Top 10 Tips for Pet Health

Owning a pet is a big responsibility, with that responsibility comes purchasing products your pet needs to survive, as well as things an owner needs to do to keep their pet’s health in excellent condition. Keeping a pet healthy is just as important as keeping yourself or a child healthy. Exercise, diet, routine check-ups, vaccines and insurance, sound familiar? If not, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered -- Here are our Top 10 Tips for keeping your Pet Healthy.

Exercise

Regular exercise is important in order to keep your pet healthy. A brisk walk or outdoor play helps your pet, such as dogs, stretch their legs. Exercise helps keeps your pet from gaining excess weight and promotes a healthy heart. If you don’t have a yard to let your pet run around in, a 10 minute walk or a dog park will provide the same type of exercise. For cats, try purchasing a cat tower or use cat toys to play with him or her.

Balanced Diet

In order to maintain a healthy pet be sure to feed them a balanced diet. Providing the correct foods for your pet is important for growth and stability. Feeding your pet food that isn’t intended for them can cause digestive problems, weight problems, and cost you in the long run. A balanced diet will reflect in their health, giving your pet healthy skin, nails, bones, and teeth. If you notice something wrong with your pets appearance contact your veterinarian to discuss other food options or possibly adding a daily vitamin to your pets routine.

Vitamins

Along with a balanced diet, it’s important to make sure your pet receives proper vitamins, if they need the extra supplements. When animals do not consume a balanced diet or the proper food it will reflect it in their skin, coat, bones and possible their stool. It is important to discuss proper food choices and vitamins with a Veterinarian. It is important to know that a pet should never receive human vitamins!

Regular Vet Checks

Regular vet checks are necessary to keep your pet healthy! For example, puppies need to visit the vet every 3 to 4 weeks until they are 16 weeks old in order to receive their shots and again at 6 months. After the first year, it’s recommended that dogs visit the vet once a year for a proper check-up. If you feel as though your pet is sick or not himself do not wait until their check-up to be seen, schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Also, different pets may have different check-up requirements.

Updated Vaccines

For the first year, a puppy can receive up to 11 vaccinations. During the second year of its life, a puppy receives those same shots to maintain its health and keep him safe from other animals that may not have received their own set of vaccines. The most important vaccine your dog should receive is the Rabies shot, this will protect him in case he is bit by another animal containing Rabies as well as a Human if your dog happens to bite a person.

Keep them Safe

It is the owners responsibility to keep their pets safe. Safe from getting hit by car, bit by another animal, getting sick, or any other potential dangerous situation. By keeping your pet safe from harm you are checking off one more item off the list on ways to keep your pet healthy.

Micro-Chipped

A microchip is a device  that’s inserted under the skin of your pet, usually dogs or cats, but even horses can get them. The microchip helps identify them if they get lost or stolen. Once the microchip is scanned all of the owners information will generate and the pet’s owner will be contacted. This helps the pet to be returned safely to its owner. A microchip is important no matter how often you travel or go on walks, an animal can escape from your home or be stolen at any given moment. In order to keep your pet healthy and safe you will want to be able to track them down incase something like this happens. Without a microchip your pet could wander the streets for days going hungry or worse, getting hit by a car.

Spray or Neuter

Spraying or Neutering your dog or cat provides many health benefits. Spraying a female cat or dog can help prevent uterine infections while neutering a male cat or dog can help prevent testicular cancer. These procedures also prevent unwanted litters and contribution to the overpopulated animal community. There are also speculations that neutering your male pet will help him behave or be calmer.

Proper Grooming

Getting your pet groomed or grooming your pet yourself plays an important role in your pets health. Grooming contributes to your pets physical health and appearance. When grooming your pet it gives the owner or groomer a chance to inspect the pet’s skin, nails, teeth and more and  to check for any abnormalities. It’s important to groom your pet weekly or monthly according to what kind of pet you have and what they are environment they are exposed to. An indoor cat may need less grooming than a dog who plays in the woods every day.

Pet Insurance

The most important thing of all that will help to keep your pet safe is to purchase pet insurance for your beloved pet. Pet insurance covers vet visits, emergencies, and in some cases the companies policy cover if the pet dies, or is lost or stolen. Policies can start from $30 a month, depending on the company and the policy you choose. Pet insurance also works for damages that your pet may cause, for example if your dog bites someone provoking him, you could be responsible for that person's medical bills. Pet insurance will help pay those bills after the deductible is paid.