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4 Reasons Why It’s Important to Play With Your Pets After Work

January 5, 2018 by Mandy

Your dogs or cats are happy to see you after a long day of work. For some pets, this part of the day is their favorite time for playing. They’re excited to see you, so it’s a great time to bring out the toys and start having fun. Here are four benefits to playing with your furry best friends after you get home from work.

Burning off energy

Dogs often spend long hours in their crates while you’re away from the house. They haven’t had the opportunity to burn off any of their energy for the day. If you don’t give them a chance to do this, then they may get out their energy through bad behavior.

Try to stick to a regular schedule, so your pets know exactly when playtime starts. It’s okay to take some time to decompress after work, but it’s important to set the appropriate expectations for an excited dog or cat.

Healthy exercise

Exercise is an important part of keeping your best friend around for as long as possible. Highly active dogs need the most exercise, although you don’t want to overlook pets that aren’t as high-energy.

As with humans, the benefits of exercise for your dog or cat include better cardiovascular health, improved metabolism, a healthy appetite and more. Make time for your pet to run around the house or yard once you get in from your commute. If you have a dog park nearby, you can also improve your pet’s socialization skills.

Mental stimulation

Sitting alone in the house all day can get pretty boring. Your pets need mental stimulation through enriching activities and toys. While they may be able to entertain themselves while you’re at work, it’s not as engaging as playing with you.

Try to mix up the play style and toys that you use when you’re having fun with your dog or cat. Cycle new items into the toy box on a regular basis, so your pets are getting new experiences. Older toys can get passed on to friends with pets or to animal shelters. If you have animals that destroy their toys through rough play, try getting toys made of tougher material or subscribing to a pet toy box service that delivers monthly.

Bonding opportunities

You’re one of the most important people in your pets’ lives. You care for them, pick up their poop, keep them fed and love them unconditionally. Playing with your pet gives you a chance to reinforce the bond between you, which is particularly important if you need to give them a pill, like a flea medicine for dogs.

Cats are fairly independent and may act more like they grudgingly tolerate you rather than viewing you as the head of the pack. Dogs, on the other hand, need leadership.

Adding in positive reinforcement during after-work playtime helps strengthen your bond and build trust. It takes time before a dog accepts you as the head of the pack, and a consistent playtime shows your companion that you’re reliable and friendly.

Playtime is more than just a chance for your pets to have fun. They’re improving their health, staying mentally stimulated, developing a closer bond with you, and going through their endless stores of energy. Take a look at your post-work schedule and figure out when you’ll have the time every day to play with your pets.

How to soothe an anxious dog

December 14, 2017 by Mandy

From changes in their environment and separation anxiety, to long car journeys or the sound of fireworks, pets can become distressed and anxious for a wide range of reasons. Dogs in particular are highly sensitive creatures and will often respond to extreme stress by displaying bouts of disturbing or even destructive behavior.

Seeing a cherished pet behaving in this way can be extremely distressing for the owner. Thankfully there are many steps you can take to help reduce the level of anxiety in your dog. Read on to learn more about the symptoms, prevention techniques and options for treatment that can help restore peace of mind for both you and your dog.

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What is making your dog anxious?

The three most common causes of anxiety in dogs are fear, separation and aging. Sources of fear may be obvious, such as the sound of thunder during a storm or explosions from nearby fireworks, but some dogs can also become fearful at the sight of people wearing hats or carrying umbrellas. Your dog may also become extremely anxious during a trip to the vet.

Around 14 per cent of dogs are believed to suffer separation anxiety. If your dog has started destroying the furniture or chewing up shoes, or if your neighbors report long periods of barking or howling during your absence or you return to find your dog has urinated or defecated in your home, this could be the cause. Dogs can also become more anxious as they get older and their mental faculties begin to decline, making it more difficult for them to understand what is going on around them.

Coping strategies

One of the most common ways to treat anxiety is with medication. The over-the-counter antihistamine Benadryl, will make your pooch drowsy so that it can better deal with a stressful situation such as a long car journey, but sedatives are not always the best solution.

In the case of separation anxiety or stress that results from changes in the environment such as moving to a new home, there are several strategies you can employ to help your four-legged friend to cope.

A good starting point is to look into what your dog is eating. If you dog seems hyperactive and behaves as if it has too much excess energy, switching to a high protein but low carbohydrate diet can help. You should also make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise, both indoors and out, and gets to play plenty of games with you and members of your family. The more enjoyment your dog has in all aspects of its life, the less it will focus on the negative emotions that emerge during times of stress.

Dogs love routine and get very flustered if their expectations are not met. Try to take your dog out for walks at roughly the same time each day and establish an order of events for some parts of a pre-walk routine, such as attaching a collar, so that you dog eventually learns that it is only when a collar has been fitted and you reach for you coat that a walk is imminent. This will prevent your dog from getting excited about you putting on your coat, only to realize that you are merely running an errand and leaving your pet at home for a short time.

Pot for pets

If you want try an alternative to traditional sedatives, consider treating your pet using oils that contain CBD, a product derived from marijuana plants. Unlike THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, this substance will no produce any kind of high. CBD is widely used to treat a wide range of common ailments and diseases in humans, but it has also been shown to be equally effective when used with pets.

Pets suffering from separation anxiety, seizures and a range of other conditions may benefit from taking doses of CBD oil which is mixed with olive oil and delivered orally. As with its use in humans, medicinal CBD does not create any of the psychotropic affects usually associated with marijuana, so you never have to worry about your dog having hallucinations or feeling even more anxious as a result of CBD treatment.

Swaddle your dog

The key problem with sedatives is that you have to give them to the dog well in advance of the event for them to be fully effective, and you can’t often predict when a storm is going to arrive, or a firework display is going to begin. If you wait until the noises have started before you deliver the sedative, you may have already missed the window of time during which they would be of benefit to your pet.

Some owners attempt to desensitize their dogs to loud sounds by playing recordings of thunder storms or exploding fireworks over a period of weeks or months, starting with small exposure and rewarding the dog for not showing signs of stress. Although this can work with some dogs, not all will respond to such fake sounds the way they do to real ones.

Though some pets may become used to the sound of the recordings, they will still become stressed and anxious during periods of extreme weather. This is partly because the sound of the recordings come from inside the house, which dogs consider to be a relatively safe environment. When similar sounds are heard emanating from outside the house, stress levels rise once again.

One extremely popular, non-medical treatment for fear-related anxiety is the ThunderShirt, a specially designed garment that wraps tightly around your dog’s torso and, in doing so, provides sensations that lead to a great reduction in anxiety.

The device was invented in 2008 by Phil Blizzard to help his dog, Dosi, who would become highly distressed during thunderstorms. One night, along with his wife Patricia, Phil wrapped a t-shirt around Dosi and then covered this with packing tape to increase the pressure on her torso. Almost immediately, Dosi stopped shaking and lay down. It was the start of a business which now enjoys annual revenues in excess of $15 million.

How to ensure your pet doesn’t make you or your family sick

December 13, 2017 by Mandy

Sharing your home, your heart and sometimes your bed with a furry companion can be a source of great companionship and has been shown to have a positive benefit on both emotional and physical health. That said, there are some medical conditions that can be passed to humans from dogs and other animals and it’s important to take the necessary precautions to keep yourself and all the members of your household, as well as your pets, safe and well.

Both dogs and cats can transmit diseases to their owners, either directly through bites, scratches and licks or indirectly by bringing pests such as ticks and fleas your home. Ultimately, you’re far more likely to get sick from contact with another person than from your pet, but good basic hygiene habits such as washing your hands after handling or cleaning up after your pets can dramatically reduce the chance of you contracting anything. Read on for a few more tips about how to keep both yourself and your pet in tip top condition.

Mental health

Although there is plenty of research which suggests that owning pets comes with a number of benefits, such as lowered blood pressure and less chance of suffering from a heart attack, this isn’t necessarily the case when a pet is unwell.

With around nine out of ten pet owners thinking of their pet as a member of their family, it is no surprise to learn that when people look after pets that are unwell, they suffer from higher rates of anxiety and depression than the rest of the population. If your pet becomes unwell and requires care, remember to take regular breaks and seek the support of friends and family, the same way you would if you were looking after a sick relative.

Dodge those doggy kisses

The commonly held belief that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than that of a human turns out to be something of myth. According to the American Kennel Club, a dog’s mouth contains around 600 different types of bacteria, a number that is similar to the 615 or so types of bacteria in the average human mouth.

Most of these bacteria are specific to one or other species and therefore cannot be transferred from pet to owner or vice versa. For example, the virus that causes the common cold in humans has no effect on other animals, so you can’t catch the flu from or give it to your dog. Despite this, there are some exceptions that mean you shouldn’t let your dog get its saliva get into your mouth, or into an open wound anywhere on your body.

Although you may love it when you dog shows you how much it loves you by licking your face, if your dog does so after giving its tail end a good clean, you run the risk of accidentally ingesting bacteria such as campylobacter or salmonella. Around 200,000 Americans develop nasty stomach flu each year in this way. Potentially harmful bugs can also end up on the noses of dogs that have been sniffing the behinds of other pets or rummaging through the contents of kitty litter – common in households where both cats and dogs are present.

The greatest danger is to those members of the household whose immune systems are not functioning at their full capacity, such as the very elderly, the very young or anyone suffering from an immune deficiency disorder.

Pests

Fleas and ticks that attach themselves to your pets may end up laying eggs inside your home. Although they prefer to bite dogs or cats, they can and will also bite humans, causing irritations and potentially passing on conditions such as Lyme disease.

The best way to protect yourself and your family from the kind of infections that can be passed on by ticks or fleas is to do everything you can to prevent such parasites from latching on to your pet in the first place.

Fleas begin their lives as eggs and go through the larvae and then pupae stage before emerging as adults. If you find fleas on your pet, around 95 per cent of them will be in the pre-adult stage meaning it’s essential you use a treatment such as Pet-Lock which not only kills adults but also prevents other flea stages from developing.

Even if you are using a preventative product, you should still check your pet for the presence of ticks and fleas on a regular basis. If you discover an infestation, remember to treat your entire home and not just your pet as eggs or larvae may be present and may hatch much later and cause a brand-new infestation that erupts weeks, or even months later.

Hidden dangers

Dogs that groom themselves while suffering from flea infestation often end up ingesting some of the parasites in the process. If the fleas are carrying infections of their own, this can lead to conditions such as dog tapeworm. Severe cases can cause your pet to lose weight or have mild diarrhea but both dogs and people can be affected by tapeworm and show no symptoms.

Dog hookworms live in soil or sand and can worm their way into your pet as they walk around contaminated environments. Young puppies are the most vulnerable and might have dark, bloody stools. In severe cases, it can be fatal. Hookworms can also infect humans where they may appear as a wriggly red line under the skin. No treatment is usually necessary as the worms will die after a few weeks.

Roundworm affects both dogs and people who swallow their eggs that are in the environment. Infected puppies are often underdeveloped and may be pot-bellied. Roundworm can also affect children and have been known to cause blindness as well as damage the central nervous system, the liver or the lung.

In the case of feline companions, studies show that at some point in their lives, four out of ten cats carry the bacteria for a condition known as cat scratch disease. Although such a cat will have no symptoms as a result of the condition, this is not the case with humans who get scratched by an infected animal.

You may get a blister or bump at the scratch site, suffer from headaches, fatigue and a low-grade fever. You may also suffer from loss of appetite and a sore throat. Serious cases may require antibiotics, but most people will get better without any treatment.

5 Tips for Training Your Dog

November 15, 2017 by Mandy

If you take great pride in being a dog owner, it is vital that your furry friend never lets you down. You don’t want to have to deal with the embarrassment or potentially dangerous situation of being unable to control your animal. You also don’t want to put your beloved pet in a situation where they can’t understand what you want them to do. Taking the time to train your dog will ensure that you are always able to communicate effectively. If you are eager to get started, you will need to read on. Below are five tips for training your dog.

Attend a class

If you want your dog to get used to interacting with other animals, you should sign up to a class. This is the perfect opportunity for your dog to make new friends. It will also give you the chance to meet likeminded individuals. Try to find a class that suits your dog’s needs. If you have a particularly difficult canine, you don’t want to be stuck in a class full of well-behaved pooches. Equally, if your dog is reasonably calm, you don’t want to be caught up in the chaos of a naughty puppy training session.

Invest in a crate

To keep your dog calm and well behaved, you will need to invest in a suitable crate. This can be a useful tool to help you with the training process. Before you go ahead with your purchase, make sure that you read up on the different dog crate sizes available. This will help you to select the perfect option for your pet. Buying a dog crate will also help you to control your animal when you are outside of the home. Instead of letting your dog run wild, you can offer it a sense of security.

Get the whole family involved

It will be extremely difficult for you to train your dog effectively, if the rest of your household is undermining this process. Make sure that your entire family understands the lessons that you are trying to get across. They should be aware of the occasions when they can give your dog a treat and the type of bad behavior that they should be preventing. This consistent approach will prevent your pet from feeling confused and anxious.

Enjoy plenty of rewards

Training your dog is no easy feat. That is why you should reward yourself along with your canine. Lookout for gifts that are perfect for every dog lover. This will provide you with a fantastic sense of motivation whenever you are struggling to be vigilant in your training schedule. You should also find gifts that will appeal to your trusty companion. This will let them know just how much you care. To establish a strong relationship with your dog, you will need to strike the right balance between authority and friendship.

Start early

It is never too late to train your dog, but in an ideal world you should be starting early. This will help to prevent your animal from developing bad habits. It will also allow you to enjoy every step of the journey. Instead of struggling through the early years, why not take control? Owning a pet should be a positive experience that changes your life for the better.

What To Consider Before Getting A Dog

November 15, 2017 by Mandy

Getting a dog sounds like fun at first, and it is, but it’s also a lot of work. You can’t assume that owning a dog is going to be a breeze. Even if you’ve been around dogs in the past and know others who have one, it’s not the same as being the owner of a pet.

You may regret making a quick decision without any prior analysis. Take your time and make sure it’s the right move for you before diving in. There’s no rush, because once you do it it’s done and the dog is yours. See what to consider before getting a dog.

Breed

You want to consider what kind of dog you’re bringing into your home. They’re all different depending upon their breed. Some have more energy, while others like to be kept to themselves. Their looks and weight also varies, so view pictures online and start to get an idea what you’re searching for. It’s also a good idea to consider if you’re going to adopt from a shelter or buy a dog from a breeder. The costs and logistics will differ.

Space

Look around your apartment or home and see how much space you have for sharing with an animal. Some dogs are large and need more room than others. Scope out crates, food dishes and beds from Pet Crates Direct to get an idea of how much room you’ll need for their belongings. Picture them walking throughout your house and where they’ll be able to spread out and stretch. If you already have a house full, it may be an issue. If it’s you by yourself, then it’ll likely be a nice addition to your pad.

Lifestyle

Sit down and go through what your lifestyle looks like as it currently stands. Write down your schedule and find out how much time you spend at and away from your home on any given day. Your pet is going to need your attention and care on a consistent basis. Your dog will need to be fed, groomed and taken for walks. Make sure you have time to attend to their needs before signing on the dotted line. Remember that they are social animals, and cannot be left for long periods of time.

Commitment

Having a dog is a huge commitment. It’s going to change your life for many years to come, so make sure you’re ready for it before diving in. You aren’t going to be able to go traveling on a whim without first having a safe place for your dog to stay while you’re gone. Your pet is going to be there when you leave in the morning and when you get home from work every day. You’re giving your word that you’re going to be a good pet parent the day you bring your dog home.

Conclusion

Dogs are a lot of work, but they’re also very cute. Be honest with yourself about what you can and can’t handle prior to bringing one home. This is what to consider before getting a dog.