3 New Year’s Resolutions to Help Your Pet Live A Longer and Happier Life
As we reflect on a pet’s lifestyle, environment, social world, and routine, the New Year provides an excellent time to pivot towards three easy-to-accomplish goals that result in greater vitality and longevity. Consider making the following resolutions for your pet to ensure a longer and happier life in 2025.
1. Create Meaningful Elements of Routine
The pets we know and love are creatures of habit. They enjoy anticipating daily events like meals, bathroom breaks, and exercise times, and they feel secure and confident knowing how their day will unfold. Be sure to stick with precise times as much as possible and ask for or hire help if needed.
In addition to maintaining an enriching, satisfying daily routine, pet owners should keep up with their pet’s routine wellness exam. Depending on your pet’s age, lifestyle, and medical history, we may encourage two yearly appointments to stay in front of any developing conditions like diabetes, arthritis, and dental disease.
Maintaining their vaccinations, dental cleanings, and parasite prevention is paramount to a pet’s overall wellness, and contributes to their quality and length of life.
2. Be Sure to Balance of Nutrition & Exercise
There’s no question that pets are highly motivated by and drawn to food of all flavors and textures. This can help us train good behavior and/or show affection, but too many calories can add to weight gain. As any extra pounds can lead to or worsen achy joints (among other things), it’s essential to keep portion sizes under control.
It is equally important to provide pets with age-appropriate food. We can help you find the right product for their age, exercise routine, and health status. Since obesity in pets is linked to a long list of preventable health conditions, we are invested in helping pet owners find the right balance of excellent food paired with daily exercise.
We know it can be hard to stick to a daily exercise routine, but few things can improve pet health more than adding more time to their walk/run, or indoor laser chase. Depending on a pet’s age and breed, they need a minimum of 30-45 minutes of activity every day, sometimes much more. Walks, frisbee time, hikes, or agility training add diversity to a humdrum schedule.
3. Focus on Dental Health
Some pet owners live with doggie or kitty breath long before they notice other indicators of dental disease. The truth is that halitosis, or bad breath, is usually the first marker of periodontal (gum) disease. Left alone, bad breath can lead to bleeding gums, tooth loss, and systemic illness.
This new year is the perfect time to get a grip on a pet’s dental health. Start by adding a little tooth brushing to your daily routine. Acquire an appropriate pet toothbrush and toothpaste (never human toothpaste), and gradually extend brushing sessions to include more of their teeth over time. Before you know it, your pet will accept tooth brushing as normal and natural. By decreasing plaque and tartar, you are increasing their overall health and longevity by huge measures.
Habits of Healthy Pets
When you create and maintain a daily routine, prioritize nutrition and exercise, and promote daily dental health, you influence a pet’s quality of life and improve their chances for a long, happy life.
From all of us at Cream Veterinary Care, have a safe and happy New Year with your pet!