Regular exercise is important to help keep your dog’s heart, lungs, joints, and muscles healthy. It also helps their minds stay healthy and happy and can alleviate behavioral problems.  With the weather warming, it’s never been a better time to get out there and get moving!  Exercising doesn’t mean you have to go running with your dog every day; there are many fun ways to get exercise while enjoying quality bonding time with your dog.

1. Just simply walk, run or even hike with your doggie. – Try something new with your pet, go on a different walk or hike than normal. Even make it a group activity and invite others with pets as well.
2. Let’s play “Fetch”- Many dogs like to retrieve objects and its great exercise for them! Get your dog a lightweight, soft object for him to fetch, these are safest in that they will minimize and hopefully prevent damage to your dog’s mouth and teeth.  Allowing your dog to jump can cause soft tissue injuries, so keep your tosses low to the ground.
3. Become involved in dog sports- Most dogs exceed and do excellent in agility or flyball, which is extremely popular.  They provide a way for dogs to expend energy while also forming a closer bond with their people, since the two of you work together. The following link has some services offered here in the springs.  Agility training
4. Get where the dogs are!- Doggie parks are wonderful ways to socialize and play with other dogs. Given that your pet is healthy and current on vaccines, give a dog park near you a try. Click here for a list of parks in Colorado Springs.
5. How about a day at the lake?- Many dogs enjoy swimming or splashing about in the water, but not all dogs are natural swimmers, so don’t force your dog to go in if he’s scared.

ADDITIONAL EXERCISE TIPS:

- Start slowly, especially if your dog isn’t accustomed to exercise.

- Take into consideration your dog’s physical abilities and preferences. Senior dogs or dogs with health issues may not be capable of lots of strenous exercise. And some dogs simply don’t enjoy water. Keep it fun and your dog will look forward to his next outing.

- Don’t exercise your dog in weather conditions that are too hot or too cold. Dogs with pushed-in faces, such as Pekingese or Pugs, are especially susceptible to heat stroke and humidity. In cold temperatures you may need to provide your dog with boots and a sweater to keep him warm. Dogs get cold too -even with fur coats!

- Try to maintain a regular exercise routine. Dogs that are mostly sedentary during the week, and then let out for a wild run on the weekend, for instance, are more prone to injury because their bodies are unaccustomed to the exercise.

- Always have plenty of fresh water on hand to keep your dog hydrated.

So get out there, have fun and most importantly do not forget a healthy diet is just as key to exercise.

As some of you may know, here at Dublin we have our own online store that provides you with the opportunity to request pet’s refills and to even have them sent to your house.  This is meant to be a convenient way of having to deal with the task of pet’s and their medications.

You are able to access the Pet Portal from the home page at Dublin Animal Hospitals website.

Once on the site, you will simply enter your email and a password (it is okay if you have yet to sign-up, the next page prompts you to create an account).

Next, you will need to click the “Activate Now” button, follow the steps and an email will be sent to confirm the activation. NOTE: some emails place this in the Junk box so do not forget to check there.

Once in the Pet Portal you are able to view your pet’s records, vaccines, appointments, their medications, add photos and then you are able to order prescriptions. At the top there are options such as “photos, care, pet records” and “shop”; this is where you will go to order prescriptions to ship. (When you click on each individual pet, there is a spot that is listed “Medications” this will be where you send a request to us to refill and pick up at the hospital; not the same as the ones in the shop )

Once in the shop you can add item’s to your cart and just simply check-out, follow the instructions and it’s just that easy.

Hopefully this helped some that were not sure how it worked and hopefully more of you are able to take advantage of this great service. If you have any problems, do not hesitate to call us 79-593-1336 or stop by, we are more than willing to help.

As the saying goes; you work hard, play hard.  Today a very happy birthday is in store at Dublin Animal Hospital. With all the serious business it is nice sometimes to kick back and just be silly.   From everyone here at Dublin we want to wish Marcus Roeder a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Dublin Animal Hospital is gearing up for an exciting Spring and Summer! Starting in April we will be hosting our very own, Biggest Loser Competition, Pets’ Edition. We are partnering with local businesses to offer some fantastic prizes, and incentives to get your pet to a healthier weight. The competition will be focused around getting your pet to its’ ideal, healthiest weight!

During the month of April we are starting off by doing weight management consults with all of the doctors to discuss diet, exercise and all the details for the competition. The competition will begin May 1^st and run through Mid-August.

(http://www.puppy-training-at-home.com/dog-obesity.html)

Here is some food for thought:

It’s estimated that about 35 million dogs in America are overweight. Research shows that overweight pets on average live two years less than pets at a healthy weight.

(Purina Life Span Study: www.longliveyourdog.com)

Most Common Risk Factors for Overweight Pets:

- Osteoarthritis and Poor Joint Health

- Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes

- Cranial Cruciate Ligament Injury

- Heart and Respiratory Disease

- Kidney Disease

- Cancer

(Courtesy of the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention: www.petobesityprevention.com)

So let’s get those pets into shape!

Inquire at the Dublin Animal Hospital for entry information and to schedule a consult with a Veterinarian: (719) 593-1336.

Dublin Animal Hospital, in partnership with The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak region wants to raise awareness about cat licensing.

Jan McHugh-Smith, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region speaks in the following video about the importance of getting your cat licensed.

For more information on how to license your cat visit www.licenseapet.org or www.hsppr.org.