Fifteen Pet Safety Topics for Pet Parents
By: Carol Bryant
It’s Pet Safety Month here at BlogPaws. Keeping pets safe year-round should be at the forefront of every pet parent’s mind. There are many things about pet safety that, many times, are overlooked. Pet parents rely on us, pet bloggers, quite often for the latest news in the pet world.
If you are a pet blogger or lifestyle blogger with a pet emphasis, we’re kicking off the month of July with a list of 15 topics you can blog about: One for each day in the first half of July. We will be back with more, too. Beyond the basics, see how many of these pet safety topics you have written about.
If you are a pet parent reading this (and most of us are), have a peek at this list and see how much you know, or think you know, about these topics. Then follow this blog (and others) for pet safety tips all month long.
Inside Vehicle Dangers
Do not leave pets alone in a vehicle: If the news headlines are not enough to scare you into what can happen in a sheer number of minutes, consider that partially opened windows do not provide sufficient air and they do provide an opportunity for your pet to be stolen.
Outside Vehicle Dangers
Never let your dog ride in an open truck bed. It is estimated that over 100,000 dogs die every year due to sudden stopping, turning, and unexpected hazards. Truck beds also expose a dog to the sun, which along with a metal floor can burn a pet’s delicate paw pads. Dogs that are tethered inside a truck can be strangled when hitting a bump.
The Dangers of Outdoor Living
This can be a controversial but comment-inducing blog post. Dogs and cats should not be made to live outside where any number of things can happen to them. Discuss via a blog post.
Collar Check
Puppies and kittens grow quickly and that means collars must be checked. Collars that are not loosened can cause major pain or worse for a growing pet. Adult pets should have their collars checked regularly to ensure they are not too loose nor too tight. You should be able to easily slip two to three fingers between your pet’s collar and their neck.
Alerting Emergency Personnel
Did you know the ASPCA has a free safety decal kit for the asking? Do you have a pet rescue window decal or perhaps need one? What plans do you have in place for emergency personnel to respond and help? Minutes, even seconds, count when disaster strikes. Here’s the link for the free kit.
Evacuation and Emergency Plans
Do you have emergency evacuation plans in place in the event of weather or other issues? As someone who has had to evacuate urgently with her dog, I know how very important this topic is. This is timely, as well, as we are heading into hurricane season. Whether you are East Coast or West Coast, or outside the U.S., emergencies happen everywhere. Here’s a post I did with Slim Doggy where each of us handled weather issues and emergencies on respective coasts.
Pet First Aid Kit
Let your readers know what to stock in a first aid kit. Consider items that folks might not consider that would come in handy including flea/tick remover, hydrogen peroxide, and more.
Paw Myths
You could write an entire post about pet paws. How about a true or false quiz or a mythbuster angle? This is a popular approach on my blog that I rely on now and again.
Keep Your Cool
Interview experts about heat exhaustion, signs to look for, how to know if a pet is in danger, what to do to avoid it, and piece it together with some great outdoor pet images.
Water Warnings
From lifejackets to boating safety, swimming and water sports, this is an incredibly timely topic: Water safety.
Road Trips
Aside from the car warnings and not leaving pets alone in them, a post about getting ready for a road trip as well as how to safely travel with a pet is very timely. Mix in some statistics: How many people travel with a pet? Interview folks who travel (even fly) with a pet and get some quotes.
Herbicides, Insecticides, and Fertilizers: Oh My
Ingestion of different substances can cause illness or worse in pets. Do you know which plants are safe and which are not? Is mulch toxic? What about organic stuff? You can do a series—perhaps a week long or month long–focus on these dangers.
Outdoor Planning
With nice weather comes barbecues, get togethers, and picnics. Our Blog Manager, Robbi Hess, penned a post on this topic, which serves as inspiration for you to get one together, too. The more we inform pet parents of the reality of keeping pets out of harm’s way and teach them how to do it, the more lives we help in the long run.
Outdoor Injuries
From hiking mishaps to ear infections from swimming, injuries do happen year-round. Do you know what to do in an emergency? Talk to a veterinarian or two and post a helpful Q&A for your readers.
Grooming Tips
What should a pet parent watch for when choosing a groomer? Are there questions to ask? What sort of cut should a dog cut? Is shorter always better? Find out and then blog it.
Feel free to grab this badge and display it on your blog throughout July and beyond.
How safe are your pets? What’s a hot topic you want to know more about?
