How to Prepare Your Pet for Spring

Now that spring has finally arrived, it's time to start thinking about how to prepare ourselves and our homes for nicer weather, longer days, and plenty of time spent outdoors.

That said, you don't want to forget that your pet needs a little extra TLC to get ready for spring, too! From booking an appointment with your local pet groomer to getting out and cleaning up all of your pet's toys to starting pest prevention treatments, we'll go over the top steps you can take to prepare your pet for spring.

Visit Your Pet Groomer

Pet grooming is an important part of taking care of your pets year-round, but it's especially essential in the spring. Even though cats and dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, they still grow an extra layer of fur in the colder winter months. As the weather warms, pets naturally shed their winter coats. Visiting your pet groomer once spring hits is a great way to speed up the process of shedding, removing excess hair and allowing you to keep your space cleaner by avoiding as much shedding at home.

Grooming has a number of benefits for both dogs and cats. While most pet owners typically let their cats groom themselves, here's your reminder that it's important to take your cat to the pet groomer occasionally, too — especially if you have an outdoor cat. Grooming them helps remove loose hair and excess dirt, oil, and debris. It also reduces the occurrence of hairballs.

Benefits of pet grooming for both cats and dogs include:

• Healthier skin and coat
• Ear cleaning
• Teeth cleaning
• Nail trimming, shaping, cutting
• Anal gland expression
• Early detection of tumors, illnesses, diseases, etc.

Clean Pet Toys and Bedding

Your pet isn't the only thing that needs a good wash down, and spring cleaning isn't limited to your home. Spring is a perfect time to clean all pet toys and bedding, too. We recommend doing this while they're at the groomer so that when they come home nice and clean, all their things are nice and clean as well. Washing all of their things removes the dirt, bacteria, dust, dander, and flea and parasite eggs that might have built up over winter, all of which keeps them healthier in the long run.

Start Pest Prevention Treatment

Warmer weather means that you'll most likely start spending more time outdoors with your pet — but you're not the only ones. Fleas, ticks, and other pests that begin hatching in spring will soon be out in full force.

Schedule an appointment with your vet to go over the best flea and tick prevention for your pet. While you're there, it's also a good time to talk about heartworm medicine, as fleas are the main carriers of heartworms. Your vet can test for heartworm and advise on which preventive medication is the best for your dog or cat.

Get Moving With Pet Games

Spring offers a great opportunity to get more active with your pet. If you and your pets' fitness regime fell off during the winter, remember to slowly add back in exercise to allow your pet's endurance to build back up. Some great outside spring games for dogs to get them moving again are frisbee, fetch, hiking, and jogging. If your pet can swim, letting them play in the river and lake is a good option, too.

For cats, you can play fetch or chasing games but you can also provide scratching toys and obedience training toys. It's always fun for both you and your pet when you invest in new pet games, and spring is the time to introduce something new and fun while getting some exercise.

Update Your Pets Microchip/Tags

Being able to get outside more means ensuring that your pet's microchip or tags are up-to-date. You want to check that your pet's name and your name, phone number, and address are all accurate. As we start spending more time outdoors, there's a greater risk that our fur babies can go missing. Taking action to ensure that they make their way home safely if they get away is imperative this time of year.

Get your pet spring-ready this year by following the tips above. Contact us today and find a time to come in for a spring checkup or a spring groom — or both!