How to keep pets healthy?

To keep pets, we naturally hope that our pets will be healthy and happy to accompany us for a long time. Even health is the most basic and important content prior to being smart, good-looking, and good-natured.

So, how to keep your pet healthy? You might say: eat well, exercise every day, don’t get sick.

But in fact, health includes three aspects: physical, mental and emotional, and you can stay healthy if you do all of these three aspects.

1.Good health

When it comes to the body, a variety of factors can affect a pet’s overall health, including:

a. Diet and nutrition:

Feeding a high-quality diet is important for good health and ensuring your pet gets the nutrients it needs. Adult dogs need a diet that contains high levels of animal protein, moisture, fiber, fatty acids, and more to thrive. Adult cats require higher protein content, vitamin A, essential fatty acids , taurine, etc.

b. A healthy weight:

Overweight dogs and cats are at increased risk of disease, including diabetes , liver disease, heart disease , cancer, joint problems, and a shortened lifespan. Good pet health relies on daily exercise and weight control.

c. Dental health:

Brush your cat’s teeth and provide regular veterinary dental care to reduce the risk of gingivitis and tooth loss, as well as heart, liver and kidney disease.

d. Veterinary inspection:

Go to the veterinarian for regular checkups, not only for vaccinations , but also for regular physical examinations to understand the physical condition of your pets.

e. Preventive drugs:

These include prevention of internal intestinal parasites , such as tapeworms , and prevention of external parasites, such as fleas and ticks. Intestinal parasites can cause vomiting and diarrhea from malnutrition and dehydration. Fleas and ticks can cause anemia, infested fleas can carry tapeworms, and ticks can transmit Lyme disease and pyrozoosis.

f. Regular beauty treatment:

Cosmetology not only refers to styling but also includes basic grooming, trimming, ears, eyes, claws and other care. Dogs and cats need to be brushed regularly to keep their coat neat and tidy, while cats need to be brushed to reduce the occurrence of hairballs .

g. Prevent exposure to toxins and dangers:

Make sure pets are free from electric shock, household chemicals, cleaning products, plants that are poisonous to pets, other foods that are poisonous to pets, and secondhand smoke .

h. Protection:

Extreme heat, cold and sun. Never lock your dog in a car to protect your dog from heat stroke , skin cancer from too much sun , and the ravages of extreme cold.

i. Outdoor safety:

Keep your dog on a leash when you’re out and about to avoid car accidents, fights, poisons, dog theft, parasites, and other dangers.

j. Observe:

Watch them closely for physical or behavioral changes, including lumps in the body, abnormalities in the eyes or nose, changes in weight, and changes in behavior.

2. Mental health

Pets need psychological stimulation just like people do. Imagine being tied up in a backyard all day without access to humans or other animals, or locked in a cage alone, would you be in good health? Keeping your pet mentally active is just as important as taking care of him physically.

Mental health includes:

a. Socialization:

Interacting with people will make your pet active and confident. Socialization increases a dog’s positive social skills, including improvements in timidity, aggression, or emotional distress.

b. Play every day:

All animals, including wild animals , love to play, which is the most important thing besides living and reproducing, and it is also probably the most fun thing. Playing with your pets every day releases their energy, strengthens your emotional connection, and can help prevent behavioral problems.

Dogs and cats sometimes need to satisfy their hunting instincts, and play can also relieve their boredom and avoid destructive behaviors such as digging, chewing, barking, excessive licking and self-harm.

c. Environment:

This includes providing your pet with interactive toys, playing music or videos, taking your dog on an adventure, playing Frisbee and agility games, providing your cat with scratching posts and climbing frames, and anything else that reduces stress and increases contentment for your pet emotional factor.

d.Training:

Pet training, action or obedience is not only fun, it also provides a good mental exercise activity for your pet.

3. Emotional health

Emotions are as important as physiology and psychology. Pets also thrive in an environment where they are loved, cared for, feel safe, and have a strong bond with their owner.

The role of emotions between pets and people may be beyond your imagination. Pets can affect the production of brain chemicals in people with mental disorders , lower blood pressure in those who are stressed, and can speed up the healing process through the release of the hormone oxytocin .

And this effect is beneficial to both humans and pets. Petting a dog can cause blood pressure to drop, and pets who have a stronger bond with their owners will be more confident, relaxed and less aggressive.

A loving touch, a kind and gentle voice, the acceptance of family members, and the provision of food and health care can have the same effect on pets.