7 Essential Tips to Look After Your First Dog (& Keep Them Happy)
Getting a dog causes a lot of joy, and it can be one of the best things you ever do, especially when you have kids. That doesn’t mean they don’t take a bit of work. You’ll need to know how to look after your first dog and make sure they’re happy and healthy.
Many first-time dog owners think this is complicated, and as if it’ll take a lot of work. It isn’t always that way.
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While there’ll always be some work involved, it doesn’t need to be as complicated as you could think. It could be much more straightforward than you would’ve thought. It’s just a matter of actually knowing what you’re doing and putting the effort into them.
Seven of these tips can help quite a bit, and they’re worth knowing before you get your first dog.
Look After Your First Dog: 7 Essential Tips
1. Do Your Research
Before you get your first dog, it’s always worth spending some time researching it first. There’ll be quite a lot involved in owning a dog, after all.
Most of this research focuses on what it takes to actually look after your first dog. Then there’s the different breeds you can get, some of which can be more appealing than others. You might also need to look into animal restrictions in your neighbourhood that you might need to be aware of.
Once you’ve done your research, you can figure out whether getting a dog is the right choice for you.
2. Figure Out If You Have the Time
Speaking of doing your research, it’s always worth making sure you have the time for them. They’ll need more time to be taken care of than you’d think.
A lot of this focuses on feeding them, training them, and taking them out exercising. Then there’s playing games with them and actually bonding with your dog. This can all take up much more time than you would’ve thought. Make sure you actually have the time for this.
While that could mean juggling things better, it’s worth it. You’ll end up actually enjoying your time with your new furry family member.
3. Optimise Their Diet
Your dog’s diet is vital to making sure your furry family member is healthy. Make sure you put the time and effort into this.
Getting the right food is the first step to take. Focus on options high in nutrients and vitamins so your dog gets everything they need from the food. It could be worth going for some more expensive options to help with this. At the same time, you should make sure you’re feeding them enough every day without overfeeding.
Vitamins and supplements, like turmeric for dogs, can also help with this. It makes sure their diet is as nutritious as possible.
4. Know Your Budget
Speaking of food, this is one of the largest dog-focused expenses you’ll have. You could end up spending quite a bit of money on this during the year.
You’ll also need to think about all of the other expenses you’ll have, like pet insurance and grooming. While some of these will be relatively small, they add up quite a bit over time. Make sure you can actually afford these before you get a dog. It could be more expensive than you’d think.
If you feel like you can’t afford everything, then it could be worth waiting until you can.
5. Consider a Microchip
While nobody expects it or wants it, there’s always a chance your dog could go missing. It’s one of the more stressful and anxiety inducing times you can go through.
Naturally, you’ll want to get them back as quickly as possible. If you’ve microchipped them, this should be relatively simple. This is painlessly placed between their shoulder blades, and they mightn’t even know it’s there. When they have this, you can track down your dog relatively quickly if they go missing.
It’ll save you quite a bit of time and effort. If you’re adopting from a shelter, they likely would’ve microchipped the dog already.
6. Train Consistently
You’ll already know your dog will need some training once you get them. The earlier you start on this, the better.
This doesn’t just mean taking them to training classes every once in a while. Instead, it means being as consistent as possible with it. That way, your dog will actually learn how to behave and obey your commands. Consistency also means they learn this as quickly as possible.
You’ll avoid more than a few mistakes and mishaps because of it. You’ll set the right tone going forward because of it.
7. Be Responsible
There are countless things dogs can’t do for themselves, and they’ll need someone to do it for them. You’ll have to do it.
That means knowing how to be responsible for a dog, which often means having the right mentality. Before getting your first dog, consider how responsible you actually are. Is it enough to look after a living being while making sure they’re healthy and happy? Are you responsible enough to be there for them constantly?
If you’re not, then it’s best you leave getting a dog until you’ve worked on this a bit. You’ll be responsible for them for the rest of their lives, after all.
Look After Your First Dog: Wrapping Up
As much as you could want to get a dog, you’ll need to know what you’re doing before you take the plunge. That means knowing how to look after your first dog.
This often seems like it’s complicated and takes a lot of time and effort. While there’s always work involved in it, it doesn’t need to be as overwhelming as you could think. It’s just a matter of putting the time and effort into the right areas and knowing what you’re doing. The right tips help with this quite a bit.
With that, you’ll look after your first dog a lot better than you’d think. They’ll be a happy, healthy part of the family before you know it.
