Keep Your Dog Safe, Healthy, and Happy With These 6 Pet Care Essentials

Dogs can give you alifetime’s worth of love, loyalty, and laughter. However, in order for that to happen, you need to make sure you’re providing the proper pet health care for your four-legged friend.

From puppyhood to old age, your dog deserves the absolute best care you can provide. Here are a few of the essentials that you should be practicing.

Provide Identification

Approximately 28% of dogs are purchased from breeders and 29% are adopted from shelters. While some of those shelters offer to chip your dog as part of the adoption process, many breeders will not. It’s important to ensure your dog has both collar tags and a chip as identification measures. In the event that he or she gets lost, those are the best methods of ensuring they’ll be returned to you safely.

Follow Licensing and Vaccination Laws

It’s imperative that you keep your dog up-to-date on their vaccinations. Rabies vaccinations are especially important since it is a legal requirement to have your pet vaccinated and show proof via a rabies tag on your dog’s collar.

Schedule Regular Veterinary Appointments

A large part of health care for animals involves taking them in for regular check-ups at your veterinarian’s office. These check-ups encompass oral health, vaccination updates, as well as the general health and wellness of your dog.

Spay or Neuter Your Dog

Unless you’re absolutely certain you want to breed your dog, it’s important to have them spayed or neutered. This will ensure no unwanted puppies occur and help curb the pet overpopulation problem that faces the nation.

Enroll in a Training Class

This is not only helpful for your dog, it’s helpful for you as an owner. These classes can help you better communicate with your dog and in turn, create a healthier, more balanced relationship between the two of you.

Exercise Your Dog

If you’re working to improve your level of fitness, why not do it with your dog? It’s important that dogs receive enough exercise to keep them active, but not exhausted. A short run or a longer walk each day, in addition to playing often, can help keep you and your dog healthy and active.

Staying healthy may be a priority for you, but you should make it a priority for the health of your dogs, too. If you adhere to these six essentials, your pooch should be feeling great.