Top 5 Dog Health Problem Symptoms

Wednesday, June 4, 2008


Protecting your dog's health is the most important thing over anything else. With the proper diagnosis and knowing what to look for will help, you determine some possible reasons for the dog health problems. The top 5 dog health problem symptoms provide knowledge about parvovirus, skin disorders, eye problems, rabies and ear problems. When you see the first signs of a problem, you need to respond appropriately to protect the health of your dog.

Parvovirus

Some symptoms of the disease are weight loss, dehydration, vomiting, fever and nasal discharge. If you see any of these signs, you will need immediate medical attention for your dog. Diarrhea is usually the first symptom, which could be from anything, but when other symptoms appear, you will have a better idea of what you are dealing with. A puppy under the age of six months can contract this disease and will ultimately die. Proper vaccination at an early age will protect the puppy from this horrible disease and death.

Skin Disorders

Some symptoms of a skin disorder will be scratching, inflammation of the skin, and is some cases a discharge of pus from the area that breaks open due to excessive scratching. This requires medical tests and observation to determine if it results from a parasite, both internally and externally, allergy, bacterial or fungal infections and hereditary. The bottom line is there are two different types of shin diseases, hereditary and acquired.

Eye Problems

Red eyes, swollen eyes and weepy eyes are signs of something wrong and should be checked by your veterinarian to determine if is caused by an allergy or a more serious health problem such as conjunctivitis. The problem may also be the result of an injury if the dog plays with other dogs or cats with claws.

Ear Problems

Scratching of the ear, discharge, odor and shaking of the head might indicate some type of ear infection. This also might come from a parasite infestation that invades the ear such as an ear mite. Other reasons for symptoms may be trauma, bacterial and allergies, which will result in ear problems as well. Dogs that have ears that hang down covering the ear canal are more prone to ear problems than other dog because no air gets into the ear to dry it up, so it stays moist and invites infection.

Rabies

Without proper vaccination, the dog that has an encounter with a rabid animal can contract rabies, which will result in death. Symptoms to watch for are change in behavior, foaming of the mouth, biting and aggressive behavior towards people and other animals. This is probably the most serious dog health problem ever, since it can spread the virus through biting. Immediate containment and medical help is needed at the onset of such symptoms to protect your family and society from the spread of rabies.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-5-Dog-Health-Problem-Symptoms&id=637421

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