Just when you thought the holiday season was over …
We may have passed the Thanksgiving feast, Christmas gifts, and New Year’s Eve champagne, but get this: January is filled with national pet days and awareness events that us pet parents can all take part in. I’ve compiled a list of them all, highlighting the ways you can get involved and even enhance the lives of our 4-legged furry friends.
Happy New Year and enjoy the read!
National Train Your Dog Month
This month-long event was introduced in 2010 by the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. The goal is to promote public awareness around the importance of socializing and training your dog.
Since January is a time when many of us reevaluate, reset, and make changes in our lives, it’s also the perfect time to create positive change for Fido. Working together on proper training, good manners, and social skills will help build a stronger bond between you and your dog. Plus, it will increase the quality of your pup’s daily life.
To help you get started, check out some of my training articles which are loaded with tips for success:
- 4 Essential Commands to Teach Your Puppy
- 11 Common Dog Training Mistakes to Avoid
- Why You Shouldn’t Tell Your Dog No (All The Time)
- How to Crate Train Your Dog (In 5 Simple Steps)
- 6 Tips to Master Leash Training
- 7 Tips for Successful Puppy Potty Training
- 8 Ways to Socialize Your New Puppy
National Walk Your Dog Month
Okay, I know what you’re thinking, duh … isn’t every month National Walk Your Dog Month? Well, no … not really! Even though you’re walking your pooch to do his business daily, that’s not quite the point of this month-long event.
In general, January brings with it shorter days, colder weather, and makes us less motivated to leave the house. Sound familiar? I can relate! I’d rather be snuggled up by the fireplace, fur babies on my lap, sipping hot cocoa. And, although that sounds great, venturing outdoors for a walk is a better choice for you, me, and Fido. January is the perfect time to initiate this month-long holiday because it motivates us to do just that.
Benefits of a relaxed, non-rushed walk-a-day will…
Provide mental stimulation – Your dog will thrive from these outings. Dog’s learn so much from their environment. Although we see the world with our eyes, Fido sees even more clearly with his nose. One good sniffing session gives him clues about the dogs who were there before him. He’ll even be able to detect what those dogs ate, their gender, emotional state, and whether they were healthy. Allowing Fido time to sniff the ground, smell the pee-mail, see and interact with new people and pets, will open his world. He’ll come home happier, more satisfied, and might even be a little tired!
Bonding – Daily dog walking will strengthen the bond between you and your pooch. Dogs live to please us and nothing pleases them more than being able to spend time with you.
Healthy – Living in a world where so many humans are consumed with knowing how many steps they’ve taken, that they wear monitors on their wrists, shows us it’s no secret that walking provides many health benefits. Some people walk for physical and/or emotional health, others are trying to walk off the pounds. No matter what the reason, the fact is, that walking is good for you. Well, it’s good for your pooch too! And he will reap the exact same benefits from his daily walks as you do. So, even though it may be cold outside, throw on your coat, lace up your sneakers, grab Fido’s leash and sweater, hit the pavement, get moving, and go get healthy together!
It’s Fun!
At first you may not agree with this one! But, don’t be surprised if you start to look forward to your non-potty, non-rushed walks because it’s fun! Spending time with Fido and giving him your undivided attention can be a rewarding experience for both of you.
Unchain A Dog Month
It’s heartbreaking to think there’s a need to write anything on this subject – dogs living in chains! Dogs are social animals who’ve been at our side for thousands of years. Like us, dogs need companionship, love, nurturing, and care.
Unchain A Dog Month was introduced as a way to create awareness about the many dogs living in horrendous conditions, hooked up to a chain. At one time or another, we’ve all seen dogs locked outside in backyards or confined spaces, and chained to fences. It happens on the coldest days of winter or the hottest days of summer. These poor dogs live a life of loneliness and isolation often watching humans from afar. Their deplorable living conditions cause a breakdown of physical and emotional health. Let’s start this year off by being more aware, and proactive. Let’s make others aware of these canine victims and help where we can.
January 2: National Pet Travel Safety Day
Pet Safety Travel Day was established to educate people concerning the importance of safety when traveling with Fido. Whether you’re going out for a quick ride to run some errands or you’re hitting the road on your next long trip, Fido needs to travel safely. Just like you buckle up, he must too. In this article, I share different dog car restraint options and how they work.
January 14: National Dress Up Your Pet Day
This is a day to have some fun!
Break out the cool duds, sweaters, dresses, bandanas, bows, and spiffy up your pets. Personally, I don’t need a special day on the calendar for this, since I routinely dress my fur kids. And, don’t tell anyone, but we often match! lol
Follow along on our Instagram HERE!
January 24: National Change A Pet’s Life Day
This special day was created in 2009 to bring attention to the countless dogs in shelters who are in need of rescue. The ultimate way to change a shelter dog’s life is to adopt — give him a family and a safe forever home. Even if you can’t do that, you can still be a life changer. You could foster, volunteer at a shelter walking the dogs or provide companionship, donate to the shelter’s wishlist, spread the word about adoption and foster, get involved in adoption events.
In this article, I share 6 creative ways you can help out shelter dogs in need!
January 29: National Seeing Eye Dog Anniversary
Happy 92nd Anniversary to the oldest school for guide dogs in the world. Founded in 1929, located in Morristown, NJ, this school has teamed up over 17,000 blind people with Seeing Eye® dogs. Their mission was – and is – to foster independence, dignity, and self-confidence for the blind or visually impaired by partnering up with Seeing Eye® dogs.
Costs: According to The Seeing Eye, “No one has ever been denied a Seeing Eye® dog for lack of funds.” Students are asked to pay $150 when they come in for their first consultation. Former military persons pay $1. This fee has been the same since 1934 and includes:
- The cost of the students stay, including food and lodging, which can run from 18 – 25 days
- The dog
- The dog’s initial equipment
- Student instruction with the dog
- Round trip transportation fees from anywhere in the United States or Canada
- Lifetime follow-up
The actual cost to breed, raise, and train a Seeing Eye® dog is approximately $70,000, which is paid for by donations from individuals, businesses, foundations, bequests, and gifts. The organization is non-profit and receives no government funding. If you’re an Amazon shopper and want to donate to this cause then you can donate and it won’t cost you a penny. Here’s how:
- Sign in to smile.amazon.com and choose Get Started
- Choose your charity, which in this case is Seeing Eye, Inc. Then anytime you shop at smile.Amazon.com, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the amount of the eligible items you purchased and it won’t cost you a cent. Sounds like a win-win to me!
FYI: Although many use the term Guide Dog and Seeing Eye® dogs interchangeably, the only dogs that are Seeing Eye® dogs are those that have been trained at this school. Other dogs that assist the blind in the same way, are known as Guide dogs.
