tha lifestyle | Pets & fAMILIES
PET CARE SERIES : PART 1
Love your Pets?
Then care them
Dr. S. S. Balachandran
Former Director General at
Department of Animal
Production and Health, Sri Lanka
P
ets have become a very important part of our families.
In many cases they have become as much a part of
our lives as children or grandchildren. Pet dogs are usually
companion dogs especially to elderly people. Recent
studies also show that Pets can improve your mood,
Control blood pressure better than drugs, Encourage you
to get out and exercise, Stave Off loneliness and provide
unconditional love, Can reduce stress, sometimes more
than people etc.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of the pet owners to
keep their pets healthy and happy. So have to pay special
attention in giving them proper food and in their health
care..
FEEDING
Feeding your pet should be one of the easiest things you
do. Pick a name brand that you are familiar with, feed
puppy food to the young ones and adult foods to those
generally over six months of age. Consult your Veterinarian
on what to feed when they get past middle age. Most of
the diets out there are fine and our pets seem to thrive
well on nearly all of them.
HEALTH CARE
Vaccinations
Vaccination protects your dog against various
diseases which can cause pain, distress and are
often become fatal. Vaccinating your dog will give
you peace of mind knowing that you have provided
protection to your pets. In addition to safeguarding
Recent studies also show that Pets can improve
your mood, Control blood pressure better than
drugs, Encourage you to get out and exercise,
Stave Off loneliness and provide unconditional
love, Can reduce stress, sometimes more than
people
06
your own pet from diseases, vaccination also
prevents diseases from being passed on to other
animals.
The vaccines are commonly used to protect our
pets from
»» Canine parvovirus
»» Canine distemper virus
»» Leptospirosis
»» Infectious canine hepatitis
»» Rabies.
Pets should receive a ‘primary’ vaccination course
early in life, followed by ‘booster’ vaccinations
throughout their life.
Know the Law!
Controlling your dog in public It’s against the law
to let a dog be dangerously out of control:
a) in a public place
b) in a private place
where the dog isn’t allowed to be (eg a
neighbour’s house or garden without
permission)
The law applies to all dogs.
The primary vaccination course for dogs varies with
the type of vaccine used.
The first vaccine can sometimes be given as young