Having a dog makes life more fun, but it also means our routines are constantly changing. Welcoming a new canine family member means rethinking priorities across busy work and school schedules. Strategic planning establishes order, helping households integrate a pet smoothly. Use these tips to streamline chaos, spend more quality time together and reduce daily stresses.
Structuring Days Around Potty And Exercise
Prioritizing a dog’s bathroom schedule and exercise needs provides an essential foundation. Adults require 4-6 daily outdoor potty trips; puppies need more like 6-8 trips. Schedule walks first thing in the morning, after work, following meals and before bedtime. Consider mid-day dog walkers, pet sitters or doggy daycares if your schedule demands long stretches away.
Minimum exercise times vary based on your dog’s age, size and energy level. Most adult dogs need 60-120 minutes of sustained activity including aerobics that spike heart rates, plus training games or fetch. Purchase automatic fetch machines to play when you are busy. Schedule weekends around longer adventures like hiking or swimming.
Automating Nutrition For Convenience
Who has time to prepare special meals every day? Quality commercial diets deliver balanced nutrition in convenient dry kibbles or wet canned formats. For added variety, consider healthy dog food delivery subscription services from a company like Nextrition that automatically ship freshly cooked or raw frozen diets tailored to your pup’s needs.
To make hectic mornings easier, invest in programmable timed feeders that release pre-portioned meals when you specify. These gadgets eliminate restricting access to food all day for households juggling conflicting schedules. Just stash extra kibble in attached hoppers.
Constructing Safe Spaces For Comfort
Dogs relish having designated dens offering security when you are away or occupied. Purchase crates suited to your dog’s adult size and designate as relaxing retreats from the start; never use crates solely for punishments. Place washable plush beds inside for snuggling up.
Use baby gates to block stairs or segregate sections of homes. Confine curious pups or new rescues to single rooms or non-carpeted areas using gates when unattended to prevent potty mishaps or destructive chewing sprees. Walk through your home from a puppy’s perspective and remove any dangers.
Streamlining Self-Care And Household Duties
Tending to your dog’s grooming, dental, nail trimming and flea/tick prevention needs monthly requires dedication, but combos simplify upkeep. Choose long lasting flea and tick collars or spot-on treatments to eliminate remembering monthly dosing. Alternate teeth brushing with special dental chews.
Bathing and combing keeps shedding under control between professional grooming visits. Streamline cleanup of mud, drool and food scattering using machine washable furniture covers, pet friendly rugs with rubber backing and hard flooring. Robot vacuums patrol constantly, eliminating deep cleaning.
Building Engaging Occupational Therapy
Dogs left home alone grow anxious or destructive without outlets burning mental and physical energy. Rotate puzzle toys stuffed with kibble, everlasting treat balls, food puzzlers, interactive treat dispensers and different textured chews provide mental and physical challenges.
Try treat-release training dummy launchers operated by remote controls for solo fetch sessions. Stock toy baskets allowing bored pups to “shop” for their own amusement. Just 15-30 minutes of play or training before departing settles dogs for calm alone times after expending excess energy.
Conclusion
Sharing life with a devoted dog friend demands compromises, but thoughtful preparation minimizes chaos. Establish solid daily routines addressing potty schedules, vigorous exercise and proper nutrition first. Dog-proof homes offer safe spaces when you cannot actively supervise. Automate care tasks that easily fall through the cracks. Most importantly, embed regular quality play and training as sacred time together even among demanding obligations. A little planning yields calm amidst the joyful crazy.