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Writer's pictureJennifer Southern

How to have a happy pet...

Whatever species you have chosen to share your life with, ensuring that you meet their needs will mean that they live a happy life and you will get the most out of your time together:


  1. Basic needs - this includes appropriate nutrition, physical exercise, adequate housing and access to veterinary care. Think beyond the small rabbit hutch or basic hamster cage...does their housing provide enough space and promote their natural behaviours? Is the diet you provide appropriate, varied and of good quality? Research is key here, always learn as much as you can about the species in your home and you will both benefit massively.

  2. Emotional needs - if their basic needs are being met then it will often follow that their emotional needs will be fulfilled. This involves ensuring that they feel safe and free from stress which can be achieved through appropriate housing but will also be influenced by your relationship with each other (especially for dogs who rely on us heavily for security). For our dogs, who are exposed to life beyond our homes, sometimes we need to adapt to what they can and can't cope with.

  3. Social needs - for dogs, our relationship with them is crucial in fulfilling this need, they are inherently social species and we become part of their family unit. Cats may be happy being more solitary and sometimes don't seek social interactions with us or other cats. Other species, such as Rabbits and Guinea Pigs can suffer from stress if they aren't housed with another member of their species so this is a really important consideration when choosing which pet to welcome into your life. Researching and understanding the natural social behaviours of your pets is essential in order to meet this need well.

  4. Mental enrichment - providing mental enrichment for our pets is just as important as providing physical exercise. For dogs, this will include positive training and learning. For other species it will be more about providing an outlet for natural behaviours. For example, I don't feed my pet hamster from a bowl, instead I scatter feed so that he can forage for it as he would in the wild. There are loads of puzzle feeders and enrichment toys on the market for all pets but very often a bit of imagination can go a long way.

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