Preventive care starts at the feeding bowl

If you know the importance of preventive Pet healthcare, you’re probably on a quest for ways to help your Pet live longer and healthier. As it turns out, you might not need to look past what’s in your Pet’s food bowl (or your hand as it holds out a leftover piece of bacon). Keeping your Pet at a consistently healthy weight – achieved by monitoring its food and treat intake, as well as engaging in daily exercise – is one of the most powerful ways you can help your Pet live as many comfortable years as possible. Just like their human counterparts, Pets need to maintain a healthy weight to help ensure that every organ system – even including its skin – functions at its optimal level.

In recent years, Pets’ weight and nutrition became a growing concern among Pet owners and veterinarians alike. The awareness that proper nutrition and exercise is an integral part of a Pet’s preventive care routine may seem intuitive. Even so, many Pet owners are surprised to learn about the far-reaching health implications of just a few extra pounds on their Pet. According to Denise A. Elliott, BVSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVN, Banfield’s medical specialist in nutrition, having a slightly overweight Pet is just as unhealthy – and possibly even more detrimental – as having a slightly underweight Pet.

Because most Pets’ body mass is relatively small compared to ours, as little as two or three extra pounds, particularly on smaller breeds, is nothing to balk at. For a ten-pound dog, a weight gain of four pounds is the equivalent of gaining forty percent of its body weight!

Talk with your Banfield veterinarian about your Pet’s weight and daily food intake (including all treats). He or she will guide you as you help your Pet receive its daily exercise and eat a nutritious diet. Whether it’s a simple game of fetch indoors, or a long walk around the neighborhood, get some exercise with your Pet today. Your body – as well as your Pet’s body – will thank you for it!