It’s that time of year again. Whether you love them or hate them, most of us find annual resolutions to be useful in our lives – and that can be true as it relates to our beloved pets, too. Here are some tips and ideas for setting actionable, measurable goals for how to be a better pet parent and keep your dog or cat in the best shape of their lives.
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Portion Control for Pets and People
Weight loss tops the chart as the most popular new year’s resolution for humans, and the same could be true for pets. Because dogs and cats have smaller frames than humans, an extra pound or two can feel significantly uncomfortable for them and put them at risk of serious health issues. If your pet is struggling with being obese or overweight, the new year is a great time to start fresh on controlling your portion sizes.
Portion sizes are crucial to a healthy diet for both people and pets. Measuring your food either by volume or weight (i.e., using a measuring cup or a kitchen scale) can provide valuable awareness about how many calories you’re taking in. Many people are surprised to learn about the calorie density of some of their favorite foods!
While you’re doing this careful portion control for yourself, extend it to your pet’s diet, too. We might feel like we can “eyeball” our dog’s portion sizes, or we know about how many cat treats we are handing over in a day. Estimating this kind of caloric intake is risky business. It’s much better to pre-measure your pet’s food servings with a specific container. Consider counting out their daily treat allotment and dividing the treats into a large pill organizer, so you can feel confident that they aren’t getting overloaded on special snacks.
Portion control is especially important with your pet’s CBD serving, because the right amount of CBD will ensure your pet experiences the best benefits. You should always be careful with your pet’s daily dose of CBD treats or CBD oil. The same pill organizer trick can work well for daily CBD treat servings, as well!
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Commit to a Better Bedtime with Calming CBD for Pets
It’s easy to get into poor sleeping habits. Sleep is one of the most important building blocks of overall health for humans, dogs, and cats, so the new year is a wonderful time to recommit to a rejuvenating, regular sleep routine.
Going through the same motions each night before bed will help both you and your dog or cat. Pets and people respond well to consistency and routine. Choose a reasonable time to turn off the screens in your house – television, computer, and cell phone. Try to get into bed at the same time each night and read or listen to podcasts and music. Your nightly routine might include a special treat for you, like a cup of chamomile tea to help you get into a restful state. Likewise, your cat or dog can benefit from a calming CBD serving to help them chill out for the evening. CBD dog treats with L-tryptophan and a drizzle of melatonin-infused cat CBD oil can ensure that your pet joins you in your journey to dreamland. Remember: better sleep tonight means a better day tomorrow!
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Round Out the Family’s Wellness Routine – Pets Included!
Have you been meaning to get on a multivitamin? Or start taking those special supplements your friend recommended? Well, the new year is a great time to start new habits, and that includes introducing new supports to your daily and weekly wellness routine.
Most doctors recommend a vitamin routine of some sort. Even with a really perfect diet, it can be hard to get all the nutrients you need – and most of us don’t *always* have a perfect diet! The same goes for your dog or cat – pets can use a variety of wellness support tools like CBD to keep them in tip-top shape.
Take the time as the new year approaches to research the best supplements for your needs and talk to your doctor. Likewise, talk to your veterinarian about wellness supports for your pets like CBD oil. Just remember that veterinarians are limited on what they can say about pet CBD, so you’ll have to make the final decision yourself!
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Get Outside and Move with Your Pet and the Mobility Support of CBD
We could all use a little more movement and outdoor time in our lives. Especially in these colder winter months, it can be hard to motivate ourselves (and our pets!) to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Even if it’s a little chilly or gray where you live, set a resolution to up your hours outside for increased activity and mental health benefits.
If your cat or dog is struggling with mobility issues, incorporating CBD into their diet can support their daily movement routine. CBD can impact the endocannabinoid system of dogs and cats, which can enhance physical comfort and make it a little easier to move around. Stiffness is especially common in dogs, which is why we created our specialized Hip + Joint formula CBD dog treats to help them keep at their favorite activities even as they start to slow down.
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Reduce Stress and Focus on Your Family’s Mental Health (Pets Too)
Stress plagues most people, but it doesn’t have to be a part of your life. Dogs and cats not only pick up on our stress when we are feeling anxious or worried, but they also experience their own independent stress from various triggers like noise, thunderstorms, strangers, and lifestyle changes. No matter what the coming year looks like for you and your family, it’s important to prioritize mental health care and stress reduction for everyone – dogs and cats included.
For you, this might look like committing to turning off your phone and enjoying a family dinner with no distractions at least once each week. Or maybe mental health care means getting a new book every month and setting aside time to enjoy your new read in a candlelit bathtub. Stress reduction looks different for everyone – just find a plan that works for you and try to stick to it.
For pets, you might commit to creating a doggie safe space for your canine companion to escape to when they feel stressed. Or maybe your cat needs more mental stimulation, and you can purchase a subscription box that will send them new interactive cat toys each month. All pets can benefit from the stress-reducing and calming properties of CBD oil and CBD treats, which can give your cat or dog the confidence to face daily issues without panic or overwhelm.
Whatever new year’s resolutions you choose for yourself, they can likely be applied to improving your pet’s life in some way, too. Don’t forget your dogs and cats this year, and certainly don’t forget all the ways that pet CBD can make life better for our furriest family members.