How To Be A Good Dog Owner - Before making the decision about buying a new dog, here are some points you should consider :-
1. Is someone at home for most of the day ?
A dog, especially a puppy, should not be left on its own for more than a few hours at a time. If you are out at work from 9-5 don’t get a dog unless you can make satisfactory arrangements with a friend to let the dog out.
2. What about holidays ?
It is sad to say that more dogs are destroyed at holiday time than any other. Unless you have a helpful family to look after your dog, be prepared for the expense of boarding kennels. Because of the increase in running costs, reputable kennels now have to make a higher charge – don’t forget to book well ahead.
3. Are you prepared for the cost of keeping a dog ?
This includes not only the cost of food, and kennels at holiday time, but also the cost of vaccinations and also possible veterinary fees in case of illness. A dog, like a child, can fall ill quite suddenly and unexpectedly, so be prepared for any eventuality. Take out pet insurance for peace of mind.
4. Exercise
To keep healthy and happy, dogs need daily exercise, and this means a good run in a field or park, or a game with a ball, not just a stroll round to the shops on a leash. If you love your dog, be prepared to sacrifice some of your leisure time each day, whatever the weather. If you can’t provide this kind of exercise to a dog, consider giving a home to an older dog. Your local dogs home may have just the right one for you.
5. Family circumstances
Dogs and children usually love each other and get on well, but don’t make the mistake of buying a young puppy for a small child. Young children can be very cruel and a puppy may be badly thrown about. Worse still a young pup’s bones may easily broken if a child treats it like a toy. Wait until the children are older and a little more responsible.
6. Grooming.
If you don’t have much time to spare, choose a dog with a smooth or wire coat which needs little attention to keep it tidy. Long and curly coated dogs look beautiful, but they need daily grooming to keep them this way. Poodles need regular trimming, as well as grooming, so unless you are able to do this yourself be prepared for extra expense.
Author – John Moore – Please use my link http://www.pet-dog-cat.com As a responsible dog owner myself, I’ve experienced many of the problems mentioned in this article – I hope you’ve found it helpful.
How To Be A Responsible Cat Owner
Now that you have a cat or several cats in the house, you need to think about how you can be a responsible cat owner and provide for the needs of your cats. This means that you have to think about the cats living conditions, feeding, grooming, and clean-up.
Regarding your cats living conditions, this will be largely influenced by your own lifestyle. If you live in an apartment in a city, then your cat should live solely indoors. If you live in a farm, then your cat may live solely outdoors or live both indoors and outdoors.
When your cat lives solely outdoors, it must be provided with some form of shelter, such as a barn. What you should not do is to keep a cat inside a cage. This will drive your cat crazy. Cats treasure the freedom to move freely.
When it comes to the food of your cat, you may give free-choice feedings or scheduled feedings. If the cat is given free choice, it will feed every few hours. This is usually for cats who lead active lives. But if the cat is facing an obesity problem, then scheduled feedings should be best. You must also remember that cats are genuine carnivores. They are natural hunters.
They will not survive on a diet of grains and vegetables. In fact, they dont need these types of food. They only need meat. Their bodies require a great amount of protein than any other mammal. You may opt to give your cat canned cat food or dry food. The canned food tastes a lot better but the dry food is advisable for the cats teeth. You may alternate the use of both types.
What you should avoid is giving your cat cows milk. Cows milk has proteins that are too large for the cat to digest. This milk will make your cat suffer from diarrhea, vomiting and intestinal upset. At all times, there should be fresh clean water available to your cat.
Cats usually take care of their own grooming so the owner need not worry about this aspect. Cats like to clean themselves using their rough tongue. Although, the owner can help comb his cat when the breed has long hair. When the cat stops grooming itself, then that is the time that the owner should worry. The cat may not be feeling well.
Cats like to eliminate in relatively clean places. In fact, you will find outdoor cats digging the ground before releasing their waste. Afterwards, they cover their waste. For indoor cats, the owner should provide a litter box. This box should be changed and cleaned every week because when the cat finds that the box is not clean enough, it will find other places to take care of its waste. This is certainly a bad and smelly news for the owner.
