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Pet Health – Be observant and help your pet stay healthy

Like us human’s pets need to be looked after from their coat/skin to all areas of pet health. Bringing your pet to the vet can be a costly visit and can lead to many trips. By being better prepared in the early days with your dog or cat you can help save on vet fees and keep your pet healthier.

Animals cannot tell you what is wrong; you need to look for the obvious signs such as:

• Fleas: Constant scratching and nibbling of their skin
• Worms: Rubbing their back side against the ground, walls, fences etc
• Eye Infection: A large build up of puss around the eyes with watering
• Sick stomach: A lack of appetite including fluids.

Prevention against fleas is relatively easy. If you find your dog or cat has fleas treat with a flea control spray or collar first, then after around one week purchase a flea collar (flea collars give of a small amount of insecticide and should only be used after the treatment with powder or spray, never use a flea collar and spray/powder together unless instructed to do so by a vet.

All dogs and cats should have an injection when puppies and kittens to prevent worms. If you detect that you pet has worms you can purchase tablets to treat but seek advice first. Worms need immediate attention.

Just like human’s eye-drops work well on pets. It can be difficult to give your pet eye-drops so two people doing so are a good idea.

My dog spits out his tablets, why?

Dogs and cats are very clever and just like children they hate taking medicine. You need to disguise the tablets in a food type. Putting the tablet in some meat or one of his treats is a good idea. They are small bite size and gone quickly. Putting tablets in dog food (tray) can be tricky as they can often find them and sneakily dispose of them. Keep a watch for a minute or two once given.

Pet meds are available online at very reasonable prices with supplements. Vitamins are important to your dog or cat on a daily basis just like for you and I. Vitamins will give your pet a shinny coat and keep them perky and active. You could also add in a tea spoon of cod liver oil mixed in their food, this will give an excellent gloss to their coat.