Common Dog Illnesses
One of the greatest joys in life is having a dog. They are the best companions. Long walks, watching movies, lazy mornings. They bring something special to your life. So it pays for you to do some research into the most common illnesses that can upset or hurt your dog. They can’t tell you what is wrong, so you have to be able to know the signs of some common health issues.
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Bloat
If your dog is a fast eater, they might be at risk of bloat. In short, bloat is an enlarged stomach, but it can become more complicated if the stomach flips. The flip will stop air and fluid escaping from the stomach, so the dog cannot belch or vomit. Symptoms will come on quickly.
- Large/swollen stomach area
- A lot of salivating
- They will not settle well
- Retching repeatedly without vomit
Large breeds are more susceptible to it, the shape of the chest makes a big difference.
Lyme Disease
Because dogs are always bounding through fields and playing in long grass, they are much more likely to get a tick. Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness, it is transmitted by slow-feeding deer ticks. They need to be attached to the dog for around 18 hours. The main symptom of Lyme disease is lameness in limbs – which may move from leg to leg. Eventually, if left untreated Lyme disease will lead to kidney problems. Treatment will happen via antibiotics and will be cleared up in a few weeks. There are treatments for your dog’s coat that will give a bit of protection in the form of a repellent.
Heartworm Disease
All it takes for a dog to get heartworm is a single bite from an infected mosquito. You have a choice when it comes to dealing with heartworm, you can go for heartworm prevention, or you can pay for some expensive and painful treatment at a later stage. The choice is yours. There are some parts of the country that don’t often have mosquitoes, so heartworm prevention isn’t used commonly. Speak to your vet about what the options are – prevention is beter than cure.
Parvo
Parvo is short for canine parvovirus. The parvo vaccine is one of the core vaccines that every puppy should get. Due to the number of people who skip getting their dogs vaccinated, young puppies and dogs that need to be in kennels are likely to catch and spread parvo to other unvaccinated dogs. Symptoms are weight loss, vomiting, lethargy, and severe diarrhoea. A lot of damage is caused to the immune system and intestines, and septic shock may follow.
Chocolate Poisoning
Although everyone knows dogs can’t and shouldn’t eat chocolate, doesn’t mean that dogs know that. And, more than that, people still give their dogs small bits. If your dog even has the smallest amount of chocolate, you should head to the vets straight away. IT can cause vomiting, pacing, panting, shaking and may give an irregular heartbeat or heart attack.
