Cats and dogs are hardly related to you by flesh and blood, but as a pet parent, you cherish them like they’re your own cute, fluffy children. Regardless of any challenges that pet care poses to you, the right tips and strategies will help you enjoy the happiest moments with your pets. If you are currently seeking pet parenting tips, keep reading this Noble Pawtrait’s article to be a better pet parent.
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Learn Basic Knowledge About Pets
As a pet owner, you don’t need to possess a wide range of specialized knowledge about pets as vegetarians, but you should know the basics about pets. This helps you better understand your dogs’ and cats’ needs and find it easier to discuss with vets when it comes to your pets’ health problems.
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Besides, pet parenting means you need to understand roughly about diseases and problems that your pets may suffer. The conditions your puppies or feline friends may be prone to vary depending on breed, age, lifestyle, etc., so you need to brush up on your knowledge about that. To prevent these problems, you also need to have a basic grasp of vaccinations, ticks, fleas, and other issues by reading pet books, magazines, or online materials.
Create A Safe Environment For Your Pets
Whether you're a dog parent or cat parent, it’s necessary to create a safe environment for your cute pets. Dogs that are cute yet sometimes naughty can cause problems for both you and themselves; hence, your job is to prevent them from happening to create a safer environment for your pets. In other words, you should try to look around your house and eliminate all potential risks for your pets.
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For example, you need to keep pet food sealed somewhere your pets cannot access and eat without your permission. Keep electrical cords out of the way to ensure that your pets cannot chew on these cords when you’re away from home. Also, human medications, either over-the-counter or prescription drugs, can be poisons to pets, so you need to tightly seal them and keep them out of your pets’ reach.
Make Your Pets Feel Comfortable
Since your pets may enjoy spending most of their time indoors, it’s necessary to create a comfortable environment for them. You need to ensure that you provide your puppies or feline friends with a bowl full of water, access to a potty area, keep their home (e.g., cat's litter box) clean and accessible for them to snuggle in instead of having to lay on the floor or outside.
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Besides, if you cannot be with your pets all day or in the mood play, try to prevent them from boredom by getting them some toys and products to stimulate their senses. For example, you can use food-dispensing toys to keep your cats and dogs occupied for a long time.
Train Your Pets The Basics
A few pet owners misconceive that when their pets grow out of the puppy stage, they will behave differently. Although some pets may be calmer and show their own few traits, your guidance is still essential.
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With only a little patience and know-how, you can train your cats or dogs to perform specific behaviors using basic training techniques. For instance, to trigger your pets' behavior, you can adopt a positive reinforcement technique by giving them fun and stimulating rewards such as pet toys, snacks, scratches, etc. For their inappropriate behaviors, don't call attention to them.
Keep in mind that you should know what behaviors your pets need training by observing their daily behaviors. Then, start in small steps to ensure that your dogs or cats have time to learn gradually and not easily get frustrated with their frequent failure.
Take Your Pets To The Vet Annually
Just like humans, pets can be sick or suffer from diseases. Therefore, take your pet to the veterinarian if you detect something unusual or wrong. Because one human year is equivalent to seven dog years, you need to take your pet to the vet annually. Otherwise, it's like you do not go to the dentist or doctor for a checkup for roughly 7 years.
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But how can you spot something off with pets since they cannot speak for themselves? You just need to focus on signs that are different or uncharacteristic of how your pets typically act. For example, you can know that it's time to make an appointment with a vet if you detect that your puppies or cats are lethargic and show no interest in food. It's shrewder to have them check out and take medication if necessary than letting these unusual signs go on and become worse after a long time.
In a nutshell, despite different breeds of dogs and cats, the above tips can be widely applicable in pet parenting. Pet owners and animal lovers can easily follow these tips to create a close bond with them and, more importantly, become a better pet parent!