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Taking care of your depenPETs can be as simple as 1,2,3
Put family 1st
Health & Care
Our family is Me, Jay & our lovely pets.
Check out more on our family instagram
For a lot of pet inclusive families, having a pet is a responsibility and depending on some pets, it can be time consuming. In dedication to the care, health and safety for every being in my family, I have learned ways to keep us organized to allow us to have a healthy home, functioning harmonic relations, and ample time for fun, relaxation and trips.
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It is important to realize that pets (i.e. insects, plants, mammals, arachnid, reptiles, aquatic animals, etc.) are not toys, objects, or gifts. They are living beings that have emotion, sensations, and thoughts. Every species is different and has their own set of behaviors. Each animal has their own personality and set of traits. As humans it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to learn each and every beings personality and act accordingly. That does not mean to bend to an animal's or plants will. It does mean, they are dependent on you for survival and when you chose to take on the responsibility, you signed a invisible contract with the universe that you will take care of it to the best of your abilities. This goes for inanimate objects as well (but you will learn that in home care). Please be considerate before getting a pet. If you are into traveling like me, it isn't impossible to travel pets, however it certainly makes things harder and cost more to ensure their health, care and safety.
Being a loving pawrent means being a Loving Leader.
Learning your pet's language will improve your relationship. By setting proper boundaries and showing them what they are allowed and not allowed to do; this will actually help them realize they are protected and do not have to be on high alert. Being outside with your four legged friend can have it's challenges. I have learned with proper education, implementation and repetition - the experience living the fullest life you can in this vacation city is magical.
I am dedicated to researching, refining and relaying methods to help keep your priorities taken care of so you can spend more time on having fun & living life. My personal philosophy is that we are all (human, animals, plants, etc.) of nature and have every right to experience it. By better prioritizing & implementation, I believe we all can achieve more time to spend with our loved ones.
Just like you, we work hard for those we love and we want you to be able to save most of your money so you can do other things than pay bills with them. I believe that your funds are meant for Fun not bills. But I know they are apart of the current culture - I hope to share information I have learned to help you experience America's Finest City without using money and using publicly funded city resources to help you have the most spectacular living experience. Again, this is a vacation city - you & your family should enjoy it like it's a vacation everyday.
Safety 2nd
After caring for a variety of pets, I realized the hardest to take care of is dogs and most people have them. Why do I think this?
Dogs often need to go out and use the bathroom. This requires active participation from the pawrent. Without proper instruction and early intervention - behaviors can become so volatile to the point where they cannot take the dog anywhere for the remainder of it's life in spirit of keeping them safe. This is something I see commonly on the internet and have experienced before with Titan.
Titan has had reactive behavior that I "accidentally" reinforced without proper knowledge. I follow Will Atherton and McCann Dog Training for my behavior recognition education and learning dog behavior. This is the most important kind of safety you can invest in. YOUR PET'S WELL BEING IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Before buying any extra accessories, invest in the top 5 things:
1. Harness/Collar (prong if your dog is overreactive in public) and Leash; with a poop bag holder
2. Fanny to hold items
3. Youtube Subscription for looking up training videos for the lowest cost. If those didn't help + a trainer to assist
4. Water bowl + bottle
5. Treats
I find these to be the basics to keep our pet safe & healthy. These are the thing I use daily to ensure my dogs, get the love & care they need, especially in the outdoors. I felt these items helps me set the intention that I will work with them daily to ensure their behavior in public to prevent accidents, embarrassment and a ruckus.
Below are images of items I love to use when I walk the dogs. If daylight starts later/ends earlier, the reflective vests, and headlamp works great and has more than one mode of light (flashing, low, bright). I prefer harnesses with fasteners on both sides of the front for easy removal ( or the bra type for small dog). This ensures that I am not pulling them on (what I feel like is) a noose. *Sometimes if their behavior is more problematic, I do own a prong collar. There were times they were needed.*
These items are the main walk accessories that I enjoy while taking them on a walk to ensure all of our safety from motor vehicles.
Affiliate links
Collar
Leash
Harness (Sm, Med, Large)
Reflective Vest (Human + Pet Sm, Med, Large)
Headlamp
Hood
Fun Third
As often as possible and when good behaviors is displayed, we love to take these guys out and about. San Diego offers so many ecosystems for us to enjoy and a plus side is, they are dog friendly. From beaches, restaurants, mountains, desert and more, San Diego is a pawsitive place to pawtrol with your furry friend. It is great to enjoy scenic places like La Jolla, Downtown & Coronado (to name a few), with our pooches.
I think it is healing to be outside connecting with the world and to do it with our canine companions is the greatest treat I as a human can get. I understand that they (to some) are just animals. But with proper instruction, training and consistency - your dog can be a model citizen and enjoying the city with you and learning to social well in a diverse colorful city.
Affiliate links
Funwater SUP Paddle
Life vest (Human + Pet Sm, Med, Large)
Wetsuit
Other Pet Care
Cat
Cats compared to dogs, in my opinion are easier. If you get some of automatic care items and maintain proper distance, a cat can be a great addition to your family.
Cats. unlike dogs like to be left alone and clean. They clean themselves and if you provide adequate meals a day, clean water, and a clean litter box, you will have a happy cat.
For our cat, Betelgeuse (Geuse for short), she is very independent and thrives on chilling by herself. She will come to us if she wants anything. She is very autonomous and loves to hang out with the dogs.
The main things we have that make our lives easier in the cat department are the following items:
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Litter Robot - automatic cleaning and wonderful if you love to travel.
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Wet Cat food - cats get most of their water from their food, give more wet food than dry while you are present and use dry kibble when away.
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Automatic Feeder- we only use this when we are out of town to ensure she gets fed on schedule, this is not always necessary. But it is nice to have and to be able to control from where ever you are.
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Water dispenser - since cats don't drink too much and use the wate rto clean themselves, I opted for a regular medium dog water dispensing bowl. We tried the automatic one and she didn'y use it very much. To save electricity, we like the regular dispenser. A large one is not needed, she doesn't finish it and I usually clean it out weekly for clean and fresh water.
The best way to take care of your cat is:
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Leave them alone, over/ forced cuddling is a no for them
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Feed wet food, for their water intake
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Keep litter and areas clean - we love the Litter Robot
Other than that, cats do not need that many toys or anything. We ended up giving a lot of her stuff away because she doesn't play with them.
Be advised, all cats are different and what worked for us my not always work for you.
Bearded Dragon
Kai is our temporary reptile, we are watching him for our friends who had to move out of the country for a while. The most important thing I learned about this reptile is that they do not need much besides:
Proper food
Out of tank time
Clean tank & lighting
Bath
Those the are main things you will need to care for your bearded dragon, everything else is a bonus for the reptile. To take proper care of the Bearded Dragon, this is what I have learned:
It is way cheaper and healthier to buy some meal worms from the pet store and breed them yourself. At first I thought it would be difficult but it turned out to be super easy and now we do not run to the store weekly to get his food. As long as we have clean tanks for the different stages of developments for the worms, we are able to generate food for both Kai and our chickens because they both enjoy eating meal worms. The other thing they consume is certain vegetables like carrots, collards, greens. Their veggie intake is limited but it's how they get their water - be sure to include the fiber for them for an overall healthy diet. They don't need much.
IF you want to know more about how to breed meal worms, click here.
A clean and well temperature tank is the other most important thing for a bearded dragon. Because it's their home, keeping it clean and warm enough is the best thing you can do for them. In addition to that, is to take them out every once in a while, I can say I wasn't always the best at that. But as I grew more comfortable with holding Kai, it got easier to take him out and let him chill with us. Make sure to clean their tank between twice to four times yearly to ensure cleanliness.
The best investment for the tank is the automatic light switch that we bought at Petco. It turns on/off his heat lamp so we do not have to manually do it, we've had it since he came to us and I can honestly say it's the best $15 we have ever spent, especially since we tend to be out and about.
The last important thing that can often be forgotten is giving them baths. Whether it be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly - DO IT. Even if you are scared of him freaking out, do warm water and let them sit to help them get water and cleanse their tummies. Make sure you
I can admit - I WAS NOT GREAT AT THIS UNTIL HE SHOWED DISCOMFORT- don't be like me. Make sure to give your bearded dragon a bath and trust me, it's not hard. It can be intimidating but set a calendar and make a bath date with the little one and make sure their hygiene is well.
Overall, I would say having a bearded dragon is more intimidating than it is hard. They are super easy to take care of but if you are not a reptile person, don't take on this pet because your fear can leave them without the proper care they need.
What happens when we are on a trip?
Don't worry - they are so easy. We feed him more at the beginning of the week or buy a bag of crickets and release them in the tank at night so they have time to hide and during the time we are gone, he will have food to hunt for. Make sure the water is full and the timer for the lights are working.
Chickens
Chickens are great animals to have if you like eggs and gardening. They are great animals to have but can be time consuming when you first get them and they tend to be on the dirtier side of animal care. I'd say they are just a step lower than dogs in the difficulty scale. Because they poop and eat a lot, it may not be worth having one or two. If you have a good piece of outside space, getting 4-6 may be better for egg production and work you will need to put in. Most of the cost of owning chickens will be up font in their Run, Coop, water and food dispensers and cleaning materials. After those inital purchases, having chickens will cost time weekly to ensure their area is clean and if you let them out to graze.
The difficultly with chickens is that I am in constant fear something will happen to them like hawks or coyotes, and neighborhood cats. Our two chickens, Star and Moon, have been attacked at night before and they are okay but it keeps us worried at times if we hear a ruckus outside.
Think about how much time you have and if you travel a lot, chickens may not be the best animals to keep around. But we love ours as they produce eggs that we enjoy when they produce. And be advised that they may not always produce. And it is your responsibility to learn your chickens to keep them happy and healthily.