caring for your aged dogs
The Senior Years
Not all animals enter their golden years at the same time. Cats, for example, tend to
outlive dogs. Similarly, smaller breeds of dogs outlive larger dogs. As a result, the
senior years of larger dogs come before the senior years of cats or smaller dogs. In fact,
large breeds of dogs can be considered senior at just 5 years old, while a smaller dog
may not be a senior until it is 10 or 13 years old. Your veterinarian will be able to tell you
for sure if your pet is in this stage of its life.
Controlling Pain
One problem many aging pets have to cope with is pain. This pain can be either acute
or chronic. Acute pain comes on suddenly and is usually associated with injury. Chronic
pain, however, comes on slowly and lasts for a long time. Arthritis, for example, causes
chronic pain. To avoid both chronic and acute pain, you need to make sure your pet
remains active and gets plenty of exercise. You should also use natural supplements
such as Ecovet PR to help control and manage the arthritis.
caring for your new puppy
Giving Your Puppy a Bed
On top of making sure you have the necessary supplies, you also want to make your
puppy feel welcome by providing it with a bed and a place of its own. You need to have
this place set up before the puppy even comes home in order to help it with the
adjustment. Remember, the puppy is probably used to sleeping with its brothers,
sisters, and mom. So, it isn’t used to sleeping alone. Make sure the bed is warm and
cozy and easy to access. You should also never allow your puppy to get used to
sleeping with you because this habit is difficult to break. You will regret letting it sleep
with you when it grows into a large bed-hogging dog! Instead, choose a nice kennel,
dog bed, or basket for your puppy.
Feeding Your Puppy
Of course, proper nutrition is important to a growing puppy. Ideally, you should feed
your puppy the same food it was receiving from its previous owner because puppies
can have a hard time adjusting to new foods. If you want to change to a different food,
be sure to do so gradually. Make sure the food is quality and give it plenty to eat. If the
food is not quality, your puppy can have difficulty with its bones and overall growth.
When it comes to a feeding schedule, you should feed a puppy that is less than 8
weeks out four times per day. Once the puppy reaches 16 weeks of age, you should
feed it twice per day until it reaches 6 months old. From that point forward, you should
only need to feed it one time per day.
Routine Vet visits
Checking for Parasites
One important aspect of the veterinary visit is the parasite evaluation. In order to do this,
your vet may ask you to collect a stool sample before the visit. This may sound odd or
even nasty, but it is necessary for your vet to be able to properly check for parasites
such as whipworm, roundworm, giardia, hookworm, and tapeworm. These parasites
feed off your pet and can be fatal if left untreated. Using products such as Dimmitrol,
Heartguard, and Revolution will help prevent heartworms from ever taking up residency
inside your pet. Canex Multispectrum Wormer for Dogs, Drontal, and Felix Plus
Allwormer Paste for Cats will take care of the others.
During the parasite evaluation, your vet will also be able to look out for other health
problems. Blood in the stool, for example, is a sign of internal bleeding, which is a very
serious problem. Problems with the digestive system and the pancreas can also be
recognized from a stool sample. Therefore, no matter how gross you might think it is, it
is very important for you to collect the sample for your vet.
Checking the Urine
In addition to checking your pet’s stool, your vet will want to check your pet’s urine.
Once again, you might be asked to collect a sample before your veterinary visit. The
urinalysis will allow your vet to make sure your pet isn’t suffering from diabetes,
dehydration, kidney disease, or some form of infection. By measuring the sugar, protein,
blood, and white blood cell count in your pet’s urine, the vet can determine whether any
of these conditions are a problem for your pet. Remember, early detection is vital in
reversing these conditions or preventing them from occurring in the first place.
Checking the Blood
Your vet will also want to draw some blood from your pet in order to conduct several
tests. One of these is the blood-chemistry panel. This test measures the electrolytes,
enzymes, and other elements in your pet’s blood. With this information, your vet can
make sure organs such as the liver, kidneys, and pancreas are functioning normally.