Dogs were the first animals that men domesticated. After thousands of years, the dogs are still considered our best friends. Here are 23 tips to keep your dog happy and healthy all around the year.
General Tips to Keep Your Dog Healthy
1. Give Regular Exercise
Dogs are meant to walk long miles. Even if you can’t walk with them for longer hours, consider getting involved in strenuous activities with your dog.
Exercising triggers a similar hormonal activity in dogs as it does for us. Your pet will be enriched in physical and mental health aspects by exercising regularly. And when paired with diet, exercising can give your dog a healthy and happy life.
Being explorers in nature, dogs love to live and sniff new things. If possible, try changing the walking routine to introduce them to new places.
2. Maintain a Healthy Diet
Always feed your pet dog what’s made for them. Avoid raw meat and foods that contain high sugar elements in them. Raisin and garlic are potentially harmful to your dog.
Ensure that your dog gets an ample amount of fresh filtered water throughout the day. Especially during and after a meal.
Try not to overfeed them, or give them treats frequently. Avoid chocolate and alcohol.
3. Handful of Pet Supplies
In addition to a nutritional diet, your dog has other physical and mental necessities that you need to take care of. Pet supplies like toys and chewables can keep them busy throughout the day. Even when the weather is hostile, your dog won’t be bored.
4. Periodic Health Check-Ups
Book appointments with your vet routinely to avoid any complications that may exist. As dogs share genes with wolves, they are considered predatory animals. Thus, they develop a tendency to hide their physical issues to not appear weak. If any complication persists, vets can diagnose and treat your canine friend.
5. Vaccination
Heartworms, fleas, and ticks can cause nefarious health issues in dogs. If not assessed soon, the issues can develop to be fatal. Vaccination routines help keep the diseases at bay and give your dog a healthy and content life.
During the lifecycle of a dog, from age 6-8 weeks to every 1-2 years, you need to administer recommended and optional vaccines.
The recommended vaccines include:
- DHPP
- Rabies
- Hepatitis
- Parainfluenza
- Parvovirus
Optional vaccines include:
- Bordetella
- Leptospirosis
- Lyme Disease
- Coronavirus
6. Grooming
Your dog has pivoted from its wild counterparts thousands of years ago. Due to that, they don’t need to have their nails sharpened and coats intact. Growing the nails and not brushing the coats regularly is more of a convenience for them than predatory features.
In nature, as they hunt for food, not having sharp nails is a weakness, but here they are provided with ample comfort, food, and water. Thus keeping them groomed is the best approach.
While grooming, keep an eye out for lumps and bruises that may develop to be serious health issues.
7. Socialization
While your puppy is developing, socialize them through human and animal interactions to minimize the risk of them being aggressive as an adult. Bring your puppy to social clubs where other dog owners and their pets are present. Start by introducing your puppy to similar-sized dogs and notice how they behave around others. If everything seems fine, you can introduce them to bigger breeds. But always be careful of particularly aggressive breeds.
8. Neutering or Spaying
Neutering male dogs can be beneficial to calm agitated dogs when they are in season. Neutering also increases life expectancy in some cases. Several types of cancers are prevented by neutering your dog.
Spaying female dogs keeps them away from accidental pregnancy and unwanted behavior around humans. Spaying also prevents yowling and urine spraying.
Special Tips for Summer
1. Provide Ample Water
Keep your dog hydrated during summer. Provide enough water in separate clean bowls to help your dog rehydrate whenever necessary. As dogs can only sweat from their mouth, their core temperature can be cooled off by drinking water.
2. Build a Shade
If your dog loves going outdoors, build a small shade around the backyard to help them find a place to rest. The midday sun can cause discomfort or heatstroke to your fragile pet.
3. Use Cooling Collar
Water-cooled collars and vests are quite effective to keep your dog’s temperature in check while playing outdoors. If the temperature seems unbearable or the breed has a thick coat, consider using it indoors too.
4. Avoid Vigorous Exercising
Don’t push your dog beyond its limit in the summer. Try to curtail the exercise time and take breaks often. It would be great for you both.
Special Tips for Winter
1. Keep Your Dog Indoor
While some breeds may enjoy snowfalls, most lap dogs aren’t equipped enough to tolerate negative temperatures. Frostbites in paws are common occurrences and can cause serious issues in small dogs.
2. Make Them a Woolen Vest
Similar to cooling vests, woolen vests keep your dog safe in winter. If your dog has thick coats, it might be wise to not make them wear a vest, but for light coat breeds, a woolen vest works like charm.
3. Provide Cozy Bedding
Provide your dob bedding beside the thermal device. Pack the bedding with sheets and blankets made for dogs.
Special Tips for Monsoon
1. Keep Your Dog Dry
Bacteria and viruses are most active around the monsoon. Your dog’s wet coat might be the best breeding ground for bacteria. Keep your dog dry to avoid viral and bacterial infections.
2. De-Worm your Dog
Schedule an appointment with your vet to deworm your dog around monsoon. It’s only necessary if you suspect unusual health behaviors. But typically, periodic health checkups are effective.
3. Avoid Waterlogged Areas
When going around the block with your dog, avoid areas that might be waterlogged. Waterlogged areas are breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other insects.
4. Keep Up With Grooming
Keep your dog dry, clip their nails, and brush their coats once or twice a week to ensure that no external bacteria gets inside. Monsoon is the time when you need to groom your dog more often as the temperature gets more suitable for bacterial colonization.
The Bottom Line
Your pet dog is your best friend. To keep them happy and healthy throughout the year. Follow the tips mentioned above. The major elements that need your attention are exercising, grooming, nutrition, and checkups. But, the additional elements should also not be neglected.