5 Ways Your Pet Makes You Heart Healthy

We all love our pets, but did you know that your pet is actually improving your health? The companionship of your favorite pet helps you feel loved and adored, giving your body a break from everyday stressors. Pets also give us a sense of purpose and belonging, two very important things for overall physical and mental health. Here are five more scientifically proven ways that our pets help our hearts stay healthy:

1. Pets make healthy hearts: Studies show that owning a pet makes you less likely to have heart disease and other heart conditions. Most pet owners walk their dogs or play with their cats, causing them to be more active and build stronger hearts.

2. Pets help your heart recover: If you already have heart disease or another heart condition, don’t worry—your pet will still help you out! Pet owners who already have heart disease or a heart condition are proven more likely to live longer and more productively than patients with the same heart conditions that do not own a pet.

3. Pets are stress soothers: 70-90% of all human’s doctor visits in the U.S. are due to stress related illnesses and ailments, including high blood pressure and other heart problems. Pets are our secret weapon against stress! Studies show that when a person pets an animal their blood pressure and stress hormones lower, allowing their body to enter a “stress free” zone!

4. Pets are health boosters: Having a pet doesn’t just make health ailments disappear, it also helps your body create more serotonin and norepinephrine, two important hormones that regulate mood, cognition and blood pressure, amongst other things. Studies show that when pet owners are active, playing or walking their pets these two hormones are elevated, giving your body an extra boost!

5. Cats may have an advantage: Cat owners may also have a specific, but mysterious advantage. People who have never owned a cat are 40% more likely to die of a heart attack and 30% more likely to die from other cardiovascular diseases. Though the exact reason is unknown, it sure seems like a great reason to add a cat to your pet family!

We already knew that animals were good for our hearts, but now we have the scientific studies to prove it! Owning a pet can be a key part of living a happy and heart healthy life!

How to Help Your Pet Deal With Separation Anxiety

As summer comes to a close, things may start to change for your pet. The kids go back to school, your hours at work get longer, and the weather no longer supports long days spent outdoors. Your pet’s routine changes as a result, which in turn often causes separation anxiety for them.

Separation anxiety is an affliction that many pet owners may not even know their pet has. Separation anxiety affects more pets than you might think. If your pet exhibits any or all of the following symptoms, they may be suffering from separation anxiety: Howling or barking, excessive biting or chewing, increased excitability on your return home, scratching or digging to try to reunite themselves with their owners, and/or unexpected urination or defecation of housetrained dogs.

Before we share some quick tips to help your pet deal with separation anxiety, let’s first try to understand what causes it. No one knows exactly what causes separation anxiety because it varies so much case to case, but there are definitely some well-known patterns to keep an eye out for. Most of the causes are self-explanatory, and very similar to that of human children.

If your dog is used to having a companion around all the time, when you leave they may become distressed. Or if a dog from a shelter experiences a traumatic event linked to their separation, that may carry into their daily life after you adopt them. The most common form of separation anxiety for pets occurs when you switch up their routine. Although, you may think that your pet will not notice this, pets are hyper-aware to things of this nature.

Now we get down to really trying to solve the problem. Leaving your pet alone for a period of time is something that most every pet owner has to do from time to time. Although, it can be heart wrenching, it’s an unfortunate reality of being a pet owner in a busy world.

There are many ways to help solve your pet’s separation anxiety. One solution is to give them something that smells like you, or not making a big deal about your leaving or arriving. Filling up a toy, such as a Kong, with peanut butter or frozen treats will keep them busy for hours. If the problem persists, you might seek veterinary help. There are many medications for dogs with separation anxiety issues, but we would recommend avoiding these if other alternatives exist.

The best solution is to get someone to take care of your pet, and give them the love, attention and daily exercise they need when you’re not able to do that yourself. Fetch! Pet care provides pet sitting and dogwalking services to provide you with peace of mind, and your pet with the care and love they deserve when you’re away. We can provide at-home care of your pet when you’re at work, on vacation, traveling for business or otherwise, and can be their best friend when you’re away. Our well-trained staff will help to make sure that your pet will never even feel stressed when you are at work or out of town. Your pet will be just as happy as when you left.

Helping Your Pet Lose Weight

Helping your pet to lose weight can sometimes be a challenging task, especially if you or your pet has bad eating or exercising habits. Over half of the pets in America are classified as overweight, and solving this dilemma can seem out of our reach sometimes.

But not addressing the issue is dangerous to pets, and more time consuming and costly to pet owners in the long run. Overweight pets have an increased incidence of fatigue, arthritis, torn ligaments, spinal disc problems, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and reduced liver function, just to name a few.

A great indicator of whether your pet is overweight is to feel their ribcage, although this does vary somewhat for each dog and cat breed. If you can feel your pets ribs that’s a good sign, but if the ribs are very pronounced that could mean that your pet is underweight. If you can’t feel your pet’s ribs that means they are most likely overweight.

No matter what the problem, it’s much better to see a professional then to try diagnosing the problem yourself. Your local vet can help you come up with a new plan for helping your pet lose weight, and can also tell you, depending on the age and breed of your pet, a good target weight. It’s also a good idea to always consult your vet before you change your pet’s exercise routine.

There are a few good tips to get you started on helping your pet to slim up. One easy way to prevent your pet from gaining, or to help your pet lose weight is to switch to a healthy weight management food. Make sure that the food that you are buying has lots of healthy, natural ingredients in it, typically marketed as premium or organic pet food. Avoid foods with fillers, additives and preservatives. Healthy pet foods may be more expensive, but they provide your pet with the energy and nutrition that they need and deserve.

Another easy way to help your pet lose a few pounds is to cut back on treats, or eliminate them altogether. Although it is nice to reward your dog or cat with a treat from time to time, many treats can be detrimental to your pet’s health. You could also switch over to a healthier premium or organic pet treat, or a different non-food reward system altogether.

The most important thing for your pet when you’re trying to help them lose weight is daily exercise. If you have a dog, try to walk them at least three times a day, or hire a professional dogwalker to take over if you simply don’t have the time. Regular leashed walks at a fast pace, or off-leash play at the local dog park, will help your dog to burn off those extra calories and excess energy. The key thing is to set a routine to get daily dog exercise for your pooch.

If you have a cat, try to get them out of the house regularly if they are an indoor/outdoor cat. If they are indoor only cats, a cat toy, a simple piece of string, or a laser pointer should get them up and moving. Two to three times a day of active play for 5-10 minutes should give cats the exercise they need. If you don’t have time to do this, hiring a professional pet sitter may be a great option. A simpler way to deal with your pet’s weight problem is to think about it like it was your own. A pet gets healthy just like a human does. If you help your pet eat healthier foods, and ensure a good exercise routine your pet will be fit and in tip top shape in no time.

Keep Your Pets Cool this Summer

As we near the hottest days of the summer months our pets need more and more assistance in staying cool. On these sweltering days our pets are faced with a variety of problems: sunburn, dehydration, and overheating are just a few. Of all pets, dogs are especially susceptible to the heat. Here are a few tips to help keep your pets cool on these hot days:

1. Keep your pet hydrated. Many dogs, even on the hottest of days, will overexert themselves. Keep an eye on your dog, and watch for rapid breathing or their tongue consistently hanging out – sure signs they’re getting overheated. Make sure your pet is well hydrated, by always keeping water easily accessible for them. And, if you’re a dog walker or pet sitter, keep some extra water for other dog owners who forgot to pack their own. You never know when that extra water could come in handy.

2. Never leave your pet unattended in the car. Another tip that may seem obvious, but is still a large concern within the pet community, is to never leave your pets in the car by themselves – especially on hot days. Most of the time, leaving your pet in the car may seem like an alternative to tying them up outside but, on these hot days, it’s deadly. Dogs are easily dehydrated because of their fur and their higher than average body temperature (usually around 100-105 F). So either keep them at home, or tie them up outside in a cool, shaded and safe location at your destination.

3. Conscientiously exercise your pet. Pet exercise is incredibly integral for the well-being of our pets, but it’s very easy for pets to exercise too much or too hard in the summer. Try to be conscientious about your pet’s needs and take shorter dog walks, or in the early morning or evening when temperatures typically cool down. A great activity for dogs is to take them to a safe body of water, be it a lake, the beach, or a friend’s pool. Make sure that your pet is supervised in the pool because many dogs have a hard time getting out of pools and are at risk of drowning if left alone. Most dogs love playing in the water, and this activity is a great way for dogs to get some exercise without overheating or getting dehydrated. If you don’t have access to a swimming area, consider a kid’s blowup pool for your pet to wade in.

4. Protect your pet from sunburn. Dogs can get sunburned, and preventing that can sometimes be a hassle. Many dogs will lick off their sunscreen if it’s put on their bellies or anywhere else that they can reach it. If you groom your dog, to prevent sunburns make sure you’re not trimming their coat to the point where their skin is overly exposed to the sun. Apply sunscreen, specifically advertised for animals, to the tips of their nose, ears and anywhere else they typically show signs of sunburn.

5. Educate your pet care provider. Many pet owners will be going away this summer and, if any of you travelers are using pet care services to watch your pet while you’re away, make sure they are well versed in the risks of these hot summer months. Be sure to provide your pet sitter or dog walker with any information about your pet’s specific needs or reactions to the heat.

With a little preparation and prevention, you and your pets can beat the heat and enjoy an endless summer filled with fun, sun and lots of playtime.