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Tag: family and pets

Keeping Your Pet Healthy Benefits Your Family Too

Keeping your pet healthy is a necessity for not only you, but your family too. Also not caring appropriately for your pet can cause diseases, as well as a misbehaved pet being detrimental to the family. There are some guidelines that need to be implemented to properly care for your pet, as pet’s bring a source of well-being, peace and relaxation to a family or individual. In a recent study, the American Heart Association found that pets improve cardiovascular health. Pets are often seen as comforters in nursing homes, children hospitals, diabetes patients, blind citizens, and much more. The following guidelines will help those who want to pursue owning a pet, or need to modify and improve their pet’s behavior.

  • Know what kind of pet you are getting– Before you adopt a pet, it is important that one knows what kind of pet they are getting because of their activity level, time to devote to the point, along with their maintenance. It is important to know these upfront, yet, all pets are different, and need time to adapt.
  • Train your pet and train them properly– When you’re a pet owner, the biggest fear with a pet and having a small child, is not knowing if you’re pet will bite or not. Dogs bite out of play often times because that is how they play with each other, however, owner’s need to acknowledge this behavior and teach them that it is wrong, and continue to reinforce it.
  • Always clean up after your pet– Not taking care of a litter box filled with excrement and urine can lead to vicious diseases that you don’t want carried in your home. Also, if you have small children in your home, they’re at a greater risk because they have lower immune systems and are more likely to put their fingers in their mouth. If waste is not taken care of properly, human contact with animal excrement can cause E.coli, salmonella, and other bacteria. Always wash your hands before meals and after cleaning up and handling your pets.
  • Keep medical records updated– When you first get a pet, you have several veterinary visits to keep your pets shots up to date, and most vets recommend that you see them at least once a year for their well-being. Help your pet maintain healthy teeth, which is often where pets can have many problems, with chewing, bad breath and other health problems.
  • Feed your pet correctly– It is recommended to keep your pet’s feeding simple and usually feed them the same thing each day. It is encouraged that if you want to vary your dog’s food, be careful because it can upset their stomach. Watch the portion amount you give your pet too, so that your pets may live a long and healthy life with you. Never feed table scraps to your pet; it’s a bad habit, and much of our food is never good for a dog or cat.
  • Have you thought about pet insurance? – According to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, 1% of Americans have health insurance for their pets. It is important to have health insurance for your pet, if your pet was to get gravely sick, one would be covered with pet insurance. Make sure you use the pet insurance, though, to receive benefit out of it. Owners can locate pet insurance through 24 PetWatch, Trupanion or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Article Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-pets-health-important-familys-health-133204353.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UbLGNpRl18A4GLQtDMD