Pets are our best friends—our closest companions that help us through our darkest times. However, sometimes our little companions need a little help of their own when they fall ill, which can be a significant blow to many pet owners. Some owners aren’t able to notice the signs of a pet emergency during its beginning stages, which sometimes proves fatal for many pets—here are a few tips to prevent pet hospitals and what to do in case of an emergency.

Games and Exercise for Different Breeds

Many pet owners—experienced and new, often still have questions about pet safety, such as how much exercise does a dog need every day? What is the importance of spaying or neutering your pet? What are the benefits of spaying your pet? The answer might surprise some pet owners and intrigue others that want optimal pet safety. Typically, pets require different levels and types of exercise depending on their breed. Although it is a rough generalization, it does provide some basics about their level of activity. The recommended daily amount of exercise is also determined by their breeding, which means for some animals, there is a very limited amount of activity in their daily lives. Therefore, we’ve created a list of games and exercises recommended for various animal breeds.

1. Border Collies and Australian Shepherds: These two breeds that mimic their origins to herding livestock—their characteristics depict their natural herding instincts that tend to influence their aggressive nature. Their aggressive behavior is what makes them ideal for predominately outdoor activities that require constant energy and mental stimulation that give them the energy to enjoy interactive toys and other high-energy activities (I.e., chasing, barking, catching)

2. Pointers, Cocker Spaniels, Labrador, and Golden Retrievers: These breeds of dogs are master hunters. Even when they are tamed and house-trained, their rowdy and astute characteristics take ahold of their behaviors, which make their ideal playing styles running and chasing games—logic-based games that allow for thought and actively seeking out the target.

3. Jack Russel, Patterdale, Bull, American Pit Bull, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier: They’re known as the playfully aggressive types that truly enjoy the rougher styles of playing. The ideal routines for them are activities that entail wrestling and body slamming—breeds such as these truly enjoy weight pulling and chasing, like the previous groups, and most do well with a known-playmate that matches their playful style.

4. Beagles, Basset Hounds, Dachshunds, Greyhound, Whippet, and Ibizan Hounds: If you ever needed a companion to lead the way or work well in groups, the Hound group is the best fit for you. Their keen scent allows them to be the best candidates for sniffing out anything. There are also known to best work in groups that allow them to play aggressively amongst each other because they are comfortable playing in their pact. Often, their groups consist of the same or similar breeds of dog that allows them to remain comfortable—Greyhounds, Whippet, Ibizan Hound is fond of chasing and rough-housing and do best with high-energy, competitive games.

5. Poms, Maltese, Pugs, Shih-Tzu, and Yorkies: Considered to be a very docile and gentle breed, they often find joy in others company and usually crave attention from their owners. They’re considered to be ‘lap dogs’ that love to relax. For their pet healthcare, it’s best to spay and neuter them for pet safety. Their playstyle consists of various exaggerated movements that make their play style consistent with chasing small balls and squeaky toys. They tend to do best with similar breeds for playmates as they’re not aggressive dogs.

What To Do When Your Pet Is Sick

No one is immune from other the weather at times, and that goes for pets, too. Typically, the signs and symptoms of pets feeling under the weather are much more noticeable in certain breeds than others but still have general similarities. When your pets are sick, the best thing to do is take them to a pet hospital, emergency vet, or 24-hour vet clinic that has the certification to treat animals properly. The veterinarian office is one of the most resourceful aspects of pet safety around, as they give you a general overview of their health and future prognosis and prevention methods.