The Coronavirus pandemic has proved to be a boon to all pet owners quarantined with their beloved pets. We now live a life very similar to theirs. While this means extra cuddles and playtime with them, we must also bear in mind the responsibility we have towards them during the ongoing pandemic. Pet food, medicines, and veterinary emergencies are listed under essential services by the government. We have listed some pet care tips for all owners to help our animal companions during the lockdown.
I. Store Adequate Supplies
With the nation under complete lockdown, pet food is considered as essential items. However, most pet stores are closed for long periods of time or are understocked due to the disrupted supply-chain system. Therefore it is important to store an adequate amount of food (ideally for four weeks) for your pets.
II. Play Time Extended
Pet animals love interacting with their owners and the rest of the family through playtime. Be it fetching a ball or just plain hide and seek, your pet will love it if you started playing with them twice a day.
Your pets are probably wondering why you’re at home all the time and this could make them stressed. Therefore, engaging in extended playtime will be an endorphin release activity for everyone involved.
III. Emergency Contingency Plan
In case you or someone in your family contracts the COVID infection, make sure proper isolation protocol is followed within the house. Also, ensure that your trusted aides are briefed on how to care for your pet in case you are in isolation.
In many houses, food and medicine schedule for the pets is taped to the common refrigerator. This makes the job easy for all the members of the house.
IV. Make An Indoor Or Backyard Litter Box
If you want to absolutely avoid stepping out of the house with your pet, make an indoor litter box. If you have a backyard, section off an area for your pet’s use. These areas need to be sanitised regularly, especially the indoor one.
If you have an elderly dog, buy pee pads to be placed under them during nighttime. A little trick is to assure your dog that it’s alright to pee indoors if at all they have a habit of peeing during outdoor walks.
V. Food Habits
While most of us are also looking for a solution to end our habit of over-snacking, make sure your pets are not being overfed as well. Since you are at home it becomes routine to share human snacks with your pets, which is not good for the overall health of your pet.
If you end up giving them commercial food products, make sure you are sticking to regular portion sizes.
If you have excess food to spare for the stray animals on the streets, please consider feeding them from a safe distance.
We spoke to a pet owner on how this lockdown has brought her closer to her dog Buddy, physically and emotionally.
Simran Deshmukh talks about her dog’s fussy food habits when she’s not around. However, now that he gets to see her all the time, his food eating habits have improved considerably and he loves all the extra attention. For exercise, she takes him to the playground in her apartment complex where he plays with his friend Ludo for a good thirty minutes before she has to drag him home. For emergency medical help, they are fortunate to have a veterinarian residing in their apartment complex.
I have two dogs at home, two-year-old- Harley and fourteen-year-old- Raven. The level of pet care in my household is on two ends of the pet-care spectrum. Harley has a habit of taking two, sometimes three outdoor strolls every day and sits by the front door as her walk time approaches, only to be denied the pleasure. Raven is confined to her bed due to old age arthritis and needs to be carried to her backyard defecation area. She also needs to be hand-fed all her food and medicines while Harley is more than happy to eat all the food in the house.
Raven has separation anxiety from my mother and starts whining when she is left alone even for a minute. Harley is relatively happy inside the house with everyone around. She loves spending her time chasing butterflies in the garden and willingly participates in my sister’s Tik Tok videos. The members of the house have to bathe the dogs now, an activity we are not used to. In all, the dogs rarely ever cause any trouble and respond to my impromptu rap concerts with wagging tails and lots of cuddles.
Feature Image Credit: Forbes
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