A preventative approach to health care for your dog will ensure a healthier and perhaps longer life for your special pet.
Things to consider: Grooming, diet, and taking pills.
Grooming = Good Health - Dog health care is not only about emergencies and first aid. Preventative care for your dog is just as important for her health as it is for yours. In addition, one area of preventative dog health care that is often overlooked is grooming. Grooming is not just for appearance's sake. Regular grooming is vital to your dog's total health. It cleans her fur, stimulates skin cells, and encourages naturally occurring oils to circulate throughout her coat. In addition, it gives you an opportunity to notice other dog health care concerns before they become more serious. When grooming your dog, check for mites, fleas, or other pests, as well as for hair loss, inflammation, lumps under the skin or general tenderness. Both you and your dog will be happy you did.
Diet Distress - Dog flatulence is more than a mildly amusing annoyance; it could be a sign of greater distress to your dog and a call to attend to your dog health care. If your dog is experiencing excessive flatulence, it could be for a number of reasons, among them: o too fast a change in diet;
o too many carbohydrates in the food;
o the wrong kind of fiber in the food for your dog's body;
o the dog is eating too fast;
o there's an excessive amount of unhealthy bacteria in the stomach;
o your dog could have intestinal worms.
Fortunately, there are ways you can handle all of these dog health care issues switch to a bland protein diet and then gradually switch over to the new food adding a little at a time, a little more each feeding (while, of course, taking out that same proportion of the bland food; you don't want to overfeed her.)
o worm your dog.
o feed your dog charcoal tablets at the recommended dosage.
o add friendly bacteria to the food. They are called "Probiotics."
Popping Pills - Dog health care often involves feeding your dog pills, a task which, as many dog owners will attest, can sometimes be very tricky to perform. One way is to hold the pill between the tips of two of your fingers and gently pry the dog's mouth open. Lightly shove the pill directly into your dog's gullet, past the tongue, and then hold her mouth shut with one hand while massaging the outside of her throat with the other. If that does not work, try disguising the pill in her food. Just make sure, whichever method you try, that your dog actually swallows the pill. Dogs can be surprisingly sly when it comes to thwarting your efforts in this vital aspect of dog health care.
