| TOP FIVE |
| Five Things You Should Pay Attention to For Proactive and Preventative Care of Your Dog or Cat |
NUMBER ONE
Keeping your pet indoors unless you are with your pet outdoors! Keeping Fido
on a leash protects your pet from all kinds of dangers, and complies with most city
ordinances for leash law guidelines. A fenced yard is the better kind of outdoors
for your dog to run. Indoor living protects cats from contacting infectious diseases,
digestive upset caused any poisonous plants or ingestion of foreign objects, not to
mention fights with other cats, dogs, or local wild animals. Keeping cats indoors
also does double-protection for the avian population of your neighborhood!
As most pets age, they cannot regulate their body temperatures as effectively
as when they were younger, which makes them prone to weather-related ailments
such as heat stroke or hypothermia.
It is time well spent walking or running with your dog, and the occasional feline
excursion into the backyard is fine, but it is more important for cats to do their
toileting indoors with a litter box so you can monitor for changes that may indicate
signs of illness or disease. It also greatly contributes to controlling pet
overpopulation if there are fewer cats "tom catting" around the neighborhood!
NUMBER THREE
Don't skip your veterinary appointments for your pet! It is very easy to adopt
the thinking that if there does not seem to be anything wrong with your pet, why
does he need to go to the vet once or twice a year? You may think if your pet
was sick, you would certainly know, so if he does not look sick then why go to the
vet? The most important thing to remember is something we all learned at some
point while growing up...a dog's year is the same as seven or eight of our years,
depending on the breed. Did you only go to the doctor once every seven or
eight years while you were growing up? To the dentist? Plus, if they are not
feeling their best, our pets cannot tell us when they don't feel quite right. A
veterinarian is trained to recognize health problems in your pet, sometimes just
by looking into their eyes or feeling their abdomen, or doing a rectal exam.
Taking your pet to the vet every six months for a basic physical exam, and their
annual shots and heartworm or flea and tick medications, would be the
equivalent of your going to your own doctor once every three or four years for a
basic health screening.
As your pet ages, they may require senior-wellness check-ups as a precaution
for addressing possible heart problems, urinary problems, hormonal imbalances,
or other age-related diseases. Diagnosing geriatric diseases or cancers early is
the best way to find a treatment that may extend their lives pain free and with
medical management. If your veterinarian is familiar with your pet because he has
been seeing them regularly every year their entire lives, it makes it much simpler
for their health concerns to be identified and addressed efficiently and more
economically.
NUMBER TWO
Weight watching and a healthy diet free of oversnacking! Obesity in dogs and
cats causes the same health problems that it does in people – diabetes, high
blood pressure, respiratory problems, and joint problems. Cranial crusciate
repair surgery on large breed dogs like Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers,
and similar breeds is costly, and it happens most often because of the risks
posed with extra weight that dogs who are overweight bear on their joints in
their everyday activity.
Having to put a cat on insulins and deal with daily insulin injections is not a
simple task with a feline. Although most people lead busy daily lives with work
and other responsibilities, the easy habit of "free-feeding" your pet, and leaving
a constant source of their food accessible to them contributes to an over weight
pet. Portion control works for pets same as for people...put out their food when
it is time for their meal, and leave it out for a specific period of time then take it
up. They will learn to eat when the food is available quick enough. And no people
food or table scraps!
Ask about your pet's dietary needs on your next visit to the clinic. Aging pets
who have maintained normal weights for years may start to put on weight as their
metabolisms slow down when they reach middle age and beyond. Most major
brands of pet food have a wide choice of age and breed size appropriate food
formulas for your dog or cat, in addition to holistic and natural foods. Talk with a
veterinarian about the differences in the formulas if you are not quite sure what
would be best for your pet.
Exercise is the best medicine for weight control. Invest in toys for your cat that
will initiate more activity. Take the dog for a daily walk or a romp in the backyard.
NUMBER FOUR
Dental health is essential to your pet's overall health!
The importance of taking care of your pet's teeth might surprise some people.
It's the most common major health problem affecting all cats and dogs because
the bacteria from dental and gum disease travel throughout in their entire
system and contributes to causing more serious health issues.
Check your pet's teeth and gums at least once a week, maybe at night after
you brush your own teeth and are heading to bed. Take a look in Fido's mouth
and just check. Keep an eye (and your sense of smell!) out for bad breath,
lethargy, decreased appetite, and any weight loss. It is hard to really see if a
dog has an infected tooth, like might happen to you if you were getting an
abscess, or in need of a root canal because of gum disease or cavities. An
animal responds to problems with chewing by not chewing...because it hurts.
So they will not eat, even if they are hungry, to avoid the pain.
And lastly...yes, brush your pet's teeth when you can! and not with people
toothpaste! Ask your veterinarian about the types of pet dental products that
are available in the market. If it seems a silly thing to do....remember, bad teeth
left untreated can reduce your dog's lifespan by two or more years.
NUMBER FIVE
Spay or neuter your pets as kittens or pups before they reach the age of 4
or 5 months, which is typically before they come into their first "heat" if female,
or before they begin marking their territories if male.
Spaying or neutering your pet doesn't just prevent overpopulation of pets.
Animal shelters the world over are often at capacity with unwanted pets due to
this problem, and millions of them are unnecessarily euthanized simply
because there are too many of them. Spaying or neutering your pet will
protect your pet down the line from a variety of reproductive cancers of the
prostrate in males and uterine or mammary infections in females.
Not spaying or neutering your animal because you are thinking you might
want to breed them and have more puppies to sell at some point in the future
is a decision you should not be making unless you are already, or planning on,
being a serious professional breeder. Breeding your own pet as a "hobby"
does not always produce genetically healthy pets, and just continues passing
on a health problem from one generation to the next. Unhealthy or genetically
problematic puppies or kittens should never be bred.
