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Community Corner

Tips to Help Your Pet Live a Healthier Life

October is National Pet Wellness Month, and the Humane Society of the United States is sharing important tips with pet owners.

Did you know that October is National Pet Wellness Month?

This designation is a nationwide educational campaign sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and Fort Dodge Animal Health.

During this campaign the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association and The Humane Society of the United States hope to remind pet owners that the simplest method of increasing the life span of their pets and the easiest way to ensure that they have a healthy life is to practice preventative care.

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Dr. Barry Kellogg, VMD and senior veterinary adviser for HSVMA states the following in a press release, "Yearly visits to your veterinarian are an essential part of keeping your pet healthy. Preventative care allows for early detection of problems and often saves money on overall veterinary costs by treating problems before they become serious."

Dr. Kellogg offers the following tips to pet owners in a press release from the Humane Society of the United States:

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  • Take Pets for an Annual Exam: Pets should visit the veterinarian at least once a year. Annual exams are a great opportunity to check on the overall health and well-being of your pet and allow you to make any necessary changes in your pet’s daily routine and care. A review of the vaccination status and program most appropriate for your pet should also be completed at this time.
  • Spay or Neuter Your Pet: These procedures prevent individual medical problems such as mammary and testicular tumors and uterine infections, spaying or neutering also helps curb pet overpopulation and reduces the number of unwanted pets who are euthanized every day. Spay and neuter surgeries can be safely performed as early as 8-12 weeks of age.
  • Manage Your Pets Weight: Obesity is a real and newly recognized problem for pets. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 53 percent of adult dogs and 55 percent of cats were classified as overweight or obese by their veterinarians. Prevention is much easier to accomplish than treatment, so consult your veterinarian about the right diet and exercise regimen for your pet.
  • Serve Your Pet a Balanced Diet: Commercial dog and cat foods make it easy to provide a nutritionally balanced and complete diet for your pet. Dog and cat foods contain all of the different nutrients your animal needs in the appropriate quantities.
  • Provide Your Pet with Dental Care: Teeth and oral health are extremely important when caring for your pet and should be evaluated annually. If you are fortunate to have an animal who will tolerate frequent brushing, you are already one step ahead. Unchecked, dental disease can lead to kidney problems or nutritional issues if your pet cannot adequately chew and digest their food.Β 
  • Attend to Senior Pets: As animals age, their dietary requirements and their ability to digest certain foods change. When pets grow older, they lose some ability to concentrate urine so they need to produce more, and therefore need more water intake. You can help by feeding your pets better quality proteins and avoiding red meats like beef and beef by-products. Doing this will decrease the work load on the kidneys and help prevent diseases and health issues from developing.
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