Five Basic Pet Tips That Any Owner Should Follow

Pet safety tips

Pet tips boil down to common sense. There are five different areas, such as winter pet tips, to be concerned with when making sure your pet is happy, healthy, and safe.

1. General Pet Care Tips.

Exercise is key for either cats or dogs. Make sure that you give them plenty of exercise. One of the leading causes of health problems later in pet life is being overweight. This can be alleviated by keeping your pets active, and feeding them only the recommended amount of food a day.

2. Pet Grooming Tips.

Animals get winter and summer coats. Coat upkeep can vary depending on the breed and length of hair. But it is a necessity. Matting can happen, and can actually be painful to your pet. With cats, shedding too much without being brushed will lead to hairballs from self grooming.

3. Pet Safety Tips.

Make sure your pets are contained and under control at all times. Two important notes. If you live in an area with lots of people walking their dogs, they should never, ever be left outside on a lead unattended. Also, invisible fences are absolutely awful. Think of the person walking their dog by your house, and your dog comes barreling across the yard at full force. You may have no idea that there is a fence there to stop the dog, and your own dog certainly does not know. It is a traumatizing experience to both pet and owner.

4. Pet Training Tips.

Good luck training your cat. But it is just common courtesy to train your dog in simple commands. Sit, stay, come. That is all you need. That way they can be handled in a high stakes situation. And negative reinforcement never works. Choke or pinch collars, hitting or crating as punishment should never be considered. You would not do that with your kids, do not do it with your dogs. Always use positive reinforcement.

5. Winter Pet Tips.

Make sure they are warm in the house, with blankets and beds, for both cats and dogs. While walking your dog, make sure they have a nice sweater if they do not have a thick coat. And be aware of salt on the road, or if the asphalt is too cold. If you have to play more inside for exercise, so be it. But do not be out longer than you need to with your pooch in the cold. And always remember to wipe the salt from their little paws.

Just think about what your pet requires, and what it cannot achieve for itself. When you adopt a pet, you are taking on that responsibility. To be the best owner, just follow those common sense suggestions, like the winter pet tips.