Walking man’s best friend isn’t only good for your pet, it’s therapeutic for you too to get out into the fresh air. A good walk offers lots of health and social benefits for you and your pet, lowering blood pressure, decreasing stress, and strengthening both muscles and heart.
Resolutions for pets
Obesity in pets is associated with a host of health issues, and exercising your pet can ward off obesity and keep him healthy in body and mind. Of course, if you go for a walk in the park, he’ll need to be on a leash.
A leash is both a walking- and a training tool and something that you will use every day for your pet. You don’t want your dog eating paint from a park bench or any rubbish lying on the side and ending up with toxicity, poisoning and vomiting. Even in a park, you want him on a leash. There are all kinds of leashes made from every type of material and clasp.
That is the beauty of OurFitPets.com – you get comprehensive information on the dangers of dogs licking and chowing paint as well as advice on all kinds of dog accessories. You can then make an informed decision. Whether you want an odor-resistant leash, a leash suited to a big dog, a reflective lease or something else, this website offers advice that every pet lover can use.
Make sure your dog is identified
You know what it’s like. Your young puppy sees another dog in the park and manages to wrench himself free from his leash and away he goes. It can be terrible if that’s the last you see of him.
Make sure your dog is identified with an ID tag and a microchip. There are even websites where messages about lost dogs can be posted to other pet owners. Microchipping is such a useful, permanent method and even if his collar is lost, the chip will reveal the information needed to try and trace him.
Microchipping is a small computer chip under the skin of the dog and can be useful for reuniting a lost pet with his human family again.
Sterilize your pets
As already suggested, keep your dogs on leashes while in the park. This is particularly important if you have a female in heat. Your female dog and all the male dogs in the park may well have been trained and socialized, but this is all forgotten at times like this.
You may find yourself surrounded by snarling, aggressive dogs trying to get to your female. If you want to make your walks in the park pleasant experiences for you and your pet, have them spayed or neutered.
There are way too many unwanted dogs and cats in the world and you don’t want your pet bringing into the world another batch of ‘park-special’ puppies. Spaying and neutering also offer your dog a host of health benefits.
Vaccinate and deworm
You know what a dog is like when he is out of his own territory. He loves to sniff everything. Even if he is well-fed, he likes to pick up bits of rotting food and he may even like to roll in disgusting looking debris in the park.
Without vaccines, your 4-legged friend is vulnerable and unprotected to fight infections and bacteria. With vaccinations, if your pet does come into contact with a disease, he can fight it off. Vaccinations for a puppy generally start at 6 – 8 weeks of age and will include being protected from distemper, rabies, parvovirus, and infectious hepatitis.
A puppy should be dewormed at about two weeks of age. Intestinal worms can make your puppy sick with diarrhea, vomiting, weakness and also unable to absorb nutrients and vitamins.