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Australian Dog Lover
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#1. Stay on top of their Vaccinations
Set yourself a calendar reminder for your dogs and cats’ vaccination dates as you won’t want to miss any crucial vaccinations. Vaccinations will give you and your furry friend a peace of mind against nasty and deadly diseases such as parvovirus and kennel cough in dogs, and Feline Panleukopaenia, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (also known as feline AIDS) and FeLV (Feline Leukaemia Virus) in cats.
#2. You are What you Eat
This doesn’t only apply to you, but it also works for your furbaby.
A complete and balanced diet that provides all the nutrients at the correct level your pet needs is the best diet. This can easily be achieved by choosing a pet food that meets the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standards and passes the AAFCO feeding trial tests.
Set yourself a calendar reminder for your dogs and cats’ vaccination dates as you won’t want to miss any crucial vaccinations. Vaccinations will give you and your furry friend a peace of mind against nasty and deadly diseases such as parvovirus and kennel cough in dogs, and Feline Panleukopaenia, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (also known as feline AIDS) and FeLV (Feline Leukaemia Virus) in cats.
#2. You are What you Eat
This doesn’t only apply to you, but it also works for your furbaby.
A complete and balanced diet that provides all the nutrients at the correct level your pet needs is the best diet. This can easily be achieved by choosing a pet food that meets the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standards and passes the AAFCO feeding trial tests.
Try to stick to feeding your pet with about 90% good quality dry food and 10% treats such as cooked chicken breast, and you should have a dog with good teeth, good weight, and good poop!
#3. Be the “Fleas, Ticks, Worms and Heartworm” Terminator
Make sure your furbabies are wormed regularly. It will help keep your pets, and even you (some of the worms in pets can infect humans) in top shape! A lot of dog owners get confused by heartworm and intestinal worms. Intestinal worms are mainly transmitted through ingesting infected faeces whilst heartworm is transmitted via mosquitoes.
Since these two are completely different, you will need to worm your dog for both. For cat owners, a combination of spot-ons and worming tablets will ensure your kitty cat is fully protected from tummy worms and fleas.
#4. Keep an eye on the Loo
This may sound gross but you should know what your pet’s pee and poo look like. Make a mental note on how often they are doing numbers one and two. Any changes in the shape, colour and consistency could be an early indicator of something more serious.
If your pet has diarrhoea, it is best to bring them to the vet immediately as they can lose a lot of water and get very sick quickly. For instance, diseases like Haemorrhagic Gastroenteritis can be very aggressive in nature, some dogs may need a blood transfusion within 24-48 hours, or else it can be fatal.
#5. DIY Health Check
We may often feel like our dogs can communicate with us and let us know exactly how they are feeling, but unfortunately we can’t understand what every ‘woof’ or ‘meow’ means! Therefore, you should try to pick up early signs of illness. For example, I bathe my dog and cat every two weeks, and I use that time to run a quick health check on them at home.
#3. Be the “Fleas, Ticks, Worms and Heartworm” Terminator
Make sure your furbabies are wormed regularly. It will help keep your pets, and even you (some of the worms in pets can infect humans) in top shape! A lot of dog owners get confused by heartworm and intestinal worms. Intestinal worms are mainly transmitted through ingesting infected faeces whilst heartworm is transmitted via mosquitoes.
Since these two are completely different, you will need to worm your dog for both. For cat owners, a combination of spot-ons and worming tablets will ensure your kitty cat is fully protected from tummy worms and fleas.
#4. Keep an eye on the Loo
This may sound gross but you should know what your pet’s pee and poo look like. Make a mental note on how often they are doing numbers one and two. Any changes in the shape, colour and consistency could be an early indicator of something more serious.
If your pet has diarrhoea, it is best to bring them to the vet immediately as they can lose a lot of water and get very sick quickly. For instance, diseases like Haemorrhagic Gastroenteritis can be very aggressive in nature, some dogs may need a blood transfusion within 24-48 hours, or else it can be fatal.
#5. DIY Health Check
We may often feel like our dogs can communicate with us and let us know exactly how they are feeling, but unfortunately we can’t understand what every ‘woof’ or ‘meow’ means! Therefore, you should try to pick up early signs of illness. For example, I bathe my dog and cat every two weeks, and I use that time to run a quick health check on them at home.
Things you should be aware of include:
- Teeth – any gingivitis, tartar/plaque build up
- Eyes – any abnormalities including cloudiness
- Ears – any discharge or foul smell
- Skin – any redness/pimple like lesions including any lumps or bumps
- Weight check
- Energy levels or change in behaviour, e.g. lethargy, inappetence.
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