Keeping your pet healthy and fit is as important for your animals as it is keeping yourself healthy and fit. There are several ways that you can promote a healthy lifestyle for your pet, let’s explore them below:
Exercise
Everyone knows that one of the main ways to keep your dog healthy is to take them for regular walks to keep them in shape. The amount of walking that your dog needs are dependent on their age, size, and breed. If your dog is larger or a more energetic breed, then it is likely that it will need to be taken on two long walks per day. Keeping your pets active will help them to maintain stronger immune systems and stay in good health.
Dog walking isn’t the only way that you can exercise your dog. You can keep your pet active by giving them toys to play with. Some of the best toys to play with to tire out your pets are tug-of-war games or fetching. Tug of war will have them using all their energy to hold onto the toy and win the game, whilst games of fetch will tire them out with all the running back and forth. Enrichment toys are also a great way to tire your dog out mentally.
You might also benefit from finding your dog a buddy to play with. If your dog is the only dog in your household, you may be able to find another dog owner who walks their friendly dog in the same area with who you can let your dog play. Playing with another dog helps to improve your pet’s agility as they bob and weave during play fighting while keeping them active.
If you have a secure and enclosed garden, you can let your dog play and run at their leisure outside. Let them out regularly throughout the day so you can monitor their energy levels. You can also use garden play time as an opportunity to work on some elements of their training, such as fetching and recall.
Dogs don’t always know when to quit, even when they’re tired, so you might have to bring them inside to rest and recover before allowing them outside to play again. It is important to not overexercise them as they find it much harder to recover than humans do from workouts – especially brachycephalic breeds or if your dog has pre-existing medical conditions. If you’re unsure of how much exercise your pet needs, you can speak to one of our vets at Paws in the City, who will take into consideration your pet’s breed, age, size, and health status.
Diet
Another key component in raising a healthy and happy pet is their diet. You must provide your pets with access to fresh, clean drinking water always. They must also have a well-balanced and healthy diet to keep them in peak condition. Like most things, the diet that your dog requires will be dependent on its age, size, breed, and health conditions.
Everybody loves to give their pets a little treat, but don’t overdo it! High-calorie treats are the same as humans eating lots of junk food. Instead, offer them lower-calorie treats such as carrot sticks.
Make sure to measure out how much dog food you’re giving your pets at mealtimes, and make sure it is the recommended amount for your pet. Underfeeding your pet can cause malnutrition and developmental or health conditions, whilst overfeeding them can cause obesity and lead to health
conditions.
If you’re unsure of how much pet food your animal should be eating, you can speak to one of our vets who will help you to build the right diet for your animal. There are many options out there such as dry kibble, raw dog food and dog treats and it’s hard to know what are the best foods for dogs. You can read more about a healthy diet for dogs in our blog post section.
Paws Club
You must also keep on top of your pets’ preventative healthcare. In addition to assisting in the prevention of serious diseases, preventative healthcare assists with the early discovery of medical issues as well as with preventing them from getting worse. You may significantly extend the life of your pets by signing up for a pet health plan that includes yearly check-ups and vaccinations. Vaccinations will help to prevent your pet from catching the most common infectious diseases, which can be severe and life-threatening.
Preventative healthcare works alongside your pet insurance to ensure you raise a healthy pet. Our preventative healthcare plan at Paws in the City is called Paws Club. As a Paws Club member, your pet will receive:
• Annual Vaccinations
• Prescription flea, tick and worming products that fit with their lifestyle
• Annual Health Check
• Complimentary nail trim at every appointment
• Complimentary birthday gift
• 35% off puppy/kitten vaccination course
• 25% off kennel cough vaccination
• 20% off all consultations
• 20% off neutering services
• 20% off dental procedures
• 10% off all products in the Paws Boutique
Both cats and dogs can be members of our Paws Club. With Paws Club, we also offer a home delivery option, making your preventative healthcare even easier as it arrives straight to your doorstep where possible!
It is always much better to prevent an illness or disease than it is to treat it. For example, it’s much easier to prevent fleas than it is to eliminate fleas on dogs once they have them, as they tend to infest all of your home furnishings and other pets too.
To read more about Paws Club at Paws in the City, visit our blog post..
Training
A well-trained dog is a safe and happy dog! Generally, a well-trained dog is more likely to be fit and healthy as they are less likely to get themselves into troublesome situations. For example, a dog that has been trained to have good recall will return to their owner when called if they are approaching a dangerous situation, such as traffic or another dog off-leash. Training a puppy is generally much easier than training an adult dog as they are more receptive to learning new ways than older dogs who are already set in their ways, so make sure to start your training off early.
Dog training can also help with issues such as chewing or eating foreign objects. For example, if your pet chews a hard plastic toy and swallows it, this can not only cause great discomfort to your pet but can also cause tears and further damage to your dog internally. By training your dog against chewing, you can help to prevent accidents like this from happening. Some dogs also tend to try and eat everything they come across on their walks. It is important to train them out of this dangerous habit, as they may consume something that is not fit for dogs, which can then cause health issues or even lead to death in severe cases.
If you’re unsure of how to keep your pet living a fit and healthy lifestyle, then please contact us on 020 4519 9857 or email at greenford@pawsinthecityx.com to speak to a vet in Greenford Quays and at ealing@pawsinthecityx.com in Dickens Yard, Ealing.