The dictionary defines complacency as “a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of, or unconcerned with, unpleasant realities or harmful possibilities; self-satisfaction; smugness.” * I’ve always thought of it not so much as being unaware of those dangers or unpleasant realities, but being comfortable that you have them under control. I suppose that could certainly be considered smugness, though when I think of myself as being complacent, especially when it comes to my pets, I think of it more as having put worries out of my mind because the situations have gotten better.
Cricket has arthritis and Luke has luxating patellas. But when both dogs are getting along fine, and doing great, it’s easy to not think so hard about those things. It occurred to me when on a walk one day, as we approached a gentle hill: “hills are really good for strengthening their leg muscles to support their joints better. Walks are important for that same reason. They need to keep moving to keep those joints loose.” I hadn’t really been thinking about those things before we headed out for a walk. We tend to walk because they enjoy it; not because I’m remembering how important it is for them.
It’s habit to include joint supplements in their meals every evening, and to give them fish oil to help their joints and coats. But if I forget why walking is so important, we might skip walks more (especially in the cold weather), and that could become the new habit. That’s the danger in being complacent about how well they are both doing.
I also must remember that Cricket’s play time – chasing the ball – should be limited so she doesn’t overdo it. She gets her carprofen daily to help that, and when she’s doing this well it’s easy to just keep going and then next thing we know she’s limping again. Luke needs to be reminded daily to “use the stairs” when getting off the bed (and he only listens to that half the time). Every time his knee pops out, which isn’t often, I’m reminded of how diligent we need to be. Management is working well for him to avoid surgery so far, but we have to stay on top of things!
If visitors aren’t coming to the house on a regular basis, I become complacent about Luke’s fears and we don’t work on them. It was only the company coming around the holidays that reminded me we still needed to work on his crate. Now that things are quieter, I need to continue to be sure he’s still comfy in there and that he goes in at other times too, not just when people are coming.
It’s so easy to just let things go….to let Luke and Cricket just do whatever they want, as long as they’re doing well. When our cat Sam is eating well, and feeling well, I might forget that we need to watch her weight. The truth is with her, after the scare she gave us with not eating, I’m so happy to see her eat I sometimes forget to control portions. Being overweight isn’t going to benefit her high blood pressure; and she’s had joint issues in the past too.
We experienced the downfalls of complacency with the farm birds as well. It’s easy to forget to be diligent about our protections from predators or keeping everything extra clean in and around the coop so they’ll stay healthy. We had routines and habits in place for predator protection, which I wrote about here (“Keeping the Flock Safe“), but towards the end of fall we had that issue with the suspected hawk (“Safety in Numbers“). When that happened, I realized that a lot of our reflective tape we had around the yard had come down and we had never replaced it. That was the first thing I did, in hopes that really does help keep the predatory wild birds away. We never saw that hawk again.
We’re not outside as much in the winter, and it’s easy to just stay inside and forget that we should still have a presence outside in case the fox shows up again (birds of prey should be migrated by now), or anything else is out there that we don’t even know about. Closed windows drown out sounds that might be a clue that something is going on. When those guinea hens get squawking though, that seems to go right through barriers! Let’s just hope the guineas don’t get complacent! 🙂
So how do we avoid complacency?
- By remembering to be alert, aware, and in tune with our pets and environment.
- By keeping health and safety at the forefront of our minds, even when everyone is doing well.
- Simply being aware that complacency can happen can help us avoid it.
How do you keep from becoming complacent about your pets’ health and welfare?
*https://www.thefreedictionary.com/complacency
Great advice my friend! I can’t be complacent around here. I constantly watch Ducky for signs of snarky reactions. And I have been super paranoid about Shadow since Callie got sick. All 3 of us walk on the treadmill just about every day. I just wish we had someplace else to walk.
And I wish we had a treadmill to walk on when the weather is nasty out! (freezing rain turned to rain has made an icy mess outside now).
I know what you mean about Ducky. I have to watch Luke like that too…staying alert to situations that might set him off. He’s less like that with Cricket than he was with Sheba, but I think that’s because Cricket will put him in his place whereas Sheba wouldn’t. But still, I have to be certain I’m right there watching to be sure he backs off.
Great Advice! It is so easy to get complacent & forget Matt’s tummy troubles until it comes up again and we are back to chicken/rice diet. I have to constantly remember which food caused what and avoid it. Definitely going to be looking into making his food this year cause even on the special grain free foods he gets sick.
xoxo,
Bell Fur Zoo Mama
It has to be so tough dealing with tummy issues! Poor Matt, and poor you having to try to figure it all out. I do a little bit of homemade stuff, but I still use kibble as a base. I wanted to do all homemade, but it’s complicated!! I do have a book by Dr. Karen Becker, “Real Food for Healthy Dogs & Cats” that has a lot of good information in it.
xxoo
It is easy to fall into a rut and suddenly something happens and you’re snapped back. I don’t see how you keep up with all of your crew. I love reading about it.
Thank you! Trust me, it’s not easy some days. Just when you think things are settling down, something comes up with someone else!
Your pets re lucky to have such a good mom to take care of all their health issues.
Thank you, Ellen!
Thank you for the excellent reminder!!
xoxo,
Jakey, Arty & Rosy
You know, reading other blogs is a great way to avoid complacency too! You might see a tip about something somewhere that reminds you that you need to stay on top of things and that can help. ♥
Alert, aware and in tune. I like that advice!
I like and agree with that advice. I find your posts interesting. Here’s hoping the snow leaves and SOON!!
It sure is easy to slip into a new routine when the older one has very important components!
the mama is way to “howlicopterish” and she always fears for the worst, but I hope I can change her mind so she can enjoy when I eat a whole chewing bone in two seconds without worrying it gets stuck in my tummy ;O)))
I worry about everything too, and oddly, that does help to prevent complacency. Don’t eat your bones so fast, Phenny, that is definitely worrisome!!
My mom is a real stickler about staying in our routines. Even the weeks we have had below zero, walks are still taken at the usual times, just shortened because of the subzero weather. My sisters still get lots of yard play time, so nothing much changes around here. In December we saw a coyote on our street in front of our house. A few people have told us they have seen them too on early walks. Yesterday, Mom and my sisters saw two playing around in a neighborhood. They ran when they noticed the human and dogs, but this is frightening for us. We always are supervised in the yard now because of the coyote danger.
Sticking to routines is the best way to be sure you’re staying on top of things! I hate it when outside factors mess with ours. A coyote is very scary! I hope they decide to move on, or go back to the wilderness where they belong! I wonder what would cause them to want to hang out in a neighborhood. My biggest issue when we had porcupines hanging around was that you couldn’t even scare them off! Foxes can be like that too.