pileofcrapola

Fast food isn’t great for you, but it sure does taste good. This graphic has recipes for thirteen popular fast foods so you can split the difference and make the tasty goods at home.

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Unless the airline loses it, you probably don’t give much thought to what happens to your luggage after you check it in. If you’re curious about the process, though, this video breaks it down.

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NEW YORK (AP) — A high-energy Hungarian herding dog is the latest new breed headed to the Westminster Kennel Club and many other U.S. dog shows.

The American Kennel Club is announcing Wednesday that it is recognizing the pumi, the 190th breed to join the roster of the nation’s oldest purebred dog registry. That means the pumi can vie for best of breed at Westminster for the first time next February.

With coats of corkscrew curls and ears that flop at the tips, the pumi (pronounced POOM’-ee) has a whimsical expression that belies its strong work ethic, fanciers say. The 20-to-30-pound breed goes back centuries in Hungary, where it herded cattle, sheep, and swine. It’s related to the puli, a breed already recognized by the AKC and known for its coat of long cords.

Like many herding dogs, pumis — the proper plural is actually “pumik” — are alert and active.

“They’re not for somebody who’s going to sit and watch TV all day long,” said Chris Levy, president of the Hungarian Pumi Club of America. But if provided with enough exercise and stimulation, “the pumi can chill out.”

Considered quick learners, pumis have done well at agility and other canine sports. Some in the U.S. also herd rabbits, chickens, goats and even cats in a cattery, said Levy, who breeds the dogs in Salem, Oregon. She and others have been working to build up the breed in the U.S. for two decades, but it’s still quite rare.

AKC recognition requires having at least 300 dogs of the breed nationwide, among other criteria. Two other new breeds, the American hairless terrier and an ancient North African hound called the sloughi, were recognized this past January and will also be eligible for Westminster for the first time next year.

Some animal-rights advocates say dog breeding is too appearance-focused and irresponsible when many mixed-breed animals need adoption. The AKC says conscientious breeding helps people and pets make happy matches by making the animals’ characteristics somewhat more predictable.

___

Reach Jennifer Peltz on Twitter @jennpeltz

The post American Kennel Club’s newest breed: Meet the lively pumi appeared first on WTOP.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — For-profit medical schools are starting to pop up around the country, promising to create new family doctors for underserved rural regions.

Rural states like Idaho need more general practitioners, with the baby boom generation aging and expanded insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act making health care more accessible. But critics of the new schools question whether companies can properly train the nation’s next crop of doctors.

“On face value, it looks like a pretty good deal” because for-profit schools promise to bring benefits without relying on taxpayer dollars, said Dr. Ted Epperly, who runs a family practice residency program in Boise, where a new for-profit school plans to start accepting students in 2018. “But it’s a little bit like Wal-Mart moving into a small community with mom-and-pop shops — it damages the existing workforce producers.”

Proponents contend challenges the new schools face are surmountable, and any stigma about for-profit medical training is born of fear, not fact. Dr. Robert Hasty, dean of the newly created Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, notes for-profit hospitals also were once stigmatized but now make up about a quarter of all U.S. hospitals.

“We have such a need for doctors, and if we have to make this investment, it’s worthwhile,” Hasty said.

Thirty-one new medical schools opened in the country between 2002 and 2014, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Most were nonprofit or public.

For decades, for-profit medical schools were relegated to foreign shores, with U.S.-based companies like DeVry launching medical schools in the Caribbean. But that changed in 2007 when Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine opened in Parker, Colorado.

Several for-profit medical schools have opened in the years since, including California Northstate University School of Medicine and the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in New Mexico. Rocky Vista recently announced plans to expand into Utah.

Justin Rose was part of the first group of students to graduate from Rocky Vista in Colorado. Though the Idaho native applied to several schools in the West, he wasn’t accepted to any state-run programs.

“The for-profit part never played a part in it,” Rose said of his decision to attend Rocky Vista. “The biggest concern was I’m going to a new med school that had no background affiliation or anything.”

In retrospect, he said, it was the best choice because the school was under pressure to prove its first crop of graduates would succeed.

“It made them especially motivated,” he said.

After completing an emergency medicine residency and an ultrasound fellowship at the University of Kentucky, Rose is preparing to begin his career as a doctor in Boise. He said the job will allow him to continue chipping away at his $350,000 in student loan debt.

That’s nearly double the average debt carried by medical school graduates, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. And because Rose attended a for-profit program, he’s not eligible for many federal loan-forgiveness programs.

Even with the high debt load, the for-profit med school was worth it, Rose said.

Opening state programs is costly, and for-profit schools are a good answer for America’s rural health care shortage, Rose said. His one concern is that the number of schools will grow faster than the number of residency programs.

Like their public and nonprofit counterparts, for-profit med schools face pressure to ensure their graduates get the valuable residency positions. At least 98 percent of grads from an osteopathic school must be placed in a residency or equivalent program or the school risks losing accreditation, Hasty said.

Medical schools must make their residency placement numbers available to the public. That accountability — and the fact that would-be doctors must pass medical board exams and meet state requirements before they can start practicing — should help hopeful medical school students make good choices about where to attend, said Claudia Goldin, a Harvard economics professor who has studied for-profit education models.

“If they’re not providing the requisite training and hands-on work, then it’s going to be public information that these students didn’t pass those exams,” Goldin said. “It’s sort of a good thing to have some external review.”

The differences between for- and nonprofit schools aren’t always apparent, Goldin said. Salaries for staff at nonprofits and public schools often are higher than for-profits, for instance. And regulators have stepped in to stop some nonprofit schools from taking steps deemed undesirable, such as when Yale was told to stop plans for an online physician’s assistant school.

“I’ve always tried to think about for-profits without the jaundiced view of them that we all now seem to have,” she said. “I always try to enter this with the notion that there are good training programs all over the place, and the nonprofits have some pretty lousy places.”

The for-profit schools are not without risk. Dade Medical College in Florida abruptly closed last year amid major financial troubles, its 2,000 health care students arriving on campus to find doors locked. The school received more than $100 million in taxpayer-funded Pell grants and student loans since it opened in 1999, according to the Miami Herald.

Investors are looking for a return on their investment, said Hasty, dean of the new Idaho school. But the ultimate goal is to create safe, competent physicians.

He sees Idaho, Montana and other rural states in the region as the epicenter of a nationwide family physician shortage.

“It’s not a donation — I mean, I’d love for them to donate lots of money for our scholarships,” Hasty said. “This is really part of a social mission.”

The post New for-profit medical schools springing up across US appeared first on WTOP.

Whether you like to use mayo or not, a good tuna salad requires all the ingredients to come together. A little umami will help balance the flavor, and these two fishy ingredients are perfect for the job.

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LONDON, Ohio (AP) — More than two dozen investigators are focused on solving the slayings of eight relatives who were found shot in southern Ohio two months ago, officials overseeing the top-priority investigation said Tuesday.

In terms of the manpower and resources devoted to the case, it’s shaping up to be the biggest in the history of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Attorney General Mike DeWine told The Associated Press.

“We’re here for the duration, whatever that is,” DeWine said.

Authorities have reviewed about 700 tips and 100 pieces of evidence and relocated the four mobile homes where the bodies were found to preserve the crime scenes, but they refuse to reveal how much closer they might be to identifying any suspects or a motive, saying they don’t want to jeopardize the chance to catch and convict whoever’s responsible.

Seven adults and a 16-year-old boy from the Rhoden family were found dead April 22 at four properties near Piketon. A newborn, another baby and a young child weren’t harmed. A coroner determined all but one of the victims had been shot repeatedly, and some had bruising.

“You can’t be in those scenes or meet with the family members and not be impacted,” bureau Superintendent Tom Stickrath said Tuesday in a joint interview with DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader at the bureau offices in London.

Reader said he has spent nearly $150,000 on the case so far, including staff overtime and expenses for moving the four mobile homes to a secure site to help preserve them. But, he added: “We can’t put a price on eight bodies.”

The victims were 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Jr. and 19-year-old Hanna; Frankie Rhoden’s fiancée, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden.

DeWine said it’s difficult to explain the massive amount of information investigators are sorting through as they try to unspool how the victims lived for clues to why they died.

“Four crime scenes. Eight people. It is at least eight times more complicated than if you have one body and one crime scene,” DeWine said.

Investigators say they have stayed in touch as needed with surviving family members, who haven’t responded to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment through the county’s victim advocate.

Authorities said marijuana growing operations were found at three of the crime scenes. That’s not uncommon in the area, but it fueled rumors that the slayings are drug-related — one of numerous theories that have circulated.

“Right now, it really does feel like they don’t have a handle on who might’ve done that, but that may not be true,” said Michael Benza, who teaches criminal law and procedure at Case Western Reserve University. “Part of that is just what you do in the investigation. If you’re not ready to go make an arrest, you don’t want everybody to know you’re getting close because then they’re going to run.”

Investigators are maneuvering along a fine line, working to get answers for a concerned community while racing an invisible clock and knowing that as time passes, fewer clues will turn up and the likelihood of the case going cold increases, Benza said.

Still, it’s uncommon for a mass killing to go unsolved, whether it involves a family or unrelated victims.

Having multiple crime scenes complicates the investigation because there’s more space to search and more evidence to process, but it could benefit law enforcement because there are more places where useful clues might be found, Benza said.

In and around Piketon, people seem to feel safe — “almost normal” now, longtime Pike County Commissioner Harry Rider said. But he said many remain more alert about their surroundings, watching who’s around or checking more carefully when someone pulls into the driveway, just in case.

The post 2 months on, investigators plug away on Ohio family deaths appeared first on WTOP.

BARATARIA PRESERVE, La. (AP) — In the heyday of oil exploration on Louisiana’s coast after World War II, companies dug about 10,000 miles of canals as straight as Kansas highways through a natural world that’s unraveling today — due, in part, to those canals.

Soon, about 16.5 miles of canals are to be filled in the Barataria Preserve — making a small dent in a massive problem.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Monday toured water plant-choked canals in the alligator-and-bird preserve by airboat and called the work crucial; she said filling in open canals can help fend off the Gulf of Mexico and its hurricanes.

“It can have an impact, not just restoring the National Park site, but also on buffering these communities from the impacts of climate change, sea level rise, of increasing storms.”

The National Park Service is using $8.7 million from penalties drawn from the catastrophic BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 to do the work. The Barataria Preserve, established in 1978, lies about 10 miles southwest of New Orleans.

Long ago, oil companies abandoned the canals and spoil banks. Scientists say they have interfered with hydrology — trapping water in places and keeping water from flowing properly in others — and funneled salt water inland. Also, canals have widened and eroded the landscape.

The canals have long been considered a major problem for Louisiana’s coast, which experiences some of the fastest rates of land loss in the world. The state loses about 17 square miles of land each year — an area not that much smaller than Manhattan — and has lost about 1,900 square miles since the 1930s, an area the size of Delaware.

Restoring hydrology is critical, said Dusty Pate, the National Park Service’s natural resource program manager on the preserve.

“It’s the action of the river that created this entire landscape, and water movement out across the landscape is very important. The primary thing that you’re trying to do is remove barriers to (water) exchange,” he said as he surveyed the banks along the Gulf South Pipeline Canal. “It’s super, super flat and normally the way the water would move is in a big sheet or in a small natural channel.”

He added: “By taking down the spoil banks and shallowing out the canal we can’t necessarily restore all of that function, but we can do good things for sure.”

He said plans call for pushing the trees — many of which are invasive Chinese tallow trees — and brush along the spoil banks into the canal. Trees with value, such as cypress and oaks, would likely be kept, he said.

The canals won’t be filled in completely — simply because there’s not enough dirt in the spoil banks to do that, Pate said. But over time, they are expected to gradually become shallower and shallower.

Julie Whitbeck, a National Park Service ecologist, said the work to fill in the canals would be a model for future projects to backfill canals.

The preserve has become a leader in filling canals, said Eugene Turner, a Louisiana State University coastal scientist. He was not on the tour, but has studied the canals for a long time. The preserve previously filled in about 5 miles of canals. In all, about 30 miles of canals across the Louisiana coast have been filled in, Turner said.

The question whether oil companies should be forced to pay for damage caused by the canals has long been contentious. The oil industry says it was not required to fill in canals, but others argue that they should be forced to pay for that work.

Three coastal parishes — the equivalent of counties in Louisiana — are suing dozens of oil canals over damage by the oil industry to the coast. Recently, Gov. John Bel Edwards got involved in the litigation and has sought to broker a settlement.

The post Oil canals in national preserve in Louisiana to be filled appeared first on WTOP.

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — The Richmond Metro Zoo is celebrating the birth of two snow leopards.

Local media report that the cubs were born in May to their parents, 2-year-old Elsa and 3-year-old Nitro.

The cubs are the first of their kind to be born at the Chesterfield zoo. One of the newborns is a female and the other is a male.

Snow leopards are considered endangered species. Officials estimate there are only between 3,000 and 6,000 left in the world.

The cubs aren’t yet on display. The zoo says it will put them out on exhibit once they’re strong enough to follow their mother outside.

The post Pair of endangered snow leopards born at Richmond zoo appeared first on WTOP.

Infants, children, and teens all need more sleep than the average adult . For years, we’ve heard varying but similar ranges from different sources, but now a recent consensus statement by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has helped put this debate to bed.

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We’ve told you all about the couponing tool Honey, which automatically hunts for and applies coupon codes for your online purchases. The browser extension recently released a new feature that can help you find better prices on Amazon.

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Vibrant, fresh salads are one of my favorite lunches, but I don’t always have the time to stop and make one in the middle of my workday. Traditional, leafy bases can get limp and slimy if you make them ahead, but The Kitchn has come up with five fresh salad bases that stay crisp all freaking week.

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Nearly two months after CRF Frozen Foods set off a massive recall of vegetables thought to be contaminated with listeria and linked to at least two deaths and eight illnesses, a second frozen vegetable supplier — National Frozen Food Corp. — has initiated a separate recall over listeria concerns, and many of the recalled products are from the nation’s largest retailers.

The National Frozen Food Corp. announced [PDF] on Monday that it would voluntarily recall ready-to-eat frozen peas and mixed vegetables packaged for a variety of retailers after finding the products may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.

“The frozen green peas and frozen mixed vegetables are being recalled as a precaution with the health and safety of consumers as top priority,” the company says in a statement.

National Frozen Food Corp. initiated the recall after a sample tested by the company revealed that the finished products may potentially be contaminated with the bacteria.

So far, there have been no reported illnesses attributed to the recalled items to date.

The recalled products were sold under retailers’ store brands including Walmart’s Great Value and Target’s Market Pantry. Other affected brands include Bountiful Harvest, First Street, Live Smart, and Sprout.

The products were sold between September 2, 2015 and June 2, 2016.

Customers who purchased the vegetables should not consume the products and can return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

The recalled products can be identified by the date codes printed on the back of the retail sized bag or the side of the master case. The following codes are affected:

Opaque Couché, described as looking like “death,” “filth,” and “lung tar,” is widely considered the world’s ugliest color. With a reputation like that you wouldn’t expect the hue to be used much, but it is — as a way to deter consumers from purchasing cigarettes in some areas of the world.

The New York Times reports that health authorities in Australia, U.K., France, and Ireland are using, or plan to use, the color on cigarette packages in hopes that it keeps the tobacco products out of consumers’ hands.

The use of the color as a deterrent began back in 2012, when market research company GfK Bluemoon was contracted by the Australian government to survey smokers on what the world’s ugliest color was.

Nearly 1,000 of those smokers said the most repulsive color was opaque couché, describing it as death, filth, and baby excrement, among other things.

Armed with this new information, the Australian government mandated that “plain packaging” be used for cigarettes. However, the Times reports that packaging isn’t exactly “plain.”

Instead, they employ the opaque couché as the background for photos of rotted teeth, tongues with tumors and dangerously tiny newborns, and warnings about smoking’s dangers printed in type larger than the brand names.

Australia says the campaign has been so successful in getting smokers to quit that other countries have jumped onto the bandwagon.

The Guardian reports that the plain packaging went into effect in the U.K. following the European Court of Justice rebuffing legal challenges from the tobacco industry.

Still, it doesn’t look like the distasteful packaging will be making a debut in the U.S. soon, as the Times reports that the American Tobacco industry has blocked all attempted to put the color and photos on packages sold in the U.S.

How to Get Smokers to Quit? Enlist World’s Ugliest Color [The New York Times]

At $99/year — or the recently announced $10.99/month — a subscription to Amazon Prime isn’t cheap, but for people who place regular orders with the e-tail giant, the free expedited shipping may be worth the cost. Now Amazon is offering “No-Rush Shipping Credits” to Prime members willing to temporarily waive their right to what had once been the main selling point of Prime. However, a closer look at the offer raises concerns that many customers may not benefit by being more patient with their purchases.

The shipping credit concept is not inherently bad. After all, if you’re paying an annual fee to get expedited two-day shipping, you should get some sort of compensation when you elect for delivery within five business days. Yet, Amazon’s execution of the concept appears to be more of an attempt to upsell Amazon services than actually provide compensation to patient Prime subscribers.

Amazon’s page describing the offer is vague about how the value of the credits is determined or how long they will last, though it does — by virtue of omission — seem clarify that you won’t be able to put whatever credits you get toward traditional Amazon purchases.

“Depending on the offer you can use your credits to shop for daily essentials on Prime Pantry, Kindle ebooks, Amazon Instant Videos, Digital Music, Amazon Appstore apps, Digital Video Games, Digital Software titles or more,” reads the website.

The actual terms of the offer shed some light on just how disappointed many customers may be.

“Credits are valid for a limited time,” reads one condition, “see detail page at checkout and promotion confirmation e-mail for credit expiration date.”

So you won’t know when your credit expires until after you’ve placed your order and it’s shipped.

“Offer only applies to products sold by Amazon.com or digital content sold by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (other than limited digital content),” reads another condition, meaning you won’t be able to use any credits for any of the vast number of items sold by third parties — even if they are fulfilled by Amazon.

Since neither the promo page nor the terms explain how the value of credits is calculated, we tried it out for ourselves. Using three different Prime accounts, we filled and unfilled our shopping carts with eligible purchases, ranging from dog food to hammocks to drinking straws to high-end speaker systems.

Regardless of who was placing the order, or the total cost of the purchase, we inevitably were offered a $5.99 Prime Pantry credit, even though non of the three accounts used are active Pantry users.

One cart had items that were coming in two separate shipments, so the “Shipping Credits” reward was two $5.99 Pantry credits. However, that doesn’t mean a $12 discount on any upcoming Pantry order. A look back at those terms explicitly states that “For Prime Pantry credits, a maximum of $5.99 can be redeemed per eligible order.”

That means you’d have to make two Pantry orders in the future in order to enjoy the full benefit of signing away the very reason you might have signed up for Prime in the first place.

If Amazon is going to try to convince Prime members to wait a few extra days for their purchases, it should be more transparent about what subscribers are or aren’t going to get.

While talking to your doctor is the only way to get a definitive answer about medical issues, let’s face it, we all turn to the internet when we’re not feeling well and aren’t sure what’s going on with the rash that just appeared. That’s why Google is adding a “Symptom Search” feature that seeks to connect folks with more information what could be going on.

Simply searching symptoms, like a headache, can bring up a plethora of results, many of which could be confusing or use complicated medical terms. Or it makes you think you’ve definitely got something really, really bad.

To circumvent that scary feeling, and because about 1% of searches on Google — that’s millions — are symptom-related, Google is launching a Symptom Search feature that will show a list of related conditions when you type in what you’re feeling.

So for example, Google says, if you’ve had a headache all day and you’re not sure if it’ll go away on its own or if you should seek medical advice, and you type in “headache on one side,” a list of related conditions like “headache,” “migraine,” “tension headache,” “cluster headache,” “sinusitis,” and “common cold” will pop up.

If you simply type in “headache,” you’ll also get an overview of what that is, as well as information on self-treatment options and what might warrant a doctor’s visit.

“That said, symptom search (like all medical information on Google) is intended for informational purposes only, and you should always consult a doctor for medical advice,” Google notes.

Google created the list of symptoms by looking for health conditions mentioned in web results, and then checking them against medical information it’s collected from doctors for its Knowledge Graph.

“We worked with a team of medical doctors to carefully review the individual symptom information, and experts at Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic evaluated related conditions for a representative sample of searches to help improve the lists we show,” Google adds.

Symptom Search will be rolling out on mobile over the next few days, in English in the U.S. to start, with other languages and locations expected at a later date.

If you feel like you’re paying more for medication, you’re not alone. A new investigation from our colleagues at Consumer Reports finds that one-third of Americans are seeing higher prices for prescriptions, and one-in-six people chose to avoid getting a prescription filled because of the cost. So what’s behind the increased cost of staying well?

While it would be nice to have a single bogeyman to blame for higher drug costs, it’s a combination of drugmakers and insurance companies pushing the limits on what they can charge patients — and those patients not always fighting back or looking for alternatives.

“Consumers aren’t used to questioning prices for pharmaceutical drugs—nor are they used to shopping around and haggling,” explains Lisa Gill, deputy editor CR Best Buy Drugs, “but they could save themselves a lot of money if they do.”

According to the report, price hikes can generally be attributed to the five following factors:

1: Drug companies can charge whatever they want
While insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid negotiate the prices they will pay to drugmakers for their products, those pharmaceutical companies are generally free to set their sticker price wherever they choose. Additionally, there are often few restrictions on how much a drug company can raise its price on an existing product. According to IMS Health, a group that tracks drug sales and marketing, the country’s biggest pharma firms made an additional $25.6 billion in 2015 from price increases on brand name drugs.

2: Insurance companies are also charging you more
According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the number of employees enrolled in plans with deductibles over $1,000 has increased from less than 10% to almost 50% in just ten tears.

In addition to facing higher deductibles, Americans are increasingly paying higher monthly premiums, and higher co-pays for expensive drugs. Some plans now offer “co-insurance” on prescriptions, meaning the patient pays a percentage of the drug’s price rather than a flat co-pay.

3: Old drugs are reformulated as costly new drugs
You’ve probably heard stories of big-name drugs suddenly — after years on the market — realizing that their medication could be used for something slightly different than what it was originally intended for. The makers of OxyContin and Viagra have each toyed with the idea of making kid-targeted versions of their big-ticket drugs; not just to reach a new market, but because it can extend the patent on the original drug by several years.

It’s a tactic known as “evergreening,” and, deployed creatively, it could add more than a decade to the existing patent, meaning consumers won’t have the option of a lower-cost generic. Perhaps the most notorious example of evergreening is diabetes drug insulin, which was discovered in 1921 but is still unavailable as a generic in the U.S. because the brand-name companies that make it are granted patent extensions for each improvement.

4: Generic drug shortages can trigger massive price increases
While much of the price-increase issue has focused on brand name and specialty drugs, patients taking lower-cost generics can also be slammed by price increases, especially when there’s a shortage.

An arthritis patient profiled in the CR investigation went from paying $32 for a three-month supply of the generic hydroxychloroquine, to paying $500 for the same quantity. She’s been able to bring that down to $300 with the use of discount drug coupons, but that’s still nearly ten times what she was paying before the shortage — an increase that some patients would not be able to afford.

5: Specialty drugs are costing all of us
We’ve all heard of the sky-high prices for drugs like Daraprim, Solvadi, and Harvoni, and the defenders of the platinum-plated sticker prices on these drugs have brushed off concerns by saying they are for a niche, specialty market.

However, CR points to a report by the Congressional Research Service finding that very expensive drugs that account for fewer than 1% of prescriptions in the U.S. represent about one-third of total drug spending. The spending on specialty drugs is likely to grow, as more than half of the medications approved by the FDA last year were specialty drugs.

For more, check out the full investigation at Consumer Reports.

Imagine you’re sitting in your living room, watching some home-shopping show on QVC. The host is showing off some of the features on a laptop computer and — wait, did that just say “N****r”??

A Consumerist reader — we’ll call her Jane — says her sister spotted this, and other not-family-friendly language while watching a recent laptop demo on QVC.

“They were selling a cheap laptop, which I thought she wanted me to see,” Jane said. “I just said ‘no’ to her, I wouldn’t get it, then she said look at the text on the screen. So I did.”

And she wasn’t pleased.

The screen of the laptop, which was being sold for $289, appears to showcase a social media site of some kind that displays usernames and actions, perhaps a search.

Along with the aforementioned N-word, the screen displayed adult-oriented terms like “Porn” and “Sex.”

“This just floored me, I had a jaw drop moment,” Jane says. “I took the picture while my sister paused the screen.”

Jane hoped that the company would notice the issue and take down the offending content during a commercial break. But that didn’t happen.

“What they did was they kept the content up, went on selling their laptop,” she said.

The women emailed QVC with the photo, but according to Jane they only received an automatic response. She also posted it on social media, but it, so far, hasn’t garnered a reply.

After Consumerist reached out to QVC, the company issued an apology and claims to be looking into the matter.

“QVC is investigating an incident in which inappropriate social media comments generated from an outside source were momentarily and accidentally shown on our live programming,” Doug Rose, SVP, Brand and Communications, QVC, said in a statement to Consumerist. “We apologize to any viewers that were offended by this unauthorized content. The language shown was in direct contradiction to our values at QVC, and has no place in our broadcast nor anywhere else in our community. We are evaluating our screening procedures for live streaming social media content to prevent an incident like this from happening again.”

Despite opening a new, hipper version of its typical stores, Whole Foods doesn’t appear to be making much headway in turning around its slumping sales. In fact, customers are actually heading to discount retailer Aldi. But why? 

Bloomberg reports that stores like Aldi and Trader Joe’s (who are strange corporate cousins through their Germany-based parent companies) are capitalizing on Whole Foods’ weaknesses — namely their expensive price points — and offering similar, more affordable products that garner the attention of shoppers, including the always coveted millennial demographic.

Aldi, for its part, takes an approach to shopping that is essentially a 180 from Whole Foods’ — and its new 365 store’s — approach: focusing on speed and price, not ambience and what’s hip.

The stores are also different from traditional groceries: shoppers rent a cart and receive their quarter back upon its return, and bags are a strict BYOB policy.

Aldi is also pushing back against the trend of offering customers every possible item and brand they could want. The majority of products it sells are from house brands, and you won’t get lost in endless aisles because there are significantly fewer of them.

“The customer doesn’t have to walk in the store and have so many options and take time to decide. We’ve done that work for them,” Liz Ruggles, Aldi’s marketing director, tells Bloomberg.

The retailer’s no-frills approach to shopping is a striking contrast to Whole Foods’ answer: 365, a new store that is intended to be a place where people want to hang out, not just shop.

But so far, it doesn’t appear the store in Silver Lake, CA, has recaptured the grocery sales of customers leaving traditional Whole Foods.

In fact, one shopper tells Bloomberg that he went to the new 365 store recently for breakfast and iced coffee. While he got the goods, he also “drank beers” and “treated it like a bar and pregamed before a Memorial Day party.” He has yet to actually buy groceries from the store.

The lack of grocery sales isn’t exactly worrisome for Jeff Turnas, president of 365.

“I’m not sure it’s a negative,” he says. “We didn’t set out to say we just want millennials in our store,” he says. “We set out to create a fun, new, fresh way to shop with amazing prices.”

Whole Foods Is Getting Killed by Aldi. Is a Millennial Grocery Chain the Fix? [Bloomberg]

Sometimes nature makes a local call while you’re exploring it. This illustrated guide explains the proper way to take care of business in the wilderness, and how to keep it from being a problem for others.

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Listen, I know that not everyone has an issue with spilling pretty much everything they drink on themselves like I do, but don’t judge me. I just want to wear a white t-shirt in peace! On-the-go stain removers were a godsend when they first came out, but they’ve slowly lost their charm.

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You’d think because I write about smart shopping, I wouldn’t have a price club “problem.” Yet as a new member, it took several visits to get my bulk shopping under control. Enough olive oil to bathe in? A lifetime supply of cheese puffs? C’mon, how can you stop yourself? Buying in bulk can be a cost-effective way to stock up on essentials, but there are pitfalls.

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We did a vacuum Co-op, once, and Dyson swept the nominations. Don’t get me wrong, Dyson makes good stuff, but not everyone needs (or can afford) a $300-$500 cleaning appliance. So today, we’re looking to determine your favorite affordable alternatives that don’t suck (or do suck). If you can regularly purchase it for $150 or less, it’s eligible, so go sound off in the comments.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A judge in Louisville has given the city the go-ahead to remove an 1895 Confederate monument by dismissing a lawsuit that sought to keep it at its original site.

In a written ruling, Jefferson Circuit Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman said the city had the right to remove the stone obelisk near the University of Louisville that was built as a tribute to dead Confederate soldiers. Mayor Greg Fischer has pledged to have the monument cleaned and moved to a new location, though that site has not been chosen.

Burkman’s ruling Thursday echoed her orders after a May 25 hearing over her restraining order that temporarily halted the statue’s removal.

The judge noted the historical significance of the century-old monument but wrote that it’s also a divisive symbol in Louisville.

“The monument is a public object that is respected by many in the community. It is also reviled by many,” Burkman wrote.

Calls and an email to attorney Thomas McAdam, who represents the Sons of Confederate Veterans, were not returned Monday.

Burkman heard several hours of testimony during the May hearing from the monument’s supporters, who argued that the city does not own it and that it could be damaged or crumble if it is removed. After the hearing, Burkman lifted the temporary restraining order that barred the city from removing the monument.

Mayor Fischer and University of Louisville President James Ramsey have pledged to move the monument to “an appropriate historical venue in the near future.” Until then, it would be put in storage.

The statue was given to the city by the Kentucky Woman’s Monument Association in 1895. It includes three bronze statues of Confederate soldiers and an inscription that says it is a “tribute to the rank and file of the armies of the South.”

The post Judge dismisses lawsuit over Louisville Confederate monument appeared first on WTOP.

It can be difficult to tell whether a dog is pregnant until the last few weeks of her nine-week gestation, when her belly's increase in size is hard to miss. The best way to find out is by taking her to a vet, but being aware of physical and behavioral changes that may take place is also useful. Pregnant dogs show some signs of being pregnant in the early, middle, and late stages of pregnancy.

EditSteps

EditWatching for Physical Changes

1. Watch for nipple color change. One of the earliest hints that a dog might be pregnant is if she “pinks up.” This refers to a change in her nipples which makes them appear a rosier color than normal, slightly swollen and more prominent. This sign can develop 2 - 3 weeks after conception.
   
2. Be aware of body changes. A pregnant dog’s body shape doesn't change until the second half of pregnancy. Between about 4 - 5 weeks her waist begins to thicken and her tummy fills out.
   
3. Do not increase food ration prematurely. A pregnant dog should be given increased food in the final third of pregnancy, but many owners tend to increase their dog's food ration too early. The additional calories lead to fat being laid down in the abdomen, which is often mistaken for a sign of pregnancy. It is not possible for the layman to discern whether her enlarged abdomen is due to fetuses taking up room, or fat.
   
4. Monitor continuing body changes. In the final third (weeks 6-9) of pregnancy, the dog’s belly becomes rounded and distended. Her mammary glands start to develop and become more obviously swollen, as they get ready to produce milk.
   
5. Look and feel for puppy movement. In the final third of gestation, you may be able to see the dog’s flanks moving as the puppies wriggle around in her womb. If you place your palm flat against her side where you see the rippling, you might be able to feel movement.
   
   • Don't be too disappointed if you can't feel anything. The puppies are deep within her tummy and each pup is floating is a sac of fluid, so it isn't possible to feel the actual outline of a puppy.

EditNoticing Behavioral Changes

1. Do not expect drastic changes. All dogs react individually to pregnancy. Some may be quieter and more tired early on, but a dog who is unwell may also be quiet, so this sign is an unreliable predictor of pregnancy. ^[1] The average female dog behaves largely the same as usual until the last third of the gestation.
   
   • In the final third of pregnancy, the dog’s size makes it more difficult for her to move around, and she may want to sleep more.
2. Expect appetite changes. Towards the end of pregnancy, the dog’s will womb grow larger and take up more space in her belly. She won't be able to accommodate large meals, so she'll start wanting to snack, eating a little at a time more frequently. ^[2]
   
3. Watch for nesting. When it is nearly time for her to deliver the pups, the dog may start to nest. ^[3] She will gather blankets or clothing in a secluded place as she prepares a suitable safe warm environment for her imminent new arrivals.
   
   • The exact timing of nesting varies from 2-3 weeks to 2 - 3 days prior to giving birth.

EditGetting a Professional Diagnosis

1. Visit a veterinarian. If you suspect that your dog is pregnant, it is worthwhile to visit the vet to confirm your suspicion. There are various methods a vet can use to definitively confirm pregnancy.
   
2. Get a physical examination. The vet will examine the dog and pay special attention to gently feeling her tummy. ^[4] By palpation (feeling from the outside of her belly) the vet can sometime feel the womb and the outline of a puppy inside. However, this is much more difficult than it sounds because it is easy to mistake a puppy for feces in the bowel, and vice versa.
   
   • The ideal time to feel a pregnancy is between day 28 - 35 after conception. Before this, there is not enough difference to feel to tell the vet she is pregnant. After this, the puppies can be mistaken for other things such as food in the gut. ^[5]
3. Check for heartbeats. In late pregnancy (week 6 onwards), the vet can sometimes hear fetal heartbeats by holding a stethoscope to the dog’s belly. However, this is much more difficult than for human babies because of the rustling of the dog's fur coat and the fact that dogs have round, not flat, tummies. ^[6]
   
4. Perform a blood test. The gold standard to test for pregnancy is for your vet to run a blood test that looks for the presence of a pregnancy hormone called Relaxin. ^[7]
   
   • The hormone is only reliably present after day 28 of the pregnancy. If the test is run before this date it is possible to get falsely negative results, where you believe the bitch isn't pregnant when she is. ^[8]
   • A positive result at any point, even before day 28, does confirm pregnancy. ^[9]
5. Have an ultrasound. The method that can confirm pregnancy the earliest is an ultrasound. A skilled ultrasound operator can pick up puppies on the scanner from around day 16 onward. ^[10]
   
   • In a docile bitch the scan can be done without sedation.
   • The operator will need to clip fur on the tummy of very furry dogs so that the probe can make good contact with her skin. ^[11]
6. Ask about getting an x-ray. With the widespread use of ultrasound, the need for x-rays in pregnancy has decreased. The main reason to x-ray a pregnant bitch is in late pregnancy, to count how many puppies are present in the womb.
   
   • This information is useful so that the owner knows when all puppies have been safely born. It can alert an owner that the bitch's labor has stopped but she still has a puppy inside.

EditDiagnosing Early Pregnancy Signs

1. Be patient. A dog may not show any signs of pregnancy in the first 2-3 weeks (which is the first third of the pregnancy). Her appetite should remain normal.
   
   • Pregnant female dogs absolutely do suffer from morning sickness like people do, however not until approximately day 21 after being mated. It usually lasts 1-2 weeks. Also on day 21, you can look at your female's gums. If the mating took, her gums will be white instead of the normal pink. This is because the fetus' are attaching in her uterus and the blood in her body is gathering there, so for a day or two, her gums will appear white. There is nothing to worry about. If it continues after 2 days, call your vet.
2. Notice any mood changes. Some people first suspect their bitch might be pregnant because she is a bit quieter than usual, but this is more anecdotal observation than proven fact. Pregnancy causes changing hormone levels and this affects each dog differently.
   
   • Some dogs may become quieter than usual, others may become more affectionate and clingy, and still others could withdraw and want to be left alone. ^[12]
3. Watch for other signs of illness. Whilst a change in a dog’s apparent mood or behavior can indicate pregnancy, this is a vague sign that could also indicate that she is unwell. Therefore, you should monitor her closely for any symptoms of ill health such as loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, sneezing, or vaginal discharge.
   
   • If your dog has been mated but subsequently goes off her food in the next few days or weeks, this is unlikely to be related to pregnancy and she should be checked by a veterinarian. This is also the case if you see a vaginal discharge (not normal during pregnancy) or if she is vomiting regularly. ^[13]

EditTips

• Make sure that you are gentle with your dog’s belly even if you are not sure if she is pregnant yet. You would not want to take the risk of harming the pups.
• Some dogs do experience "morning sickness". It is caused by hormonal fluctuations. Also, a clear discharge during pregnancy is normal. If it is foul smelling, see your vet.
• With newborn puppies try not to touch them much if the mother isn't familiar with your scent. If your a stranger she might neglect the touched puppy cause it doesn't have her smell.

EditWarnings

• A laboring mom who is not used to being handled or touched may be more likely to bite, so use caution! Keep children and strangers away from her "nest" or puppy area.
• False pregnancy is a common occurrence in dogs. A few weeks after going into heat, a dog can exhibit signs of pregnancy, such as enlarged nipples and increased appetite, without actually being pregnant.^[14] Check with your vet to make absolutely sure whether your dog is pregnant.

EditRelated wikiHows

• Care for a Pregnant Dog
• Help Your Dog Whelp or Deliver Puppies
• Make Sure That Your Dog Is Ok After Giving Birth
• Detect Pregnancy in Your Female Dog

EditSources and Citations

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DENVER (AP) — Summoned by the sound of screams, a Colorado woman raced to her front yard to find a terrifying sight: A mountain lion was hunched over her 5-year-old son, biting him.

The woman charged the animal, yanked away one of its paws and discovered her son’s whole head was in its mouth. She didn’t back down.

“She was able to pry the cat’s jaws open,” Pitkin County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Buglione said. “She’s a hero.”

The boy suffered deep cuts to his head, face and neck and was flown to a Denver hospital. His mother, who also was scratched and bitten, is credited with saving his life.

The ordeal started Friday evening when the 5-year-old and his older brother were playing outside their home near the resort town of Aspen, Buglione said.

When the woman ran outside, she found the lion crouched over her younger son, who was struggling to get free.

“The boy was completely under the cat,” Buglione told The Aspen Times.

The mother pried open the lion’s mouth with her hands, scooped up the child and ran away, the deputy said.

The boy’s father had just returned from a run when the attack occurred. He jumped in the car with his wife and son and called 911 as they sped to the Aspen hospital.

From there, the child was flown to Children’s Hospital in Denver in fair condition. On Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman told the Times she was not authorized to release any details on his condition.

The mother suffered bite marks on her hand and scratches on her leg, authorities said. She was treated and released. The family members’ names were not released.

The mountain lion was estimated to be about 2 years old and not fully grown.

“It wasn’t a big cat,” Buglione said. “Had it been a 110-pound lion – which I’ve seen around here – this would have been a much different story.”

Wildlife officials killed two mountain lions in the area within several hours of the attack. Both were being examined to determine if they were hungry, diseased or just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Colorado is home to up to 4,500 mountain lions, and they sometimes wander into urban areas looking for food, according to state wildlife officials. Since 1990, mountain lions have killed three people and injured 18 in the state.

“They’re wild animals. They find habitat where they can forage for food,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Matt Robbins said. “When you have bunnies, you’re likely to find foxes or coyotes. If you have deer, there is a good chance you’ll find mountain lions.”

The last known lion attack on a human in Colorado occurred in July 2015, wildlife officials said. A young lion attacked a man as he fished north of Dotsero, about 60 miles from where Friday’s attack occurred. The man suffered scratches and bites on his back and was treated at a local clinic and released.

The lion in that incident, described as a small, yearling male, was tracked and killed.

The post Woman rescues 5-year-old son from mountain lion’s jaws appeared first on WTOP.

NIANTIC, Conn. (AP) — After losing sight in his right eye from a 2013 rocket attack in Afghanistan, retired U.S. Army Maj. Dan Thomas recovered with help from an equine therapy program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Hoping to help other veterans, he and his wife traveled from their home in Alabama to Connecticut last week to purchase two massive, jet black carriage horses, animals that were put up for auction by the state after they were seized from a breeder in February as part of an animal abuse investigation and rehabilitated through a state program involving female prison inmates who help with the care.

Thomas said the two Friesian mares, among 32 emaciated and depressed horses taken from the farm, are the perfect animals to help veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“They know what it’s like to go through hell and come out the other side,” said Thomas, who plans to create a program similar to the one he experienced at the couple’s 160-acre ranch in Black, Alabama. The Friesians, 1,400-pound Francisca and 1,000-pound Rosalind, will join seven other horses the couple previously rescued.

Considered a “war horse” in the Middle Ages, Friesians are a highly sought-after breed, recognized for being gentle and intelligent. Thomas knows firsthand that such a demeanor in a horse can be a calming influence for returning combat veterans.

“I’ve been through lots and lots of things. After being blown up, it’s quite a traumatic experience for you. The horses are what works for me. So I know it’s out there and works for other people because I’ve seen it,” Thomas said, explaining how there’s peace in being around such a powerful creature that could hurt you but doesn’t.

The 32 horses seized by Connecticut officials in February from the Fairy Tail Equine breeding center in East Hampton have attracted great attention from across the country because of the type of horses involved. The Department of Agriculture received inquiries from as far away as Alaska about the sealed, monthlong auction. Besides Friesians, Andalusian and Gypsy Vanner horses were also seized.

Adam and Tracy Erickson, owners of Skywalker Stables in Jamestown, New York, were visibly thrilled to take home Voruke, another Friesian. The couple has rescued horses from the slaughterhouse, buying the animals from meat buyers at the eleventh-hour. They rehabilitate the horses and find them good homes. Tracy Erickson said she’s never come across a Friesian and plans to keep Voruke.

“It’s just a wonderful, gentle breed of horse,” she said.

Money raised from the state’s auction will help offset the cost of caring for the horses, which has exceeded $100,000, not including staff time. Raymond Connors, supervisor of the department’s animal control division, said winning bidders were screened to make sure the animals will go to a suitable place.

As the buyers coaxed their new horses into trailers, Connors remarked how the animals look “1,000 percent better” than the day when they were seized. The owners of the breeding center were arrested on animal cruelty charges. Their case is still pending in court.

Dan Thomas saw photos of Francisca and Rosalind after they were seized.

“I’m just really impressed with what the state of Connecticut has done here because these horses are beautiful now,” he said. “It looks like the state of Connecticut has saved some lives.”

The post Abused horses now rehabbed to help veterans with PTSD appeared first on WTOP.

Lovebirds are little parrots with colorful plumes and fun personalities. As pets, these little birds are devoted and playful with their owners. With the appropriate care and attention, a lovebird can live for 8 to 12 years, or longer.^[1] One common myth surrounding keeping lovebirds as pets is that they need to be kept in pairs for their own wellbeing, otherwise they will suffer or die. In fact, most lovebird breeders argue for keeping lovebirds as single pets, with the owner acting as the lovebird’s flock.^[2]

EditSteps

EditBuying the Lovebird

1. Don’t worry about buying more than one lovebird or bonding your lovebird to another lovebird. Contrary to popular belief, keeping lovebirds as a single pet is not frowned upon by breeders and experts so don’t be too concerned about purchasing more than one lovebird at a time. In fact, introducing another lovebird to your lovebird at a later date can be dangerous, as the older lovebird may try to harm or kill the new bird. Another risk of keeping more than one lovebird is that the birds will want to bond with each other, rather than you, their owner.^[3]
   
   • If you do want to keep more than one lovebird at a time, introduce the bird when they are both very young. Groups of lovebirds create social hierarchies, so there is one alpha bird and every bird follows the alpha.
   • Another common myth is that lovebirds can be mean or aggressive, especially female lovebirds who are marking their territory or their cage. Most breeders agree that male lovebirds make better pets, though males can also show territorial behavior and chirp at any fingers that enter their cage. Most lovebirds, male and female, have mild temperaments. To counteract any aggression from them, it’s important that you train your lovebird to prevent nipping.
2. Become familiar with the different lovebird breeds. There are many different breeds of lovebirds, but the three most popular breeds are:
   
   • Peach-faced lovebirds: These little birds are the most commonly kept breed. They stand at 5-inches tall, with green and blue plumes, and have a rosy colored face. Peach-faced lovebirds have been bred into hundreds of color mutations, from pure white albino birds to deep purple birds.
   • Masked lovebirds: This breed has eye-rings, a black mask, an orange beak, yellow chest feathers, and green wings. Some breeders consider masked lovebirds more aggressive than the two other more common breeds.
   • Fischer’s lovebirds: Also known as eye-ring lovebirds, as they have a white ring around their eyes. They are smaller than peach faced and masked lovebirds and have a distinct, high pitched chirp. Most breeders agree that Fischer’s are more aggressive than the peach-faced lovebirds or masked lovebirds.
3. Look for a lovebird at your local pet store. Most local pet stores have lovebirds for sale, likely peach faced and Fischer’s lovebirds. Before you buy the lovebird, check that:^[4]
   
   • The bird looks healthy. The bird should be perky, active, and alert with bright clear eyes. They should also have a clear cere, or fleshy nose area, and nares, or nostrils.
   • Watch the bird eat and drink to make sure the bird has an appetite. The bird should also be well groomed with neat, bright feathers. The feathers should be mostly smoothed to the body, not fluffy or raised. The bird’s feet and legs should be smooth and free of lumps, scabs, and rough scales.
   • The bird should vocalize with you in chirps, clicks, and whistles. Most lovebirds are excited to communicate with new faces, though some bird can be shy or intimidated around new people. A healthy bird will be confident and inquisitive, but cautious and aware as well.
   • If possible, ask to hold or touch the bird. Make sure the bird is interested in interacting with you and does not peck or nip at you. This may be a sign the bird is aggressive.
4. Search online for lovebird breeders. There are several databases of lovebird breeders available online that you can search based on your state or area and your preferred breed.^[5] Be wary of overpriced birds and always contact the breeders directly to establish a rapport before you buy a bird from them.^[6]
   
   • Most reputable breeders hand-raise their birds. This means they are involved in every stage of breeding, from choosing the mates to creating a good breeding environment in a cage to maintaining the birds’ diet and nutrition.
   • Breeders will also carefully watch over the eggs and take care of the babies until they have found suitable homes. Some breeders will hand-feed the babies to tame them and wean them off of their parents. Hand-feeding and hand-taming the babies are also good ways to get the birds used to human interaction. This makes most hand-raised lovebirds very tame and loving pets.^[7]
   • Hand-raised Lovebirds can range in price from $40 to $130 for the more common species and mutations. Parent-fed lovebirds from a pet store are generally less expensive. But the rarer species and mutations will be more expensive than the more common species.^[8]
5. Take your new lovebird to the vet. Birds can pick up health problems that may not be obvious to you, so bring your new lovebird to a vet to confirm the bird is healthy.^[9]
   
   • If you know you are going to be buying a lovebird in the near future, schedule a vet appointment for right after you pick up the bird from the store or the breeder.
   • For an additional fee, the vet can create a wellness plans to help your lovebird live a long, healthy life. These plans include annual health check ups and emergency medical care.^[10]
6. Consider confirming the sex of the lovebird. Lovebirds are not sexually dimorphic, which means you generally cannot tell if a lovebird is a male (a cock) or a female (a hen) just by looking at the lovebird. The best way to confirm the sex of the lovebird is to have your vet do a DNA test, or to conduct one yourself with a DNA kit.^[11]
   
   • A DNA kit usually costs between $15 and $22. You will need to clip one of your bird’s toenails a little higher than you normally would and send the sample to the lab.
   • The vet can also take the sample for you and send it to the lab for testing.
   • Some visual differences between the sexes exist, as hens tend to have a wider stance on the perch, they are a bit larger than cocks, and they have wider pelvic bones that you can check gently with your index finger.
   • Peach-colored hens will also tuck material under their wings to take them to the nesting box, while peach-colored cocks will try to do this but fail. However, there are exceptions to these general characteristics depending on the bird.

EditHousing the Lovebird

1. Look for a cage that is at least 18” long by 18” wide by 18” tall at your local pet store. Lovebirds are active, playful birds so they need a cage that will accommodate all the toys and perches they need to keep them busy. The larger the cage, the comfortable it will be for the bird.^[12]
   
   • The cage should also have horizontal bars on at least two sides. The bar spacing should be no more than ¾” apart to prevent injury.
2. Use perches of different widths, diameters, and textures in the cage. The cage should have at least two or three perches of various sizes, shapes, and textures to help your bird’s feet stay healthy and strong. The perches should be thick enough for the bird to stand comfortably on them without losing her balance. The smallest perch should be about ½” in diameter.^[13]
   
   • Look for perches made from wooden dowels, natural wood branches, bonded sand and concrete, and rope.^[14]
3. Keep the bird’s cage off the floor and away from drafts, open windows, and the kitchen. Your bird’s cage should be raised and kept away from air vents and doorways. Some birds can catch a cold if exposed to a draft while they are wet, such as after a bath.^[15]
   
   • Lovebirds can be sensitive to smoke and strong odors, as well as loud noise.^[16] If you smoke, do not smoke in the room where your lovebird lives.
4. Place the cage in a quiet, well lit room. ^[17] A room that is too dark may cause your lovebird to behave oddly and develop health issues. But you should not place the cage near a window that gets full sun during the hottest months of the year as this may cause heat stroke or death for your little bird.^[18]
   
   • Weak, unfiltered sunlight on the cage is ideal as this gives your bird vital ultraviolet-B light to keep her healthy. If your lovebird’s cage is near a window with weak light, you may want to consider investing in a special light bulb that emits safe levels of ultraviolet-B light to hang over your lovebird’s cage. You can turn on the light for 8 to 10 hours a day to make sure your bird gets enough light.^[19]
5. Make sure your bird gets 10-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. Sleep is important for lovebirds. If you are going to keep your lovebird in a cage indoors, you may want to get a cover for the cage to help your bird sleep at night.^[20]
   
   • You can also get a smaller sleep cage for your bird if you don’t have enough space for a large cage indoors. Using a sleep cage will ensure your bird has a quiet, safe place to sleep.
   • You should put your lovebird to bed at the same time every night and bring her out of her sleep cage the same time every morning.^[21]
6. Clean your bird’s cage once a week. The tray and dishes in your bird’s cage should be cleaned every day. But your bird’s cage is your bird’s home so it should also be cleaned once a week.^[22][23]
   
   • Use warm water and soap. Remove your bird from the cage and wipe down the cage, the perches, and any toys in the cage.
   • You can also use a product called Cleansing Gel to do a deep clean of the cage. This cleaner contains stabilized chlorine dioxide and is safe for birds.^[24]
   • Be careful when using a diluted bleach solution to disinfect the cage. Bleach is toxic to birds. So rinse the cage thoroughly after you use a bleach and water solution. Then, place the cage in the sun to air dry.^[25]
   • Be certain the cage and bowls are free of any bleach smell before you place your bird back in the cage.

EditFeeding the Lovebird

1. Give your bird high quality bird food. The right food size for your lovebird will be indicated by the image on the label of these bird foods. Look for bird food that has high quality seeds that are hulled and bound together with supplements that contain vitamins and minerals, such as pellet foods. The average lovebird should have 2-3 teaspoons of pellet or seed based bird food a day.^[26]
   
   • You can also give your bird seed mixes. But keep in mind loose seed mix allows your lovebird to pick and choose what seeds it eats. Nutri-berries, Avi-cakes, and Pellet-berries require your lovebird to work to pry off a piece, so your bird is more likely to get a variety of seeds.^[27]
   • Look for seed mixes from your local pet store that contain canary seed, millet, rice, oats, safflower and a small amount of sunflower seeds. Corn is often a big hit with lovebirds, as well as sprouted seed.^[28]
2. Integrate fresh fruit and vegetables in your bird’s diet. Pellet foods and seed mixes should be given to your bird on a daily basis, but should not be the only food you give your bird as they do not provide proper nutrition. About 5-10% of your bird’s diet should be bite-sized fruits and vegetables.^[29]
   
   • Give your bird healthy fruits like apples, grapes, berries, papaya, and mango. You should also feed your bird vegetables like carrots, broccoli, zucchini, squash, cooked sweet potatoes, and dark leafy greens like kale and romaine.^[30]
3. Feed your bird healthy treat foods. These include cooked whole grains, like brown rice, whole grain pasta, multigrain breads, and sugar free cereals. When you feed your bird fresh foods, make sure you remove anything in their cage that is uneaten so the food does not spoil. You should also wash the bowls in their cage before using them again.^[31]
   
   • It’s fine if your lovebird shares many of the foods you eat. But limit her consumption of fried, greasy, sugary, and salty foods so she stays healthy.
4. Make sure your bird has access to clean, fresh water throughout the day. Do not give your bird tap water or unfiltered water. Most cages come with a water attachment so your bird has access to water all the time.^[32]
   
5. Never give your bird alcohol, chocolate, or caffeinated beverages. These substances can kill your lovebird, even in small amounts.^[33]
   
   • You should also avoid giving your bird avocados, rhubarb, asparagus, onions, raw legumes like beans and peas, and dairy products.

EditGrooming and Training the Lovebird

1. Give your bird a bath once a week. Regular bathing is important for keeping your bird healthy and free of disease. If lovebirds are not bathed, their feathers can get ragged or dirty.^[34]
   
   • Use a fine mist sprayer filled with water to shower your lovebird. Spray lightly a foot or two above your bird so the water droplets drift down like rain.
   • Do this a few times so your lovebird gets used to the “rain” and starts to preen and groom herself.
   • Some birds love to bathe and will happily hop into a small ceramic dish filled with water. Your bird may also splash around in the water for several minutes.
2. Dry off your bird well and keep her in a warm room. After each bath, make sure you give your bird a quick dry with a small towel and keep her in a warm room so she doesn’t get chilled or catch a cold.^[35]
   
3. Decide whether to trim her wings every few weeks. This is not a required part of grooming your bird but will help to tame her. Wing-trims will also keep your bird from flying into ceiling fans, windows, and other potential hazards. Wing clipping is controversial, because clipping the wings alters the bird's flight which leads to "crash landings" and damage to the brisket area. It has largely gone out of vogue now, in favor of making rooms bird-safe and training the bird to come when called.
   
   • If you are uncomfortable clipping your bird’s wings yourself, you can talk to your vet about getting your bird’s wings clipped by a qualified professional.^[36]
   • If you opt to do it yourself, you should have a trained professional clip your lovebird's wings for the first time so you can observe her as she trims. She should hold your bird in one hand while trimming with the other hand.^[37]
   • She should only trim the first five to six primary flight feathers first. No cuts should be made high up on these long feathers. There are two layers of short feather that lay on top of your bird's longer flight feathers. The short feathers should not be cut during the trim. Instead, the professional groomer should trim about a quarter inch below them, only cutting the primaries. She should follow the angle of the upper, overlaying feathers so the trimmed wings rest nicely against your bird's body and do not irritate your bird by poking into her skin.^[38]
   • You should also trim your bird's toenails to keep her feet normally shaped. This will help her grip on the perches in her cage and reduces the chance of her toenails snagged on clothing or fabric. If you are uncomfortable with trimming her nails on your own, let a qualified professional give her a nail trim.
4. Use bird-safe toys or create home-made toys. You can get bird-safe toys at your local pet store. You can also make simple toys with the plastic tops of pill bottles or soda bottles, wads of clean toilet tissue stuffed in a small box, or leaves and branches from safe plants like rose bushes, hibiscus bushes, and mulberry trees.^[39]
   
   • Do not place a mirror in your bird’s cage as lovebirds will treat its reflection as a mate.^[40]
   • Rotate the toys in your bird’s cage on a constant basis so your bird does not get bored of them. Replace any toys that are worn or damaged, as they can injure your bird.
   • Always introduce a new toy to your bird in a neutral location before you place the toy in her cage so she can get used to it.
5. Wash your hands before and after you handle your bird. Germs that your bird carries can be transmitted to humans, and vice versa, and this can cause serious illnesses for you or for your bird.
   
6. Take your bird out of her cage for play on a daily basis. Do this in increments of 30 minutes throughout the day to keep your bird well-socialized. Most birds enjoy hanging out on their owner’s shoulder, snuggling up to their necks, or hiding clothing like sweaters or scarves.^[41]
   
   • When lovebirds get bored, they tend to chew on clothing and jewelry and pull off buttons. Protect your clothes when your bird is out of her cage by wearing clothing that do not pull. You should also avoid wearing any necklaces when your bird is with you.
   • There are “birdie necklaces” available made from bird-safe chain with small bird toys attached to the links that you can wear so your bird has something safe to play with.^[42]
7. Train your bird to “step up” onto a perch in her cage or a toy. Do this by tapping on the toy and gently instructing her to step up. This training will help to control any territorial behavior, which usually occurs when your bird reaches sexual maturity. During this time, your bird may bite any object that comes near her nest area or the cage.^[43]
   
   • Teaching her to step up will help her move away from her territory without biting and help her to calm down.
8. Speak softly and move slowly around your bird. Lovebirds are intelligent and sweet birds and tend to get along well with people. They can “talk” like other parrots, though they do not have extensive vocabularies. Engage your lovebird by talking in low tones and encouraging your bird to respond to you or repeat your words.
   
   • Birds can be scared to death. Frightening your bird can cause enough stress to harm and possibly kill her. Avoid making quick movements or loud noise around your lovebird.
   • Predatory animals such as cats, dogs, and ferrets should never have direct contact with your bird.
9. Take your bird to the vet on a consistent basis. Most birds will hide their illness until it is in an advanced stage. So it’s best to take your bird to your vet often so she can check for any early signs of illness or potential medical issues.^[44]
   

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EditRelated wikiHows

• Make a Bird Feeder
• Convince Your Parents to Get a Bird
• Calm Down a Bird
• Teach Your Bird to Talk
• Keep a Pet Bird Quiet
• Train a Bird to Step on Your Finger
• Determine the Sex of a Lovebird

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