While a furry companion is a fun addition to your life, it’s also a huge commitment. Taking care of your dog is an everyday task, and you need to ensure you’re up for the responsibility before you take one in.

While we focus on ourselves and aim to stay healthy and happy, it’s important we set the same goals for our dogs, too. So, here are ten things you can do to ensure your dog stays healthy:

Get Health Checks Regularly

You should aim to get your dog inspected at a veterinary center once every month, or even once a week if you get the chance. Additionally, you should also keep an eye out for irregularities when you’re giving your pet a massage and check their eyes, nails, teeth, skin, mouth, and paw pads. You should look out for discharge, lumps, scabs, redness, hair loss, irritation, and other signs and, if they occur, you need to contact your vet as soon as possible.

Keep in mind that it’s better to identify any signs of trouble and treat health concerns in their early stages as compared to waiting them out until they become more significant health concerns.

Know Your Pet Inside and Out

No two pets are identical, and what’s considered normal behavior for one dog may not be as healthy for another. However, familiarizing yourself with your dog’s everyday behavior can help you find out what’s normal for your pet. Doing this will help you identify patterns and behaviors that are out of the ordinary and could be occurring because they’re not doing well and may require a professional to look at them.

Get High-Quality Pet Food

One of the best things we can do to keep our pet’s health in check to fill their diets with nutritious foods. Since animals cannot get healthy food for themselves, they rely on us to feed them food that only tastes good but is suitable for their bodies, too. Luckily, there is a wide variety of pet food you can choose from, so you’re bound to find something that fits your dog’s needs.

Feed Right Portion Sizes

While it may be tempting to give in to your pets and feed them as much food as they want to eat, you need to know what the right amount is for the sake of their health.

To know what this amount is, you need to know your dog’s breed, size, age, weight, and activity level. While it may be challenging to determine the right amount of food according to your dog’s weight, it’s essential to ensure your dog lives a long and healthy life.

Know What To Avoid

Several foods are an absolute no go zone for your pets. These foods are toxic and may lead to severe repercussions. They include coffee, chocolate, alcoholic beverages, grapes, garlic, cooked bones, raisins, onions, fatty foods, walnuts, macadamia nuts, yeast dough, salt, and xylitol.

Pet-Proof Your House

While these things may be part of your everyday life, it’s important to remember that some things around the house could pose a dangerous threat to your dog. You should take a tour around your home, yard, and garage and take a look at everything from your dog’s perspective.

Pet-proofing will help you identify things that may seem quite harmless to you, but may not only be tempting, but life-threatening for your dog. Thus, you should keep items such as medicines, batteries, automotive fluids, pesticides, household cleaners, and sharp tools out of your pet’s reach.

Neuter Or Spay Your Dog

The primary benefit of neutering and spaying your dog is that they prevent unplanned pregnancies. Apart from that, though, they also lead to many health benefits. Neutering a male dog helps control aggressive behavior in addition to preventing hernias, testicular cancer, and prostate disease. On the other hand, spaying a female dog prevents uterus infection and breast cancer and also stops the dog from going into heat.

Give Your Pet Love

It’s no secret that emotional well-being is as important as physical well-being. Hence, you need to look out for your dog’s mental health along with their physical body. Giving your pet love and attention and showing them you love them will make your pet happy and relieve any stress they may be feeling. A loved dog is a happy dog, which automatically leads to a healthy dog.

Give Them Regular Exercise

Just like humans, dogs need their activity. Focusing on your body and giving it the care it needs by exercising and staying fit is as essential for dogs as it is for humans. While giving your pet much-needed exercise may seem like a struggle, especially when it’s cold out there, they need to lead a long and healthy life. Taking them out for walks and helping them get exercise regularly will help your dog stay fit, both mentally, as well as physically. Moreover, it also helps prevent unnecessary weight gain and curbs destructive and aggressive behavior.

Focus on dental care

It’s quite easy to end up neglecting your dog’s oral hygiene until you get a whiff of foul breath. However, you may be surprised to know that this isn’t normal, and it may be an indication of other problems. Tartar and plaque can lead to serious concerns.

You can prevent oral health issues by brushing your dog’s teeth regularly, using oral rinses, or feeding dental treats. Just don’t wait to focus on their oral hygiene before it gets too late.

Conclusion

Focusing on your pet’s well-being and making a commitment to give your dog the care they deserve will help you prevent and identify unusual behavior that may threaten their lives. However, by making a habit of what’s essential, you can ensure your pet stays healthy.

What other things can one do to ensure a dog stays healthy? Let us know in the comments below!