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Posts Tagged ‘dog health problems’

For a very long time, the domestic dog has been a man’s best friend, this is a well known fact. Man has always looked to their dogs for loyalty, companionship, and many attributes that even a human cannot offer. Due to a dog’s dedicated loyalty to his or her owner, ability to make even the hardest person become soft hearted, many people, like you and me, love having these four legged companions around for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, the health of a dog is as at much risk of deteriorating as ours is, and when our pets’ health is on the verge of being in danger, we should all be aware of our dog health problems so that we have more of a chance of fighting off the illnesses.

So let’s start investigating some of the illnesses that our dogs can pick up. There are numerous amounts of different types of dog health issues, but there are a few that are prominent:

Dog diarrhea: In the exact same way as you and I suffer from it, dogs do too. An upset stomach can be a result of food that irritates the dog’s bowels, or even a stomach bug that is going around targeting dogs.

Hip and back problems: These problems are more commonly found with taller and thinner dogs because of the inability to grow large muscles around important bones. Sausage dogs often suffer from very bad back problems because they have a very long and fragile spine that carries most of their weight.

Arthritis and general skin disease: These issues are very prominent with older dogs. As a human gets older, so will its body. Arthritis is very common with dogs, so their joints will get damaged as they grow older. Their skin can very well also start to deteriorate and skin diseases can start to form.

Luckily at this day in age, dog health insurance is available, so that it will not cost an arm and a leg for your dog to be seen to by a vet. The vet will do his or her utmost to help you with any dog health illness.

As it was said earlier in this article, there are many, MANY more dog illnesses and problems that can contribute to shortening your dog’s life, which emphasizes the point that we should all be increasingly aware of the symptoms of these horrible diseases and illnesses.

Dog owners should know a bit about the various common dog health problems that their pet couild get over the course of their lives. An oldtime belief, still held onto by many people, is that if their dog has a cold and wet nose, the dog is healthy. There are no scientific basis for this belief as no one can tell from how wet or how cold a dog’s is has anything to do with hereditary heart problems, parasites, intestinal worms, blindness, deafness and every other health problems that dogs can contract.

Responsible owners should disregard such beliefs without scientific basis and focus on looking at the overall condition of the dog including regular physical checks of the eyes, teeth, ears, mouth and skin for any abnormalities that could be signs and symptoms of a particular disease. On top of that, the dog owner should be responsible enough to provide all the care and attention that their dogs need including proper nutrition, preventative medicine and good grooming to ensure that their pets will be in good and healthy condition for years to come.   

Signs Of Common Dog Health Problems

There are a number of signs and signals that might be telling you that your dog has specific dog health symptoms or problems or diseases. Dog owners should be familiarized with these potential signs of abnormalities in their pets so quick and proper action can be done immediately to avoid any complications later on.

* Your dog’s fur needs to be fluffy, soft and shiny. Dogs with wire coats should have springy and thick strands. Breeds with double coats should have no indication of thinning on the undercoats.

* Redness or inflammation, open sores, scabs, flakes, lumps or cyst like growths on the skin can be signs of health issues. The skin and coat should be free from parasites including fleas, ticks and mites. An overabundance of scartching or biting of their own skin could mean your dog is infested with parasites like mange mites.

* Just like in humans, bright and shiny eyes are a sign of good health. In dogs, there is an area in the eyes particularly in the perimeter of the eyeballs that should always have a health pink color. This region is called the conjunvtiva and if its pale in color, this could mean some hidden health challenges. There should also be no abnormal discharges from the eyes, particular yellow or green colored fluids.

* Bad odors and/or bloody discharge from the ears is good symptom that something is wrong. Its important to keep the ears clean and free of parasites like mange mites.

* Dog gums that maintain a healthy rosy pink color and which might have a bit of black color as well is a pretty good indication of good health. Pale gums might mean your dog has a problem with anemia. Inflamed and bleeding gums can be signs of periodontal diseases while a foul odor emanating from the breath can be indicative of some underlying health problems.

* Thinking back to the old time thinking about a dog’s nose, a dog full of health usually has a cold, wet nose but this is really only due to the kind of clear and watery discharge that are normal in dogs. If your dog has a bad smeling and icky colored discharge coming form the nose, you need to have your dog looked at right away. These kinds of discharges in young puppies could indicate canine distemper and may turn out to be fatal.

A few other things that indicate a healthy dog are the weight – normal for the breed, body temperature – dogs get fevers just like children, and how the urine and feces look and smell. Its very important to know and understand these health signals and symptoms so that you can help your dog right away if you see that something is wrong.

Halitosis can really get you sick to the bones if you have it, which is why you need to know clearly if you do really have it in your mouth. Although bad breath is a condition common to human, your dog may also have the same fate. Incredible as it may sound; your dogs are also at risk of having bad breath.

But, you don’t have to worry that much. There are now lots of halitosis products for dogs available for your dog’s needs. In fact, most of these are products for home remedy; saving you from visiting the vets too often just to restore your dog’s pleasant breath.

Read also our selected articles on Bad Breathe.

Now, there are lots of home remedies for your dog’s halitosis. And since people have different interpretation of halitosisremedy for dogs, it is up to you to decide which one will best suit your pet dogs. The following are some remedies to try to keep your doggy’s breath always pleasant;

Dog Toys

Perhaps you won’t believe this, but some of your dog’s toys are not just designed to help you in training it. Some of these are also effective in cleaning the teeth of your dogs. Dental chews are among them. These are usually designed to massage the gums of your dogs as well as clean its teeth, removing plaques and food particles in between. Greenies and Nylabone are two of the most popular brands when it comes to doggy dental chews. You may want to watch out though, because most dental chews are not meant for dog with stronger chews.

Dental sticks are also great for your dogs. This is also designed to massage the gums and get rid of food particles and plaque between the teeth. You can fill the sticks with treats to make your dog happy while keeping yourself satisfied at keeping your dog’s breath pleasant.

If your dog likes bone for playing, it is fine because bones can actually help keep your dog’s teeth clean. However, you should be aware that giving your doggy some cooked bones is not a good idea at all. Why? It is because cooked bones can crack while they are playing with them and can cause serious injury to your dogs especially in the mouth. Instead, give your dogs some raw bone to play with.

Water Technique

If human needs plenty of water to keep anaerobic bacteria at bay, well so are your dogs. You need to provide your dogs with lots of water to keep its mouth moist and its mouth free from food particles. You also have to make sure that your dog’s water are always clean; thus, you can be sure that no food particle or bacteria will get back to your pet’s mouth. Or you can buy oxygenating solution meant for dogs; by mixing this to the water, you can be sure that bacteria are destroyed and your dog’s breath fresh.

Brushing

If you need brushing to keep your mouth and teeth clean, so are your dogs. There are brushes especially designed for your dogs. Just make sure that you brush your doggy’s breath properly and regularly and you can be rest assured that no visit to the vets is necessary.

Aside from these home remedies and bad breathproducts for dogs, you can also keep your pet’s breath fresh by choosing what it eats. Experts advise that you give your dogs some mixture of dry dog foods and canned ones. You can also consult your vets for guides on how to keep your dog’s breath pleasant all the time.

Please visit: http://1st-Bad-Breath.com where you can get your FREE Report on “Discover How You Can Combat Bad Breath!“, videos, resources, and discover more on Dogs Bad Breath.

Have you just came home from the vet and got the sad news that he or she has found heart disease in your dog? When you heard this prognosis, chances are you felt your own heart sink as this is your beloved pet. Did you know that there is plenty you can do in order to change what might appear to be bleak news from your vet? As you read this article, you will find out how to prevent and treat heart disease in dogs.

Prevention is definitely better than cure when it comes to heart disease. Is your dog eating a healthy diet? If not this may be the cause of his deteriorating health. Don’t beat yourself up about this, but it’s time to start learning about healthy foods for dogs and what to feed your dog to speed his recovery.

Chemical medicines for heart disease in dogs do have known side effects. If you can, find a holistic vet who can prescribe herbal remedies such as dandelion or hawthorn which can both help strengthen the heart muscle and prevent a build up of fluid.

Make sure you take your dog to the vet for a yearly check up even though he seems healthy. If you notice your dog coughing, especially during the night time or after exercise, then you should take your dog to the vet immediately as this could be one of the symptoms heart disease.

If your dog lacks energy and can’t seems to keep up while you are walking or there seems to be a difference in the way he’s breathing, then take him to the vet without delay. Some of the more serious signs of heart disease in dogs include weight loss for no apparent reason, difficulty breathing and fainting.

Moderate exercise is very important and is as simple as walking your dog a few times a week. If your dog already has heart disease you may have to let him set the pace. Slow down or stop if he seems very tired or starts to cough.

Your dog may have been diagnosed with cardiac ischemia, which is a reduced blood supply to the heart. Reperfusion is another possible heart problem which means actual damage to the heart tissue. Both these problems will respond well to CoQ10. CoQ10 is a fantastic supplement for dogs as it not only slows down the progression of heart disease, but it will also improve the overall health of your dog. We all know that a happy dog is a healthy dog.

In order to prevent bad cholesterol (LDL) in your dog and to help your dogs heart health, then we recommend some good old Vitamin E. 200-500 IU a day should be enough for heart health.  

Another natural supplement for heart disease in dogs is L-Carnitine. It will help with deterioration of the heart muscle. If you combine L-Carnitine with another supplement called Taurine, it will help to improve your dog’s life expectancy as well. This can be given in the amount of 500-2000 mg daily.

In conclusion there are many ways to  improve your dog’s heart health, as long as you keep a watchful eye on his health and remember to take him to his anuual visit to the vet each year or whenever you notice something wrong. Remember, heart disease in dogs could arise at any time, so please be watchful for any of the above symptoms.