Knowing Your Own Dog Health Symptoms Could Save His Life
Nothing is worse than discovering your pet has a serious illness, and finding that if you had gotten attention earlier, it would have been less severe. Sometimes the smallest change in personality or behavior can signal the onset of an illness, so knowing what is and is not normal for your pet can be essential. When you see something abnormal, it can be helpful to know some basic things to watch for.
Being attentive to your dog’s normal behavior can be the best thing you do in discovering symptoms of ill health. The better you know your pet the more likely you will be to see the early signs that he is in trouble. You are the first line of defense for keeping your dog healthy. For instance if you have a well trained pet who never has an accident and suddenly your slippers are soggy in the morning it could be the first indication that you need to seek veterinarian assistance.
There are a few symptoms that unquestioningly need medical assistance and one of them is blood in the urine. Blood in your dog’s urine can be an indication of kidney disease or failure. If that is the case, he will need immediate medical treatment. Your quick action could save your animal’s life so do not delay even a moment. Similarly, blood in the feces can point to a common illness called parvo. This virus if caught early can be cured but if left to long will be fatal.
If your dog is throwing up, you’ll find that you need to think about taking him to the vet. Dogs will throw up mildly when they have eaten something that has disagreed with them, but if you notice your dog throwing up repeatedly and seems to be fevered or in pain, this is a sign that veterinary attention might be required. Remember that dogs have evolved to continue looking healthy as long as they can, so keep in mind the fact that you need to pay attention to how they are doing.
When looking for symptoms of poor health in your dog do not overlook their coat. A dogs coat should feel thick and look relatively glossy. If you reach down to pet your dog and find that the coat is oddly dry and brittle or there are bald patches you should check into the cause. One common cause of a bad coat is worms; this parasite robs the dog of nutrition and therefore leaves the coat unhealthy. Of course, if you have a dog whose hair is naturally coarse, like a wirehaired terrier then this rule does not apply.
These a few basic health problems can easily be detected when you know what to look for. In conclusion, take the extra time to interact daily with your pet and pay attention to the little things. You never know when you may inadvertently save your dogs life by noticing symptoms of failing health early.
Tags: Health