Ears, eyes and teeth - why preventative health care is essential
One constant at Discover Dogs has always been our passion for preventative health care. Even when we started as dog walkers, Tanya provided all our clients with monthly health care, including nail trims, ear cleans and brush outs.
This article is meant to inspire you on your preventative health care journey. We all need a plan to help keep our dogs healthy throughout their life and below are some good jump off points for any health care plan.
The reason we’re so passionate about regular health care maintenance was the many health benefits Tanya saw when she provided these services on a regular basis. These are some things you might notice as you embark on your health care journey with your pet.
First off, she was able to establish a base point for each dog - what they looked like, and what their health was like when she first met them. This makes it so much easier to notice changes in your dog's body if and when they happen.
Second, it allowed Tanya to notice changes quicker if and when they happened. Whether that be a mat in the dogs fur, build up of tartar on their teeth or a sore spot on their leg, spotting these things early made managing them so much easier.
And finally, it allowed us to treat and monitor issues that dogs did have. Being familiar with the dog’s anatomy, health care and grooming needs as well as their personality, allowed Tanya to simply take better care of the pets as they aged.
The goal at Discover Dogs is to encourage and educate our clients so they too can feel the confidence and rewards of practicing good preventative health care with their pets.
While you may have to outsource some of these services to professionals, (Here’s a link to Tanya’s health care services) having a general knowledge of what’s involved in a preventative health care plan is a great first step!
Ears:
We like to think dog’s benefit from having their ears cleaned about once per month. This allows us to remove dirt and debris, without stripping the ear of its natural - and super important - micro biome. Think of this as bugs and wax that help keep your dog's ears healthy. Removing too many of these can end up doing more harm than good.
Ear cleans can range from just a wipe with a clean soft makeup pad or cloth to an inner ear soak followed by a deep cleaning - this will depend on the general health of your dog’s ears. If you find that you need to clean your dog's ears more than once per month - due to smell or debris then we want to look at why your dog has so much darn stuff coming out of their ear. More often than not we solve ear issues with diet changes. Dogs on lower carb, lower sugar and lower processed diets do not excrete as much stuff. Raw fed dogs tend to have almost no ear issues and require minimal cleaning.
Teeth:
Whether you brush your dogs teeth or use chews and diet, every person needs a good dental health plan for their dog.
Dog’s teeth work just like ours - any time build up is allowed to sit for a day or two it has potential to do damage to the enamel on their teeth. In addition dental surgery later in life is expensive, and can be tough on the dog. This is what makes it so important to perform regular preventative care for your dog's teeth.
Dogs' dental health - much like humans - depends a lot on diet. In both dogs and humans we have seen a link between consumption of processed foods and poor dental health. Akin to kids that only eat fried foods, dogs on processed diets have a much higher rate of dental disease. The starch, sugars and synthetic ingredients in processed foods are bad for your pets teeth. Dogs on species appropriate diets (made of meat and veggies, little to no starch, minimal heat and processing) require much less dental care because the food they eat promotes good dental health.
Either way, we tackle preventative dental health by providing regular chews and/or brushing for our dogs teeth. Ideally every 2-3 days we are either providing a chew or using a tooth brush to clean our dogs teeth. In addition, providing dental health care will allow us to become more familiar with our dogs' teeth in general. You’ll know more about what they look and you’ll notice things like greying, build up of tartar, and or crack sooner.
Here’s our top selling toothpaste
Coat:
Whether long or short haired, we want to provide regular maintenance on your dog’s coat and skin. Their coat is a great way to assess their general health and their skin tells us lots about how they are digesting their food.
Long haired dogs will need regular brushing in order to maintain a healthy coat. This involves finding the right brush for your dog's fur type and making a plan to help you stay on top of regular brushing. The more often you maintain the coat, the easier it is on both you and the dog. Waiting for their coat to mat before addressing the brushing makes it a more laborious and stressful process on both parties.
When it comes to bathing, your dog's coat works much like their ears. There is a natural biome on their coat that over washing can remove, creating other skin and coat related issues. Baring your dog rolling in something gross, we generally want to bathe the dog every 2-3 months. Any more than that and we risk washing away the natural protective flora. We don’t recommend a ‘medicated’ wash and find there's a lot of great local and low ingredient dog shampoos out there.
The best all around brush we got!
Nails:
This is one of the areas of preventative health care that many clients struggle with. And while some dogs will naturally wear their nails through exercise, most dogs will need their nails trimmed on a regular basis. If we fail to trim the nails they can keep growing and can eventually cause issues with your dog's gait (how they walk) especially in senior animals.
Being able to have your dog’s nails trimmed (either by you, or by a professional) is an amazing tool to have for your dog. Since vet visits and grooming are part of every dog's life, being able to have your dog looked over and worked on is an essential skill for all dogs.
There are many resources on the internet for people at all stages of nail trimming with their dog. If you’re unsure where to start check out our healthcare services page here and consider booking a first time nail appointment.
The only nail trimmers you’ll need
Regular maintenance and attention to your dog's ears, teeth, coat and nails is one of the best ways to keep your dog healthy throughout your life. This preventative health care goes a long way at helping you track good health in your pet and notice changes. We can’t encourage our clients enough to have a solid preventative health care plan. If you need help or don’t know where to start reach out to us at hello@discoverdogs.ca