AC Pup: Change of season means another round of pet maintenance

Can you believe it will turn fall this week? This year seems to be zooming by. It will be Christmas before you know it.

I love the beginning of a new season. Everything seems so new and fresh. And folks everywhere get ready for the new season. I see people getting their yards ready for fall by putting out pine straw and lovely mums. I really like to see the bales of hay stacked up with beautiful pumpkins on top.

Speaking of pumpkins, it won’t be long now before the Pumpkin Patch opens at Forest Hill United Methodist Church in Macon. Running around a zillion pumpkins of all sizes and posing for photos among all the pumpkins is a favorite fall activity of mine. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Before you know it we’ll be dressing up as spooky creatures for Halloween. I’ll have to give some thought to what I want to be this Halloween. But I sure like going out for candy. My mom won’t let me have chocolate, but there are other things I can eat.

This is one of my favorite seasons of the year with the start of football, cool weather and fall festivals. It’s also the time to make sure your fur baby is A-OK. I like to use the change of each season to encourage folks to do some pet maintenance.

First, check your pet’s ID tag. Can you still read it? How worn does the area that connects to the hook look? Is the information engraved on the tag correct? If not, by all means get a new tag.

If you haven’t had your pet microchipped, spayed and vaccinated, now’s the perfect time to do it. And even the though the weather will be getting cooler, remember to keep them on heartworm preventive even if you think mosquitoes are fewer. In fact, they need to stay on heartworm meds all year long.

You should also check their environment, too. While most pets stay inside with their families, some still stay out in the yard. So, if you have a fence, take some time to check the perimeter to look for any holes in the fence and any possible ways the baby may escape.

If you have an invisible fence, it’s time to check the equipment to make sure everything is in working order. Replace batteries on the collar to make sure the collar will still operate as it’s designed.

Finally, check the doghouse or shelter where your pet stays. Make sure the roof doesn’t leak, and make sure it’s up off the ground. Put the house on a pallet so it is not touching the ground. This will make sure it stays dry in the rain.

Cool weather is right around the corner so now is a good time to insulate your doghouse, too. An inexpensive and effective way to insulate is to layer newspaper until it creates a thick wall all on the inside of the house. And that good old reliable duct tape will hold the newspaper up all season.

Make sure there is some sort of barrier attached to the front of the doghouse to allow entry into the house but will block wind, rain and cold. You could use a waterproof mat attached to the house that would let you dog still enter the house but would help keep it warm and dry. You’ll just have to give your baby plenty of time to get used to the doorway.

I’ve even seen some folks attach a heat lamp through the top of the roof of the doghouse to make sure the baby stays warm. That almost assures your pet won’t be cold if he stays outside.

And don’t forget new, clean bedding both for the doghouse for outside dogs and for inside pets as well.

The change of season is always a great time to take stock to see if we’re up to date on our pets’ medical and environmental preparations for the new season. It’s very important to make sure pets stay warm, dry, safe and healthy for the upcoming fall and winter.

Send questions to acpup247@yahoo.com. Visit www.acpup.com or like his Facebook page.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 10:45 PM with the headline "AC Pup: Change of season means another round of pet maintenance ."