their pets. These members are asked to leave and their membership is revoked. We want to know: would you pay for a private dog park or rather use a free city park?

How Often We Wash These Things?

There are specific types of people who feel the need to wash sheets, windows, carpets, their blue jeans and other things as often as possible. Familykenkel offers some ideas from home keeping guides about when to wash some of the most standard items in the house.

Sheets -- Wash once a week or once every two weeks. Use hot water and dry on high heat to kill germs. Jeans -- Wash every four to five wears or else they get faded and worn. Turn them inside out before tossing in the washer and let them hang dry.

Bras -- Every three to four wears rotating them every day. The elastic in them needs to relax and reshape before wearing it again.Your hair -- Every other day is the rule. Although, most of us wash it every day.

Ovens -- Twice a year if not the self cleaning kind. But wait, who doesn't have a self cleaning oven these days?

Dishwashers -- Clean every month using one of the brand name cleaners or pour white vinegar into a dishwasher safe cup, set upright on the top rack and run one cycle.

Bed Pillows -- Every three to six months toss pillows in the washing machine on gentle cycle and use hot water. Run the rinse cycle twice. Toss in the dryer with two tennis balls on low heat. It takes two hours to dry two polyester filled standard size pillows.

The Familykenkel also recommends washing the family dog only when it needs it. Do the old sniff test. If the pooch is dirty from running in the mud, wash it outside.

Love Our Pets on Summer

As hot as it is outside for humans, it can be hotter for our pets. Familykenkel takes time to share some summer tips for those of us with a four legged child.

Regardless of whatever is posted on the Internet, there are some hard fast rules for summer when it comes to pets. 

Help pets stay cool by letting them come inside the home during the heat of the day. 

Ice is not harmful to a dog so go ahead and drop a cube or two in the water bowl. 

If the dog seems to be having a heat stroke, place ice packs under his or her front shoulders and massage rubbing alcohol into the paws. Rush the animal to the vet for further treatment. 

Familykenkel also suggests walking dogs in the early morning and early evening when it is cooler outside. If mid day walks are needed, make them short and encourage the animal to walk in the grass. 

Dr. Tina Wismer, medical director at the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center, notes that the some animal behaviorists recommend freezing toys or treats for dogs to chew on. It is also noteworthy to know that dog ice cream bars are also a favorite goody in the summer. 

Our pets love to be with us when we are inside and outside. Be sure to keep them safe and healthy with access to fresh clean water all day and a cool place to rest that is out of the sun.