Animals and pets guides from yourpetassistant.com

Animals and pets recommendations by Pet Assistant Magazine: From reducing the risk of heart attacks to alleviating loneliness, these furry family members are contributing to healthy communities. Pets can contribute to positive mental health through emotional work and practical work. The emotional work can be described as alleviating worries, stress, and depression. You may have noticed that your pet wastes no time noticing and springing into action when you are upset or sad. Their intuition is what makes them great support and therapy animals, and animal-assisted therapy is effective in treating PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Discover even more details on everything you need to know about hamsters.

Use harnesses instead of collars if possible: Collars can get caught on things like seat belts and other objects inside the car, which could make it difficult for both you and your cat if something were to happen during travel time! Harnesses are safer because they don’t have any dangling parts that could get stuck on something while traveling. Give your cat water breaks: Cats don’t normally drink much water when they’re nervous or stressed out — which they may be during travel — so it’s important that you give your cat breaks every few hours so they can get hydrated and relieve themselves outside their carriers if needed.

Teach your puppy basic commands at a young age and he will grow to be a well-behaved dog. It takes a bit of time and patience, but it’s not something you’d want to put off for later. Use positive reinforcement as part of your dog training techniques and never punish your dog. Set aside a few minutes a day to play with your dog. Use play times for training as well as to strengthen your bond with your pet. Understand that dogs are very social creatures and they would certainly look forward to spending quality time with you. Toilet training is an important part in your dog’s development. Take him outside after feeding him at the same time every day to finish his business.

Practice walking indoors: The best way to acclimate your cat to a leash and harness is to practice inside, in a safe environment. Before you head out, consider practicing walking your cat indoors on a harness and leash first to help them get used to wearing one and walking with it. A cat who has never been walked on a leash will need time to get used to the idea. The key to success is patience and consistency. Get your cat used to a carrier: You should get your cat used to their carrier well before you plan on taking your cat anywhere. Put the carrier in a room where your kitty likes to hang out — with treats inside — and let them investigate it at their leisure. Once your cat is comfortable with that, try closing them in for short periods of time. Gradually increase that until you’re able to put them inside for longer periods without them freaking out.

Ears come in all kinds, because they can naturally take different shapes and sizes, especially if humans do not touch them. You can therefore observe short or long ears, straight or drooping ears, flexible or rather stiff. The amazing thing is that they are all mobile! Yes they move even when you don’t realize it. Its ears are therefore equipped with a minimum of 18 muscles per ear which allows it to control and move them in a more or less nuanced way. But the exact number of muscles will depend on the breed of your dog as some have around 100 muscles per ear. Which is why your dog can hear much better than you! Dogs with erect ears can hear better because their cone-shaped ears help focus sound waves. In all cases, dogs move their ears to facilitate hearing. Have you ever seen your dog “prick up” its ears when it heard a sudden sound? Have you ever seen your dog’s ears move like a periscope following the direction of sound without needing to move its head?

Plan a getaway: Just because you have a cat doesn’t mean you have to stay home for the summer. Cats are surprisingly portable, as long as you’re careful about their transition to a strange new place. You can take trips with your cat by car, train and even plane — of course, it depends on how far your destination is, which transport options are available and how comfortable your cat is with travel. Prepare for the trip by acclimating your cat to a carrier. It will make getting them into the carrier easier and get them used to being in a moving vehicle, whether that’s a car or an airplane. Cats will drink more water when it’s hot out to help them cool off. Refill your cat’s water bowl regularly with clean filtered water to make sure they stay hydrated. If you have multiple cats, make sure that there is enough space around the water bowl for them all to drink freely and comfortably.

Being locked inside is not easy for anyone, and pet cats and dogs are sure to find this change more stressful as they cannot understand why it must be so. The good news is that while we’re adjusting to lockdown life, there are many pet care tips during lockdown that can be followed to help our four-legged friends feel more comfortable in these uncertain times. The first thing you should do as a pet owner is to create a safe spot in your house for your pet, where they can enjoy some quiet time (yes, animals need this too!). This can be a spare room, a quiet corner, space under a desk, or even a lined wooden crate, or any space that’s not too hot or too cold. Put your pet’s bed here, along with some of their favourite toys.

Give your cat time to adjust to their surroundings: As long as your cat is used to spending time in their harness, they shouldn’t mind if you take them to an indoor place. The problem arises when they notice that they are in a new environment. Your cat may feel uncomfortable when they see people walking by or other dogs passing by. They may also feel intimidated by noises that they have never heard before. That’s why it is important that you give your cat time to adjust to their surroundings before you go any further. See extra information at yourpetassistant.com.