Your Dog’s Heart Health: 6 Tips For Care
Just like people have heart problems, they can affect dogs too. For this reason, it is important to keep the following six tips in mind regarding your dog’s heart health. Because with the right care you can give your dog a long and happy life.
We see heart problems more often in older, obese dogs and in certain breeds. But this doesn’t mean that younger dogs never have heart health issues . The origin of heart disease in dogs is usually congenital or age-related. However, the former is the more complex problem.
In small breeds like Bull Terriers or Cocker Spaniels, the most common heart disease is chronic heart valve disease. In larger breeds such as boxers or Great Danes, the most common heart disease is usually heart muscle disease.
For the most part, we can’t see any obvious symptoms when our dog has heart failure. Therefore, since they are not easy to spot, it is important to be vigilant.
With all of the above in mind, it is extremely important that you take care of your pet and improve their quality of life to prevent these unwanted problems. Here are 6 tips that can help maintain your dog’s heart health.
How to Care for Your Dog’s Heart Health: 6 Tips
1. Your dog’s diet
Diet is an extremely important aspect of any dog’s health. Therefore, a balanced diet is very important for a strong and healthy dog heart.
You can find a wide range of dog foods in stores to meet your pet’s nutritional needs. Some dog foods are specially formulated to help prevent heart disease. This special food is optimized for cardiac output. In fact, it contains animal proteins such as taurine and carnitine and is low in salt.
In these cases, homemade recipes – under veterinary supervision – are also a good option. However, this alternative requires a great deal of effort, effort and perseverance on the part of the dog owner. So the owners have to adjust the ingredients and quantities for the animal individually. This is also a great option for dogs who don’t like regular dog food.
2. To maintain your dog’s heart health, you should prevent obesity
Obesity in dogs can trigger or worsen heart problems. And here, too, the key lies in the use of a specific feed.
In this situation, we recommend a low-calorie dog food. In addition, you should weigh the rations to match the pet’s needs. Note that sometimes dogs may not want to eat because they feel uncomfortable, but it is always possible to find tasty food that your dog will be happy to eat.
When feeding your dog homemade ingredients, you should always be careful to avoid sugar. It is also best not to feed your four-legged friend fruits such as watermelons or foods high in carbohydrates. Also, avoid overdoing it with flour treats.
3. Exercise
The fact that a dog has heart problems does not mean that they cannot be physically active. However, you should be careful to do everything in moderation to prevent him from getting tired. If your dog is panting a lot, this is a sign that you should go home so he can recover.
Walking is a simple physical exercise. At the same time, it is a great option that benefits the body without putting a strain on the heart. In addition, a walk can also help revitalize and purify the circulatory system.
4. Keep an eye on your dog’s heart health: Regular visits to the vet
Getting a veterinarian to diagnose a heart problem in a timely manner is always the best solution to the problem.
Regular, routine exams that monitor your dog’s general health can lead to an early diagnosis. As mentioned before, there are no external signs when your four-legged friend suffers from heart problems. However, there may be times when you experience tiredness, coughing at night, difficulty breathing, and swelling in your stomach.
5. Medicines
Sometimes heart disease requires not only good diet and exercise, but medication as well. If so, your vet will prescribe it for you.
Once your vet diagnoses a heart problem, it can be difficult to completely correct. However, there are specific treatments that will allow your dog to lead a normal life.
6. Take care of your dog’s heart health by giving him unconditional love
Dogs always need and ask for attention from those around them. Signs of anxiety and nervousness have been seen in dogs who spend a lot of time alone or who do not receive adequate attention. This situation, in turn, can adversely affect a dog’s heart health.
However, dogs not only ask for petting and attention, they also offer us their affection. In order to guarantee that our four-legged friends are happy and healthy, it is best to give them the same unconditional love that they give us.
