How to Heal a Pet Tank

What You Need to Know

1. A pet tank should not be taking critical hits.
2. Pets have decent armor mitigation but low dodge.
3. Pets have 90% reduction in AoE magical damage.
4. Pets should be able to take two big hits but three should kill them. This should be one less than a normal tank.
5. Pets have less OMG panic buttons. They have one Last Stand. And turtles have an occasional Shell Shield.
   
6. Hunter pet tanks get +54% to incoming healing. They get this thanks to the hunter talent, Spirit Bond, and the pet talent, Blood of the Rhino.

What Does This Mean for a Healer?

1. Pets tanks will take steady damage so they need steady and frequent healing.
2. Pets can shrug off all but the worst stuff on the ground. A tank-killer 50k magical hit will only be 5k.
3. Pets don't have many panic buttons. A normal tank can be liberal about using them because they have a couple more. A hunter may be more tentative about using it because they only have one.
4. Pets will not become immune for a while in an OMG event and wait for you to cast a big heal.
5. Pets add 54% to your healing. Fifty-four percent. Because they can't take more than a couple big hits, use smaller heals with short or instant cast times. HoTs are good too.
6. Pet tanks need a dedicated healer so they get that steady healing. However they may not need more than one if they get short spam heals.