5 Easy Ways To Keep Your Dog Healthy

It’s a lifestyle 💪🥦

The Dodo
The Dodo

Being fit isn’t just important for humans — it’s also necessary for keeping your dog healthy and happy, especially as he gets older.

Strong muscles help your dog on a daily basis — from maintaining his energy, to keeping up a balanced metabolism, to supporting bone health.

And it also helps keep him going on brisk walks and fun adventures!

To help you strategize on how to keep your pup fit, The Dodo spoke to Dr. Albert Ahn, veterinary advisor at Myos Pet, for some tips.

Exercise your dog regularly

“Exercise frequently and regularly: ideally every day through a combination of long walks and games (e.g., retrieving a ball),” Dr. Ahn said. 

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Your veterinarian can help you to develop an exercise routine (based on your dog's physical condition) so that together you can exercise to optimize muscle growth and health. Dr. Ahn suggests that if it's too cold to go outside, you can try different games indoors that involve moving, jumping and running.  

Keep in mind that as your dog gets older, there’ll probably be a natural tendency to decrease exercise. “Be sure to ask your veterinarian for techniques on how to continue to incorporate a comprehensive exercise program into your dog's daily routine to help maintain vitality, solid muscle tone and good mobility well into his senior years,” Dr. Ahn said.

Feed your dog a good diet

“The second component to helping make sure that your dog's muscles are healthy is to make sure that you feed your dog a good diet which features the right amount of high-quality, highly digestible protein,” Dr. Ahn said.

To help figure out which food is best, ask your veterinarian to make specific diet recommendations that would be suitable for your individual dog.

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Incorporate nutritional supplements

“Nutritional supplements such as Fortetropin have been clinically shown to help dogs maintain strong and healthy muscles,” Dr. Ahn said. 

Ask your veterinarian if supplements like this could benefit your pup.

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Keep your dog hydrated

Water helps to keep the joints lubricated, making movement easier.

Make sure your dog gets enough sleep

Just like when people are working out, rest is crucial for letting muscles repair themselves. “Recovery is critical for overall muscle health!” Dr. Ahn said.

And one of the best things you’ll get out of helping your pup focus on his fitness? You’ll be focusing on yours, too! Not only that, but what’s better than some extra bonding walks with your best friend? That’s right — nothing.

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