Pets are incredibly common in the United States, with the vast majority of homes throughout the country having at least one pet, if not more. There are a wide variety of pets that people own, from the very common dogs and cats to iguanas, turtles, and fish (among many others). Some people, if they can find the right space to house them, even own horses.
There are many components to taking care of your pet as they go through their lives, from the time that you get them to the time that they reach old age and the ends of their natural lifespans. Feeding your pets a healthy diet and giving them plenty of exercise is critical to keeping them in good health. In addition to this, you must also be sure to take them into the vet on a regular basis. Of course, you must also give your pets as much as possible, though this is certainly no hard thing to do for the vast majority of pet owners, if not all of them.
But there are points in an animal’s life when you might find that they are in pain. Older animals, for instance, are prone to developing arthritis. In fact, twenty five percent of all dogs owned as pets in the United States will develop arthritis at some point in their lives, typically in their last few years. Hip dysplasia is also common, particularly among Labrador retriever, who are buy and large the most popular dog breed here in the United States, named number one breed for five years in a row now.
But just because your animal (particularly your dog) has developed one of these chronic conditions does not mean that their lives will necessarily be filled with pain from that point onward. In fact, this is far from the case, as it has been found that more than seventy five percent of these animals (around seventy six percent, to be just a little more exact about things) will be able to live comfortably until they pass away from natural causes. However, this will take effort on the part of the owners, who will need to take a number of steps in order to ensure that this comfort is all but guaranteed.
For instance, buying a comfortable place for animals with arthritis or hip dysplasia to sleep is key, such as a new therapeutic mattress pad. A therapeutic mattress pad or therapy dog bed can make a difference of night and day in your dog’s enjoyment of life, as can a thermal knee brace and thermal knee supports, if the knee is the joint that is particularly impacted by the arthritis or any other chronic and even degenerative condition. In fact, the dog arthritis brace is more common now than ever before, as is the therapeutic mattress pad.
If your unsure about what type of therapy products for dogs you should invest in to better your dog’s life, you should consult with your vet. Your vet will likely to be able to recommend things like a therapeutic mattress pad – and the right therapeutic mattress pad, at that – as well as things like therapy socks, if they think that something like this will benefit your dog in the long run. Of course, you can conduct your own research as well, especially if you are looking to save some money on the therapeutic mattress pad or dog bed that you end up buying.
It can be difficult to see your dog or your cat or your horse in pain, there is simply no denying this. When you see pain that you can’t automatically fix, especially in an animal that you love, it can be a very hard thing to learn to cope with. However, if you take the right steps to care for them, the vast majority of these animals can still live for years in happiness and in comfort. It can be an investment in time as well as in money, but the vast majority of all pet owners will agree that this investment is very much worth it in the long run for their pets and for their quality of life.