Online animal courses will teach you a lot about providing a healthy diet to keep your pet in good health; however, what’s also given great importance is the need to keep them well hydrated. As is the case with humans, water is a vital component in an animal’s body, as it’s necessary for good cell function.
Without it, the body becomes dehydrated and eventually starts to shut down. In this blog, we look at why water is so important, how to spot dehydration and how easy it is to improve your knowledge as an owner or animal care professional with video-based vet courses from OCA.
What Water Does For Your Pet
Essentially, water is required by the body in order to aid digestion and allow nutrients to be absorbed. It’s also vital for lubricating joints, supporting brain function and regulating body temperature. Every single organ and body system relies on water to work properly - such is its importance.
Whether talking about us or our pets, a lack of water will make us feel light-headed, confused and groggy - and that’s just the start. As you’ll cover in online vet courses, dehydration needs to be dealt with quickly, or it can lead to fever, hallucinations and eventually, death.
How to Spot Dehydration In Your Pets
Believe it or not, pet dehydration is quite a common thing, as it’s not typically something that too much attention is paid to over and above, making sure their water is always topped up. There are a number of reasons why they may not be getting enough water, so it’s important to be able to spot the signs, which include:
- Ongoing tiredness, regardless of the time of day
- Loss of appetite
- Eyes look sunken
- Overly panting
- Dry gums and nose
- Skin lacking in elasticity
Dehydration is not necessarily a sign that poor care has been provided, as they lose water when they pant, breathe and go to the bathroom. As vet courses teach you, other factors at play include humidity and heat, as the warmer it is, the quicker fluid is lost.
By providing fresh, clean drinking water in multiple locations, you’ll help to avoid this from happening, with drinking fountain products being great for pets like cats, as they simply love running water. Your pets get water from their food too, so you should offer wet food, as well as dry biscuits or kibble as it’s otherwise known.
Improve Your Knowledge With OCA’s Video-based Learning!
With just a little preparation and forethought, you can ensure that your pet never suffers from dehydration or the associated symptoms. What’s more, if you want to improve your knowledge as an animal care professional or concerned owner, it’s never been easier to do so, thanks to video-based, CPD-approved vet courses from OCA that make learning a cinch!
If you’d like to know more about our entire range of online animal care training or indeed the modular courses we offer to cover over 20 different industries, you’ll find what you’re after by visiting us at www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au and taking a look around. There you’ll also see that we provide flexible payment options to make our training even more accessible.
Alternatively, if you have any questions about our training before you sign up, we’re more than happy to help. Just call us on 1300 611 404, and we’ll do everything we can to assist. Enquire today about our vet courses!
