Add Years to Your Dog's Life With These Old Dog Health Tips

Unfortunately, an older dog's years here on earth are far shorter than human's. It always seems that our friendships with our four-legged friends pass far too quickly. In general, small breed dogs live 5 to 7 years longer than large breed dogs. However, no matter what the dog breed is, there are things you can do to extend your pet's life.

One of the most basic and simple things to improve your dogs health and well-being over his or her lifetime is exercise. Just as with humans, it is extremely important that all dogs get proper exercise. There are so many benefits to taking long vigorous walks with your dog that they are too numerous to mention in this short article. Besides being very important for their circulatory systems exercise is also vital for ensuring long term health with respect to muscle tone and joint health.

When your dog gets the proper amount of exercise, his muscles are toned properly and add support to his skeleton system. This in turn results in far healthier joints then those dogs with poor muscle tone. In almost all cases dogs who live sedentary lives will develop arthritis at earlier stages of their lives than those who have lifelong histories of proper exercise.

How much exercise should your dog get? This varies from breed to breed and also dog the dog. Just as with humans, there is no set amount of hours or miles that a dog should exercise in a given week. Of course we know it is more than just 1 mile but probably less than 50. That is a broad range to deal with but usually a walk of a few miles every other day or even every day is sufficient to give your dog plenty of exercise and ensure proper muscle tone.

Although dog arthritis is common in almost all older dogs, the symptoms can be minimized with proper exercise. Again, the healthier the muscle tissue is and the more support it provides around the joints the healthier those joints will be. It can't be emphasized enough how poured it is to maintain proper muscle tone in older canines.

The second most important factor in maintaining your dog's well-being and health throughout her age is weight. It is vital that dog owners understand that a dog should not carry extra weight on their small frames. Not only is this unhealthy with respect to cardiovascular disease and other circulatory issues, it's also very unhealthy for the dog's bones and joints. Canine arthritis has no cure but the symptoms can be worsened later in life if the dog is forced to carry excess weight. It may be difficult to keep your older dog trim and fit without gaining weight. But it is extremely important that you, as a dog owner, understand the importance of providing the correct amount of calories each day in your dogs diet.

How much should your dog eat each day? That of course is a unique question with respect to each and every dog. Basically, if your dog is overweight stop feeding him or her as much. Always measure out the food on a daily basis and never simply fill the bowl up haphazardly. Use a measuring cup and know exactly how much food you are giving your dog each day. If the dog is overweight, simply cut that food back by a quarter to half a cup or so for the next month and see if the dog loses weight. If the dog does not lose weight after cutting back to this amount, cut back some more for another month and check their weight again. There is no magic procedure for getting your dog to lose weight. It simply a matter of decreasing the calories until the time comes with her body no longer stores excess fat.

These two tips for ensuring health and older canines are extremely important for dog owners to understand. Minimizing the effects of dog arthritis in older canines is a responsibility all dog owners should take seriously.