Tips for Being a Great Pet Owner

One of my favorite photos of Kate and Max at the dog park. He was in doggy heaven!

Today’s post is sponsored by Lunchbox.

Yes, I am one of those types of people who adore their pets! You can find lots of pictures of my furry Maine Coon cat and handsome German Shepherd on my personal Facebook and Instagram feed!   I know there are a lot of us out there! I’ve learned some important lessons on how to be a good pet owner.  Whether you adopt your pets from rescue groups or a local breeder, they all need some TLC and training.  Here are some tips I’ve learned throughout the years.

Take them out for regular walks: You can usually tell which dogs get frequent walks just from their behavior while walking.  Many trainers mention how important it is that your dog get his daily walk to help burn off some of their energy.  I know our dog, Max, thinks it is his job to take us out for a daily walk and gets very ansy if we somehow missed a long walk for the day.  Mind you, he is a 125 pound dog (we just weighed him again this weekend and he has reached 125 pounds!) so he has a lot of energy to burn off, but it is just as important for the little guys to burn off their energy as well!

Play together:  One of Max’s favorite things to chase after are pinecones.  Yes, pinecones.  This makes life easy as there are always pinecones lying around outside our place and we just throw it down our greenbelt and off he goes.  He likes to prance around with one in his mouth and we have to try to catch him.  It is our little game we play but he loves this game.  Whether it be chasing tennis balls, or their favorite toy, spend about 10-15 minutes of focused play time with your dog.  Sometimes, when I am making dinner, I’ll send my daughter out to the backyard to play some basketball hoops with Max.  He likes to get the basketball and it always warms my heart hearing her laughing at Max while he tries to get the basketball. They are becoming close pals and she is making a real effort to spend more time with him.

Regular Vet Visits:

It is a good idea to have your pets go to a veterinary doctor at least once a year.  You will probably end of saving money in the long run if you are on top of these visits.  I have had to learn the hard way about this as two of my cats had dental issues that weren’t caught in time.  In my defense, I did bring one of the cats, Lola, into the vet because she kept meowing at night and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  Unfortunately, somehow the vet missed her decaying tooth and she ended up passing away about 6 months later. There are several alternative theories about the health of teeth and overall health.  All I know is that if they have bad teeth it can’t be good for their health when this bacteria goes into their body. Having good dental care for our pets is one of the important gifts we could give our pets!  Regular teeth cleaning and quality food that will help keep their teeth healthy is very important and ends up saving us money in the long run!

Quality Food:

Every dog is a champion – whether he’s Best in Show, or more importantly, your lovable best friend.  I’ve gone through several different pet foods and found that Max really enjoys the Purina Pro Plan. Though he isn’t show dog (but I think he is handsome enough!), you’ll find the winning nutrition best suited  for your dog with 80+ formulas delivering advanced nutrition and outstanding taste.  There’s a Purina Pro Plan scientifically created to bring out the best in your dog. We get compliments all the time about Max’s coat and it has a lot to do with what we are feeding him.

Enter to WIN a year’s supply of Pro Plan!

Visit the Purina Pro Plan microsite to learn more about Purina Pro Plan products, take a quiz to receive a $5 off coupon and enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win weekly prizes.

And be sure to enter the Purina Pro Plan sweepstakes!  Just share your best in show dog photo on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #MyChampSweepstakes for a chance to win weekly prizes! Prizes include: A year’s supply of Pro Plan and/or Petco gift card of up to $200!  How awesome would that be to win a year’s supply of pet food?!

Some of the Purina Pro Plan blends include:

~ Bright Minds 7+ Chicken and Rice Formula

~ Pro Plan Savor Shredded Blends Chicken & Rice

~ Pro Plan Select Sensitive Skin and Stomach

~ Pro Plan Sport Performance 30/20 Formula

~ Pro Plan Focus Large Breed

~ LMB Pro Plan Savor Shredded Blends Lamb & Rice

More savings!

Visit the Purina Pro Plan microsite and take the quiz and you will receive a $5 off coupon for Purina Pro Plan products.  I’m all about saving money and this is an easy way to get $5.00 off your next bag of pet food.

And if you  text a photo of your receipt and the word “PROPLAN” to 343434 you’ll receive a $4 coupon.  Good luck lovely dandelion moms!  Go post a picture of your furry family for a chance to win some goodies!

“Sponsored post by Lunchbox but all opinions are my own.”

 

 

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