3 Simple Ways to Have a Happy Dog

Our pets become such a huge part of our life. Happy pets equal happy owners!

We are blessed to have four miniature Dachshunds. They add joy, fun, play, and yes, even a bit of work to our lives. But, we wouldn’t give any of them up!

We’ve had miniature Dachshunds since 2007. They are such a fun breed of dog, each filled to the brim with their own unique personality. Bean is highlighted in this post today because she is the most fun to photograph. I hope seeing our girl brings a smile to your face!

3 Simple Ways to Have a Happy Dog:

Regular vet checkups:

Schedule regular veterinary appointments for your pet. These checkups will allow your vet to give an overall health screening, as well as any vaccinations your pet might need. It’s also a great time for your vet to go over any special concerns for your pet’s breed. Dental cleanings, ear care, nail trimming, vaccinations, etc are all important to the best health of your pet. 

Since I love planners and printables, I created a few pet records to keep track of our furbabies. We have four, so just trying to remember the last time they were vaccinated doesn’t really work well for us. Our Ernie has spent quite a lot of time at the vet’s office lately due to an injury. Making sure that everyone knows what he needs and how to treat him is important.

Flea control:

Last year, we had a terrible battle with fleas. Even though ours are indoor dogs, we battled them all summer long. I am determined to not make them suffer (and us too!) this year. We’re being proactive and have already placed an Adams™ Flea & Tick Collar for Dogs & Puppies on our dogs.

As I said, last year, it was a battle to fend off the annoying tiny creatures. We tried many remedies and only really found relief once the weather turned colder. I am happy to have an easy, mess-free way to protect our furbabies.

This is a simple step to take BEFORE the bugs invade! Not only do the collars protect your dogs and puppies from fleas and ticks, but also mosquitos. Like so many things, prevention is better than cure! We will win this battle this year!

I was pleasantly surprised to find that each collar lasts for 6 months! Since two collars come in each package, you get a whole year worth of coverage with a single purchase. So, no messy liquids to apply, continuous protection, and saving money! Win-win-win!

 Simple toys:

My love of crafting comes back when I think of fun toys and such for our furbabies. A few months ago, I made a pet bed for Bean. To my very pleasant surprise, she loves it. She sleeps on it, plays with her toys on it, and generally prefers to be in it than to not. Since she loves toys so much, I wanted to give her a new toy.

I challenged myself to come up with a toy made from items found around our home. My first idea was to make her a teepee to hide away in. Unfortunately, the dowels that I had on hand were not long enough so the teepee was too small even for our tiny Bean. I’ll try that one again when I get longer dowels (the quest is on now!)

This toy could not be more simple to create. Bean loves it, which thrills me!

The items needed are:
1 plastic water bottle
1 fuzzy sock
A piece of twine (I used baler twine- gotta love farm life!)

To make this toy, tighten the lid on the bottle. I found that if the lid was removed, the bottle collapsed too quickly and no longer gave the “crunch” that Bean loved about the toy. Secure the lid well. If you’re concerned about your dog chewing through the sock, you could glue the lid in place.

Insert the bottle into the sock. Push it all the way to the end.

Secure the end by tightly tying the piece of twine at the end of the bottle.

Cut the ends of the twine.

You can leave the end open, or turn the end over itself as I’ve done in this photo. Doing this gives Bean another task in her quest to conquer the bottle.

That’s it. I know, super simple. But, isn’t it like giving your child a gift and they play with the box more than the toy?!

Bean is listening to me squeeze her new toy. She looks ready to play, doesn’t she?! 

There you have it, 3 simple ways to have a happy dog!

Enter your info below to subscribe to our weekly newsletter and access our free printables library. Be sure to download your free pet printables here! I’ve included both color and black & white versions for you.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Adams™ Flea & Tick Collar for Dogs & Puppies.