If you want to keep your dog healthy, here are four daily things you can focus on: Food and Water, Exercise, Hygiene, and Shelter!
Food and Water
A proper diet that is designed for the dog’s current stage of life is important, as a dog’s different life stages (Puppy, adult, senior) all have different energy requirements. A balanced diet is important to ensure that dogs are getting all their required nutrients (not too many treats) and have enough energy to function and play all day. Fresh water daily can encourage drinking and prevent germ build up in the water.
Exercise
Pets need their daily exercise just like people, but this can come in various forms. For example, this might look like playing fetch in the back yard, going for walks, doing agility courses. Your dog’s exercise needs will depend on what species they are, how big they are, how old they are, and what they like to do.
Mental exercise is just as important. Training our pets to perform new tricks, having them do puzzles for food, and taking them new places are all great ways to challenge your pet’s brain and tire them out in different ways. IN the animal world we call this enrichment! Our pets get bored like us if they don’t have anything to do all day.
Hygiene
To help prevent our pets from getting sick, and to keep them feeling their best, keeping up with proper hygiene is a must.
Proper hygiene is made up of many different aspects. Keeping their nails trimmed, their fur brushed (if they have longer coats), brushing their teeth, and keeping their areas (back yard, litter box) cleared of pet waste are all essential to maintaining proper hygiene.
These things not only keep our pets feeling their best, but they are good ways to have a close look at your pets every day to see if there are any health concerns that may call for a visit to the vet.
One big advantage of cleaning pet waste up frequently is that it can help reduce the spread of diseases.
Shelter
Shelter from extreme weather and predators is essential to our pets’ wellbeing and safety. Having a place where they feel safe allows our pets to rest and get proper sleep, feel less anxious and in turn be healthier.
Different pets have different requirements for appropriate shelter. Some dogs may require a fenced yard with a dog house, whereas others may be inside dogs that don’t go outside off-leash. Doing proper kennel training is also important for a dog’s need for shelter! Click here to read more about crate training.
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