2013年9月25日星期三

Common Dog Health Problems - Symptoms and Answers


Dog owners should know a bit about the various common dog health problems that their pet could get over the course of their lives. An old time belief, still held onto by many people, is that if their dog has a cold and damp nose, the dog is healthy. The truth is that there is no basis in science whatsoever that when a dog has a cold, wet nose, that they are healthy and have no problems such as heart problems, worms, mange mites or any other canine health condition.


Responsible owners should disregard such beliefs without scientific basis and focus on looking at the overall condition of the dog including scheduled physical checks of the eyes, teeth, ears, mouth and skin for any abnormalities that could be signs and symptoms of a particular disease. The dog owner should also be responsible to make sure their dog eats well, gets regular checkups and is groomed on a regular basis so that their dog will stay healthy for a long time to come.


In particular, there are certain dog health symptoms that mean your canine friend has particular diseases or health challenges. Dog owners should be familiarized with these likely signs of abnormalities in their pets so quick and specific action can be done directly to avoid any complications later on.


The dog’s coat should be shining, soft and full. With wiry coated dogs, like Australian terriers, you need to be sure that the coat is springy and has thick strands of fur. Types of dogs that have double coats need to show zero indication of thinning in the undercoats.


Redness or inflammation, open sores, scabs, flakes, lumps or cyst like growths on the skin can be signs of health issues. Your dog’s skin and fur should be free of parasitic infestation like ticks, fleas or mange mites. If your dog is itching or biting him or herself a lot this could mean they have skin parasites.


Just like us, bright, shining eyes in your dog means 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 spot is called the conjunctiva and a pale color may mean some health problems. 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. Your dog’s ears need to be kept clean and free of signs of parasites.


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. wan colored gums can be a sign or symptom of anemia. Sore looking red gums that bleed could be sending you the signal that you dog has a periodontal problem while emphasizing that your dog has some health issues with really bad breath.


Going back to the age-old belief on the dog’s nose, a healthy dog normally has a cold and wet nose but this should be caused only by clear and watery discharges that are common in dogs. If your dog has a bad smelling discharge coming from the nose, this could be trouble and you need to get your dog examined. 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.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mason_Joseph


StumbleUpon delicious button reddit logo blink logo Digg this story
Share/Save/Bookmark


没有评论:

发表评论