Health YW

Archive for the ‘Dog Health’ Category

Does your dog appear to be emptying his water bowl a little more frequently than usual? If so, you’ll find he’s probably also urinating more than he used to. After all, what goes in must come out. If this behavior goes on for long enough, it can become a nuisance. That’s when it’s time to look closer at what’s going on.

It can be hard to tell if your dog’s water intake is in fact higher than normal, and the only way to do it properly is to measure it. Give your dog one water bowl for the day, and measure how much water you put in it. At the end of the day, measure how much is left. A dog’s average water intake is around 90ml per kilogram body weight, or 1 ½ oz. per lb.

If your dog has been exercising a lot, or if the weather is warm, he may be more thirsty than usual from time to time. However he won’t necessarily always drink to excess. How much he drinks is also affected by his diet; kibble has lower water content than canned food, so dogs fed a predominantly dry diet will drink more than those fed from a tin. However if he is always thirsty, and you can’t find any simple reason for it, it is likely that there is a problem with his health.

Some types of medication will make your dog thirsty.  Your vet can advise you whether this may be a cause of his increased water intake.

Excessive drinking and urination are often early symptoms of internal diseases. The most common of these conditions are diabetes, kidney disease and Cushing’s disease.

Most of us have heard of diabetes, where the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin to metabolize glucose.  One of the first indicators that your dog may be a diabetic is that he is always drinking from his water bowl. He also has little energy for his usual activities, and is constantly hungry.

If your dog is not eating, however, this could indicate a different medical condition, as I discussed in my previous article Dog Health Questions: Help! Why Is My Dog Not Eating.

Kidney disease can occur in dogs of any age. In the early stages you may only notice that your dog is always thirsty, and you need to let him outside to go to the toilet more often. As the disease progresses, he will go off his food, start to vomit and be quite depressed.  In my next article Dog Health Questions:  Help! Why Is My Dog Vomiting, I discuss the most common reasons why a dog throws up. Cushing’s disease occurs when there is an excess of adrenal gland hormone in your dog’s body. Corticosteroid medication, often used to treat allergies, can result in this condition. It may also occur because a tumor in your dog’s body is causing overproduction of these hormones.  Symptoms include a potbellied appearance, hair loss and an increased appetite.

These diseases are potentially very serious, so if your dog is drinking a lot, make an appointment with your vet to have him examined. Blood and urine tests will help to work out what’s happening in his body, so treatment can be started straight away. The sooner he is treated, the quicker his symptoms will abate, and you won’t need to constantly top up his water bowl.

Our dogs are like family to us and so naturally it’s very upsetting when they become sick.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you knew how to give your dog a check-up, so you could spot a problem early? Before it became truly serious or even life threatening?

Well, now you can!

Learn How To Give Your Dog A Check-Up Just Like Your Veterinarian Does!

It isn’t enjoyable for a doggy any time he’s got a cough, or for you personally. Aside from the apparent worry about their well being, their coughing can certainly keep you up during the night. In the event that their cough brings about retching and throwing up, you could have much more housekeeping duties to do!

Despite the fact that there are usually countless reason behind why your dog might cough, why don’t we take a look at the most typical causes.

Parasitic organisms

Heartworms are usually dispersed through mosquitos and reside within the right section of your doggie’s heart as well as within the blood vessels leading out of the heart to the lung. They aggravate those blood vessels and also additionally conflict with blood circulation, eventually leading to cardiovascular failure.

You can easily provide your pet preventive medicine to be able to prevent him from getting heartworm disease. These types of medicines do not really avoid an infection with heartworm, however they will eliminate the baby worms just before they begin to develop into adults and thus can easily start to cause your dog any specific damage.

Bacterial infections

In the event that your dog frequently visits a dog kennel or daycare, they might possibly be in danger of contracting kennel cough. This is actually a simple name for a extremely transmittable upper respiratory system infection that brings about inflammation involving a dog’s pharynx and also windpipe. The actual infection is usually usually brought on by a virus known as Parainfluenza, assisted and abetted by means of bacteria recognized as Bordetella.

Those pair of offenders tend to be liable for the majority of instances of kennel cough in canines. Even though you could vaccinate your pet against kennel cough, it is not really one hundred percent defensive plus your dog might also contract an infection. Luckily, for the majority of dogs kennel cough is not a serious condition and therefore they will get better pretty fast.

Heart Disease

We have previously discussed on heart failure while we were talking on the subject of heartworm. Any time your doggie’s heart is not functioning properly, it is not as efficient in pumping blood via his system. That indicates that their blood pressure rises and then there may end up being seapage of fluid within their lungs. The consequence is usually a cough that appears to be more serious during the nighttime.

Certainly, there are usually numerous origins of heart failure in canines, which includes a weakness associated with the specific heart muscle as well as damage involving the small valves inside of the heart. Treatment method will depend on the underlying cause, therefore bring your dog around to your current veterinarian in order to find out what is taking place with your doggy. A prognosis of cardiovascular disease can certainly be frightening however together with modern-day medicine, it is in all likelihood that your dog can possess a very good high quality of living for quite a few years to come.

Bronchitis

In the event that your pet is older, they might begin to cough a good deal more. That occurs mainly because their breathing passages can be significantly less flexible. Thus the small tiny hairs, known as cilia, which line their airways grow to be not quite so efficient.

The cilia’s duty is simply to help progress mucus upward and out of the respiratory system, and in the event that they do not perform this properly, generally there may end up being more mucus in your pups bronchi. That mucus can cause your dog to cough even more. Your animal medical practitioner may recommend medicine that can serve to relieve your older dog’s cough.

It is not unusual for a dog to tremble or shake when he is ill. However, as I mentioned in my article, “Dog Health Questions: Help! Why Is My Dog Trembling,” an infection may not be the only reason for the trembling.

Treatment methods associated with coughing in dogs may include anti-biotics, anti-inflammatories as well as humidifiers. However prior to attempting anything at all at home, make an consultation with your veterinarian. When you understand the reason why your dog is usually coughing, you will wind up being in a position to begin the proper therapy for their condition, plus he will quickly start to feel a more like his old self.

Our dogs are like family to us and so naturally it’s very upsetting when they become sick.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you knew how to give your dog a check-up, so you could spot a problem early? Before it became truly serious or even life threatening?

Well, now you can!

Learn How To Give Your Dog A Check-Up Just Like Your Veterinarian Does!

Clean teeth and gums are vital to the overall dog dental health. These are some informations on the most typical dental Problems in dogs and ways of treating them.

- Periodontitis

It is very common among dogs to have gum illness. At the age of 2 or 3, many dogs have either periodontitis or gingivitis.

The most common dog dental health problem is periodontitis, usually known as periodontal disease. The illness is due to numerous factors : plaque, food debris, cell mucus, and a mix of bacteria. When this film gets combined with saliva, the plaque it causes becomes tartar, and extraordinarily tough to get rid of.

- Gingivitis

Gingivitis, often referred to as gum illness, takes place when gum tissue suffers from a redness. Without treatment, it can end up in periodontitis, teeth loosening, bone loss, and eventually, loss of teeth.

- Tooth fractures

Tooth fractures develop when dogs chew hard substances, such as hard rocks and cow hooves. The splinters result to infection within the damaged tooth, which is sometimes known as the endodontic disease.

The simplest way to stop dog’s dental health issues

The brushing would reduce much of the bacteria presence in the mouth, not to mention making your dog’s breath smell sweeter. Make it a habit of brushing your dogs’ teeth on an everyday basis.

Toothpaste

There are toothpaste products made especially for dogs. Brush your pet’s teeth using dog toothpaste. Human toothpaste is especially designed for humans to spit the paste washings out. Dogs can’t do that, so pick a dog toothpaste at the pet’s store that’s safe enough for dogs to swallow.

Using a toothbrush in its teeth will take some time for the dog to get used to. Let your dog be acquainted and to it get used to this, is by putting some garlic salt, mix the salt with water, and dip the solution in an old toothbrush. Hold the old brush, and let your pet taste and chew it. Your dog will start to realize that chewing a toothbrush is and tastes good. Make it a habit a few times, till he feels relaxed brushing with it.

You might also employ a finger brush instead of a toothbrush. A finger brush is a acceptable good alternative, although nothing could replace the good old toothbrush. The downside of getting a finger brush to scrub your dog’s teeth is that its bristles are quite huge for the brush to go under the gumline’s margin as effectively compared with consistent toothbrush.

Pro cleaning

A good veterinarian will take further measures in ensuring your dog dental health by giving a good cleaning. Try and make it a regular habit of checking the teeth of your dog for any cracked or damaged teeth. If you see some difficult teeth, check fast with the vet. This is a preventive measure for your dog dental health.

Home safety

Naturally, cleaning your dog’s teeth does not mean you should disregard other areas of concern. Purchase your dog chewing toys that are much safer like rubber-made toys. You could also provide bones that are soft enough for your dog to munch.

There are some products in the market that deal very well in helping to deal with the bacteria in your dog’s mouth and could actually help treat damaged gum tissues. Do not forget to ask your vet on the most suitable products in the market for dog dental health.

Dental issues do not only happen to humans. Dogs also have dental issues as well . It is up to the owners, on ways to help their pet dogs overcome their dental health problems.

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