There are several reasons why you should keep your dog healthy. Your dog should be a part of your family, so making sure they are healthy and happy is essential. 

Being the dog’s owner gives you primary responsibility for your floof’s health and well being. That means taking them to the vet when needed, sure, but it also means making sure that your dog doesn’t have to take a trip to the vet’s office more than necessary (for check ups or basic needs). 

In this article we’re talking about 5 ways to ensure that your dog stays healthy. This way, you can avoid bad situations, vet visits, and you’re making sure that your dog is happy and cared for. 

Ensure good nutrition 

You treat yourself to the best food in town, so why would you give your dog any less? That doesn’t mean, however, you should feed your dog pizza and take out, but rather, that you should feed your dog what’s best for them. 

Making sure your dog gets all the protein, vitamins and minerals they need from their food will help you and your pooch avoid any vet visits in the long term. So while you may have to invest a bit into getting nutritious food, it’s safe to say that the investment will pan out to be great for you both. 

Always have in mind your dog’s age and specific dietary needs when constructing the best meal plan for them. This way, you can make sure you’re giving them exactly what they need in order to thrive. 

A few other things you may need to take into account are: any existing conditions, your dog’s breed specific requirements or the activity level. And speaking of…

Make sure your dog stays active

Physical exercise is very important in keeping your dog safe and happy. Taking him for daily walks helps, but it might not be enough though. So make sure you regularly meet your dog’s exercise needs by taking him to the dog park or allowing him to roam around. 

Another way to keep him active is to take him along on your runs, hikes or biking days. 

But physical exercise is just part of the equation. So make sure you also keep your dog’s mind exercised, by having him constantly learning about something. Whether it’s a new trick, a basic command or a gimmick, keeping his interest and curiosity will help your dog stay in tip top shape. 

Keep your dog safe at all times

Dogs are curious creatures. Training them to listen to you in any circumstance might be the difference between a healthy dog and no dog at all. This is usually a hard pill to swallow, but not everyone has your dog’s interest at heart. So keep your dog safe by training him well. 

Teaching your dog a recall action as well as a wait action can prevent your dog from getting into a dog fight or getting hit by a car from running into a busy street. 

And yet, training your dog is only part of the safety equation. Keeping your dog safe also means that your walks together should be spent more actively together. So please make sure to put your phone back into your pocket and pay attention to your dog. Is he sniffing something that he’s not supposed to? Is he running off where you can’t see him? Is he being aggressive or getting into trouble? You should be able to notice these things in a flash, so that you can act on them. In the end, even a well trained dog can only listen to commands he’s given. If you’re not paying enough attention to your dog running around, you may miss him going closer to the road and not recall him on time. 

Maintain a good hygiene

Grooming is very important as well. Knitted fur can hide ticks or other critters that can harm your dog’s health or can hide bigger issues like  a wound that could get infected. 

Make sure you regularly take your dog to the groomer’s to get his fur and nails trimmed and cared for. And then in between, you can keep your dog clean by giving him regular baths (even though he doesn’t like them) and keeping him in a clean and safe environment. 

Regular checkups

You didn’t think we’d write an entire article and not suggest a vet visit, right? Checkups are an important element of keeping your dog healthy. This way, your vet can catch any illness in its early stages and treat it quickly or simply make sure that your dog has all the necessary things needed to thrive. 

Your vet can also give you recommendations that are specific to your dog’s needs, and these may change as your dog ages, so it’s important to keep them updated. 

If your dog is generally healthy (as far as you can notice), you can get away with only doing vet checkups once or twice a year. 

All in all, keeping your dog healthy is a combined effort, but we’re one hundred percent sure that he’ll repay all of your care with love, wet nose kisses and wiggly tails. And that’s what all of this is about. Keeping your dog healthy means that you get to enjoy his company for longer, and without worries. Now go ahead and shower your pooch with love.