This is How You Could Be Shortening Your Dog's Life Span.

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As pet owners, we generally like to think that we are great at taking care of our dogs. However, in a lot of cases, this rarely turns out to be true. Even the most dedicated dog owners fail to realize the small mistakes that they make concerning their dog care habits.What’s worse is that some of these mistakes can drastically reduce the dog’s life span.So to educate those clueless pet owners, we’ve compiled this list of common mistakes that owners make with their dogs.

There seems to be a misconception among pet owners that dogs can eat whatever and how much ever they want. This is absolutely untrue. Even dogs need to follow a healthy, balanced diet. His/her health has a lot to do with what he/she eats.Owners must feed their dogs with the healthiest food possible. Poor quality dog food can cause a lot of medical complications such as sore ears, runny eyes, oily coat, and skin problems. It is wise to go through the labels to find out information concerning the ingredients used. In general, if the label reads “human grade” ingredients, it is worth spending your money on.The next thing to look at is calories or how much your dog eats, especially if you’re including human food into his/her diet. Too many calories can lead to obesity and that’s bad for dogs just as it is bad for humans.Dogs can also develop obesity related complications such as heart disease, arthritis, and even cancer.One bad habit that owners need to avoid right away is offering food based rewards for good behavior. Instead, the reward system must be replaced with verbal or physical signs of affection and acknowledgement, which, dogs love just as much as food.To know whether your dog is fat or not, just feel his/her ribs and spine. If you can’t feel them even mildly, she/he is obese.

Dogs need to see the vet at least once a year. This is the time when the vet conducts various physical examinations on your dog and even administers vaccines if necessary. The point is to make sure your dog is doing fine.Your dog cannot communicate with you and it’s not uncommon for a dog to suffer in silence. For all you know, there could be an underlying problem that only a visit to the vet could reveal.Similarly, your dog requires his/her

to stay protected from conditions such as parvovirus, distemper or rabies. Again, only a vet can provide that and also, keep track of it.