Your dog's health should be just as important to you any member
of the family. With the right care, you dog should live a long and
happy life. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is easy when you follow
our tips below.
Vaccinations are such an important part of
maintaining a healthy, disease free lifestyle for your pet. Often
the infections that dogs contract can be easily avoided by
following the standard vaccination programme co-ordinated by your
vet.
Vaccinations are a necessity when it comes to
dog health as they stimulate and promote immunity, enabling
your dog to fight off infections. As a dog owner you will
need to visit your veterinarian with your dog for a series of
general vaccinations over a specified period of time. Primary
vaccinations for puppies will generally be at 7, 13 and 16
weeks.
Later in life, boosters are necessary as
vaccinations may decline to non-protective levels. Boosters are
generally an annual exercise. When your dog has been
vaccinated by a veterinarian you will be issued with a vaccination
certificate. This will show what vaccinations have been
administered and when the next one is due. It is very straight
forward and easy to understand so always remember vaccination means
eradication and these will help maintain your dog's health.
Brushing:
Dogs often groom each other in the wild as a
sign of companionship. Brushing your dog creates a similar bonding
experience and has the benefit of keeping their coat shiny and
clean. Different coats require different grooming techniques and
tools.
Medium and long coats: Use a wire dog brush.
Brush very gently to avoid scratching and irritating your dog's
skin. Angle the brush so it's close to the skin. Start at the head
and work down to the tail, working with the angle of the coat
hair.
Short smooth coats: A rubber dog brush
removes loose hair and dirt. It also increases blood circulation to
the skin.
It's a good idea to brush your dog before a
bath as it disperses oil and loosens dirt. And for all dogs,
sensitive areas are the tummy and genitals.
Washing:
Use a shampoo that's right for your dog's
breed. Your vet will be able to suggest some of the better options.
You'll only need to bathe your dog about once a month provided
he/she has relatively good personal grooming habits. Bathing too
regularly could dry out the skin, making it itchy and flaky.
OPTIMUM™
range dog products can help keep your dog's skin and
coat looking beautiful and in peak condition.
Check regularly that your dog's ears are free
from wax build-up and dirt. This will help prevent irritation,
infection and inflammation and hence improve your dog's overall
health. It's best to check when your dog is in a happy or relaxed
mood. Depending on their breed, gently hold or fold back their ears
so you can have a good look inside. For more information consult
your vet.
Letting nails grow too long can be painful
for your dog. If you haven't done this before, take your dog to the
vet or groomer and ask them to show you when and how to clip them
and what tools to use.
It's not just dimensions that differentiate
small dogs from their larger relatives - aging rates and maturity
also vary depending on size. Although small-medium dogs will reach
their full weight and size earlier than large dogs, they reach
their senior years later. A small dog enters its senior years at
approximately 7 years, compared to around 5 years for large
breeds.
Although they mature later, small dogs won't
show signs of aging until after large dogs do. These maturity and
aging rates generally mean that small-medium breeds live longer
than large breeds. That's why OPTIMUM™ has a
variety of different formulations to suit your dog's various life
stages and needs.
Along with humans, dog obesity is a
"big" health problem in Australia. Incredibly, about 20% to 30% of
all dogs and cats are overweight! You may think that giving your
pet what they want is the right thing to do but obesity can lead to
even greater health problems such as cancer, heart disease,
diabetes, liver disease and joint disease such as arthritis.
The best way to help your dog maintain a
healthy weight is to ensure you feed your dog a balanced
healthy diet. Exercise for your dog is also just as
important. Every dog should either be walked or have some sort
of exercise that gets the heart pumping every day. When
your dog is obese it is hard for them to exercise and they
eventually stop trying all together when it gets too hard.
Implement an exercise regime and the weight should drop off
quickly.
If you have any concerns or questions about how much or how often
to feed your dog make an appointment with your vet so you can
sit down and work out a schedule to shed those extra pet kilos and
inprove your dog's health.
OPTIMUM™
Light & Mature has been developed to help you
manage the weight of your pet.
Flea control is
very important when it comes to our furry friends. Both cats and
dogs can experience the annoyance and discomfort of these tiny
pests.
Treating your dog for fleas is easy but you
have to remember two very important things.
Firstly, preventions are available at most
Supermarkets and vet clinics. Exelpet® provides a
range of products suitable for the prevention and treatment of
fleas (for more information visit www.exelpet.com.au. And
secondly, once you've got them, you need to tackle them in two
ways:
Fleas must be controlled on your pet
Fleas
must be controlled in your pets environment
Killing just the adult fleas and not the eggs
will not do the trick as they will grow and you will still have an
annoying flea problem! Visit your local veterinarian or www.exelpet.com.au for more
information on how to go about controlling fleas in your home and
on your pet.
If you've just taken your dog camping, this
would be a great time to check for Ticks. Ticks are those nasty
little blood suckers that can do a surprising amount of damage to
your dog's health. Ticks can cause paralysis, so by the time you
spot one, it could be too late. Basically the female tick will
attach herself to the skin of your dog "the host" and burrow
its mouth parts into the body, while injecting a neurotoxin.
The tick will keep sucking the blood from the
host and grow in size every day. A neurotoxin has a few side
effects that contribute to muscle damage and can also be damaging
to the respiratory system. You may see your dog having trouble
breathing. The most likely place to pick up a tick is in natural
bush land areas and the danger period is in the warmer months of
spring and summer.
You can protect your dog from ticks by
using a good flea control treatment. Exelpet® products offers
protection from fleas and ticks for up to six months www.exelpet.com.au, However,
if you find a tick on your dog or start to notice any symptoms
of tick paralysis, get to your vet immediately as the sooner the
tick has been discovered, the better chances your dog has of
recovery.
It's often tempting to give your dog a snack,
especially if he is looking expectedly at you and your food. But be
aware that human snacks aren't always suitable for dogs as many
contain high levels of preservatives and fats, which can be
detrimental, especially if you are trying to manage your dog's
weight. And although you may love it, chocolate is a no-no for your
dog's health as it contains an ingredient that is potentially
poisonous to pooches. This is not to say you can't treat your dog,
just do it with nutritious doggy snacks and in moderation to
maintain a healthy, balanced diet.
As dogs age they can start to lose their
eyesight and rely more on their sense of smell and hearing. In
determining whether your dog has a vision problem, it is important
to take note of both physical signs, such as watery eyes or redness
in the eyes, and behavioural signs, such as difficulty moving
around the house.
Most likely your dog would have memorised the
layout of your house and so if he is gradually losing his sight,
you may not notice. If you are worried, visit your vet for an eye
exam. If your pooch has vision problems, try to keep his
environment safe and familiar by not moving furniture, bedding or
food bowls.
Also, it's a good idea to talk to your dog
before approaching him, to avoid any unexpected frights.
Heatstroke is when the body reaches an
abnormally high temperature. Within 10 minutes of leaving
your dog in the car on a warm day, (it doesn't necessarily
have to be a scorching hot day) heatstroke can set in. Aside from
leaving your dog in the car, heat stroke can also result from
lack of water, exercising in hot weather and being outside in the
sun on a hot day.
Heat stroke can be very damaging to the
health of your dog, potentially causing haemorrhaging, kidney
failure and even death in extreme cases. Some signs that
your dog may have heat stroke are rapid panting, wide eyes,
salivating from the mouth and/or collapse. There are a few things
that you can do to try to minimise the chances of your dog
getting heat stroke and protect your dog's health. These
include:
- Always having access to fresh water
- Never leave your pet in the car (even if it's just for a
minute)
- Walk your dog in the mornings and evenings during hot
weather
- Provide shade if you leave your pet outside during the day
Think smart when it comes to hot weather and
give treat your dog as you would like to be treated. If you do
think that your dog may have heat stroke take them to your
veterinarian as they will require medical attention.
Microchipping is becoming more and more
popular as a permanent and effective way of identifying domestic
cats and dogs. In the painless procedure, your vet implants a tiny
microchip, the size of a grain of rice, under your dog's skin. The
microchip holds unique information about your dog and, should it go
missing, the chip can be used to trace your dog back to a
central animal registry.
So effective is this method of identification
that in some Australian states it is compulsory.
Check with your vet or local council about your obligations as a
dog owner.