woman hugs yellow lab outside

Let’s Show Our Pets We Love Them this Valentine’s Day by Being a Responsible Pet Owner

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Our dogs and cats are very special to us and we love to give them treats and cuddles to show them how much we love them! Treats and cuddles are great and very satisfying, but the best things we can do for our pets is to make sure they are healthy and happy throughout their lives.
February is Responsible Pet Ownership Month, and Valentine’s Day is here! Let’s make sure we are providing the very best lives possible for our dogs and cats this month by making sure they’re safe and healthy:

Love Pets for Their Entire Life

little girl hugs yellow lab

I believe that the first step to loving our pets is to realize that they are a life-long commitment! Loving our pets definitely includes providing affection through petting, playing together, belly rubs and snuggles on the sofa-whatever our pets prefer-every single day. However, those things won’t really matter if one day we move into an apartment that doesn’t allow pets and we give our dog away! Life-long means life-long.

Dogs and cats are living, breathing, feeling animals who form emotional attachments and can feel depression and abandonment thoroughly. If we cannot handle the cost and care of a pet for his entire life, then we should not adopt a pet. It’s that simple.

Nutrition and Hydration are Key

Feeding your pet good food is the most important step to lifelong health and happiness! Talk to your local Hollywood Feed sales associate about which food is right for your dog or cat. Always read the label of your pet’s food to make sure they are getting whole proteins, grains, fruits and veggies and not by-product meal. The associates at Hollywood Feed are trained by experts like veterinarians and nutritionists so they can help you provide the best nutrition for your pet.

Hydration is also very important. Make sure that your pet always has a clean full bowl of water, whether indoors or out. Here are some fun ways to keep your dog hydrated! Cats often prefer moving water, so consider a Drinkwell Fountain that will keep water circulating for them.

Spay, Neuter and Veterinary Check-Ups

vet examines Airedale

It is so important for us as pet-parents to help prevent homeless and unwanted animals. The best way to do this is to spay and neuter our pets. Please take this important step, which also has added health benefits for our dogs and cats like reducing the risk of uterine infections and certain types of cancer! It only takes our pet getting out and meeting another un-neutered animal one time to end up with a litter of 8 (or more) puppies!

It is also recommended that we take our pets to the veterinarian at least once a year for a full physical exam. A head to tail check-up may find a health concern that we didn’t know about, before it starts to cause visible symptoms in our pets. This is especially important the older our pets become. Making sure our pets’ teeth are in good shape is very important to overall health!

Exercise and Preventing Obesity

chocolate lab puppy with tennis ball and red leash

Exercising with our pets is a real bonding experience. Whether we prefer to go for walks around the neighborhood or would rather go camping, hiking or running together, our dogs will love to spend time with us and it will help them stay healthy. Don’t forget to help your cat get some exercise, too! Get them cat trees to climb, and let them chase a string around for ten minutes a day. Exercise has cardiovascular benefits and will keep our pets’ waistlines trim. Obesity causes so many entirely preventable health problems in our pets just like it does in humans. Learn more about combating obesity here.

Don’t Forget About Training

A well-trained dog is a happy dog! Besides knowing what you expect of him and being able to fulfill it, training your dog is also important for safety and mental stimulation. Check out some of our great training blogs here: It’s Never Too Late To Train Our Dogs and 10 Training Secrets Every Pet Parent Should Know. Good luck training your cat!

Be Prepared

Just I case there is a natural disaster, a car wreck, an injury or our dog digs under the fence, we should always be prepared for emergencies with our pets. We should make sure to have a pet first aid kit, emergency evacuation or quarantine plans, and know some basic CPR and first aid techniques. We have the blogs to help you with this!

We should also check frequently to make sure our dogs and cats have well-fitting collars with ID tags at all times. A collar can loosen over time, become frayed, and ID tags can become scratched and unreadable. Microchipping is also very important and I highly recommend this method as long as you can make sure the info stays up to date when you move! If anything ever happens to separate our dogs or cats from us, these are the best ways to ensure a safe return. Check out more information here.

This Valentine’s Day let’s feed our pets a nutritious food, take them for a run, make sure they’re microchipped and get our new puppies and kittens spayed. Let’s show our pets how much we really care!

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