A dog brings a lot of love, joy and happiness to our lives. Their owners are usually healthier and it is common for a pup to be classed as a member of the family. Trying to find ways to show your pet how much they mean to you should consist of maintaining their health. The hardest thing about being a pet owner is watching your pet fall ill and outliving your best friends. We all want our dogs to live a long, happy and healthy life, so we need to do everything we can to support them. Our dogs can’t tell us when they are feeling unwell and they rely on us to do everything right and care for them. To help you protect the health of your pooch, here are 7 tips that will make your dog’s life healthier.
Choose Good Food
Your dog will rely on you to feed them the correct amount of high-quality food. Unfortunately, many commercial dog foods are not very healthy, so you need to do your research. These days, many owners are turning to a raw diet for their pets. This can be expensive and time consuming, but Bella & Duke make feeding raw natural dog food much easier. Their natural dog food comes in many forms and is designed to help your dog thrive. It only contains high quality ingredients that offer many benefits.
Provide Daily Exercise
Exercising properly and spending time playing with your dog will keep their minds stimulated and healthy and their bodies physically fit. Proper exercise will make your dog a better-behaved animal in the home and it helps to maintain a healthy heart and weight, while increasing their muscle mass. The breed, age, health and sex of your dog will determine how much and what form of physical activity is best for them. However, unless discouraged by your vet, you will need to exercise your dog daily.
Spay or Neuter
Spaying or neutering your dog is important. For females, spaying is an invasive surgery that involves removing the uterus and ovaries. This surgery will stop your dog from becoming pregnant and it can prevent many horrific diseases, such as pyometra, uterus infections and breast cancer. Neutering a male dog is much less invasive and involves removing the testicles. This can reduce aggression and roaming behaviours, plus the risk of health issues like hernias, testicular cancer and prostate disease.
Keep Vaccinations Updated
When you first bring your puppy home, before they have completed their course of vaccinations, you make an effort to keep them close to you and away from other dogs. Unfortunately, some owners don’t vaccinate their dogs annually, which puts them at just as much risk as they were during this time. Vaccinating your dogs will protect them against many prevalent diseases, such as parvovirus, canine distemper and leptospirosis. Rabies, kennel cough and Lyme disease can also be prevented.
Monthly Flea Prevention
Fleas can cause more problems than just itchy skin. They can trigger an allergy, become the source of tapeworm or cause anaemia. As their pet owner, you should apply regular and reliable methods of flea prevention to your pet. Depending on the medication and the weight of your dog, most flea treatments should be applied monthly. Some flea prevention can protect your dog against other internal and external parasites too. You should talk to your vet for the best treatment for your dog.
Regular Health Checks
Carrying out professional and personal health checks on your dog will help you to spot early signs of disease or illness. Just like people, dogs need regular visits to the vet and an annual health check will give your vet the chance to thoroughly inspect the health of your canine companion. As their owner, you should carry out weekly health checks on your dog. This can be done by inspecting their skin, coat, ears and eyes for signs of illness, plus any unusual changes in their behaviour or eating/drinking habits.
Ongoing Dental Care
If your dog has bad breath, this is a sign that they have issues with their teeth and gums. Saliva, food and plaque can build up in your dog’s mouth and cause an infection. If you don’t make the effort to treat this infection, then it could lead to gum disease and tooth decay. Eventually, this can move into their bloodstream and cause heart, liver, lung, kidney, joint and bone problems. You should brush your pet’s teeth weekly and give them daily dental chews. Raw bones and veggies are a safe natural option.
Following these steps will increase the lifespan of your pet and reduce the risk of them developing life threatening conditions. Every dog is different, but most of them will react positively to these changes. You should always speak to your vet before you make any permanent alterations to your dog’s life.
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