The word caring is very much a relative term. There is a major difference between simply caring for your pet and really caring for your pet.

For example, making certain your pet has adequate food, clean water and yearly visits to the vet can classify to some as caring even though you are really doing just enough to get by. But what is it to really care for your pet? What is it to go that extra mile?

Is it throwing your ten year old Black Lab a birthday party? Is it carrying a photo of your Sphinx in your wallet to show all your friends? Is it knitting your Poodle mix a sweater with your own 2 hands? Is it paying close attention to your Siamese cat's behavior and eating habits to make everything is o.k.? Or all of the above?

There is not really a textbook method for caring for your pet because caring is really an art, and your relationship with each pet should be as unique as the human thumbprint. Some of it will come naturally to you and some of it you will learn as you go along. It is just as important to find new and exciting ways to sustain the human-pet bond as it is to read up on the new research studies about the pet world.

The Art of an Agile Eye

Being a caring and health-conscious owner is not simply about taking your pet to the Vet to make certain nothing is wrong; you must also do your part in the home. If you are attentive to your pet's rhythms and habits, you are very likely to catch things that a Vet would not. Once you detect that something is out of the ordinary you may report it for further examination. This may save your pet's life. When cats age, they change their behavior only gradually. It is the same for many dogs. One day you may suddenly discover that:

It now takes your cat three minutes to get downstairs; before she used to dart down like a furry streak of lightning. Your dog no longer runs to the door when the doorbell rings. Your dog does not roughhouse in the backyard as fervently as he did previously and your cat does not jump on the furniture any more. Your cat has simply stopped using the scratching post. Your dog no longer hops in the bed with you at night and lets out a heartbreaking cry when he or she jumps into the car. Your Daschund cries when it moves, cries when you touch its neck and has trouble holding its feces or urine.

These are just a few examples of subtle changes which may occur. And there are a number of others that only you, as the pet owner, may discern. For information about pet health and nutrition, go to Dog Food Nutrition and Information and find out more.