Honey Update + Dog Healthcare Chat!
This post is written in collaboration with Zoetis Petcare. All opinions are my own.
Hello friends!!
Today we are going to be chatting about my sweet Honey girl, a little update on her, and some dog healthcare tips, tricks and awareness! I love talking with you guys in the DM’s about everything from dog food, to collars, to pretty much anything dog related haha! Love that my peeps love pups as much as I do.
So today I thought I’d move the conversation over to my blog so we can chat about first, Honey’s update, but also dog healthcare. Something that should be addressed more as we all love our little ones so much and want to be sure they are happy, active, and healthy as can be. Something we may just take for granted, but we should be actively checking up on more often.
honey update
Honey is now 9 MONTHS. Can you even believe it because SAME. Haha. She is getting so big!!! Her little personality has come out so much. She loves to be at my side all day long, seriously my little best friend, and especially nice when Brandon is on long trips for work. She is hyper / energetic as can be, waits for me at the same spot every morning to take her on her walk so she can bark at everyone who passes by haha.
She is now fully potty trained thank gooooodness. Wow that felt like awhile. She’ll have occasional accidents when out of the norm, but for the most part so great! We bell trained her so she rings the bell every time she has to go potty! Her eating is great, we switched her to wet food because she’s apparently picky now lol and she is still loving her crate which we keep her in at night and when we leave! We are planning to be a little “looser” on the cage and leaving her out when she hits 1 year old.
As far as healthcare, we have been so thankful that Honey has been healthy. She had a recent ear infection / some allergy issues, but other than that she has been a healthy little girl. Something that came to my attention however, is that I am really not informed on what I should be looking for regarding her health. I’m a new dog owner, and almost like a new parent I’m constantly thinking, “Well what if something’s wrong with her?!?” and “Well how would I even know if something’s wrong with her??”. My friends. It’s all about watching your dogs behavior and educating yourself.
healthcare
I recently heard about Zoetis Petcare (IG: @zoetispetcare ), and I wanted to share them with you all as they are the world’s largest animal health company. They’re a great source for learning things as simple as “How to Potty Train Your Puppy” and “How to Prevent Boredom in Your Pet”. They have tons of great blog posts, tips, tricks and more on their blog and Instagram. Also something they specialize in is informing pet owners like you and me on topics we may not have even HEARD of before!
I was informed from Zoetis Petcare all about Osteoarthritis. Maybe you’ve heard of it, but I definitely had not! I can get so busy taking care of Honey’s food, and hair coat that I can neglect to inform myself on issues that may be going on inside of her!
osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is caused by the wear & tear of cartilage and other joints in dogs. It’s painful for your pup, and can result in both physical / emotional changes in your dog. It’s a progressive condition, and it occurs in 37% of dogs in all shapes, sizes and ages of life1. OA can be spotted in your dog if you see signs of limping, lameness, decreased activity, or exercise. OA is not treatable, but there are things that can be done to help your pup’s pain be managed, especially if you catch it early on.
Now I know what you’re thinking “Nicole this is sad, and why are we talking about this?”. Well my friends, I started getting upset at how things are with dog culture talk, and more importantly the things I’ve chosen to focus on previously. Talking about haircuts, and collars are all fun and not BAD to talk about. They are important too! BUT, I want to take action to raise awareness and care more about what’s going on in the INSIDE of my sweet Honey vs. merely the outside. We should be actively watching our pups to make sure they are well on the inside.
So what does all this mean? Watch, watch, watch your dog. Notice any differences you may see in him/her. Decreased signs of activity/exercise. Pup’s can be good at hiding their pain so make sure you’re watching your sweet little thang! Read up on OA, and other topics for the health of your pup. Like I said Zoetis Petcare is a credible place where you can educate yourself and make sure your pup is happy and healthy! Also something I did for Honey that Zoetis Petcare provides is an osteoarthritis test that you can fill out and bring to your veterinarian. It’s a simple and easy test - will literally take you 2 minutes to fill out. Then you can show it to your vet and see if there’s anything you should be worried about. It’s a great way to take an active step to make sure your pup is happy & healthy, and if not, catching OA early is one of the best things you can do to help your pup with managing the pain.
I will link the OA checklist below that you all can fill out! September is Animal Pain Awareness Month so I would love if you helped me spread the word on osteoarthritis and other topics similar to this that you are passionate about! Thank you for reading as always, and feel free to message me with any questions!
OA CHECKLIST: www.oachecklist.com
1 Wright, A., Amodie, D., Cernicchiaro, N., Lascelles, B. and Pavlock, A., 2019. PVM1 DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT RATES OF OSTEOARTHRITIS IN DOGS USING A HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT(HRA) OR HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS IN GENERAL VETERINARY PRACTICE. Value in Health, 22, p.S387.
