Spring has arrived! With mild temperatures, we are all craving for outdoor activities to begin. Although, we want to make sure you and your four-legged friends are ready to enjoy the new season.
Discovering new sports with your dog
Come springtime, most dog schools offer new courses for beginners. Agility obstacle courses, Frisbee and even dummy training are all great sports to train your dogs’ physical and mental fitness and also strengthens the bond between you, the owner and pack leader, and your dog.
Use treats in moderation
The long winter months can affect our pets’ physical condition and weight. Learning a new sport and training does require a reward, although it doesn’t always need to be food. A positive verbal reward or even a toy can get your dog doing the trick. If your dog is treat-only motivated, reduced-calorie snacks are ideal in this situation.
No swimming until summer
Even with mild temperatures and thawed ice over the lake or river, water temperatures are still too cold and dangerous for swimming.
The cat wants to play too
Its been a long winter of purring under the blankets or in front of the fireplace. With the weather getting warmer outside, cats might want to explore.
Indoor cats need to explore, and we need to provide them with enough entertainment, such as new stimuli and games to play to keep them busy. Playing together will not only keep your cat active but strengthens the bond between you and your cat!
If your cat insists on going outside, we recommend supervised playtime or have a properly fenced, cat safe area for them to explore. Please remember to reapply flea and tick preventative medication, up to date with immunization and have proper identification tags and/or microchip before letting them go outside.
Shedding their winter weight
We might not notice the few extra pounds our pets have gained over the winter, until its time to get active again. They won’t play as much or run around like they use to. Springtime might still be a little too cold for quality playtime outside, although it’s a great season to prepare and start getting them active with little indoor activities.
Written by Monica Blanchard, RVT
