Caring for Your Pets All Through Their Life Stages

At some or the other time of their lives, people own pets. Whether we bring a puppy or an adult dog or adopt a senior dog, we always look to provide the best care we can and help them to stay healthy. We also care for our pets throughout their life stages starting from their birth until they have reached their senior age.

During this period, we experience different things. No doubt for new pet owners, if you are one of them, there is always a quest to find about all these things. There are numerous things that you might come across, when you raise a pet like your own baby.

You have to take care of different things during their life stages, providing different treatments and medications according to their age, size and weight. As a pet owner, you have to consider all these things watchfully to ensure good health of your pets.

Furthermore, for most of the recent pet owners, there always are some questions lurking behind in their mind: whether my dog has fleas; what are the different life stages of pets and what medicines should they provide them accordingly; what problems dogs may face at different stages and so on.

Well, clearing their dilemma, our experts have briefed out different life stages of dogs and what things you need to take care of helping them to lead a healthy life.

Early Stages: Puppy

Newborn puppies are very weak and they need extra care. For first week, they sleep constantly. By second and third week of their age, they start seeing and hearing, while other senses continue to grow. In the early stages, apart from nursing, these puppies may require external milk for their healthy growth.

Puppies in their early stages are more susceptible to intestinal parasites. Worms in puppies are transmitted mostly from their mother. Therefore, treating puppies after second week of age is always necessary.

At the end of the first month, they will begin to growl, howl and bark. You can give them small chewy toys, which keep them engaged without hurting themselves with any hard objects. Between 4 to 6 weeks of age, they start playing and fighting with their littermates.

Middle Years: Adult

Between 18 to 24 months of age, most of the dogs reach adulthood though there are few exceptions as they become emotionally mature at almost three years only. This is the crucial period of their growing. During this stage, they require additional nutritional supplements such as Balanced Cal tablets, Animalac Plus, Multivitamin treats and many more, which are helpful for their overall growth and well-being. Moreover, special joint care prescriptions help reduce wear and tear of their bones and tendons lessening the problem of arthritis in older ages.

Adult dogs are also susceptible to flea and tick attacks or intestinal worm infection. Providing them regular monthly flea and tick treatment with Frontline Plus helps keep them safe from these external parasites. When adult dogs are infested with intestinal worms, they need to be treated with dewormers such as Drontal Plus, Popantel or Cazitel. These deworming treatments not only kill and treat worms but also help to prevent future recurrence of these infections, when given on regular basis.

Older Years: Senior

As the dog ages, he requires proper care and good diet. With aging, regular health check-ups and proper guidance from a veterinarian is necessary. You need to keep an eye for any of the health problems, as ignoring them will end up paying more for their medications.

With old age, regular grooming becomes necessary, as old coats may get thicker due to lack of proper nutrients, and more difficult to manage unless good care is given. Moreover, the skin becomes dry and dull. Special skin care products like shampoos, dog care creams are available apart from nutritional supplements that ease dry skin and improve skin coat sheen.

With advancement in age, they even face arthritis. To reduce their joint pain and improve their mobility in old age, administrating them with supplements like glucosamine and cosequin for dogs is very much helpful.

At this stage, it is also important help your pet exercise daily. This helps them to remain active and reduces body pain and inflammation that they usually face due to old age. Also, feed them with special diets that are specifically designed for senior dogs.

Hope, this will help you understand that according to your pet’s age what special things you need to take care of and what type of medications or treatments you need to provide them during their different life stages.

Do share with us your experiences with your pet during their different life stages. We would love to know what treatments and steps you have taken to keep them healthy.