Just like humans, pets require a proper diet, love, and regular checks to promote a healthy existence. Listed below are a few tips for keeping your pet healthy and content.
Proper Nutrition
Depending on the pet, their nutritional needs will vary. For example, cat diets should consist of high amounts of protein found in salmon, tuna, chicken, and beef. In addition, it should also have moderate amounts of fat, vitamins, and minerals. Dogs adapt more easily to food. Their diet should contain meat as the first ingredient and include grains, fruits and vegetables. Many people who own dogs like to add raw meat to their dinner portion of their kibble, and for a dog, in most cases, this is acceptable. With any pet, make sure that they also have a fresh water supply available throughout the day.
The Importance of Exercise
Part of keeping your dog healthy must include daily exercise. The good news is that you don’t need to hire a personal trainer. Taking a brisk walk, a jog, or playing with your pet in the back yard will keep it fit and strong. Cats need exercise too. While you may keep them indoors, you can still create a special place for them to go crazy. Cat homes with open platforms and dangling toys engage them in promoting movement. It’s also important to have toys that allow for indoor interaction and an accelerated level of activity.
Food Portion
Similar to humans, some pets will eat only when hungry, while other pets will sit and gorge until the food is gone. Most food packages provide suggested portion sizes for pets based on age, breed, and weight. If you are still uncertain as to how much to feed and how often, consult your veterinarian.
Grooming
Pets need regular grooming to maintain health and comfort. Baths, nail trimming, teeth cleaning, and regular brushing, especially in pets with long hair, is important. While grooming your pet you can also identify potential problems such as red or dry skin, and scratches. All breeds have different needs when it comes to bathing. Make sure to do a bit of research on your breed before purchasing your grooming care products. One of the many random fun facts that you should know is that Poodles are fairly known as one of the cleanest dog breeds in the world.
Socializing
Without socializing, your pet, especially dogs, will become fearful around strangers. This can make it difficult to have family members or friends come to visit. And, in some breeds, this can cause them to bite. The good news is that you can, for the most part, prevent this from happening. Veterinarians recommend having interactions with people outside of the home from as early as 6 weeks to 5 months.
The Veterinarian
Regular checkups can prevent something minor from getting to the major stage and affecting your pet’s quality of life. Finding a veterinarian early on will allow one person to have a complete accounting of your pet’s medical history. This also makes it much easier for them to recommend certain medications as your pet grows older.
Love and Affection
Your pet wants to become a part of your family. This is especially true for dogs. Dogs look forward to your arrival home from work and the hugs, cuddles, and playtime. Dogs are very intelligent and can also sense changes in your mood. They need to know that you are fine and that they are wanted. For pet owners, the same applies, they want to extend a hand and have them by their side.
Pets are wonderful. To keep them around for a long time and with a good quality of life, it’s important that they remain healthy. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to make it possible.
