More Top Tips for healthy animals

By Jennifer Herne, LVT

Continued from last week...

5. Maintaining a healthy weight. Just as humans are healthier by keeping weight off, animals also benefit from keeping a healthy weight. Unfortunately, it occurs easier and faster for our pets to put on additional weight. Overfeeding is the leading cause of obesity. And just like people, obesity in pets comes with health risks that include diabetes, arthritis, and cancer.

Because pets need far fewer calories than most of us think -- as little as 185-370 a day for a small, inactive dog; just 240-350 calories daily for a 10-pound cat -- talk to your vet, who can make feeding suggestions based on your pet's age, weight, and lifestyle. How much food to give a pet can sometimes be confusing, it would benefit your pet to have a nutrition counseling session with your vet tech to gain a better understanding of how much to feed. You must also consider the caloric intake of treats that your pets receive as part of their total caloric intake for the day. This can be very difficult if you use treats as rewards for your pet's behavior.

6. Provide enriched environments. What does that mean? Well when people have a baby they usually provide musical lullaby toys or special colored mobiles to stimulate the senses. The same goes for our pets. They need things in their environment to stimulate their minds. An enriched environment is another key to the long-term health and welfare of your canine and feline friends. Pets need mental stimulation, which may mean daily walks for your pooch, and scratching posts, window perches, and toys for your cat. It means play time with you, which not only keeps your pet's muscles toned and boredom at bay, it also strengthens your bond with your four-footed companions. We carry a great line of toys that challenge the mind of your pet and keep them occupied and help deter problem behavior, which is a leading cause of dogs and cats being surrendered to shelters.

7. Identification-Microchip. There have been some pretty extraordinary stories about pets who went missing only to be found up to 2 years later. You many wonder if this is real or not, believe it because it is. Lack of identification means as few as 14% of pets ever find their way home after getting lost. Fortunately, microchipping allows for the pet to be reunited with its family, no matter how far away it is when found. About the size of a rice grain, a microchip is inserted under the skin in less than a second. It needs no battery and can be scanned by a vet or an animal control officer in seconds. We recommend using a microchip in addition to tags on the collar because collars can fall off along with the tag. Microchipping is a permanent form of identification to ensure your peace of mind if your pet goes missing. We offer microchipping in our clinic and encourage owners to utilize this identification option.

We will continue with the last 3 tips next week! We hope you entered our promotion last week. Today (May 7th) is the last day to post your picture of you and your pet on our Facebook page and be entered to win up to a $15 Kong toy of your choice. Your photo of you and your pet will also be featured in next week's article!