As a veterinarian and pet parent to four dogs and two cats I
have plenty of experience caring for pets both at the hospital and at home.
While annual wellness exams, vaccines and monthly preventive medications for
heartworms, fleas and ticks are essential to your pet’s health, there are also
many things you can do at home to keep your cat or dog healthy and happy.
Frank, Poppy, Sparkel and Lilly |
Start by Choosing Quality Pet Food and Treats
The old adage "you are what you eat" doesn’t just
apply to humans. Choosing the right food and treats is the cornerstone to good
pet health. Look for a high quality diet that is formulated for your pet’s
specific lifestage and lifestyle. This will ensure that your pet is getting the
proper nutrition to keep them fit and healthy. For example, I don’t feed my
13-year-old rat terrier, Sparkle, the same food as my 4-year-old Labradoodle,
Frank. Sparkle needs a senior diet that is lower in protein and calories to
keep her kidneys healthy and her figure slim. Meanwhile, Frank is a big, active
guy that burns through more calories a day and needs a higher protein level to
maintain his sleek, handsome physique. So I choose a different diet for each of
my dogs that meet their individual nutritional requirements. You should talk to
your vet about what's right for your pet.
Channel Your Inner Hairstylist/Hygienist
Have you established a grooming routine for your pet yet? If
not, you better get on it ASAP! This should include frequent brushing of the haircoat
and teeth as well as nail trims and ear cleanings.
My golden retriever-Australian shepherd mix, Poppy, has a
very dense undercoat that requires weekly brushing to prevent her from getting
matted and shedding ALL over my house. I make our weekly grooming routine a
happy experience where she gets treats and we spend some quality one on one
time together.
Lilly and Sparkle |
Brushing your pet’s teeth multiple times a week is another
essential part of maintaining healthy living. Take my Chihuahua, Lily, for
example. She has a history of dental disease so I make sure to focus on that
aspect at home. She also gets annual dentals cleanings under general anesthesia
so we can perform a complete oral exam that includes probing under the gum line
for any diseased teeth that need to be removed. To maintain her dental heath in
between the cleanings, I brush her teeth regularly and feed a dental diet. At
first Lilly wasn’t a huge fan of our brushing sessions, but I started slow to
ease her into the routine and found a tasty pet toothpaste (beef flavor –
yuck!) that she really likes.
Make Pet Toys Work for You!
Watching my pets joyfully play with their toys never gets
old to me. While they have plenty of balls and chew-toys to chase and tear
apart, I also like to keep them entertained with feeding toys. This group of dog
toys has been designed to dispense treats or food while your pet plays with
them. It is a great way to stimulate your pet’s mind and make them work for
their food, which is much more rewarding than just inhaling a bunch of kibble
out of a bowl.
Furla and Vegas |
Don’t let the kitties miss out on this fun. Cats have an
innate hunting instinct and feeding toys are a great way to satisfy that as
well as help keep them slim. My cats were a touch overweight and no matter what
food I fed them or how strictly I limited their calorie intake they were still
not losing weight. I started giving them their dry food out of a feeding ball
so that they had to actually move around to get their food rather than just
plop in front of a bowl and chow down. This, combined with the right diet and
strict calorie control, really made a difference in helping my kitties lose
those extra pounds.
With any toy or treat that requires chewing it is critical
to know what kind of chewer your pet is. My dogs love ripping apart their
stuffed toys to find the squeaker; thankfully they never attempt to eat the
stuffing. If one of them ever showed any interest in consuming part of their
toys I would either eliminate this type of toy from the house or only allow
them to play with it while strictly supervised. The same should be applied to
rawhides and other bones as well.
Ripping off a giant piece of rawhide or bone and swallowing it whole is
extremely dangerous as it can become lodged in the gastrointestinal tract and
cause an obstruction.
Our pets bring so much joy to our lives through their
companionship and unconditional love. In order to keep them as happy and
healthy as possible, try to introduce a few of these tips to help maintain
their wellbeing and form a stronger bond that will last a lifetime.
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