8 Meow Year’s Resolutions for Happy Pets

What’s your 2023 New Year resolution and, more importantly, does it include your cat or dog? As we welcome a bigger and brighter year, we thought it might be fun to share ideas to make your happy, healthy pets even happier and healthier in the coming months.

These range from giving your pet quality company seven days a week (it’s entirely possible, you’ll see), to healthy DIY pet meals, learning more about cat and dog body language, and more. Chances are you already do several things on this list, but now you can amp them up with greater pet parenting skills.

Without further ado, here are some tasty, cuddly, easy to achieve pet-tastic new year resolutions…

New Year resolutions for happy healthy pets

This year we’re all about spending more time together… friends, extended family, the works. We all deserve it after the run we’ve had recently, right?

This also extends to our pets, who are now more like family than ever before. But because that’s not always possible, especially as we’re out of the house much more nowadays, we’ve worked out ways to make more time in the day-to-day (while you sleep, etc.).

Plus, with a relatively new pet trend sweeping New Zealand, there’s even a way to make more pet parents for your pets, which means even more quality time for them. More on that below!

Here are some incredibly simple ways to make happy, healthy pets, seven days a week:

Healthy, happy pets make happy people, a better society and probably contribute to overall world peace. To this end PD Insurance has rounded up 8 pet parenting New Year resolutions for pet owners across New Zealand. These handy resolutions are easy to achieve and will have pets from North to South loving life to the fullest.

1. Give round the clock love with shared parenting

No matter how swag your pet is they most likely prefer not having alone time. They might put up with it for a few hours a day, but in reality they’d rather be snug as a bug on your lap or jogging up a grassy path at your side. Or at least settled on the rug a few metres away, where they can eyeball you when needed.

Not everyone has that kind of availability schedule and even those who do occasionally need to go to a shop that’s not pet friendly. So what to do? Why not consider the wonderful concept of pet sharing as your new New Year resolution?

New Zealand has its very own Share My Pet community so your pet can get snuggles and giggles with a part-time parent who loves pets but can’t have their own. Or, read about other ways to combat separation anxiety in pets.

2. Add bedtime to your shared time for happy pets

Unless you have dog or cat allergies, this might be the year to start having your furbaby sleep in your bed. (If you’re already doing this, you know about the health and happiness you and your pet get as a result).

For those who aren’t or haven’t heard, having your dog or cat sleep in your bed has several potential health benefits that could lengthen your life. Plus, with post lockdown work schedules, spending downtime sleeping with your pet next to you is a way to be close even when you’re time poor.

Having this downtime with your pet helps them feel loved and secure and is rewarding for you too. Read about the benefits of sleeping with your dog in your bed and/or sleeping with your cat in your bed.

3. Make routine pet care a time to bond

Routine pet care follows on from having your furbaby snuggle in your bed because knowing they’re well groomed means less flyaway fur and toenail mud landing up on your duvet. Pet maintenance can fall by the wayside when we’re busy or stressed, but it’s really more than just a task.

Routine pet care is about your pet’s day to day wellbeing and about its long term health. It’s about feeling confident taking them out on walks and knowing they’re flea-free, tear stain free and their fur is lush. More than that, getting them used to being brushed and washed is a way to spend real quality time together.

Make routine pet care your 2023 pet parenting New Year resolution and you’ll never look back.

4. Become a pet master chef for home cooked love

They say love is via the stomach and there’s a reason for this. Good homemade food is packed with unbeatable nutrition that will make your pet healthy and happy.

Besides, walking down the food aisles of the supermarket you’ll be assaulted with endless pet food options, much of which your vet will warn against. Packed with filling and preservative agents, your pet isn’t always getting what they need and this can act against their health.

Even if you’re not much of a self-confessed cook, these New Year resolution meals are super easy to prepare. Many make multiple portions you can fridge or freeze for the coming days. Read our dinner and meal recipes for pets.

5. Learn to speak ‘pet’ as your New Year resolution

As pet parents we all chat with our cat or dog sometimes. They probably respond too (I swear my cat said thank you yesterday when I let her in from outside). Just as learning new languages is good for your brain, learning to communicate even better with your pet is also good for your heart.

Chances are you’ll be happily surprised to learn how often they tell you they love you, or how they want to be patted or held. As 2023 rolls in, learn how to speak dog and how to talk to cats ameowzingly.

6. Take pets with you on holidays

The only thing better than going on holiday is going with your darling dog or curious cat! Make it a top New Year resolution because these memories will never cease to make you smile.

New Zealand is set up for star gazing, mountain meandering and river splashing with pets. Not just is it one of the most beautiful places on earth with awe-inspiring scenery, nowadays there’s loads of pet friendly accommodation too.

Read our top five pet friendly NZ Airbnb options and our guide to pet travel. Also be sure to read about whether it’s illegal for bringing your dog into a national park in NZ (we know it’s tempting!).

7. Make your New Year resolution to never stop training pets

You might think training pets is just about potty training and getting them set up for life when they’re young? But think again. Training pets is one of the top ways to keep them mentally and physically stimulated while building on your relationship.

What could be a better New Year resolution than this? In our interview with Dog Almighty contestants, Rachel shares how training is one of the best shared times for her and her perky three-legged pup Maisy.

Read about positive reinforcement for dog training too. It works wonders. Also find out about training a cat to walk on a lead and cat toilet training. Why not?

8. Protect pets with award winning pet insurance

Getting your cat or dog pet health insurance is a win-win situation. If your pet gets accidentally injured they’ll get the treatment they need and your plan will help cover the costs. Depending on your pawlicy, diagnostic and treatment costs for a wide range of illnesses and allergies are also part of the mix.

Still deciding? Find out how to compare pet insurance and see why Kiwis as choosing pet insurance for cats and dogs.

PD Insurance gives you one or more months of FREE pet insurance when you buy your pet’s policy online. Click below to see how we’ve got you covered, in more ways than one!