5 Tips Every Responsible Pet Owner Should Follow

Keep your pets healthy, happy, and secure!

February is Responsible Pet Owners Month, a time when fur-parents are encouraged to take heed of a few cardinal tips for pet ownership. Spaying and neutering, for example, is one of the major responsible pet owner tips that those with dogs and cats are encouraged to follow. Stick to these 5 guidelines and you’ll ensure the safety, health and happiness of your furry friend.

Spay and Neuter

Our country has a massive unwanted pet problem. Thousands of animals end up in shelters every year simply because of overpopulation. You can help mitigate this problem by spaying and neutering all of your pets and encouraging friends and family members to do the same. If your neighborhood has a stray cat or dog problem, you might even enlist the help of a local vet to spay & neuter these strays for free or at a reduced cost.

Train Your Dog

Poor behavior can lead to accidents, or worse, lead to dogs being abandoned to a shelter. Properly training your dog decreases its risk of getting lost, getting hit by a car, or unintentionally biting a human or another dog. Not only that, but it makes dog ownership a whole lot less stressful! The earlier you train your dog, the better. Contact your local ASPCA chapter to find out about inexpensive training programs offered in your community.

ID and Microchip

A microchip is a tiny chip that looks similar to a grain of rice that’s placed under an animal’s skin to identify them. Since microchips became mainstream, thousands of lost pets have been reunited with their owners, sometimes even from halfway across the country! Make sure your pet has a microchip and up-to-date ID tags with the animal’s name and the phone number of either you or your vet. Ask your vet about deals on microchipping; many clinics offer low-cost events every few months where you can microchip your pet for as little as $10.

Vaccinate

Your domestic dog or cat should get all recommended vaccinations when you first bring them home, and receive boosters on a regular basis as recommended by your vet and local authorities. Veterinary experts have recently revised their stance on booster shots, now advising that some shots need only be administered every 2-3 years instead of annually.

Let Your Pet Live Indoors

It’s wrong to get a dog or cat and then banish them to the backyard, or worse, allow them to roam the neighborhood freely. Not only does this leave pets exposed to the elements, it puts them at risk of being attacked by another animal. Dogs, in particular, are social by nature. Restricting human contact is nearly as cruel as restricting food and water. You don’t have to let your pet sleep in your bed (or even on your furniture, for that matter), but they should have a safe haven indoors like any other member of the family.