7 Crucial Tips for First Time Pet Owners

You’re thinking about getting a pet but you’re not sure what it’s going to be like. The adjustment you’ll have to make or how exactly you’re going to succeed in being a good pet mom or dad. Ensuring they get fed is important, but is that all there is to caring for a pet? 

Adding a new fur member to your household can be challenging if you’re totally clueless about how to take care of one. It is, however, a good sign. Being nervous shows you’re concerned about your pet’s welfare and ready to bear the responsibility attached. 

Becoming a new pet owner is not too complex as long as you can creatively think about ways to make them happy. If you’ve never cared for a child or anyone else before, here are some crucial tips to help you get started on this journey.

1.     Carry Out a Detailed Research

There is a lot to take into consideration before becoming a pet owner. Being an animal lover is awesome but you need additional skills. You want to be sure the animal you choose is the right one for you and not just because it’s a cute-looking pet.

Things to consider during your research include:

• The required space your preferred animal should occupy.
• The amount of time to be spent in attending to its needs.
• The type of healthcare it requires.
• Behavioral signs

If adoption is an option, consider getting in touch with shelters. 

2.     Get Your Home Pet-Ready

Expecting parents have to restructure their home to make it ready for the child. While a pet is not a child’s equivalent, you should consider carrying out some light restructuring, especially if this is your first time owning a pet.

Prepare a designated space according to the type of pet you want to bring in. Yes, you are excited about their arrival but you don’t want them roaming all day long. They need their own corner to rest or play. 

Have a room or little space properly cleaned up and rid of harmful stuff. Ensure naked wires are taped too. The idea is to get them settled in properly until they get comfortable in their new environment. You should have some essential items at hand in case you need them, these include a nail trimmer, some paw balm (see here), a good dog shampoo and a good brush.

3.     Select The Right Food and Schedule

As a new pet owner, you want your new friend to be properly fed. This means getting the right food with proper nutritional content. You should note that pet foods are different; some can cause allergies while others may be for pets of varying sizes. This is why research must be done prior to selecting the right food. Good nutrition for your pet is tantamount to its good health.

Apart from choosing the right food, you should also have a schedule for the animal’s feeding. The schedule helps in controlling what and how much they eat. This structure would also help you get accustomed to your new responsibility.

4.     Train Your Pets

Even for humans, settling into a new environment can be challenging. Animals too face similar troubles. It would take some time for your pet to get comfortable with his new environment and fully trust you as its owner. This is why training them is important.

With constant practice and patience, they can learn the ground rules you set and how you expect them to behave. The schedule, as discussed previously, is something to train them to follow. Religiously following the training helps both them and you get comfortable around each other.

5.     Get a Veterinarian

Identify vet clinics around you or ask friends that own pets for a referral. You should take your pet to an animal doctor as soon as it arrives. Don’t wait till there is an infection or serious illness before scrambling for a vet. 

The doctor has more experience in managing sick and healthy animals alike and might just have one or two counsel to offer when you’re faced with an unfamiliar situation. Including informing you of an effective vaccination program and medications needed by your pet. That being said, if you discover your pet has any health conditions or if you want to be prepared just in case, purchase pet insurance to help protect them.

6.     Learn How to Connect With Your Pet

They might not be as vocal as humans but animals do communicate. It might be difficult to know how to connect with them but as a pet owner, you should be patient and put an effort into forming a kind of relationship with your pet. 

With time, you’d be able to bond and even have your own secret language. Play with them, show affection, and train them based on positive reinforcements but also be wary of their boundaries when they show no interest.

Some animals are scared of humans, as such, need to be certain you mean no harm. Give yourself time as you go through the process.

7.     Don’t forget to get your pet microchipped

Microchipping your dog or cat is a crucial step. Of course, we don’t want our pets to get lost. But just in case they do, a microchip will make it easier for you to find them. A microchip would be like an ID for your dog, and it contains relevant information about you so people can contact you right away if your dog is found. 

In addition, it’s also wise to have a good universal microchip scanner on hand. That way, if you find a stray dog or cat, it would also be easy for you to find their owner.

Conclusion

Owning a pet for the first time is actually filled with more fun experiences than you can imagine. You, however, need to make sure your pet is comfortable and settles in naturally.

To be a good pet owner is to think of the welfare of the animal just like every other member of your household. Taking care of a pet requires you to be in control. You don’t need to know everything about the animal and all the technicalities that come with it. Just be devoted to making your pet comfortable and happy in its new environment.

If you need help figuring out what type of pet you’d like or one that you can easily bear the responsibility of, check our recommended site in the first tip.