No Brits are being advices to stay at home, Natures Menu is helping pet parents across the nation and care for their newfound colleagues.
The UK’s number on for raw and natural pet food is sharing their top tips for how Brits can keep their pet happy and healthy during social distancing.
1 Fun with food – the common saying goes that you should never play with food, but this isn’t the case for our furry-friends. From scattering biscuits around the garden for a ‘hide and seek’ approach to using a large baking tray instead of a bowl at feeding time, so that your dog has to chase the biscuits around the flat surface, why not mix-up the daily meal time routine whilst spending more time at home?
2 Walks – as it stands, you are permitted to leave your house to complete one form of exercise each day. This means that owners can still take their dogs for one walk a day but must keep well away from passers-by. Alternatively, a few laps of the garden can do just the trick. Keeping to a routine and getting a dose of fresh air is not only great for our dogs’ wellbeing, but also an instant mood boost for us humans too.
3 Break time turns into play time – taking regular breaks if you’re working from home is incredibly important to keep you motivated, so why not swap a natter with colleagues with five minutes of playing with your furry friend? Whether it’s having a quick game of tug of the classic game of fetch, both you and your pet can let off some team together.
4 Every day’s a school day – having more tone-on-one time with your pets also means that you can finally perfect a few more tricks. There are tonnes of positive reinforcement trainers available to watch online, so ‘paw’, ‘roll over’, barking on demand and many, many more cues can all be taught whilst you’re working from home with your doggy assistant. What’s more, through the kindness of positive training, dog owners can also really improve on their bond with their pet too.
5 Back to work – our canine companions will be overjoyed with us spending more quality time at home, but when business resumes as usual they might be susceptible to increased stress levels after suddenly being left on their own. Gt some practice in by leaving your dog in a separate room with some entertainment on, such as a music playlist for pets, a few hidden treats to sniff out, or a stuffed food toy. All these hints and tips can be implemented without disruption and will help our furry companions to not be stressed at waving you goodbye once again in the mornings.
Melanie Sainsbury, Veterinary Education Manager for Natures Menu, said: “In these ever-changing times, it’s important for us to concentrate on our personal wellbeing and the same is to be said for our pets.
“Being at home more can completely disrupt our dogs’ usual routines, so from dedicating time just for playing, to teaching new tricks, we’re encouraging Brits to be extra mindful when it comes to spending extra bonding time with our pets.”
