Dog health advice is available from a wide range of sources - from companies and professionals working in the pet industry to aunt Maple down the road who owned a dog on the farm 50 years ago.
The advice, although usually well intended, can often be confusing and even contradictory, especially when taken out of context. So here are 5 factors that the owner of any dog can control that will help keep a dog healthy.
1) A Good Supply of Good Quality Food and Water. A lack of food and water will cause stress which will result in the dog's immune system not functioning optimally. A depleted immune system cannot fight off disease as effectively as a fully functional immune system and so disease is more common in those dogs that do not have a constant supply of good quality food and water.
2) Decent Shelter. While most dogs will probably deal with adverse weather conditions better than humans will,it is commonsense that a dog sheltered from the elements in a comfortable and friendly environment will be better placed to deal with a health challenge.
3) Regular Exercise. Even lap dogs and toy breeds are better off having some form of suitable and consistent exercise.The degree of exercise obviously depends on various factors such as age, breed and existing condition, but as with humans, exercise is a great stress reliever in dogs.
4) Vaccinations. Although there is some debate about how often a dog needs to be vaccinated, there is little credible evidence to support a no vaccination approach to improving the health of dogs. Far more dogs make it through to a ripe old age being vaccinated regularly than do those that are not vaccinated or develop serious side effects from vaccination.
5) Effective Deworming. Dog intestinal worms are parasites and compete with the dog for resources. They therefore are not only detrimental to a dog's health in themselves, but can open the way for other diseases to attack the dog. They also represent a threat to the health of humans and so keeping dog worms under control should be a major priority for any dog owner.
The first four points covered above are not difficult to achieve while the last - effective deworming - is often oversimplified and reduced to popping a pill down Fido's throat. That approach is almost guaranteed to fail and every dog owner should spend some time learning more about how to effectively control dog intestinal worms.
Le doc is a veterinarian who enjoys building Lionel Model Trains in his spare time.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Le_Doc
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