It’s the New Year for both us humans as well as our furry friends. If we can have New Year’s resolutions, why can’t our beloved pets have some as well? Read on and start setting goals for you AND you pet in 2023!
Master Loose Leash Walking
When we picture a happy dog, we see them running free and enjoying life. Happy dogs also love walks, of course! To safely be able to provide this to our dogs, we must teach them the skills to listen anywhere and come back to us, even in new, high-distraction environments. (Of course, we advise you educate yourselves on the leash laws in your area and respect others’ wishes when they ask you to leash your pup). Every dog deserves a relaxing, enriching, and stimulating walk, but it can be difficult and frustrating to provide walks if a dog is pulling excessively or reactive on the leash. Reactivity is a complex challenge, often triggered by fear and anxiety. It is essential to identify and counter-condition the root cause of that fear, rather than just manage the symptoms. Does your dog struggle with leash manners and/or reactivity? We recommend connecting with a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT) or Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC). Click here to search Fear Free, positive reinforcement trainers in your area!
Get Those Steps In
Getting active is at the top of most of our human resolutions, and it’s just as important for our pets as well! Physical exercise has plenty of health benefits, including links to improved cardiovascular fitness, lower blood pressure, stronger muscles and bones, decreased stress, and weight control, just to name just a few! Regular exercise and mental stimulation can also decrease boredom, anxiety, destruction, and other undesired behavioral issues. Struggling to find the time for walks during your busy workday? We’re here to help with our midday walk program! Schedule your Meet & Greet today!
Learn Something New
Even old pets can learn new tricks, and be incredibly enriching for them! Teaching new tricks to your furry family member is an awesome way to build a deeper bond, strengthen communication, prevent boredom, relieve stress, and stimulate your pet’s natural instinct to explore, chase, sniff, lick, chew, dig, or hunt. Showing off some new tricks to your friends and family can also build confidence in your pet. It’s a warm and fuzzy feeling when you see your animal be proud of themselves for accomplishing a new trick! Don’t know where to start? As experts in animal enrichment, we know just the right activities and tricks to help enable happy, fulfilling lives for your pets, and you too! Here’s some ideas for new tricks to try out: touch, search, shake, play dead, high five, kiss, spin, and sit pretty.
Explore Somewhere New
We all love to travel, and so do our furry friends! Running around in the backyard is fun, but after a while it may become mundane. Taking your pet to new places allows them to get in that mental exercise as well as physical exercise! When an animal sniffs around a new place and takes in all the new sights and smells, they get to exercise their natural instincts and use a lot of their mental energy. Adventures are fun, exciting, and tiring, and your pet will definitely be ready for a nap when you get home! We offer field trips so that your dog (or cat!) can get their travel on, too! Contact us today!
Lose Some Weight
This is yet another new year’s resolution that us humans try to implement, and it’s also just as important for our pets as well! Obesity in pets can increase the risk for diabetes and osteoarthritis, so it’s important to keep pets within a normal and healthy weight range. A good tip for keeping pets at a healthy weight is measuring their food out and following a veterinarian’s recommendation and/or the instructions on the food bag. This way they can’t overeat and will stay trim and fit! But what about treats!? Try dividing your pet’s daily allowance of food into three equal portions (or four if your pet eats lunch): one for breakfast, one for dinner, and one for food enrichment. Food enrichment can include treat puzzles, trick training, scatter feeding, or any other treat-incentivized activity that stimulates your pet’s mind.
Another thing to watch out for is how much human food we sneak to our pets. Human food is often higher in sugar and fats than animal food, and it can also include toxic ingredients such as garlic, onions, nuts, and xylitol (often found in sugar-free foods as well as some peanut butters! Make sure to check the label of your peanut butter before feeding as a treat. We recommend using all natural peanut butter to avoid unsafe ingredients.) This is by no means a comprehensive list! To find out which foods are toxic to your pets, check out this list by the ASPCA. To be safe, we suggest opting for treats made for specifically for your pet and following the directions on the package regarding how many they can have per day for their weight range. Not sure how much food and treats to feed your pet? We recommend checking with your veterinarian or a certified animal nutritionist for specific guidance.
Get Pet Insurance
Pet insurance is an essential part of caring for our furry family members. Just like us, pets unfortunately experience health issues, unforeseen emergencies, and injuries. Those medical expenses add up quickly. Pet insurance can help cover and reimburse you for any veterinary needs your pets may have, including preventative check-ups, medication coverage, and emergency treatment. Make sure to do your research and pick the best insurance for you. Many insurance companies will not cover pre-existing conditions, and some have a cut off age for enrollment. It’s best to enroll your pet as young as possible to get the most coverage that you can! Trupanion, Embrace, Spot, and Pet Plan are just a few examples of companies that provide insurance specifically for pet care. Click here to view a side-by-side comparison by Forbes.
Go to the Doctor
Now that you have invested in pet insurance, it’s time to head to the vet to schedule your furry friend’s annual physical exam and vaccine boosters. An annual exam helps to find any health issues early so that your pet can receive treatment as soon as possible. During the exam, the veterinarian will also administer their annual vaccines, which protect them from common diseases animals can catch and carry including distemper, parvovirus, feline leukemia, and bordatella. The Bordatella vaccine is especially important if your dog goes to daycares, dog parks, groomers, or boarding facilities. Most important is the Rabies vaccine, which is required by law to be up to date in the state of Virginia.
At your yearly exam, your pet will also be prescribed heartworm prevention and flea and tick prevention. Heartworm prevention is incredibly important for dogs, as it prevents against a common parasite that they can contract from simply walking outside. Heartworms can cause symptoms such as coughing and exercise intolerance. In more severe cases, heartworms can cause heart failure and even death. A yearly blood test screens for heartworms, and a monthly chewable tablet prescribed by your vet prevents them all together! Flea and tick treatment is necessary for dogs since they are outside often, but it is equally necessary for indoor-only cats. People and animals can track tiny flea eggs into the home, which can, in turn, infect indoor cats. Once in the home, fleas are tough to get rid of! Keeping all pets in the house on flea and tick prevention is an easy way to ensure everyone stays safe and the home stays flea-free.
Let’s not forget about the teeth! Scheduling an annual dental cleaning is the best way to ensure that your pet’s mouth, gums, and teeth are healthy. Dental chews and brushing teeth are both great ways to keep excess plaque and tartar off the teeth, but a dental allows for a more in-depth way to examine the mouth for gingivitis, periodontal disease, and fractured teeth. Mouth problems can cause many issues in dogs and cats including halitosis, decreased appetite due to pain, blood infections, and even sepsis and systemic infections. Not sure if your pet is due for an annual checkup or dental cleaning? Call your vet today to inquire and make an appointment!
Learn Pet First Aid
Last but certainly not least is learning how to care for your pet at home whenever accidents happen. Just like human children, our furry friends can get hurt and may need immediate wound treatment and/or CPR. In these situations, it’s always a good idea to have some training on how to identify and respond to different types of injuries, conditions, and emergency scenarios until you’re able to see your primary veterinarian.
Here are some crucial skills you can expect to learn in a Pet First Aid course:
- Treat a collapsed and/or unconscious animal
- Recognize the signs of shock in an animal and know how to respond
- Identify different types of wounds in an animal and know how to treat them
- Manage bleeding and know how to apply bandages or splints to an animal
- Discover the signs of toxicity poisoning in an animal and know how to respond
- Classify the signs of hyper- and hypo-thermia in an animal and know how to treat and prevent it
- Safely muzzle and restrain an animal during an emergency
- Perform the Heimlich Maneuver on an animal in the event of choking or a breathing obstruction
- Effectively administer CPR and rescue breaths to an animal
There are many options out there on how to get certified in Pet First Aid. Here are a few in person and online options that we recommend: Pet Tech, Red Cross, Udemy, and your local SPCA.
That’s a wrap on New Year’s resolutions. Need help making these goals a reality? Contact us today! Wishing you and your pet a happy and healthy 2023!