Baby boomers aren’t alone when it comes to hitting senior status these days. A recent pet industry survey says senior pets make up about 50 percent of the U.S. pet population. In November, we looked at a variety of holistic options – from massage to acupuncture to laser treatments to hydrotherapy and more – to help ease the aches and pains of our senior pets.
Most of the options required pet owners to load up their pet into the car for periodic therapy sessions. We also looked at some options to treat your dog or cat in the comforts of home. What do you do if your pet needs a boost between treatments or if you don’t live near or can’t afford one of these options?
Now there are some cool products you can use at home for your aging, injured or ailing pet thanks to the Silver Tails line developed by the Quaker Pet Group. Today we are going to look at some of the products that back up these more holistic approaches for senior pets.
Hand-held massager – There are professional pet massage therapists that will come to your home. Some also offer training so that you may do pet massage on your own dog or cat. This hand-held massager is a great option for those who would like to provide this option for their pet and don’t have access to a massage therapist or need a little extra relief between sessions. A special cradle helps this hand-held device fit easily into your hand. The massager provides extra stimulation for your pet to revitalize the muscles and increase joint flexibility to relieve the stiffness and pain suffered by arthritic pets.
Infrared massager – Some specialty clinics offer low level laser treatments and some vets also have some infrared options as well. Infrared therapy has deep-penetrating effects on sore muscles and arthritic joints. This hand-held option lets you offer additional therapy to your pet at home to help soothe the pain of arthritis, hip dysplasia and other issues. The massager can speed up some healing and does improve your pet’s flexibility.
Magnetic therapy collars – I admit that I used to laugh at magnetic therapy until my mom tried it and found some relief from an old aching injury. It’s believed that magnetic therapy increases blood flow for sore and diseased tissue by supplying more nutrients and oxygen to affected areas, which speeds up the healing process. This is very easy to use. The magnetic collars slip over your pet’s existing collar. Then your dog or cat is good to go.
The products are available at Petco and some local pet retailers.
This is the first of a three part series. Next week, we’ll look into some other gadgets that make life easier for senior pets and the last week we’ll look at supplements and other items for senior pets. Learn more about Silver Tails online or follow them on Facebook.
Do you volunteer or work for a shelter or rescue that has programs you'd like to promote? Do you work in a pet-releated business that has an interesting story to tell? If so, contact me at kathypetexam@gmail.com. Enjoy this article? Receive email alerts when new articles become available. Just click on the subscribe button above. You may also follow me on Twitter, Facebook or read my blog.
Comments