HELOISE Serve your feathered friends some suet cake

Dear Readers: Suet cakes are a favorite bird food, especially during the winter. They can also be given year-round, if you buy suet cakes that have been rendered. Rendering means the cake stays solid even in warmer weather because it has been melted and allowed to harden again. You can buy these commercially prepared cakes at bird specialty stores.
The type of feeder to use if you want to discourage large birds is made of square, plastic-coated wire with a roof over it. Larger birds and starlings can't cling upside down to eat. The birds it will attract are chickadees, woodpeckers, titmice and other types of birds that can hang upside down and hold on while eating.
Thanks to our friends at the National Bird-Feeding Society for sharing this information that will help our feathered friends. You can visit the society's Web site at www.birdfeeding.org for many more hints and interesting facts. Heloise
Dear Readers: Derrik Bestwick of Londonderry, N.H., owns a beautiful white-with-black-spots puppy named Mr. Biggens. The photo he sent shows Mr. Biggens in his own "boat" (a personalized raft) floating down the river.
Visit my Web site, www.Helo-ise.com, and click on This Week's Pet to see this adorable pup. Send your favorite, unusual pet photo to: Heloise/Pet Photo, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279. Heloise
Dear Heloise: My two little dogs are house-trained -- they go to the door, and as soon as I let them out, they do their business.
I found that if I left them in the house alone for more than four hours, they had accidents. To prevent that from happening, I bought those piddle pads that are made for house-training puppies. They are much better than using newspaper, and much cleaner.
The pads really work well, even on freezing days when it's icy and snowy and the dogs don't want to step outdoors. I simply put a couple of those pads down. K.M., Colorado
Good idea! Using them once in a while is fine, as long as the dogs don't get too lazy and want them all the time! Heloise
Dear Heloise: When my neighbor volunteered to feed my fish while we were away on vacation, I wanted to make it easy for her.
Since they should be fed the right amount every day, not underfed or overfed, I used small spice bottles I had saved. After they were washed and dried, I put the exact amount of fish food in each one for the seven days we were going to be gone. She felt better about feeding them knowing that she couldn't give them the wrong amount. Juliette S., via e-mail
Dear Readers: If your pet (dog or cat) doesn't like dry food, you can make it tastier by adding just a couple of spoonfuls of canned pet food. It will add enough flavor to entice your pet to eat. Of course, check with your veterinarian.
Some people add table scraps to the dry food, but many veterinarians don't believe animals should be given human food. Most good-quality pet food has all the nutrients needed to keep your pet healthy and happy. Heloise
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can't answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.
King Features Syndicate