One of the fantastic things about pets is how much unconditional love they give us. In return for their affection, we have some tips you can follow to keep your pet healthy and live a long, pain-free life.
1.Give Them a Good Diet
Obesity is a common problem among pets, as it can be easy to over-feed a pet that knows how to beg. But being overweight is a serious problem for animals and can cause real health problems as they get older. With proper diet and exercise, all pets should be able to meet their dietary needs and be within a healthy weight range.
Here are some top reasons to keep your pet at a healthy weight:
- A healthy weight contributes to a better quality of life and a longer life expectancy.
- Lowers their risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory disease, kidney disease, and some forms of cancer
- Reduces the chances of injury to bones, joints, and muscles associated with excess weight
- It makes it easier to manage the discomfort associated with arthritis as your pet ages.
Pets’ nutritional needs change as they enter different stages of their lives. The best way to make sure your pet’s needs are being met is to consult with us about a diet made specifically for his or her lifestyle.
2.Exercise Your Pet
Regularly exercising your dog or cat goes hand in hand with a healthy diet.
Regular exercise helps your pet stay fit and strong and improves their mood. Your pet’s activity depends on age, breed, size, and overall health. Here is a rough guideline you can use.
Dogs should spend 30 minutes to two hours on an activity every day.
Cats should have two play sessions daily for 10 to 15 minutes per day.
If you are unsure how much exercise your pet needs, we will be happy to discuss this with you.
3.Provide Fresh, Clean Water
Clean drinking water is essential to a pet’s well-being. Make sure your pet has access to fresh, clean water every day. If you use water fountains, follow the manufactures recommendations for cleaning and adding fresh water. Dirty water can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal issues.
4.Keep Your Pet’s Wellness Appointments
At your pet’s wellness exam, our staff will get a chance to talk to you and see if you are having any trouble with your pet. We will also go over diet, preventative medicine, and exercise to ensure that your pet is as healthy as possible. Then, one of our veterinarians will do a complete physical examination on your pet. It is always good to have a baseline in case your pet ever becomes ill.
We also want to monitor your pet’s weight, ensuring that your pet stays a healthy weight. It is much easier to start a diet when a pet is a pound overweight instead of fifteen! Our veterinarian will also look for any potential problems. Our goal is to catch any problems before they become major ones. The sooner that we can catch a problem, the easier it is to treat it and the more likely that your pet will make a full recovery!
5.Maintain Good Dental Care
Pets need their teeth cleaned daily and professionally, just like we do. If you neglect their dental health, your pets can suffer tooth loss, gum disease, and severe heart, liver, and kidney problems as they age. Luckily, with regular veterinarian professional dental treatment and at-home care, you can keep your pet’s mouth healthy. Please watch this video from the AVMA — DENTAL HEALTH: HOW TO BRUSH YOUR PET’S TEETH.
6.Groom Your Pets
Whether you use professional or at-home grooming, grooming does a lot to keep your pet healthy by keeping their nails trimmed and their coats looking healthy. Grooming is also an excellent way to keep an eye on changes in your pet’s fur or skin, like dandruff, bald patches, dry skin, or pests. And it’s an ideal time to check for lumps and bumps that may cause concern.
7.Keep Them Pest Free
Parasites such as fleas, ticks, lice, and mites can cause many problems with pets. Reactions to pests can range from mild allergic reactions to severe or even fatal reactions from heartworm disease, Lyme disease, demodectic mange, and so forth. We offer a variety of pet-friendly flea, tick, and other parasite control and prevention products you can purchase at our office or online pharmacy.
- As mentioned above, look for fleas, ticks, and coat abnormalities any time you groom your pet or bring them in from outside areas that are likely to have higher numbers of these parasites.
- Contact us if your pet excessively scratches, chews, or licks its fur, persistently shakes the head or scratches the ears. Prompt treatment not only lessens your pet’s discomfort but also decreases the chances of the transmission of diseases and may reduce the degree of home infestation.
8. Protected Your Pets from Harsh Weather
Extreme heat or cold weather conditions are not safe for pets. For example, animals exposed to cold, dry air, rain, or snow can suffer from chapped paws and itchy, flaking skin. Animals left out in the cold without proper protection can suffer hypothermia, especially when temperatures drop below 20 degrees F.
Keep your pets indoors when temperatures are extreme. When they go outside, ensure to protect them from harsh elements.
9.Stay Observant.
Let us know if you notice changes in your pet’s usual behavior patterns or health. Changes in eating or sleeping habits, restlessness, temperament, etc. can sometimes indicate an underlying health condition. Communicating any changes, can help your veterinarian catch problems early on before they become big.
10.Give Them Plenty of Love
Finally, if you’re looking for ways to keep pets healthy, give them lots of love. Pet owners should spend at least one hour per day with their animals, whether playing, grooming, or just spending quality time together.
Final Words
We believe in treating every patient as if they were our own pet and giving them the same loving attention and care. We are a group of highly trained, experienced animal lovers who are devoted to giving our patients the best care possible.
If you have any questions about how we can care for your pet, please don’t hesitate to contact us
Dr. Alicia Findora
