Yes, they can. And healthy hounds are normal breeds. it’s all in a little bit of a healthy lifestyle and a proactive approach.
Because growing a healthy dog to live longer is No.1 for all pet owners. You want to be able to spend as much of your life as possible with your pooch, so you need to do everything you can to keep your dog healthy and happy and living a long life.
Not only that but keeping your dog in good health can also save you $37,000+ in veterinarian bills over the course of its life—a cost dog owners can end up spending. So how do you keep your dog in good health, living longer, and avoiding the vet?
It’s 100% down to you and how you look after it.
So you need to learn how to keep a dog healthy and fit using a proper good dog health guide, like Malcolm Field’s book, to avoid and solve such problems as:
· Dog toothache
· Gum disease
· Dog skin rashes
· Cardiovascular diseases
· Dog eye problems like cataracts
· Worms / fleas
Deal with these and make your dog live longer and grow into a healthy dog.
How to keep your dog living longer
Look at your dog’s breed first
Does the breed of dog determine your dog’s health and lifespan? Are some dog breeds healthier than others?
Yes, your dog’s breed determines how long it will live. Because of 100s of years of breeding (and its effects) some dog breeds have developed various health problems. This affects their lifespan, so use this as a starting point for setting expectations of how long your dog will live.
Some of the healthiest dog breeds have been seen living up to 30 years old (the longest living dog). One of these healthiest dog breeds is the Australian Cattle dog—others are Border Collie and Chilwawas that commonly live up to 17. Pugs, on the other hand, are one of the unhealthiest dogs. Pug health problems include pug dog encephalitis and canine hip dysplasia, which are nervous-system and hip issues. So it’s something to think about when buying or looking after your dog—some health problems are inevitable and life-span is dependent upon the breed of dog you have.
Check out this dog life expectancy calculator to find out your dog’s lifespan.
Prevention Over Cure
Malcolm Fields, the dog-care professional in his book The Ultimate Guide to Dog Health, recommends a common-sense approach to dealing with dog health and dog health problems.
And the most common-sense approach to health care (of any kind) is preventing instead of curing. Stopping the problem before the problem exists.
This means taking a proactive instead of reactive approach to dog health care. So you need to be on it with your dog care, which means looking after the same things you do. Like your teeth.
Take Good Care of Teeth and Gums
Dog dental care is just like your own. It’s extremely important. If left unhandled, plaque builds up and turns into tartar which then turns into a mild and more severe gum disease that can then lead to more serious cardiovascular diseases. It just takes some consistent action to keep on top of it though.
Tips on keeping your dog’s teeth healthy:
· Brush their teeth 3-7 times a week
· Use dental sticks
· Let them chew on bones
· Don’t feed them sugary foods—only high quality healthy dog food
Introducing a toothbrush can be a tricky process but, like always, make it a positive one.
Feed Them High Quality Food
If you’re going to go cheap on anything with your dog, don’t make it the dog food. Choose healthy dog food that uses whole ingredients and proper meat and veg in it. This is the kind of dog food that extends life. Also try to use dog food that isn’t processed if possible—this will lower inflammation in your dog and decrease risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Exercise
This should go without saying but it’s important so worth mentioning. Walk your dog: it’s possibly the No.1 thing for keeping their heart and soul happy, healthy and living longer. The amount of exercise each dog needs is different depending on the breed but make sure you’re taking your dog out to exercise 2+ times a day.
Groom and Wash Your Dog
Bathing your dog can be a pain but there is a simple process to washing your dog. Doing this will lower the chance of fleas and worm infections and also help with skin problems that your dog might be facing.
Watch out though: some dogs can be allergic to certain dog grooming products. If this is the case, bathing your dog with them could worsen skin irritation. The best home remedies for dog allergies are (1) identify the cause of the allergy and (2) limiting your dog’s exposure to the trigger.
Examine Regularly: Look out for common dog health problems
Malcolm Fields, in his Ultimate Guide to Dog Health book, says this is one of the most important things in looking after your dog’s health—you’ve got to actually look at and examine your dog. This is a huge part of prevention over cure, because the earlier you detect there is some sort of health issue, the earlier you can get in and sort it at the vets.
You will want to look for lumps and bumps but also symptoms of dog skin allergies, arthritis and even cancer. All this info is in the book. It even has an in-depth symptom chart that takes you through different symptoms—behavioral and physical—when to be concerned, when it’s probably nothing, what to do, and when to take them to the vet.
Regular dog examinations are a must-do to know where your dog is at with it’s health. Because chances are over the years, something will come up and the sooner you know about it, the better. So check up on your dog and find the proper things to look for.
Take home message
We all wish our dogs could live forever—but the best thing you can do is make them live longer. So do the things you can do to keep your dog healthy and happy and enjoy your life with them. If there is anything seriously wrong, do see the vet.