2013年9月13日星期五

What To Do If Your Dog Gets A Cold - 4 The Love of Animals

Sneezing, runny nose, headache, even fever: these are the things that we human beings experience when we have a cold. But having a cold is not just exclusive to us humans as our beloved pet dogs can get a cold too. But how do we determine if our dog has a cold? And most importantly, what to do if your dog gets a cold? Below are some facts and tips on what to do if this does happen do your dog.


Here is a fact that you might not have considered… Dogs are more exposed to germs and microorganisms than us humans, especially ones that spend any time outdoors. So it is not really a wonder anymore if dogs do get colds. In fact it is pretty common among dogs to have one every now and then. The ways that dogs catch colds is through the combination of cold weather or abrupt changes in the weather (lowering the immune system), and getting it from other infected dogs.


Preventative Medicine


Nobody wants to see their canine companion sick. Before we discuss how to help your dog when they get a cold, it is best to talk about preventing one in the first place. As far as preventative medicine is concerned, you always want to give them a healthy meat based diet and clean filtered water. If you buy canned dog food get the stuff that has the fewest ingredients and has the most meat protein. Avoid the grain based foods at all costs that are commonly found in the grocery store. Give them plenty of exercise and get them on a good dog vitamin supplement. This should drastically prevent most of the colds your dog would get in the first place. Remember, a healthy immune system is the best line of defense your dog can have.


Spotting The Problem


So how do you know if your dog has a cold? It is pretty simple for the symptoms are pretty similar to what we experience. The only thing that sets it apart is that we humans can talk about the discomfort and dogs cannot. So if you own a dog you must know and understand the symptoms if your dog gets a cold and you can tell it by the changed behavior. And here are the common symptoms of cold that you can observe from your dog: running nose, wheezing, coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, and discharge from the nose that is yellowish green in color. Another thing to take note of is that it might look like a cold to you, but there are times when it is not. The problem will just start as a cold and then it may spread out into other respiratory problems. So be always sure to pay attention so that a normal cold doesn’t turn into a more serious respiratory problem. Some possible respiratory problems that your dog may get aside from the normal cold are kennel cough, pneumonia, canine para-influenza, and canine distemper among others. So the best thing for you to do when you determine that your dog has a cold is to take action immediately.


Giving Them Some TLC


Here are some of the ways you can help if your dog gets a cold. One thing is that you can boost their immune power. This is the more natural way of healing your dog from the discomfort of a cold. Some ways of boosting the immune power of your dog is by giving them a proper more nutrient rich diet. This will help prevent sickness in the first place, and will help if they do happen to get sick. Another way is to keep your dog warm at all times. When it is the winter season and it is cold outside then you can let your dog get inside your house to warm up. You can use a blanket to make them warmer. If you happen to keep your dog outside most of the time, they will appreciate the kindness. One last way of curing your dog’s cold is to increase their fluid intake. You can either give them plain water or you can put some broth in the water to give them some strength. The added broth gives them incentive to drink when they might otherwise not. These are the basic things that we as humans should do for ourselves in this condition and they apply the same for your dog. If symptoms get worse or don’t change after a few days it is time to head to the vet as it may be more serious than a cold. Last, remember that just like us they will need a little extra pampering until they feel better.


Written by Alex Fields for Bling Bling Puppy where you can find quality dog beds, collars, and accessories for your dog. You can also visit his social site for dog lovers called The Dog Hub where you can upload dog photos, start a blog, chat with friends, see the rescue section and more. Alex has owned dogs all of his life and loves to write about them.




 

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