With many New Jersey families welcoming pets into their homes over the holidays, it’s important to educate new pet parents that keeping your furry loved one happy and healthy means so much more than just feeding them the right nutrition.

Petco wants to help simplify things for new pet owners and has come up with the below four tips to ensure a happy, healthy and whole life.

These tips include keeping pets physically fit, mentally alert, socially engaged and emotionally happy.

–Physical health — Most pet parents know proper diet and exercise is vital, but they may not realize that grooming and playtime is also essential to their pet’s health. For instance, brushing and combing your dog helps keep the coat clean and healthy and stimulates the skin, allowing the natural oils to circulate to the coat. New pets are full of energy, especially if the adopted dog is a puppy. Keep them entertained and exercised with fun toys that are safe for indoor use.

–Mental Health — Keeping a pet mentally stimulated is a must to avoid destructive behavior such as going to the bathroom in the house or destroying upholstery. Ten minutes of thinking play can equal 45 minutes of active/outdoor play for pets. Toys and puzzles will keep pets occupied and mentally stimulated for long periods of time so they don’t take out their boredom on furniture.

–Social Health — In addition to caring for a pet’s physical and mental health, teaching pets to interact and play well with others is essential to being a great pet parent. With so many dog parks and pet-friendly establishments popping up, it’s especially important that dogs learn how to play well with others to keep public appearances positive experiences. If you already have another dog in the home or your pup has a pal, have some fun with this 3-way tug toy where everyone can get in on the action.

–Emotional Health — Although pets enjoy being a part of the action, they also need downtime, which means a safe, comfortable place where they can take a time out. Another way to bond with your pet is working together on training techniques. For example, the “Nothing Exercise” will help overexcited/hyper dogs learn to be calm and relaxed around people. This is especially helpful with dogs that have been adopted since they may have spent a lot of time in a kennel and without too much human interaction, so when they see a person, they get over excited and jump, etc.