5 tips to help your pet live longer
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| Gracie Smith |
By Dr. Becker
If you've ever suffered the loss of a beloved pet, you know how truly devastating it can be. That's why loving pet guardians everywhere are motivated to keep their animal companions with them as long as possible.Here are five of my top recommendations to help extend not only the quantity of your pet's life, but also the quality.
1. Feed Your Pet a Balanced, Species-Appropriate Diet
The food you provide your canine or feline companion serves as the very foundation of a long, healthy life. The right diet supports your pet's immune system, digestive health, musculoskeletal system -- and much more. Diet is the first thing I evaluate when I meet a new pet patient, and it's almost always the first thing I tackle to improve a sick animal's health, or to further enhance the well-being of an otherwise healthy pet.When it comes to food for cats and dogs, my first recommendation is always to feed balanced, species-appropriate meals prepared by you, preferably with raw food components. Preparing homemade pet food means a significant investment of your time, but for many dog and cat owners it's the only way to feed a nutritious diet without breaking the bank. And an added benefit of home-prepared meals is that you get to exercise complete control over the quality of food your pet eats.Another option if you can afford it is to feed your pet a commercially prepared raw or dehydrated raw diet. If you're concerned about pathogens in raw food, look for brands that have undergone high-pressure pasteurization (HPP). These pathogen-free foods are actually the cleanest, most sterile pet foods currently on the market.If you feed your dog or cat a canned pet food, I don't recommend buying a lesser quality brand to save a few pennies. Chances are you'll spend what you saved and more down the road on veterinary care, because the health of pets fed low quality diets tends to degenerate much earlier in life and more dramatically than does the health of animals fed species-appropriate nutrition.For more information on how to shop for high-quality commercial pet food, read "You Asked for It ... The 3 BEST Pet Foods You Can Buy," and part 2.
2. Help Your Pet Stay Lean
In order to feed your pet for good health and a long life, you must also feed the appropriate portions for his size, age and activity level. That means not overfeeding at mealtime, and offering healthy treats only occasionally.Calculate how many calories your dog or cat should consume each day to maintain a healthy weight, and practice portion control to insure your companion doesn't fall prey to the current pet obesity epidemic in this country.Not only do overweight cats and dogs have a poorer quality of life than their lean counterparts, they also often suffer a long list of obesity-related health problems – including a significantly shortened lifespan -- that can be difficult and costly to manage.For more information on how to calculate the number of calories your pet should eat each day as well as tips for helping her lose weight, read "How to Tell If Your Pet Needs to Shed Some Pounds."
3. Insure Your Pet Stays Physically Active
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