Dog is Good is proud to share Top 5 Pet Safety Tips from our friend, Denise Fleck of Sunny-dog Ink…..
Veterinarians are the experts, but most of us are not lucky enough to have one velcroed to our hip 24/7. Even if you live in a house full of humans, odds are that when the cat stops breathing or the dog cuts his paw…you will be home alone and it will be after veterinary hours. Therefore Pet Parents must know how to jump to the task to rescue Rover or help Fluffy feel better before professional medical help is available! In addition to learning Pet First Aid & CPCR (yes, there is now a second “C” standing for “cerebral”) and having a Pet First Aid Kit, there are five specific things you can do to help your pet live a longer, happier, healthier life with you:
1. Know where your nearest Animal ER is & Keep up with annual Veterinary Visits. Drive there before you need to, so that you know where to enter, what services are offered and how they accept payment. Don’t miss annual veterinary exams where professional eyes, hands, ears, stethoscope, blood test and urinalysis can diagnose problems at their earliest stages.
2. Do a weekly Head-to-Tail Check-up of your pet and notice changing habits. Really get to know your pet, his body and his habits so that you can more quickly determine when something is not quite right. Feel for lumps and bumps, parasites and burrs, anything that should not be on him. Notice what your dog or cat looks like when he sits and stands. How often do you have to fill his water bowl and how often he needs to answer nature’s call? Changes may warrant a veterinary check-up.
3. Get Down on all Fours. Look at your house and yard from your pet’s perspective. Anything on the floor is fair game and an animal’s amazing sense of smell can find hidden temptations behind cabinet doors. Cleaners and fertilizers not absorbed through paw pads will be ingested when your dog or cat grooms himself, so keep items out of paws reach and use pet friendly chemicals.
4. Read your pet’s food label. The first 3-5 items listed on the ingredient label are the bulk of your pet’s diet. Make sure the first one is a high quality protein — the name of the animal in the food (ie: chicken, lamb, salmon, or venison). Limit or avoid wheat, corn and soy which results in allergic reactions in many pets. Can’t pronounce it? Your pet probably doesn’t need it. Feeding the right food (all dogs and cats won’t do well on the same brand) just may prevent illness. Educate yourself for your pet’s sake as food okay for humans may not be so for canines or felines.
5. Spend quality time together. That’s why we have pets – to make them part of the family, so when you walk the dog, don’t talk on your cell phone or text. Tune in to kitty rather than mindlessly petting her. Be in the now and keep your eyes open to your pet’s environment to avoid disasters.
Denise Fleck is an award winning author, freelance writer and a two-time finalist as Pet Industry’s Woman of the Year. After extensive training, practice, more training and more practice, she developed her own Pet First-Aid & CPCR curriculum and has been teaching animal life-saving skills for 15 years with many success stories to share –including teaching a record 10,000 students in person! Fleck also teaches a 5 month long Animal Care course for high school students in conjunction with the Burbank Unified School District and Animal Shelter. She has demonstrated animal life-saving skills on CBS –TV’s “The Doctors,” Animal Planet’s “Pit Boss,” “Kirstie Alley’s Big Life” and countless other shows. To complement her teachings, she created a line of Pet First-Aid Kits, posters and books for children teaching animal respect and care! Visit www.sunnydogink.com
or call (818) 951-7962.
