Powered by Blogger.

Tuesday, 21 August 2012

How to determine if the dog is sick

By Jerry Welsh


A dog owner will certainly be concerned if the pet gets sick because dogs are considered as members of the family. You may be providing the dog with a healthy diet, have ensured that the dog is taken to the vet for its inoculations and regular checkups but the pet would still get sick. As our dogs do not have the ability to speak and to tell us what they feel, it makes it doubly hard for pet parents to know if the pet feels under the weather. As immediate medical assistance would be important for the speedy and complete recovery of the pet, an owner has to be very observant to see the telltale signs.

A sudden change in the dog's activity level can be a symptom that the dog is ill. A dog owner should be concerned if the pet becomes suddenly lethargic, withdrawn or listless as it is possible that the naturally energetic dog is sick. The change in behavior and the decline in energy level can be attributed to the dog's old age. Pet owners though should be concerned with the state of the pet's health if the change in activity level comes with loss of balance and movement difficulties.

A sick dog's eating and drinking habit will change as well. Any dog owner would say that his/her pet is a good eater. Our four legged furry friends even eat non-edible objects so that it would be surprising if the pet would turn away from a doggie bowl filled with its food. A sick dog will be noticed to drink more water. The increased water intake can be a symptom of diabetes or kidney diseases. On the other hand, hot weather or increased activity would make a dog drink more water.

Dogs are indiscriminate eaters so that a pet parent may not be too concerned if the pet occasionally vomits or have diarrhea as after a while the dog will be it normal self. But if the dog had been vomiting for more than a day and the diarrhea that has lasted for several days already contains mucous or blood, the dog must have medical assistance at once. To learn about the dog's health, it is customary for dog owners to check the nose of the pet. A healthy dog's nose is supposed to be cold and wet. Sick dogs are supposed to have warm, dry or runny nose.

Learning to see that common signs that the pet is sick is one of the responsibilities of a dog owner. Spotting the signs early on would not only save substantial amount on vet bills but would also save the dog a lot of pain.




About the Author:



0 comments:

  © Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP