1. Vaccination: Inoculation is the best way to prevent contagious diseases. Veterinarian Han recommends dog owners to have their dogs inoculated against DHPPi five times, twice against Corona, twice against Kennel cough, twice against influenza and once against rabies before the pet reaches 12 months. After that, having the pet vaccinated regularly every one or two years is advisable.

For dogs, regular doses of anti-heartworm medicine every month or two, as well as scaling of the teeth once a year, is also advised.

For cats, a comprehensive vaccination is recommended.

2. Food: Avoid feeding onions, grapes, chocolate, garlic and spring onion as well as salty and fatty foods to dogs since they pose an immediate health risk to the animals. Always be mindful about the allergic or dermatological problems different foods can cause to an individual animal.

Feeding cats fish with a high level of fat could be risky. Lily bulbs can poison the cat. Salty foods are hazardous and sharing dog food is not a good idea. Try to provide taurine on a regular basis.

3. Exercise: Taking a stroll is a good way to socialize with dogs. It also strengthens their muscles and helps the owners get some fresh air, too. Walking or running until the pet expresses fatigue is okay.

4. Training: Dogs need a certain amount of training to live with people: They must be housebroken and trained not to bark at people. Han advises using a dog leash and snacks. For the welfare of pets ― mainly dogs and cats

“When it behaves well, feed it a snack and express your approval as much as possible but when it does something wrong, immediately make a loud noise (do not yell but pound something next to you) and tell it that it is wrong. If it barks, bites your hand or does other things that seem inappropriate, pull the leash around the neck slightly to show that such behavior should be stopped immediately,” Han said.

(baejisook@heraldcorp.com)