Annual Doggy Checklist for responsible, adult dog owners

Hi everyone,

because we are busy people living in a fast paced city, I have taken it upon myself to compile an annual check list of things you should remember when it come to your dog. I have had some minor issues come up (do you remember the dewclaw incident?) that could have been prevented if I was more vigilant with our grooming routine, but hey, we all forget and make mistakes from time to time and part of being a responsible adult dog owner is putting some or other checklist on the fridge/mirror/ceiling so we don't make the same mistakes again, right?
Here is said checklist.

ASAP!

• Get you dog microchipped - this way you will literally NEVER be able to lose him!
• Change your dog's bowls from plastic to ceramic or stainless steel.
• Groom your long haired dog and check for things like ticks, lumps and bumps and infected ears.

WEEKLY

• Groom medium to short haired breeds and check for lumps and bumps, ticks etc.
• If your dog has smelly breath, it's time to brush teeth! I got Salvador some toothpaste and a toothbrush the other day and he loved it, probably because the doggy toothpaste is quite tasty. A much easier alternative is providing your dog with plenty of raw boned to chew on as this acts as a toothbrush, not to mention it saves you time!

MONTHLY

• Do some or other tick and flea prevention. There are the store bought varieties and now a days there are also great natural varieties around - which we haven't tried yet, but soon will!
• Check your dog's nails, especially those nasty dewclaws! 

EVERY 3 MONTHS

• Deworm your dog. You don't have to go to the vet to do this. You can buy a deworming tablet from your nearest vet shop and do it yourself. You don't even have to hide it in a piece of vienna or cheese anymore as the modern day deworming tablets are basically as delicious as a treat.

ANNUALLY 

• Take your dog for a vet check up. I know there is currently debates going on how vaccinating adult dogs aren't all that important, but living in the city doesn't just mean your dog comes into contact with all kinds of gross things, if your dog's vet record is not up to date, a doggy daycare won't allow him in or say you were planning on leaving the country and you are taking your dog (which you obviously should do) you will need to have a good recording of annual vet checks and vaccinations. 

Print this out and stick it on you fridge, add it to your calendar, write it in your diary, but whatever you do, don't say you didn't have ample prep time...

Licks & Kisses!

xxxx

Did you say Medical Aid for your dog?

After recent trips to the vet (twice in one week...) my mind has been working overtime as to how I can deal with the vet bills better. While I was waiting for Salvador to come out of the operating room on the one occasion, I found a pamphlet for pet insurance and I think this is the answer.
Accidents will happen when you have a pet! Don't ever kid yourself and think 'my dog/cat is young and I can handle paying for the initial shots. If we get past that we'll be fine right?' Wrong...Salvador has been to the vet thrice this year alone...keep in mind I've only had him for a year and these don't include going for his routine injections...So medical aid it is for him!

When we were at the vet for the second time around the other day, due to the dreaded grass seed incident, I asked the vet to microchip him - this is one of the prerequisites for getting medical aid. You do not need it to sign up initially, but your pet will have to be chipped if you are going to claim. This seemed like a relatively pain free procedure where the vet just injects a small microchip into the dog's neck, you fill out some forms and you're off. They send the forms away and you stick your pet's code in the front of it's vet book.

Next thing I did was to go online and find a pet insurer. I used Rogz Pet Insurance and I chose the plan that I thought best suits Salvador's needs. At first I thought of going with the cheaper first option, but then there isn't much difference in price between the first plan and the third, I filled out the very easy application and almost immediately I was informed that Salvador was on his way to be covered. I received a final mail yesterday saying that Salvador is now on medical aid!
The only little annoyance is that you can only claim 1 month after you made your first payment...so here starts the countdown and let's hope I can keep Salvador out of trouble till then!