Be Nice to Your Pets
Everyone needs to know how to be nice to their own pets and animals in general. It is very important to be nice to your pet because if you're not, your pet won't like you any more. Read on from step one for how to be nice to, and love, your pet instead of abusing it.
Contents
Steps
- Groom your furry pet, if you have one, as often as it requires it. Many pets love to be groomed, but if they do not like it, don't do it unless the pet needs it to stay healthy. Not all pets like to be groomed, but they made need to endure it once in a while if their fur or coat becomes tangled or contaminated. Grooming some dogs, cats, and other animals actually helps their skin by adding oils to it.
- Make a Feed Scoop them. Make sure it's just the right amount. Too little food results in hunger, which may result in your new shoes getting chewed by dogs or other pets and malnutrition in your pet. Too much food can cause vomiting and stomach aches and all the conditions usually associated with obesity in animals. You have to distinguish between the times they're genuinely hungry and the times they're just trying to get food. This can be difficult with a horse which will graze out doors as it chooses or with a hamster that has learnt to beg despite having a full food bowl but try to distinguish between hungry and attention seeking where appropriate.
- Clean their food and water bowls at least once a day. It's the same as with us. You wouldn't eat out of the same plate for one whole week, and you wouldn't drink out of the same glass, cup, or mug for a month!
- Give your pets attention. Pets want as much of your attention as possible, dogs especially. However, this attention should be on your terms. In general, acknowledge your pet's existence; even saying "Hi <pet name>, how are you doing?" Clearly they won't understand what you're saying, but at least it shows that you see them.
- Take dogs on walks as required for their breed. It's unhealthy for a dog not to exercise enough, physically and mentally. Many dogs don't like being stuck in a house, chained to a fence or locked in a kennel, or in the same backyard all day long; they like to get out and explore and get vital exercise. They can also meet other dogs this way, if appropriate. If you only saw other people when you went on walks, wouldn't you enjoy them too? Whilst other pets exist, walks is a common exercise for dogs only. If your pet isn't a dog, find an appropriate way to exercise it, this may be a walk, but it could be something else.
- Physical contact is very important to the socialization of many animals and makes them much more friendly. Play with your pet, stroke them, or just sit on the grass and goof around.
- Never treat a pet especially a dog, like a child. A dog is an animal and needs leadership. Don't pander to insecurity. Instead, be strong and lead by example.
- Do not do anything to hurt the pet. They are fragile and it will make them dislike you! If you accidentally bump into it or kick it, make sure you apologize by a treat of some sort or a reassuring pat on the head.
- Make sure you take your pet to the vet regularly. Your pet may not like it, but in the end, it's better to cause a bit of discomfort now and then to find out later that it has a bad case of worms that could have been stopped awhile ago. Reward it once in a while.
- You are the pet's boss. Don't terrorize it by tugging on its leash, slapping him/her as a punishment, etc. But make sure you don't let it get away with everything. Remember: You're in charge, not Fido.
- Do not become impatient with your pet. They can't necessarily understand you verbally. So don't rant off to them. They'll just see you as a crazy foreign master who likes to talk to himself a lot.
Tips
- Your tone of voice has a lot to do with how your pet will react. Saying "I love you, you're the best pet in the world!" in a tone that implies you hate it won't exactly convey your message.
- Many cats and dog love being scratched on the tummy or chin.
- Remember that animals connect unpleasant experiences with the place they experienced them at. If you had to take your dog to the hospital for surgery several times, he might be afraid of riding in cars because he remembers car trips as the beginning of a painful process (having surgery). If this is the case, try to carefully take your pet to the place it is traumatized with for a short period of time, and reward it. In the example with the dog, take very short car rides that lead somewhere pleasant until your dog realizes that not all car rides end at the hospital. This is very important because your pet may refuse to get inside a car, thus making trips to the vet or any other destination even more unpleasant since you'll probably be covered in scratches or claw marks.
- Be sure you don't have anything on your fingers that will bother your pet while petting it.
- Your pet sometimes just wants attention. Make sure you feed it and give it water, but also give him/her lots of love and attention. It's the love that counts!
- Sometimes, it's just good to leave your pet alone. They don't want someone always hovering over them, and they might start to feel threatened.
- If you have a bird or an animal in a cage or tank, don't shake the cage or your pet will begin to dislike you.
Don't do anything your pet doesn't or it will dislike you as well.
Warnings
- When you do need to corrects a pet's behavior, you need respect, not fear. Tell them in a firm tone, "No," or "Bad dog/cat/rabbit/whatever animal you have." Use hand gestures that make them realize that they've made a mistake.
- If your pet doesn't like what you are doing to it, then stop right away! However, there are exceptions; if you're doing it for its own good, like giving it a bath, continue doing it, but soothe them as much as you can.
- This has already been stated, but cannot be stressed enough:
- Never hit your pet. No matter how angry you are at it, hitting or slapping it is possibly the worst thing you could do. This not only makes your pet fear you in a way that is almost cruel, it may lead your pet to believe that you suddenly dislike it very heavily, and it shatters the trust it once had for you. It will take a lot of coaxing and treats to make your pet trust you again.
