How you can become a better pet owner
Perhaps there are a few additional things you haven’t considered.
FANCY yourself a good and responsible pet owner? Here are some tips which may take you from good to great!
Animals thrive on routine because there is comfort in knowing what to expect from life. Uncertainty and unpredictability bring stress, so, as far as possible, implement regular and consistent feeding times, greeting routines, exercise, play, training and grooming times.
Let your dog be a dog and your cat be a cat. Pets experience great enjoyment from being able to do what comes naturally to them. Play with your cats in a manner that resembles hunting or allow your dogs to sniff on a walk – they experience the world in this way and pulling them along without being allowed to stop and smell the roses will steal some of the benefit and enjoyment from the walk. Think of all of their chew, lick, sniff, catch, scratch, fetch and play needs (which will differ per breed) and meet these needs daily to make for a happy and balanced pet.
Feed your pet a food that best suits his specific needs and life stage, opting for the best quality that you can afford. Feed according to the guidelines on the bag and consider all treats as part of their daily intake. Refrain from feeding human foods, table scraps and food that may have gone off.
Always consider your pet before making your own plans and ensure that they are firstly safe and secondly calm and comfortable. Make use of pet sitters or kennels if you’re going away. Get them chipped, have collars with tags on them in case they get lost, walk them with reflective gear if visibility is low, don’t force them into situations they are not comfortable with, ensure that they have clean water daily and adequate shelter and have them sterilised. And take care of their teeth – you’ll be happy you did in the long run.
Every moment of every day is an opportunity for you to communicate with your pet and shape the behaviours you want, weeding out those that you don’t. Having 10 to 20 minutes of focused training a day is vital and allows you the opportunity to develop and condition a method of communication, which can have massive benefits for your relationship and result in a wonderfully obedient companion.
Keep a handful of your pet’s daily food ration handy and use it throughout the day to reward behaviour that you want to encourage and ignore those that you want to discourage. Decide on the rules and be consistent with these – that goes for everyone that interacts with your pet. And finally, set your pet up for success – training is not a test to see how clever your pet is, but rather showing them the right way, so do all you can set the situation up to ensure they succeed.
(Information from The Pet Food Industry Association of Southern Africa)
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