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Helpful Mental and Physical Tips for Caring for Your Aging Pet
If you are a pet owner, then eventually, you will have to deal with ensuring your senior pet is happy as they drift into old age. If you don’t take care of your pet, mentally and physically, then they could go on to develop serious health problems. The happier and healthier your pest is, the longer they will live. Many people wrongly believe that it’s expensive to nurse a pet into their old age. As long as you take good care of them from when they are young, this isn’t true.
Here is how you can care for your aging pet:
Vet Check-ups
If you want to increase your pet’s lifespan and ensure that they have a good quality of life as they age, you need to take them to the veterinary clinic regularly. Check-ups with their veterinarian can help identify and treat health problems before they have an opportunity to cause problems. It’s often the case with animals that they develop illnesses suddenly and then deteriorate rapidly.
In a list of quotes about life published on wisdomquotes.com, Rose Kennedy is quoted as saying, “Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.” When people’s pets age, they tend to view each year as a milestone rather than appreciating each moment and ensuring that their pets get the best treatment possible. You should see your veterinarian several times a year.
Healthy Diet
You need to make sure that your pet’s diet is as healthy as possible. Many people feed their pets diets that are filled with harmful fillers and junk. While it can be somewhat expensive to feed one’s pet high-quality organic food, it is a great investment in your pet’s health. If you are going to buy organic food, the best place to look is at farmer’s markets and country fairs (or online, of course). Make sure that you carefully research a pet food manufacturer before you buy their food so that you can be confident the food that they produce is good for animals.
Supplements
A good way to ensure that your pet gets the nutrients and vitamins that they need is to introduce supplements into their diet, under your vet’s supervision. Sometimes pet owners introduce supplements into their pet’s diet, only to discover that they don’t yield the results they hoped for. In order to ensure that supplements aid your pet’s health and help them age gracefully, you need to make sure that you collaborate with your veterinarian and ask them for their advice. Your veterinarian will likely be able to make supplement recommendations to you. You shouldn’t ever give your pet supplements without first consulting your pet’s vet, under any circumstances.
Subtle Discomfort
One of the most important things that you need to do is to watch your pet for signs of subtle discomfort. It’s often the case that one’s pets develop health problems, and as already mentioned, deteriorate very rapidly. If you are to prevent your pet’s health from deteriorating too much, you need to watch them and monitor them for signs of discomfort. Pets rarely give obvious signs that they are in pain. Instead, they give subtle hints and clues. If your pet’s routine has changed or they don’t want to play as they ordinarily would, then it’s an indication that they could be ill or in pain.
Frequent Activity
You need to maintain your pet’s activity levels as they age. One of the worst things that you can do is to allow your pet to become stagnant.
People often do this with their dogs, believing that they are too old to play or run around. The only time that you should ever restrict your pet’s play or exercise is if they are in visible pain or if your veterinarian has advised that you keep your pet indoors and still.
Grooming Sessions
You need to groom your pet regularly. This is especially important as they get older. Many people neglect to groom their pets as they age, which results in their fur becoming matted and tangled. Matted fur can be very painful for animals. It can lead to skin infections, as well as fleas and ticks going unnoticed. Make sure that you brush your pet every day. You should also cut off any matting or tangling that you find. If there are any tough tangles, then take them to the vet to have them removed professionally.
Mental Stimulation
You need to ensure that your pet is stimulated mentally, not just physically. Taking your aging pet out for walks or providing them with an outdoor play area won’t be enough to keep them mentally engaged.
If you have a dog, then you can create scavenger hunts for them to participate in. You could also try to teach them new tricks. Hide and seek is also a good game to play. You can play hide and seek and create scavenger hunts for cats, also.
Regular Adventures
If you have a dog, then make sure that you take them outdoors on regular adventures. If you have a car, then you can load your dog into it and take them out into the woods. Dogs love going outdoors and being with their owners. If your dog is very old, however, then this likely isn’t a good idea. It’s a bad idea to take a very old dog far from home. Instead, you should walk them locally.
Dental Care
One last thing to remember is that if you want your pet to remain in good health well into their senior years, then you need to take care of their teeth. A large number of domestic pets have serious dental issues because their owners never take care of their oral health. If you do not take care of your senior pet’s oral health, then their teeth could rot, or they could develop frequent infections. Taking care of your pet’s oral health isn’t difficult. For dogs, you can give them dental sticks, and for other small animals, you can use finger-mounted toothbrushes.
If you are a pet owner, then you need to do everything that you can to ensure that your pet is comfortable in their old age. As long as they have had a good life and good healthcare throughout, then they should like to be very old.
