Caring for your dog’s wellness is an integral part of being a pet parent. Therefore, it is essential to ensure physical and emotional fitness for your dog. In this article, we have mentioned the vital checkpoints constituting your dog’s wellness care.
Wellness refers to the stable condition when an individual leads a healthy lifestyle. Just like humans, animals also deserve to be in this state. As pet parents, it is your responsibility to take care of your dogs to stay healthy and live a longer life, free of ailments and disorders.
Wellness care encompasses some activities, which you and the veterinarian need to perform to ensure your pets’ fitness and good health. In this composition, we have mentioned these tasks that wellness care includes to be well informed about the procedure.
Regular Visits to Vets – You should regularly take your pet dog to the veterinarian instead of waiting for an abnormality to show up. Routine check-ups of your dog ensure that he is in good condition and prevents underlying disorders from worsening, if any. The number of visits to the doctor depends on your dog’s breed and can range from once to thrice a year.
A vet generally examines the below points in a wellness care session of your dog.
o Measurement of body temperature to detect any latent fever.
o Scrutiny of skin, fur, hair, and coat to check for underlying infections or wounds.
o Checking the conditions and functioning of your dog’s lungs and heart.
o Examination of their oral areas to ensure it is in hygienic condition.
o Monitoring the behaviour to check if there is any emotional disorder.
o Examining their eyes and ears to diagnose any abnormalities.
Providing Appropriate Nutrition – A balanced diet is one of the key contributors to maintaining wellness in your dog’s health. You should consult your pet’s vet and follow a strict diet plan that includes all essential nutrients
You should make sure that you do not overfeed your pet with any one nutrient. Moreover, it would help if you never experimented with your dog’s diet by trying to feed them what you have in a day.
Your dog’s digestive system functions differently from yours, and thus, you should be careful and responsible while feeding them. The type of food that you provide also varies among different dog breeds. Therefore, getting a diet chart from the vet is the best option in this regard.
Proper Grooming – You should conduct proper grooming sessions for your dogs regularly. Your dogs are dependent on you, and if they face some problem, they cannot express it entirely. Thus, it is your role to check their bodies for any underlying abnormalities and maintain hygienic conditions in them.
Grooming your dog includes the below tasks that you must perform with appropriate equipment.
o Trimming their nails carefully, and if required, with the help of another caregiver.
o Brushing their fur for hair care and detecting hidden infections and parasitic attacks.
o Trimming the fur with proper care and knowledge about the species of your pet. Single-coated and double-coated dogs have different guidelines for fur trimming.
o Brushing teeth usually after meals with toothbrushes and toothpaste meant for dogs only.
o Bathing at the correct times, i.e., not too frequently or too delayed.
Observing Behaviour – You should always watch your dog’s behaviour with you, other family members, strangers, and other animals. If you find any irritability or mood swings, this may be a symptom of a disease, and you must immediately contact the vet.
Furthermore, it would help to take special care of your dog during festivals involving loud noises as these deeply impact their emotional health.
Vaccination – Similar to humans, animals too need timely vaccinations to remain safeguarded from diseases. For example, dogs require booster doses annually and several essential immunizations for preventing common conditions like rabies, distemper, etc.
Deworming – Dogs are prone to several types of worms, and you should arrange for deworming medication, usually twice a year, to ensure their intestinal and overall hygiene.
Physical Exercise – Exercising and workouts keep your pet dog happy and healthy. This also maintains their heart and bone health. However, you should ensure not to exceed the natural limits of your pets and take proper guidance from the veterinarian regarding how much your dog should work out.
Relieving from Pain – This point is mainly for pet parents having senior dogs at home. Older dogs often suffer from chronic arthritis and may complain of its pangs. In such circumstances, it is your responsibility to provide as much comfort to your pet as you can.
You can try giving them relaxing baths or even provide them with dog ramps for convenience. If the situation worsens, always consult the doctor at the earliest.
The Concluding Thoughts
You should pay special attention to carrying out wellness care sessions for your pet dogs as they totally need your assistance to stay healthy. Your dog deserves to stay physically and emotionally fit, and your care goes a long way in maintaining their well-being.
