Greetings loving animal caregivers!
Wouldn’t it be great if the health of our canine furry friends was always good…. particularly in their senior years? There are in fact certain simple things we could do for them that could increase the probability of enjoying their active senior years.
I’m going to want to hear your ideas as we go along, but shall we start here with me sharing mine? They sound really simple, and that’s why I like them. There are four of them, and the best results come from doing them daily. I call them the four legs that hold up the “structure of good health”.
1. New situations
The first is to keep putting them in new situations that require adaptive behavior, such as meeting and actively engaging with new human folks and dogs at the park, county farm or wherever.
2. Exercise
The second is daily exercise that gets fluids into their joints and exercises their heart and other muscles.
3. Good food
The third is good nutritious food, and preferably a variety rather than the same food all the time. A variety of food offers a broader spectrum of nutrition for immune system support, while the same food all the time could pose the risk of systemic or skin allergies.
4. Rest
And what is the fourth? Good, restorative rest, of course! I think these four activities are all pretty simple, and I am sure you are all already doing some version of all of these.
There are two more recommendations that I’d like to add to the list. They are absolutely key ingredients to our equation of maximizing the health and quality of life of our beloved canine companions. Why? They weave the above four actions together in a way that creates a continuous circle of loving care.
Please check back next week. We’ll be taking a look at these additional two key ingredients to maintaining health and quality of life.
And please, I’d love to hear from you about how you are currently maximizing the health and quality of life of your beloved furry friends.
