What comes to mind when you think of getting a dog? Do you imagine a playful puppy romping around your living room? Do you imagine running through the park with a graceful dog keeping pace? Do you imagine your vet admiring your dog’s shiny coat during your annual visit? What all these images have in common is that you will need a good pet supply and that you’ve successfully raised a healthy, happy, playful, and affectionate dog.

Five simple ways to take good care of your dog are to focus on baths, nutrition, play, and mental and physical exercise.

1. Regular Baths

Many dog owners find bathing their dogs a chore because their dogs hate it. However, if you regularly bathe your dog as a puppy and do it cheerfully, your dog will enjoy baths. It’s also helpful to regulate the temperature of the water. Keep it comfortable, and use the right dog shampoo so you don’t irritate the skin.

Between baths, you can keep your dog clean with pet wipes, brushing, dry shampooing, and using freshening foams. Also, use these sessions to clean your dog’s ears and mouth. If your dog has a bed, clean this regularly, too.

2. Proper Nutrition

Be careful with dog food. If you feed your dog with ingredients that include corn or soy, they may have digestive or behavior problems. Sometimes dogs are hyperactive or lethargic because of certain allergenic ingredients in their diet.

Don’t just rely on advertising or labels to select nutritious dog food. Instead, ask for recommendations from vets and dog trainers. Also, visit authoritative online resources on pet care. The difference between popular dog food brand and premium formulas recommended by people familiar with canine nutrition will surprise you.

Waiting to eat can be difficult for your dog if you work long hours. If you’re not home until late in the evening because of your busy schedule, then consider getting an automatic feeder. Your dog won’t have to wait for you to come home before you feed it. You can program automatic feeders, select when they should work, and decide how much food they should dispense.

3. Plenty of Play

When you think about the best times in your childhood, you’ll notice they often involve playing. Your puppy or young adult dog, too, thrives on play. In fact, playing with your dog is beneficial for both of you. When, for example, you throw a frisbee in the park and your dog bounds after it, you’re both having fun.

4. Some Mental Exercises

Dogs get bored if you deprive them of mental stimulation. In fact, dogs love obedience classes because these structured lessons force them to learn new things. Similarly, they enjoy figuring out the meaning of a few repeated commands and playing with puzzle dog toys.

5. Enough Physical Exercise

Your dog needs regular physical exercise. If you live in the city, it may limit exercise options to walking around the neighborhood. This, however, should be a long walk. If it’s under 30 minutes, it’s too short. Your options expand if you live in the country or can go to some open spaces. This would be a perfect opportunity to let your dog off its leash to play fetch.

No doubt, you can think of other ways to take good care of your dog. However, use these five ideas as the core principles on which to build your personal philosophy of how to raise a happy dog. When you feel upset with your dog’s behavior, lean on this philosophy to take a more balanced perspective.