We all know that puppies and kittens need to see the doctor more often in their first year of life in order to receive all of their vaccinations to make sure they stay healthy and get the best start to life. We also know that vet care alone and keeping our pets up to date with their vaccinations is not all they need. Puppies and Kittens need good nutrition, lots of toys (store bought or homemade), grooming, exercise and love in order to really thrive.
As life with your pet progresses during the weeks, months, and years of your life together you create routines. Like clockwork know what time they need to go out in the morning or how far they need to walk in a day to get their energy out and what window you will find the cat sunning herself. As the year progress your kitten no longer needs to chase the laser or run after the mechanical mouse. She is content to lay on your lap in the evenings watching tv. Your once rambunctious puppy who would run through the fall leaves jumping all over in pure glee making you laugh is now content to lay on top of the pile of leaves while you are outside together. When did things change? One day you had a teething puppy terrorizing the house chewing books and socks and now you have an aging dog and not sure what to do.
Just like when they are puppies and kittens as your pet ages they need more frequent visits to the vet. They need blood work so you know how they are feeling on the inside and can help them to live longer healthier lives. They need a food rich in nutrition just not as much fat as when they were puppies and kittens and they had two speeds fast and asleep. Aging dogs and cats need more help grooming then they did when they were younger plus it will allow you to notice if there is a tender spot on their body or an unusual growth under their coat of fur. They still need love and toys but depending on the condition of their teeth they might not be able to play with the same toys as when they were younger. Of course there will be days when they want to go out and play with you maybe even on a short run or a brisk walk but you need to pay more attention to what their body is telling you. But more often then not as the years progress you will find them perfectly content to curl up next to you and sleep in a little patch of sun if possible.
There are many factors to consider in how and when your pet starts showing its age a lot of that has to do with breeding. Did your pets breeder make sure to test for all known genetic issues in their breed? This is completely different then a routine yearly vet visit to determine if they are sick or healthy. Genetic testing consists of everything from eye exams from the veterinary ophthalmologist blood work to check for certain genetic markers, x-rays to determine the health of hips or knees, heart exams by cardiologists to listen for murmurs, and in some cases even MRI.
While it might be inevitable that your lab eventually develops some level of hip displasia a breeder can save your dog years and years of agony or even surgery by making sure their breeding stock shows no signs of degeneration in their early lives. Knowing that your cat or dog comes from a place that made sure they take into account the genetic health of their animals before they bred them will potentially allow you and your pet a longer, healthier, happier life together. In the end that's what it is all about. If you know your breed is afflicted with certain issues whether it is a rescue or a purebred dog from a long line of healthy genetically tested dogs you can keep an eye on these things by going to special clinics on a yearly basis to have the cardiologist listen to their heart or do an eye exam. This way you can keep things under control and know when they need to go on medication or if their eyes are going blind and you will need to help them get around a little more then before.