Expert Tips to Properly Care For Your Emotional Support Dog

You comprehensively understand the importance of your emotional support dog in your life. From providing love and comfort to accompanying you when going outdoors, it provides you the required support to lead a happy life.

As the handler of your ESA, it’s your responsibility to care for it properly—to keep it healthy. It’s clear that if your dog isn’t healthy, it’s not able to help you deal with anxiety, stress or other common mental health conditions.


 

Regular Exercise

Like humans, pets require routine exercise to stay active both mentally and physically. Regular walks can help your emotional support dog with various benefits, such as preventing boredom, maintaining a healthy weight, burning excess energy, etc.

Additionally, by providing your emotional support dog with daily exercise and entertainment, you can easily prevent its common bad behaviors, such as chewing shoes, inappropriate barking, etc.

However, daily exercising requirements may vary depending on size, weight, breed, etc. Usually, emotional support dogs need 1-2 hours of exercise every day. Do comprehensive research, determine the appropriate exercise regimen and make a routine.


Veterinary Care

Expert veterinary care is necessary to keep your dog healthy. Choosing a vet is an important decision, and you should make it wisely. Search for “vets near me” online, make a list of vets in your area, check reviews, and select the best one.

All emotional support dogs require regular vaccinations to stay protected against severe diseases, fleas, ticks, etc. For instance, ProHeart 12 is an FDA-approved product for prevention of heartworm disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis for 12 months.

 Vet staff cares for a dog

Usually, veterinarians recommend the following vaccines for all dogs-

  • Canine distemper virus
  • Parvovirus
  • Adenovirus
  • Canine parainfluenza
  • Rabies

Talk to your vet to learn about the appropriate vaccinations for your dog.

Proper Nutrition

What your dog eats has a direct impact on its coat, energy levels, mental health, etc. So, it’s necessary to provide your pet with optimal nutrition.

Always buy high-quality dog food from a reputed company. Another option is to go for homemade diets. However, some vets don’t recommend making raw dog food at home due to the risks of bacterial contamination. It’s good to talk to a vet to seek professional advice about homemade diet for your dog.

Routine Grooming

Overgrown nails can cause problems for a dog when walking. Mats can lead to skin irritation and other health issues. And so on… Regular grooming will help your dog promote wellness along with looking pretty.

However, grooming needs vary from breed to breed. You may need to take extra care for your dog to prevent allergies or other health issues. For instance, if you have a long-hair dog, you need to brush it daily.

Covering it up, regular exercise, grooming, proper nutrition, etc. are some of the best ways to keep your emotional support dog healthy. Additionally, you should talk to a vet about appropriate vaccination for your dog and ensure regular checkups.

To live with your dog in an apartment without paying extra pet deposits, get an ESA letter. At My ESA Doctor, you can apply for an emotional support dog letter online in just a few minutes. The process is-

  • Sign up for an account online
  • See a licensed mental health professional via video call
  • Receive your PDF emotional support dog letter via email

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