New Year’s resolutions that will redeem you from a year of bad dog parenting
New Year’s resolutions. A term synonymous with a fresh start, a renewed commitment, and in most cases, inevitable (and often immediate) failure. Try not to fail at taking care of your dog. Here are some pet-friendly resolutions that can keep 2015 from being the year of the bad dog owner.
1. Brush our teeth. Don’t give the vet any ammunition to charge you a paw and a leg to fix our mouths. We need regular brushings, just like you, unless you want our teeth to rot, get infected and fall out. If you’ve never attempted this challenging feat, follow these instructions to get started.
Now if your dog has really bad breath – I mean really bad breath – and is drooling all over your furniture, it’s probably too late. Might as well hand over your credit card for that infamous and expensive “deep cleaning” at the vet.
2. Include us in your health kick - even if it’s brief. Everyone jumps on the fitness bandwagon for at least the month of January. Let us take part. If you go jogging, let us run beside you. If you’re hiking, go to a dog friendly place. If you ride those ridiculous roller blades, grab the leash and let us ride with you. We are dogs. We’re meant to move and be outside. We’ll appreciate the sentiment, however short-lived it ends up being.
3. Train us. Believe it or not, we don’t want to misbehave – we’re much happier with structure. If you don’t train us we will act out. We will jump on little kids at the park. We will bark. We will continue to chew up the couch, pee on the refrigerator and tear up the carpet.
4. Be consistent. Once you’ve got us trained, stick to it. If you’re going to lock us up in a kennel, do it every day. Don’t change feeding or peeing schedules. Once you create the routine, stick to it – we don’t like surprises.
5. Pay attention to us. It’s pathetic that I even need to mention this. We are living, breathing, social creatures. We need attention and affection. Give us some uninterrupted time every day.
6. Chill on the treats. I get it. It makes you feel good to give us stuff we like. But would you feed your kid candy bars three times a day? Same concept applies – it’s not rocket science.
7. Don’t leave us alone for long periods of time. We can’t change the TV channels or turn on Netflix. We can’t sleep the entire day. We get bored and need company. If you work long hours and can’t get home frequently, find us a friend so we are not completely bored out of our minds.
Realistically, most of you will fail at your New Year’s resolutions. It’s true – in fact, some surveys show just 8% of people have any resolution success. Try to be a part of that 8% by sticking to these tips. Suck it up and give your dog a Happy New Year.