The most basic way to protect your pet is to provide them with a healthy well-rounded lifestyle filled with love. But, as a pet parent, you know pet ownership is a serious commitment that takes time and energy. When you decided to get a pet, you committed to love and care for 12-15 or more years. You built the initial bond with your pet during the first months of ownership, but maintaining that bond is a lifelong process.

Here are five practical ways to protect your pet:

1. Keep your pet healthy. The best way to ensure your pet lives a happy and healthy life is to feed them a balanced diet and keep them exercised. Make sure you’re feeding your pet a nutritious diet that’s a combination of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Take regular walks with your pet or play with them indoors to help improve blood flow, appetite, digestion and to help them sleep better. Pets see exercise as playtime, and an opportunity to bond with other animals and humans.

2. Maintain good grooming habits. Good grooming habits include clipping nails, bathing, brushing and dental care. Dental care is often overlooked when it comes to our pets, but poor dental hygiene can lead to health problems including tooth loss, abscesses and even heart, kidney, and liver complications from bacteria-laced tooth infections. Try to make grooming a weekly event and use treats to make the process more enjoyable

3. Schedule yearly vet visits. Checkups and immunizations are important to keep your pet healthy and to prevent illness. Every pet has very individualized needs depending on their lifestyle, so you should take the advice directly given to you from your veterinarian. Pets sometimes wait until they’re really sick before showing any signs of illness so watch for anything out of the ordinary and take them to the vet if symptoms worsen – it’s much easier to treat in the early stages before it’s too late

4. Enroll in pet insurance. Pet insurance allows you to make sure your pets receive the medical care they deserve, without jeopardizing your family’s savings. With Petsecure, you can rest easy knowing up to 80% of your pet’s bill will be covered in case of accident or illness. It’s a simple, effective way to take the financial stress away during those tough times. Petsecure has four insurance plans to choose from, and plans range from accident, illness, dental, wellness coverage and more.

5. Be a responsible pet parent. Responsible pet ownership means more than just simply loving your pet (but that’s important too!). Your pet should always wear a collar with proper identification on it - consider microchipping for an added layer of protection. It’s also especially important to train your pet. If your pet’s misbehaviour results in any sort of accident, injury, or incident you must take full responsibility for their behaviour. A trained pet is also more likely to come when called which can prevent terrible accidents from happening.

Pet insurance can help with the cost of accidents and illnesses

We’ve all been there. Your pet gets sick or has an accident and needs veterinary care. Petsecure’s coverage extends beyond the basics. We cover everything from surgeries to routine dental care, as well as extras like exam fees and taxes, so you can have peace of mind.

Learn what’s covered by Petsecure and get a free quote today.