Article: If you believe that your dog is underweight, you need to begin keeping track of the dog's weight so that you can track the dog's weight loss, and then his weight gain as you implement weight-gaining strategies. Be sure to share this information with your vet. You need to be sure that there is nothing causing your dog's weight loss that needs medical attention. Your dog may have an illness or parasite that isn't immediately obvious to you that your vet will be able to determine. Illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, hepatitis and inflammatory bowel disease may manifest as weight lost, but require additional treatments and medications. Therefore, a pet with an undiagnosed condition will not improve with food alone. In fact, they will get much worse without proper treatment. Talk to your vet about using body conditioning scoring (BCS) to help objectively assess whether your pet is too thin, too heavy or just right. A sample chart can be seen here. If your dog seems underweight based on the BCS, you should talk to your vet about an approach to help your dog gain weight. In general, your dog is at a healthy weight if you can see their waist, you can feel their ribs when petting their sides without actually seeing the outline of the ribs and their belly curves upward to meet their hips. If you can easily see most or all of the ribs, the backbone or hip bones, your dog is likely too thin. Some breeds, like Greyhounds, and some hunting and herding dogs (Border Collies, Pointers) tend to be leaner than other breeds like Mastiffs and Labrador Retrievers. It is best to have your vet do a fecal test for intestinal parasites, but if you are unable to do that, you can diagnose and treat your dog for worms from home. A dog that has an intestinal parasite infection may be underweight because the parasite is sapping the nutrition out of the dog's food before the dog is able to process it. A dog's weight is related to his overall health, and part of your dog's health is getting adequate gentle exercise. Make sure to consult your vet before embarking on a rigorous exercise plan. Some dogs suffer from arthritis, neurological difficulties or metabolic diseases that lead to muscle wasting which would require special treatment under the guidance of your veterinarian to improve your dog's health without additional injury. Gradually increasing controlled walks on leash is usually safe for most dogs and less likely to cause injury. Swimming is a great no impact exercise for dogs who don't mind getting wet. Make sure the entry and exit from the water are set up to prevent injury getting in and out of the pool, lake, or river.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Record your dog's weight. Consult a veterinarian. Determine your dog's ideal weight. Deworm your pet. Ensure that your dog is getting appropriate exercise.
Article: It's important to sit down and be a tad bit realistic. A Taurus is very protective and is often jealous, like his opposite, Scorpio. If your sign happens to be Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Libra, or Gemini, you may have to forget about getting along with a Taurus, much less attracting him. His overbearing nature will be too stuffy for you. Make sure your sign meshes well with his! If he can handle his bull-headedness, his need for routine, and his need to lead, by all means! This could be a relationship that lasts a very, very long time. But if these are factors that you can't see yourself tolerating long-term, try not to get your heart twisted in a bunch. He can make for a good fling, but little else. Taurus likes his routine and his woman will need to be a part of it. So carve out a space for yourself! Make him part of your routine and vice versa. The deeper ingrained you two become in each other, the harder it'll be to break. This does not, by any stretch of the imagination, mean that you two have to be involved in every aspect of each others' lives. No, no, no. It simply means to have routine hobbies and activities that you two do together that you can depend on. Stir Friday. Bowling league. Saturday morning mimosas. You each still need your own life! But each other has their definite, solid part. and work with his ego. Sometimes men can get pretty defensive when it comes to their manhood, and Taurus is no different -- in fact, he may be the cause for this gender stereotype. His pride and ego dominate a large facet of his nature -- if you attack this, he will not be happy. Make sure allow him to lead you on occasion -- he'll love it and love you for it. There are delicate ways to do everything. If you two are fighting, this does not mean backing down and saying, "You're right, honey. I'm sorry." (Unless he is right, of course.) It means saying, "I don't understand what this has to do with that. Can you explain it to me?" With Taurus, a certain amount of tact will get you a long, long way. If you're looking for a man that will shower you with adoration, Taurus isn't it. Sure, he's very capable of being affectionate, but he may take his precious time. If you can muster it, be patient. Show him you're comfortable being caring and demonstrative and he will echo you back. Don't be discouraged if he's not as caring as you'd like him to be. If it's an issue, address it! He'll value your honesty and straightforwardness. Give him a while to come around to the idea. He's worth the wait, you know? Along with being aloof and slow to make his move, Taurus can be a bit untrusting. He's very much so of the mantra "If you want something done right, you do it yourself." This leaks into his romantic relationships too, where he's used to doing his own thing. However, over time, if you show him you're trustworthy and responsible, he'll see it makes sense to let his guard down. That's when you know you've won Taurus's heart. If you're all these things: honest, practical, diplomatic, and patientthere will be no issue. Trust will just fall into place! Make it clear that your loyalty lies with him and only him; if he trusts you, he'll show it back. That means he's in it to win it!
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Consider the Taurus's nature. Develop a routine together. Practice nonviolent communication Know you may need to draw him out. Work on trusting each other.