How To Improve Your Dog's Health And Your Happiness

Our golden Labrador at one month was tiny and drowsy on the white ceramic floor ofthe veterinary clinic. Of no known pedigree whatsoever and unimaginatively namedBruno in his papers, we called him Pharaoh in a fit of exoticness, because hisdemeanor when he sat on his hind legs, straight as an arrow, was incredibly regal. Hebecame a special dog to us and lived ten mostly happy and healthy years, but with onelifelong weakness. Our dog was a voracious eater as most of his breed is, vanishingbowls of his favorite kibble in seconds before we realized that maybe he wasovereating.

Overeating In Dogs

A focus on the problem of overeating and its consequences on dogs, especially largecity-dwelling or apartment dwelling retrievers that may not get enough exercisecannot be stressed enough. It is difficult to ignore the hungry look that young,untrained (and even well-trained) dogs give at the dining table. It's also notuncommon for dogs to steal food – our dog was a frequent visitor to the kitchen andregularly stole bread, biscuits, chicken, fish and whatever he could lay his bite on thatwe had been careless to leave around. Carrots were his favorite food after meat, andhe could spend hours chomping away with the stick between his paws and a glazedlook of pleasure in half-closed eyes.

Eventually we started giving him home cooked food and he would pester for a refillafter having wolfed down his first bowl. We eventually recognized a correlationbetween the amount of exercise he was receiving and his chowhound habits. Hisconstant hankering for food had increased ever since we had moved from a hillysuburban town to our yard-less home in a city with few open spaces. It seemedpossible (and we confirmed with the vet later we were right) that boredom and stress

from a lack of the long uphill runs that he was used to was causing this behavior. Thesolution was more exercise.

Meeting Needs

In our busy lives, many of us forget that our dogs have needs which need to be met ifwe want them to be happy and healthy. Our pet being a Labrador retriever had atendency to gain weight without exercise. Living in an apartment and having hadsome bad experiences with owners walking their untrained dogs off the leash, we hadto resort to other methods of giving him the exercise he needed.

Our dog had always been healthy cannonball of energy. It was hard keeping up withhis energy levels as he was growing. He would spend several minutes a day as a twoand three year old racing madly up and down the long hallway with a chew toy orrubber ball in his mouth. Up to the age of five he was regularly walking fourkilometers a day and stayed lean and fit.

When this was no longer possible, we played fetch with him on the large flat roof ofour apartment or took him up and down a short bridge nearby several times. We wentfor frequent holidays to a nearby beach to give him treats of space. We had to put inextra work, but we felt it was worth it.

Pharaoh was a very special dog to us, and most dog owners will identify with theperception of their pets as family members. Maintaining dog health is often likekeeping your children healthy. Listen to your pet, learn to understand their needs andyou'll be a happier dog owner with a rewarding relationship to cherish.