You love your pet more than you ever thought you could. Perhaps you even love them more than you love some people! Since your pet is such a loyal, important friend to you, you want to know everything you can about keeping them safe and secure.
Here, we’ll give you the lowdown on the 20 most important pet safety tips that will help keep your pet safe in your care so that they can be by your side for as long as possible.
Keep Identification on Your Pet
No matter what precautions you take, sometimes accidents happen. When they do, you want your pet to be able to get home to you safely! Keep an ID tag well-secured to their collar and label it with their name, your name, your address, and your phone number.
Microchip for Extra Safety
A microchip goes the extra mile. What happens if your pet gets out without its collar on? Or if their ID tag falls off for some reason? A microchip is a non-invasive procedure in which a small device is placed under your pet’s skin. Then, anyone can take your lost pet to a humane society and easily locate your info! You can even update your address online if you move.
Prepare for an Emergency Evacuation
If there is a fire or other emergency, you want your pet out safely, too. Put stickers on your windows to alert emergency personnel that you have a pet or pets inside who need saving, too.
Keep a Disaster Kit on Hand
If a disaster happens and you’re stuck in your home, your pet has needs, too. Keep a kit somewhere accessible with food, water, a kennel, blankets, phone numbers, and any other pertinent emergency materials.
Prepare for Shelter
If you and your pet need to evacuate your home, you need to know where to go. Not all hotels accommodate dogs, so keep a list of pet-friendly places you could stay in an emergency.
Secure Your Trash
Pets are notorious for getting into the trash, especially if left alone for long hours. Keep your lids tightly secured on the trashcans—both inside and out. Take the trash out often so that tempting things aren’t there, to begin with. Much of what you throw away could be toxic to your dog, cat, or other pet, so it’s best to prevent an issue in the first place.
Keep Dangerous Liquids and Medications Out of Reach
Of course, trash isn’t the only thing a pet could get into. Medications, cleaning supplies, and other liquids could all be toxic if lapped up by your furry friend. Keep these things behind locked doors and/or high out of reach.
Lock Your Gates
Your pet is probably pretty smart. If a gate is even slightly open, their curiosity will get the better of them, and soon enough, they’ll be roaming the neighborhood. Even if they know how to get back, harm could befall them in the way of a car, a predator, or some other unfortunate circumstance. Prevent it by keeping locks on your gates.
Pet-Proof Your Home
Go around your home and make sure that there isn’t anything dangerous for your pet within their reach. Shut doors when you leave and consider an appropriately sized crate if they’re young or still learning about boundaries.
Keep them Out of Mischief
You don’t want to come home to ripped furniture or destroyed carpet, and your pet doesn’t want to suffer the consequences, either. Give them plenty of things to keep them stimulated and out of mischief while you’re gone for long hours.
Keep Them on a Short Leash
Retractable leashes are fine for certain situations, as are off-leash events. However, for the most part, a short leash is best when you’re walking your pet. Even if you trust your pet, you never know how other animals (including people) might behave. You want to keep your companion at arm’s length to get them out of a dangerous situation, such as a biting dog or a speeding car.
Learn the Signs of Aggression
Animals tell us when they’re upset, scared, or frustrated. We just don’t pay attention as closely as we should. Learn the signs of aggression in your dog, cat, or other animals so that you can intervene before a fight or attack happens.
Summer Considerations
Pets need special attention when the weather gets hot! They’ll need extra water to stay hydrated, cool areas to take a break (both inside and outside), and they shouldn’t ever be walking on hot concrete. If you do have to take them out in extreme heat, cover their paws to prevent injury.
Winter Considerations
When it’s very cold outside, keep your pet comfortable! Moisturize their paws, give them extra blankets, and let them inside or into a shelter more often if they spend most of their time outdoors. Pets can also get frostbite, so watch for signs of them being out in the cold for too long.
Car Safety
You love your pet and want to adventure with them! However, you must never leave them alone in a hot car, especially with the windows up. They could suffocate! Furthermore, you shouldn’t leave your pet unattended in the back of a truck, either. You never know who might walk by. If you must go somewhere your pet can’t go, leave them home.
Car Security
Keep your pet safe and secure inside the car, too, with a pet carrier or pet seatbelt. This way, they don’t get in your way or get hurt in the event of an accident. Pets should never be leashed in the back of a moving truck, either, for the risk of them jumping out and being strangled.
Wellness Checks at the Vet
Just like with people, a doctor’s visit isn’t just for when you’re sick! Get your pet set up with a veterinarian, so you have someone ready to go if a situation arises. Plus, it’s good for the vet to have a baseline for what your pet looks and acts like when they’re healthy.
Pet First Aid Kit
Pets need different sorts of first aid than people do. Ask your vet what the most important things to keep on hand are for common pet mishaps. Collect them and keep them in a safe place, so they’re easily accessible—but out of reach of your pet, of course!
Swim Safety
Most pets know how to swim, but that doesn’t mean you should let them free in open bodies of water without supervision. If you’re taking your furry friend on an aquatic adventure, a life vest is a great option to keep them safe, especially until you know they can swim.
Overall Water Considerations
Make sure that during water play, your pet isn’t getting overtired or dehydrated, either, and that there isn’t anything dangerous in the water for them to consume. Provide plenty of fresh drinking water for your pet to help prevent urinary tract infections if they get into questionable water.
Conclusion
As a pet owner, you are responsible for your pet’s care and keeping. Even if some of these tips are brand-new information, or if you’ve mistakenly taken actions that go against these tips in the past, it’s okay! When you know better, you do better. Now, go out and implement these tips so that you and your pet buddy can have the best life together.
Audrey Halfen: Beta fish whisperer - whopping 9 months and counting! Once had a dog named Max, who I assertively claim is the cutest dog ever. Ready to throw down in a cute-off, if necessary.
