Keeping Your Dog Healthy
By Ashley Peach

Your dog is an important member of the family and wonderful companion. In order to provide the proper care you first have to understand the breed you have. Once you know the breed keeping your dog healthier is going to be easier. Certain breeds have tendencies towards diseases such as diabetes, hip dysplasia, heart disease and other diseases. It is important to understand what your breed may contract so that you feed them the proper food, give them plenty of exercise, and of course lots of affection. Diabetes is one of the most common diseases among dogs today.

Diabetes can be prevented in dogs as it can be prevented in humans. While there are genetic causes to the entire disorder and some are more prone a proper diet and exercise can help you keep the disorder under control or from ever being a factor. Diabetes usually results in problems digesting carbohydrates appropriately. In other words they tend to have problems converting the carbohydrates into blood sugar. Exercise will help in this instance because exercise allows the metabolism to speed up with the expounding energy. You will also find reading the ingredients on food is important in reducing the amount of carbohydrates your dog is exposed to. If the food you are currently giving them is high in carbohydrates you will want to switch to a different food. You may even wish to change to an all natural or organic dog food.

When you are trying to prevent disease you have to look at what you are feeding them besides regular dog food. Dog treats can be something for special occasions, but again you want to be careful about the type of treats you are giving your dog. The treats should be high in essential nutrients and avoid being junk food. Treats that help with breath or dental hygiene are important so don't discount them, but ask your vet about better treats to promote health.

Human food is also dangerous. Some dogs do live off a diet of raw foods rather than processed foods, which is okay as long as you know the foods are inspected. What you don't want to do is feed your dog high fat human food, such as McDonalds, KFC, and other fast foods. You don't want to feed them fried chicken that you make at home either. Fatty foods or those high in cholesterol can help heart disease form and can affect the dog with diabetes as well.

Let's go back to exercise for a few moments. Exercise can be used as a preventive measure as well as a means to control certain diseases. You will want to take your dog for a walk every day. You will also want to spend at least one hour exercising your dog, especially if it is an active dog breed. You can walk them, play with toys, or go over training to help them exercise.

Frequent visits to the vet will also help you keep your dog healthy. In other words you should take your dog in once a year for a check up and a clean bill of health. During this time you can have the vet clean the teeth, groom them for you, as well as make sure they are at the proper weight, getting enough exercise, and all around healthy and happy. Owning a dog is a lot of responsibility when you consider the care they need and some of the diseases they have, but the rewards is great.