This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Mars, Incorporated. All opinions are mine alone. #IAMSVisibleDifference #IAMSDog
If you’re a true dog lover, I’m sure you would do anything to increase your pet’s years on earth. There’s information galore about ways humans can increase their lifespan and live happier, healthier lives. Much less research exists for dogs, but we can infer the same strategies used for human health and longevity work for the canine population as well. Many folks are too busy to fully focus on their own health, much less that of their dogs, but the interesting thing is, our health directly impacts our dogs health and vice versa.
When my mom passed away almost two months ago, I know our dogs sensed my sadness. They were very affectionate and attentive during this time. It made me realize how important they really are to my life and that I’d not focused on them enough since having children. It’s never too late to make a change, so I’m partnering with IAMS™ to not only bring you my own tips on dog wellness but to tell you what IAMS™ is doing as well to ensure your dogs have a great life. These eight tips can increase the life span of your dog, and in turn, you will likely increase your own life span as well.
A healthy dog is a visibly happy dog and likewise, a healthy human is a visibly happy human.
1). Family Time: Loneliness can wreak havoc on human and canine bodies. In contrast, when one is around people and other animals who bring joy, fulfillment, and happiness, the heart and the mind flourish. To help ensure this happens for your dogs, be sure to make them part of the family. Let them snooze in the living room while the family watches movies. Let the kids waller all over them as long as the dog doesn’t bite or nip. When grilling or playing outside, let the dogs in on the fun.
2). Exercise: It’s a no-brainer that exercise is good for any living creature. Animals are natural fitness buffs, especially if they’ve been provided opportunities for movement throughout their lives. Most dogs love to run and play with Frisbees, toys, balls, and sticks. Exercise is wonderful for a dog’s body and yours too, so if you’re not doing so already, get outside and have some fun!
3). Physical affection: Disturbing studies have shown that when children are neglected or deprived of physical affection, significant developmental and cognitive delays occur. When it comes to dogs, you don’t need a study to see that most dogs love to be petted and loved on. If dogs and children are part of your family, teach you kiddos how to safely interact with your dogs to give them the physical affection they need and want. Our dogs give us so much physical love and affection and can even perceive when we need it the most. We must do the same for them.
4). Healthy food: We are what we eat, right? Well, so are dogs. Dogs need excellent nutrition just as much as we humans. IAMS™ offers an array of healthy, tasty dog food. Their products include fatty acids from fish oils which promote optimal skin and coat health. Beet pulp is added to their food to maintain intestinal wellness and help doggies absorb nutrients. Not only that but the brand’s customized mix of protein and carbohydrates contribute to healthy energy levels for your dogs, and with all of the play and exercise they should be getting, they’ll need some energy.
5). Play time: Dogs are a lot like kids. They love, love play time. Whether you take them to a dog park to play with other dogs or ensure they’re outside with your family every afternoon, dogs enjoy jumping, running, and fetching. As we talked about earlier, happiness leads to a longer life and play makes everyone happy, so focus on incorporating doggie play time into your schedule.
6). Positive reinforcement: Also similar to children, positively reinforcing your dogs for good behavior goes a very long way. If you’ve ever taken a puppy or dog training class, you immediately learn that treats are king. In order to teach dogs to sit, stand, or stay, you must reward them with a treat. As the field of Behaviorism has shown, no reward=no behavior. Along with treats, be sure to reward your dogs with hugs, pats on the head, brushing their fur, whatever they like. If they’re being good boys and girls, they certainly deserve a little reward.
7). Socializing: This one is so important to dogs, especially if you ever want to go anywhere with them or ever have anyone over. If you fail to socialize them well, they could harm people and other animals or scare children. From the time they are puppies, dogs need to be around other dogs and humans. Otherwise, they will become skiddish of living beings and lash out, nip, or bite as a defense mechanism. Take your dogs on walks and let them “meet” other dogs along your route. Let them enjoy dog parks or if the budget allows, take them to doggie daycare or camps periodically. A lot of families don’t like to board dogs when traveling but if you can find a good kennel, your dogs can have a wonderful time with their peers and gain very important social skills while you’re off exploring the world.
8). Consistency: Consistency is key for everything in life. To be fully fit, we must exercise consistently. To achieve or maintain a certain weight, we must be consistent with healthy eating habits. Consistency is important when taking vitamins, being social, getting enough rest, so on and so forth. To help your family be consistent with your dog’s wellness, I’ve created a printable habit tracker you can print and put on the fridge. Everyone can refer to it and work together to ensure your fur darlings are living a healthy, happy life.
I think you’ll really enjoy this chart. Not only does it help you track your behaviors, but it’s great for children because it offers them a visual of how the family is doing.
Before the boys came along, the dogs were our top priority and we absolutely followed all the tips in this post. After having children, however, there have been times where we’ve bought the cheapest dog food we could find to stay within our family budget. It’s clear cheap food doesn’t digest well nor does it offer the same benefits as brands like IAMS™.
Walmart carries numerous IAMS™ products. The brand also offers 100% customer satisfaction or your money back. Our two dogs are older and both have dental issues which requires us to mix soft and hard food together. I like to purchase IAMS™ lamb and rice soft food and the Healthy Naturals hard dog food. The dogs love it!
I really encourage you to try an IAMS™ diet for your dogs to see the benefits it offers their appearance and energy level. Also, be sure to enter the Sweepstakes below for a chance to win IAMS™ for a year or Walmart eGift Cards.
#IAMSVisbleDifferenceSweepstakes
If you have dogs, you know how important they are to your life and the life of your family. It’s easy to put their needs aside when we’re focused on human children, careers, ailing parents, friendships, and other needs. I’ve learned in my own life, however, that my dogs are a constant that I can depend on every day.
Check out IAMS™ today to see a visible difference in your beloved dog. When everything else seems to be completely out of my control, they are there ready to play and love. What more could we ask for?
Awwwww what cuties!! Good food and exercise is so important for our dogs.