8 Smart Ways to Keep Your Pet Safe
Most people view their pets as being their best friends, a part of their families, an extension of themselves or all of the above. The long story short is that pets and their owners are an inseparable pairing. You can’t keep your pet with you all of the time so you have to take additional measures to keep your furry friend safe. This might include avoiding feeding your pet human food no matter how much it begs for a taste. Keeping pets safe is simply about doing what is best for them. Read below to discover the eight smartest ways to keep your precious pet safe and sound.
1. Have Your Pet Microchipped
Want to have the ability to track your pet anywhere in the world? If you need a fool proof monitoring system to keep you aware of your pet’s location, then have it microchipped. Unless you have GPS collars, microchips cannot be removed. Set up a time and date to bring your pet in to your preferred veterinarian and your pet can be painlessly microchipped in minutes. After that, you will be able to track your pet in case it gets lost, stolen, or proves to be the type that likes to roam the neighbourhood.
2. Go with a Reputable Pet Sitting Agency
If you want reassurance that your pet is always being well taken care of, then you must do your research before hiring a pet sitter, dog walker, or taking your pet to a boarding kennel. Start with briefly interviewing each person who might have extended contact with your pet. Prior to hiring a pet sitter, you should ask for a resume and check references. Before having that new dog walker come on board, perhaps perform a background check. These might seem like extreme steps to take, but one cannot be too safe when it comes to safeguarding your pet. Take a little extra time to keep your pet safe and know that you are going to great lengths to protect your best friend.
3. Keep Unsafe Plants and Substances Out of the Home
This is a really big one because it is a factor that plenty of animal lovers overlook. One of the biggest looming dangers your pet is going to face is what you have in your home. There are plants, essential oils, foods, and even common household items that can be poisonous or even pose a fatal danger to your four-legged friends. Something as mundane as peppermint can make a cat violently ill. Anything that your pet can get to and chew on can potentially be a choking hazard. Just as you would baby-proof a home before letting a small child wander about, you have to take the same amount of care when making your home safe for your pets. A good kitten insurance policy can help when a young cat gets into something it wasn’t supposed to, but nothing beats preventative action.
4. Checking Your Fencing
Having a perimeter fence that completely encloses your property is definitely something that will keep your pet safer for a couple of reasons. First, secure fencing makes it really hard for pets to get out. Realise that even if you have indoor cats or dogs, they can always accidentally slip out. This is very important for pet owners who are fostering or adopting new animals. They will be prone to want to explore and even run away until they feel more comfortable with their surroundings. Secure fencing is also critical in keeping undesirable elements away from you pets. That could mean keeping male cats out of your garden if you have a female cat that is in heat. A sturdy fence will also keep ferocious dogs and unscrupulous humans from easily getting to your pets and potentially harming them. So, check the fence for holes, weak points, or areas that your pets could easily jump over.
5. Look into Pet Insurance
There is absolutely no substitute for getting insurance for pets. Whether you are looking for a new insurance policy for dogs, or just want to compare cat insurance quotes, you really need to maintain coverage on your pets at all times. With coverage from everypaw.com anyone who lives and needs coverage for their pets in the UK can look to keep their pets safe and secure. And the reason that pet insurance is so critical? Pet insurance covers owners and their pets in the event of all sorts of accidents, losses and injuries. So, if your pet comes down with a serious condition and needs to go to an animal hospital right away, you can rely on your pet insurance policy to offset the cost. Never again will you need to delay critical treatments for your pets because you are worried that you won’t be able to come up with the money soon enough.
6. Check the Labels on your Pet Supplies
Realise that premium dog and cat foods aren’t more expensive simply because they come in fancy containers and their manufacturers spend more on advertising. Premium foods for pets are often made with better quality ingredients, have fewer preservatives and more beneficial vitamins and minerals. Better quality food for pets also contains less filler, so your pet will have more energy. Consider your pet’s health when you think about feeding it premium foods. Would you be able to live a long and healthy life and if you mainly ate fast food and pre-packaged meals? That is exactly the reason you should pay attention to the ingredients that are contained in your pet’s food.
7. Schedule Regular Visits to the Veterinarian
Pets absolutely need to go to their ‘doctors’ at regular intervals. Only a veterinarian can tell you the specific frequency in which you should be bringing your pet to visits, but fully-grown cats and dogs generally go once a year. Taking your animal to the veterinarian will keep it safe and healthy. Remember that animals don’t speak our language, so you may not notice if your pet is experiencing any kind of pain or discomfort. As pets can get diseases and illnesses like cancer and arthritis, you have to ensure that they get their check-ups regularly. A happy pet is ultimately one that is properly cared for.
8. Put a Leash on Your Pets Before Going Outdoors
Pet owners can come up with a lot of convenient excuses for failing to attach a leash to their collar prior to leaving the home. They could simply be letting their dog outside for a moment to relieve itself. Other owners believe that their neighbourhoods are safe and that it is okay to let their cats and dogs roam free. When you let your pets run around outside untethered you are putting them, as well as your entire community, at risk. While your dog might be the best-behaved pooch you have ever met, you won’t be able to do anything but apologise when it suddenly becomes aggressive towards another smaller dog. The fact of the matter is that all pets are safer when they are walked on a lead.
Keeping your pet totally safe is easier said than done. You cannot let a moment go by when you are not sure that your pet is in a safe location. Having a wonderful pet to snuggle up with will be well worth the effort though.
