Help Your Dog Live Longer

As dog parents, we try hard to do what is best for our dogs.  We buy good dog food, wholesome treats, play with him, and love him.  However, there are some things we are doing, without knowing we are doing them, that may be shortening our dog’s lifespan.  These things are largely repairable, so if we stop doing them, our dog will live longer.  Here are five things you might be doing to shorten your dog’s lifespan.

  1. Letting our dogs get too fat.  It is estimated that fifty-three percent of dogs are overweight.  Ninety-five percent of owners whose dogs were obese incorrectly said the dogs were at a normal weight.  Giving your dog people food is the major culprit here, but some people simply give their dogs too much dog food.  The solution is to cut out people food all together, feed your dog the recommended amount of kibble each day, and cut out most dog treats.  Each dog treat should be thought of as a candy bar, and you should distribute the treats accordingly. Exercise will also help obese dogs lose weight, but you must start slowly and work up to about thirty minutes of exercise a day.
  2. Ignoring your dog’s teeth.  Eighty-five percent of dogs over the age of five have gum disease.  This can lead to heart problems and kidney infections.  The solution is twofold:  have your dog’s teeth cleaned once a year by your veterinarian and brush your dog’s teeth once a day.  Do not use human toothpaste or toothbrushes.  The toothpaste is not meant to be swallowed and human toothbrushes are too hard.  Get a doggy toothbrush and some doggy toothpaste to use.  Most doggy toothpaste is flavored so your dog will like the taste of it.
  3. Skipping your dog’s annual physical. Dogs, like humans, need a yearly physical.  It can catch things before they get serious and catch serious things before they kill your dog.  Many problems have caused significant damage to your dog by the time symptoms start.  An annual physical with blood work can catch many of these things while they can still be treated.
  4. Letting your dog become a couch potato.   Dogs need daily exercise.  This helps keep them from getting bored and chewing on things in the house as well as keeping them from getting over weight.  Shoot for about thirty minutes a day as a minimum. As an added bonus, many dog owners find themselves losing weight and feeling better as a result of exercising their dog.
  5. Smoking.  Dogs are at significant danger from second hand smoke.  They can get all the health problems humans get from second hand smoke:  cancer, C.O.P.D., and other ailments.  If you can, stop smoking.  If you can’t do that, at least smoke outside where your dog is not exposed to the smoke.

Many people think of their dogs as their children.  In some sense, that is true.  You control the amount of food your dog gets, the amount of exercise, when they see the veterinarian, and all the other aspects of their lives.  Take good care of your dog by attending to these five things, and you pet will be healthier.

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