Getting healthy is a common New Year’s resolution for us, but what about for our pets? It’s a great time of year to think about achieving good health for both you and your animals. Here are a few ideas on how you can promote fitness for yourself and your pets.
Resolution #1: Keep Moving
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), our pets can bring us numerous health benefits if they are kept healthy. Studies show that pets can help decrease humans’ blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, loneliness, anxiety, and symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Pets, especially our dogs, give us more opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities, which can be especially beneficial for older adults, increasing cognitive function and more opportunities to socialize. So, resolve to walk your dog and play with your pets. Even indoor cats enjoy games with their humans: batting around small objects, chasing toys tied to a string, and climbing towers made especially for cats. The more you and they move, the better for you both.
Resolution #2: Healthy Treats
According to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, a very interesting result of a study conducted to better understand people’s feelings about what they feed their pets showed that “buying healthy food for their pets was even more important than buying healthy food for themselves!” The good news is that it can be great for you both. When thinking about treats for yourself and your pets, consider fruits and vegetables. Just remember, moderation is important. Too much of anything, even a healthy treat, can cause stomach problems, especially if your pet isn’t used to a particular food. Try these fruits and veggies for your dog or cat:
Vegetables
- Carrots
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Green Beans
- Celery
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Zucchini
Fruits
- Apples
- Blueberries
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Cantaloupe
- Pineapple
- Pears
Resolution #3: Practice Wellness
Hopefully, our trips to the doctor are limited to our yearly wellness checkups. The same with your pets. You and they will benefit from regular wellness examinations—you with your family doctor and your animals with their veterinarian. These visits can keep your pet healthy by monitoring weight, vaccinations, pest control, and internal health. You might consider alternative, or “complementary” veterinary care for pets with special needs, such as an arthritic dog or cat. Holistic veterinary care can be used alongside conventional care to help with pain management, inflammation, and many other conditions that affect pets, especially as they age. Dietary, herbal, and homeopathic remedies, along with acupuncture, water therapy, and other physical therapies may extend your pet’s ability to remain active.
“Each of my dogs has benefited from holistic veterinary care,” said Julie Duke, a local expert on pet care. “Choosing the right foods, supplemented with herbal and botanical medicines, has helped put a spring back in the step of my older dogs. And complementing traditional veterinary care with homeopathic remedies has extended their lives.”
Resolution #4: Drink More Water
We all think about upping our water intake, especially by substituting water for sugary drinks. Making sure your pets have fresh water daily is essential to their good health. For both humans and animals, water carries important nutrients to the body’s cells as well as aiding in the absorption of nutrients and digestion. In addition, water regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, enhances cognitive function, and cushions the spinal cord and brain.
These are easy-to-remember actions that will promote good health for you and your pet. By moving more, substituting fresh treats for processed ones, keeping up on wellness checks, and drinking lots of fresh water, you and your furry friends will start the new year on the right foot…er…paw.
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