Our pets have such short lives and yet they give us so much. The benefits of pet ownership have been well researched and documented. As pet parents, we take on the commitment to look after our pet for their entire life. We share our top 10 ingredients for good pet wellbeing to keep your dog or cat healthy and happy. And a happy pet means a happy pet parent!
We believe good pet wellbeing is when animals experience pleasurable experiences, not just the alleviation of negative ones. And a good quality of life is when their positive experiences greatly outweigh all the negative experiences.
10 ingredients for good pet wellbeing
- Food and water – provide nutritious food and fresh water daily
- Vet care – provide preventative and ongoing veterinary care
- Financial plan – have a clear financial plan or pet insurance
- Daily exercise and play – allow time each day to exercise and play with your dog or cat
- Early socialisation – provide early and ongoing socialisation with other animals, people and household appliances
- Training – provide capable guardianship using positive training methods
- Prevent behavioural issues – allow your pet to express its natural behaviours; and prevent your pet suffering from loneliness, boredom and anxiety. Seek expert advice early to help you with any pet issues.
- Have a plan B – ensure your companion animal is able to depend on you now and in the future with a support system in place so that your pet will be taken care of if you can no longer do so yourself
- Support your pet through ageing when behavioural and medical issues may arise. Just like people, many diseases become more common as our pets age.
- Love your pet ‘warts and all‘ – there’s no such thing as the perfect pet!
Pets4Life’s manifesto for good pet wellbeing
Every animal deserves a good life, not just a life of existence.
I like that you refer to us as parents of our animal companions, so I am wondering if you would use the pronoun he or she rather than it as you write in your first paragraph? It objectifies and one more suggestion, how about guardian instead of owner?
We can go a long way to eventually changing laws to protect them by changing their legal status from property to personhood.
This is a great little article! We especially love the 10th ingredient! We believe the the relationship between human and pet should be supported, no matter what the situation. What are your thoughts on people who are homeless and own pets? It’s a cause that we are working on, as it is very difficult for homeless people to access shelter and crisis accommodation without having to leave their pets behind. Take a look at our page, you may find it interesting: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pets-of-the-Homeless-Sydney/1462619590674392
Hello, apologise for the delay in responding to your comment. I think more should be done about helping people who are in a crisis situation when they can not look after their pet. In terms of veterinary care and support, I suggest you connect with Pets in the Park charity who run free clinics at Darlinghurst on the last Sunday of the month. Cheers, CAthy