Briefly, Responsible Pet Ownership is doing everything in your power to keep your pets healthy and safe. That's it, that's all we want, healthy and safe pets. Can you go beyond this? Of course, you can train to have an agility dog or a therapy dog or any of that and that would be wonderful so please do! But all the world really needs is for pet owners to be responsible for their charges.
What does keeping them healthy and safe entail? Not much really, when you think about how little time and effort is needed for most of it.
Yearly vet visits with vaccinations....should take about 30 mins and cost very little, around $100 in Alabama. That's $100 for a whole year of health! Over a pet's lifetime, those vet visits will increase his health and longevity for years.
Spay/neuter. There are NUMEROUS health benefits to spay/neuter, but the biggest benefit is not having unwanted litters that you can't or won't keep. Dogs can breed twice a year and have 1-7 or 8 puppies per litter. What would you do with all of those puppies? You can only give so many away and dumping them at a shelter is not a solution. Shelters are overrun with good dogs looking for a home of their own, often puppies from oops litters because the owners didn't spay/neuter. While the one time cost is $100-200, the lifetime of benefits is well worth it. Reduced behavioral problems is another benefit to spay/neuter. Many places have low cost clinics so the one time cost is much less. Remember, this is something you do once and it's done, no lifetime of dealing with a dog in heat (NOT FUN) or a male trying to bust out and get to the female down the street. No worrying about when the heat cycle will be and trying to keep your female contained. It's just a non issue if the dog is spayed.
Preventive medication, heartworm and flea/tick, is given one time per month and takes about 5 mins. The cost is minimal at $6 for each per month, less than most people spend on lunch at McDonald's.
Containment. This is the one thing that could be a big one time cost, installing a sturdy fence. The ability to let your dog play safely, securely, and without fear of finding him dead on a road is well worth the initial cost. There are ways to make it cheaper, too. Install it yourself, for one. Fence installation labor is much higher than the materials. Or make a deal with an installer, barter and trade if you must. Just figure out a way to get a fence so your dog is safe from harm, including from those who might come into your yard to harm your dog (people and dogs included in this). When not contained in a fence, the dog should be on leash WITH you. If you simply can not afford a fence, just no way to do it, then leash walk your dog. It's not that hard, will get both you and he into great shape, and prevents alot of unwanted behaviors due to too much energy and boredom. Living in an apartment had me leash walking two dogs every day and we had such fun. If you're in the market for a new house, stipulate that there must be a fence. Then it's done and everyone is happy.
Training is important but doesn't have to be a headache. All pet dogs don't need to know 100 tricks. Most dogs and their people can happily co exist with just a few tricks and rules. Dogs need to know "sit" very well. Sit is a behavior you can ask for in many situations and one that will reduce other poor behaviors. Dogs can't jump on guests if they are sitting. Mostly, dogs just need to know the rules of the house. Do you allow them on furniture? If so, that's fine, if not, you have to teach them they aren't allowed. Teaching that sort of thing isn't all that hard when you live with your dog and have a good relationship. Just remember, if you don't teach your dog how to behave in your home with your rules, no one else will and he doesn't speak human so he's not going to intuitively know what to do. Some training will keep them safe and healthy and keep you from wanting to get rid of the dog. The majority of training only cost the price of some doggie biscuits (or cheese!) and a few minutes a day. No need for a big time commitment, just live with your dog and ask for behaviors a few times a day. They'll get it faster than you think.
Healthy (yearly vet visits, monthly prevention, spay/neuter) and safe (contained and trained) is all it takes to have a wonderful pet and to live happily together. Pets bring so much to us that we owe it to them to keep them healthy and safe.
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