Posts in Category: Pet Health & Wellness

Did you know that a healthy weight and balanced diet is just as significant for your fur babies as it is for you?!? Finding the right mixture of exercise and diet for your pet can be a process. Our Bayside Animal Hospital staff is here to help you understand the basics of healthy pet weight management. Learn about the risks of pet obesity, and discover a few of our tips for designing a nutritious, balanced diet for your favorite companion animal. Discover how to keep your pets well-nourished, active, and healthy with pet weight management tips.

While humans may have a blast during Halloween and the season, many of the spooktacular traditions and happenings can be scary–if not terrifying–for our pets. If you’ve never considered it, let’s ponder what scares our pets. Loud noises. Strangers. Strange, unfamiliar smells (like makeup, plastic costumes, decor, and candy). Creepy sounds. Screams, screeches, and bumps in the night. All of which Halloween is made of. We’re here this October with tips to help you make Halloween a lot less scary for your pets. While we people might enjoy the frights of the season, our goal as amazing pet parents is to ease any stress or anxiety for our fur babies. 

Like humans, pets can suffer from common types of pain, which fall into two main categories: acute and chronic. Within these categories, there are other, more specific types of pain your pet may also experience. However, pet owners often struggle to identify if their pet’s pain is acute or chronic since some of the more subtle signs overlap. Pet pain may also simply be due to your pet’s natural aging process—and that’s what we want to help pet parents identify. We’re here to provide the best pet pain management available.

We all know that sleep is important for human newborns, adolescents, and adults, but we don’t always adhere to strict sleep schedules for ourselves. Our pets’ schedules tend to follow the routines we create within our homes. But does a healthy sleep schedule even matter to man’s best friend? According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), it does!

Although your pup’s sleep pattern isn’t exactly like yours, quality sleep is just as important for their long-term health and well-being. Learn more about healthy sleep for dogs, if dogs dream, and when too much sleep may be a sign of bigger health complications.

Summer is here, which means loads of time spent outdoors at the lake, camping, hiking, and enjoying a variety of summertime activities. And, if you’re anything like us, family fun usually includes fur babies!

Aside from ensuring your pet makes a springtime visit to see the friendly Bayside staff for routine pest prevention, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure they stay safe and healthy all summer long.

Healthy living–for pets and pet owners alike–isn’t just about diet and exercise. Creating the healthiest lifestyle includes meeting the physical and emotional needs of all parties. From preventative health to playtime, our Bayside staff has compiled some of their top recommendations to help you create a healthier life for your pet!

Spring has arrived, and your dog is likely just as excited to get outdoors as you are. While the local weather is delightful year-round, spring in the Galveston area means the last of the cold has subsided, and everyone’s got spring fever. Here are a few ideas to get you started this spring with your dog, get outdoors, and have some fun in the sun.

At Bayside, we love your pets as much as you do, and we’ve been doing some digging to help explain how those deep, loving bonds are formed. Do our pets feel the human animal connection as deeply as we do?! We’ve learned a lot on our journey and, to no surprise, discovered that 68% of US households are home to a pet (including four-, two, or no-legged varieties).

While cats and dogs are by far the most common choices for household companions—in studies and here in the clinic—it got us thinking: What is it about our furry friends that keep us coming back for more? And how important is the connection with pets to our health?

We’ve all heard the old wive’s tale that dogs have the “cleanest mouths.” But if you’ve ever met a dog, we’re sure you’ve questioned that more times than you can count. Every dog owner knows that their beloved pup will put almost anything in their mouth—from scavenged “food” finds and dirty toys to someone else’s waste. If you get our drift.

So, it would seem perfectly normal—natural even—that your dog would have a bad case of doggie breath, right? Wrong: Dog breath, while extremely common, can be a sign of larger oral health issues and may lead to more serious health complications as your pet ages.

Outside of regular, professional dog dental care, dog owners can turn to these vet-recommended preventative measures to keep their pup’s pearly whites clean and dog breath smelling oh-so fresh.

Whether you’re a long-time cat owner or just bringing a kitten home for the first time, keeping your fur babies active and entertained is a top priority for ensuring their health and happiness—and, at times, your sanity. At Bayside Animal Hospital we encourage all our feline-loving clients to think outside the box when it comes to selecting kitten games, toys, and indoor cat activities to keep your cat playfully engaged.