Last Updated on February 20, 2023
Spring is one of the most enjoyable times for pet owners as this is the best time to unleash the dogs as they have been dormant during the cold winter season. But while it can be enjoyable for many, it will be extremely perilous for you to simply let your dog roam around before you have the chance to prep the area or even to prep your dog. There are so many things that you will need to learn, especially if you are a first-time dog owner, as you will need to ensure that all is well before you let your dog out to play.
What To Note For Spring
Let us see what are some of the more important things to note, especially when it comes to spring, for your dog before they can truly enjoy the experience of playing during springtime just after winter.
Prepare The Dog’s Coat
During winter, it is quite common to have the dog’s coat peppered all around the house. It can be found in the corners, on your sofa, beddings, or sometimes on your food itself. It can be really trying just to clean up the house. One of the best ways to rectify this is actually to brush the dog’s coat often. You can do this as much as three times a day.
The purpose of brushing the coat isn’t to make the dog’s coat nice, but to ensure that the loose furs are being brushed out. In this way, there will be lesser loose hair flying all around the house.
Combing your dog’s hair is actually easier than you think it is. Though it may seem daunting to comb the hair three times a day, it beats sweeping or cleaning the floor multiple times a day!
First of all, you should wet the dog’s hair. This process is completely necessary in order for you to have a good and easier time combing out all those loose fur. The purpose of the water is to clump the loose hair together so that it allows you to take out most of the loose hair in one sweep. If your dog has an undercoat, then it might be advisable for you to use a coat rake as it can help to remove most of the loose fur. For the regular dogs, you can opt for a good dog comb that allows you to comb deep into the coat itself for maximum efficiency.
Note that even when the dog has stopped shedding, you should still continue combing the dog to ensure all of the loose furs has been successfully removed by you. It can also help you to ensure that all tangles, as well as minute particles, have been swept away in one brush. Since there is natural oil on the dog’s skin, the combing action actually helps to ensure that the oil is spread evenly throughout the coat, hence giving the dog’s coat a nice and healthy shine.
Cutting the dog’s nails
When winter is coming to an end and spring is approaching, you should aim to trim your dog’s nails. This is to prevent any small particles from being stuck onto the dog’s nails. If the particles are left unremoved, it can actually cause discomfort onto the dog especially when they are moving. There are some reviews of nail clippers that you can read on our website.
Regular baths are still required
It is quite natural to assume that animals do not need to bath when it comes to winter. This is due to observing how humans behave during winter time too. But this behavior can be detrimental for the dog since dirt will still be present in the dog’s coat even during winter itself. Note that the act of bathing your dog is not just to keep them clean. It is also to ensure that all foreign particles are removed too.
Seasonal Allergies
Springtime can bring an increase in seasonal allergies for both humans and pets. Dogs can be sensitive to various environmental allergens such as pollen, mold, and dust. These allergies can cause symptoms like sneezing, itching, and skin irritation.
If you notice any of these symptoms in your dog, it is important to visit your veterinarian for an allergy test. Your vet may recommend medications or other treatments to help alleviate your dog’s symptoms.
In addition to medication, there are also some simple steps you can take to reduce your dog’s exposure to allergens. Keep your home clean and dust-free, and avoid taking your dog outside during peak pollen times. Regular grooming can also help remove any allergens that may be stuck to your dog’s fur.
Removable of ticks and fleas
It is advisable not to stop any type of flea or tick medication even when spring is approaching. This is because when the snow is thawing, most of the fleas or ticks can stop to mate and reproduce at an alarming rate. As such, you can expect that most of the thawing snow does contain ticks and fleas, not mentioning the sheer amount of bacteria that have been hibernating all these while. So you will need to ensure that the treatments process is not stopped.
You can use tick and flea treatment for dog that is completely safe for them too.
Cleaning the house
It is called spring cleaning for a reason, right? And since spring is arriving, the timing is completely impeccable. The things that you should clean up includes the dog’s commonly used items, like the bed, carpet or even the blanket! This will help you to remove off all bacteria that might have been cultivated during winter itself.
Note that before you start the cleaning process, there are some items that are completely dangerous for dogs. Some of the commonly found chemicals like phthalates are toxic to dogs.
Prepping your yard
While you might want to unleash your dog to the yard just when spring has arrived, you should refrain from doing so! This is important, as the yard might have remnants of bacteria from the thawing snow, or there might be other hidden dangers in the yard itself. To prevent that from happening, there are actually some tips and tricks into it. Here’s how.
Erecting a fence
To prevent your dog from running away from the compound due to their overexcitement, you can choose to erect a fence so as to create boundaries for your dog to play in. There are two types of fencing, one being the invisible fence and the other being the physical fencing that we are all familiar with. For the latter, there are many types of materials for you to choose from, but typically we would choose wood as they are generally cheaper. But always remember to choose the best type of wooden fence that can withstand the elements.
For the invisible fence, it is, in a nutshell, fencing that uses electricity as its main ‘material’. This invisible boundary helps to keep the dog in check, but it is only possible if the dog is wearing the corresponding dog collar that will emit a small electrical stimulation when the dog breaches the invisible boundary.
Check the plants
Just so you know, while there are many beautiful plants out there, not all of them are safe for your dogs. Before you start to buy all sorts of plants, it will be important for you to do research on the types of plants that are potentially toxic to your dog. When we mention toxic, what we meant is that the plants might cause damage to the dog’s health or potentially fatal for the dog when the dog consume or even touch the plants.
Some of more commonly found plants in the yard that can be dangerous to dogs are Tulips, Daffodil, Kalanchoe, and even the Aloe Vera. You can find out a better list of dangerous plants for dogs here.
Fertilizers and garden treatments that are dangerous for dogs
We all love to use fertilizers and garden treatments to help our plants grow better and to protect them from pests. However, while there are good for our yard to make them more visually pleasing, not all of them are safe for dogs. In fact, there are some of the lawn and garden treatments that are really bad for dogs and may cause death to the dogs when they consume the fertilizers or plants that have been treated with the chemicals.
It will be good to know that fertilizers do come in two forms, one being the liquid form and the other being the solid form. Regardless of the form, we strongly encourage you to follow the safety instructions given in the packaging itself. Typically, it is indicated that you should keep all children as well as pets away from the treated area so that they do not accidentally come into contact with the fertilizers or treatment as these chemicals do contain insecticides. Should your dog come into contact with the fertilizers or the treatments, it can cause the dog to vomit as well as causing the pets to suffer from diarrhea. In extreme cases, it might upset the dog’s entire inner system, which can sometimes be irreversible.
Are organic fertilizers good for dogs
Quite interestingly, there are some owners who swear by the usage of the organic fertilizers. Well, the argument is if organic items are good for people then it should be safe for dogs, right? Not quite actually. This is mainly because the main component of the organic fertilizers does come from leftover materials from food industries, and dogs being dogs, they are able to detect the faint scent of the food from the fertilizers. So dogs will naturally be attracted to the organic fertilizers. While consuming a small amount of the organic fertilizers will not cause much damage to the dogs, it will be important to know that most organic fertilizers do have regular fertilizers being mixed into them during the production phase. So consuming these organic fertilizers can be bad for the pets too.
Exercise Tips
Springtime weather can be perfect for outdoor activities with your dog, but it is important to be mindful of their exercise routine. As the weather warms up, your dog may become more active and require more frequent exercise. However, it is important to gradually increase their activity level to avoid injury or exhaustion.
If your dog has been less active during the winter months, start with shorter walks and gradually increase the time and distance. Make sure your dog has access to shade and water during outdoor activities, and avoid exercising during the hottest part of the day.
In addition to walking, there are many other fun and safe springtime activities you can enjoy with your dog, such as hiking, swimming, and playing fetch.
Wrapping things up
As you can see, there are many things to consider before you decide to let your dog out in the yard. As an additional note, you can always consider getting for them a dog house
that can provide comfort and shelter to them.
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