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A healthy dog is easy to recognize - lively eyes, energetic, and with a shiny, bright coat. As a dog owner, you should understand the importance of how to get your dog healthy and how to keep him in that condition.

Let's begin with the most basic ingredient - food. All animals need water and food to exist. From a human perspective, we realize balanced food intake is the only way to get a quality diet and to stay on top of our game. Dogs too require the same consideration or they face malnutrition. To ensure our much-loved pooches get proper nutrition, they need a diet rich in minerals, vitamins and doggy nutrients. This is very simple for us to do since the majority of today's brand-name dog food is complete. A dog food's price does make a difference, as the cheaper brands tend to be less nutritious and contain too much cornmeal.

Just like us humans, dogs can overeat and become overweight. In the wild, this problem never happens since an out-of-shape animal can't fend for itself and doesn't stick around very long. The only time an obese animal is found is when it's domesticated. Although some kind-hearted pet owners think they're making their pet happy if little Tito is eating lots and lots, these owners are actually shortening their pet's lives and putting them at risk for respiratory problems, arthritic pain, diabetes and heart disease. These obese pets also are more likely to pass away if they need to be put under anesthesia for surgery. (Unfortunately, this is also true for obese people.) Thus, feeding your dog the correct food in the correct amount is ultimately the most important way to show how much you care for your pet.

The condition of a dog's fur, skin and stools need to be addressed. Dogs can get ill from tics and fleas. Flea collars aren't always good at keeping away these pests. Instead, use a good powder or spray. Make sure to use these correctly according to the instructions. If a flea problem does arise, it's vital that you attend to it right away. First, clean the spots that the dog regularly lies around. Every time that you vacuum these areas, immediately empty the vacuum bags. Also, wash the dog's bed every time he lies in it. These steps will prevent further outbreaks from the fleas and their eggs nested in your home's carpet and fabrics.

Ticks like to jump aboard your dog while you walk him in the country. After every walk in the woods, check your dog's coat. Also, inspect your dog's stool for visible signs of worms like roundworm, whipworm, tapeworm and hookworm that attack a dog's intestinal tract. It's still important to stick to a worming schedule since not all worms can be seen by the naked eye.

These practices are easy ways to make sure your dog is healthy. You can also do other measures to increase your pet's health such as regularly visiting your veterinarian and giving your pet vaccinations on schedule. In this caring manner, you're helping your dog live a long, healthy and comfortable life.

Copyright 2006 Sally Ricco. All rights reserved. Sally Ricco's site Pet Dog Health - an informative site about common and serious dog health problems. More details at http://www.petdoghealth.com/