Dental Problems

A dog must have a complete set of strong white teeth. After all these are the normal hunters and even our own front teeth we call the canines is taken from the dog family. It might, then, be easy to imagine that dogs’ teeth look after themselves, but unfortunately this isn’t the case, and dental disease is very common, especially in older dogs. In fact, over three-quarters of dogs over the age of three show signs of periodontal disease, a chronic infection of the gums which affects the teeth, and may even cause their loss.

As the saying goes prevention is the best medicine and the best way to do this is by having your dog’s teeth clean on a regular basis. It’s a good idea to train a dog to accept regular tooth brushing, which will be a major help in keeping its mouth healthy.Training a dog should start while it is still a puppy though there older dogs that can still learn to accept tooth brushing at their age.In cases when your dog can not get use to tooth brushing, you may want to try toys, treats and foods made to help your dog have clean teeth. It is better to ask guidance from a vet what is the best way to do it.

Dermatitis

Dogs like other species-humans-can likewise have a skin condition underneath that thick shiny coat of theirs; they are prone to all types of skin problems. A major cause of skin issues in dogs is what is known as atopic dermatitis. Most dogs have some itches and sometimes their paw would hit the area. But when you see that your dog does not stop scratching itself and there are noticeable signs on its skin then it may be suffering from an allergy-based problem that leads to atopic dermatitis.

Dogs, like people, can suffer from all sorts of allergies leading to skin problems, from a reaction to flea bites and particular infections, to sensitivities to pollen, dust mites or even certain types of food. In case allergies lead to acute itching then you will see redness, acne-like spots or its hair falling off. Above all, your dog won’t be very happy!

Tests will be run to eliminate the other reasons for bad skin conditions- most of it will be cure using clear-cut medications. If the reason for the bad skin condition is the allergies then if medications do not lessen the symptoms then there are other ways of treating the allergy. For people, there are steroids and antihistamines however these can have negative side effects. It may, however, be possible to tackle an allergy through allergen-specific immunotherapy, gradually exposing a dog to increasing amounts of the allergen responsible for its itchy reaction to the point where it builds up a tolerance.

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Wellpets: Canine Parvovirus is a Dog Flea that you should Watch Out

Of all the bugs that a dog can pick up out there in the big wide world, canine parvovirus (often known as CPV) is one of the most troubling. This harmful stomach louse was seen in Britain during the 70s, it is not lethal however it may injure the intestinal tract of a dog which may cause death. Young dogs are generally at the highest risk.

Parvovirus is a germ, a bug. It’s carried in the faeces of infected dogs, but unlike many other viruses and bacteria, it’s remarkably tough. Heat and detergents have little effect, and what’s more: the virus can survive in the environment for moths. A dog can catch it unavoidably at any place even if it did not have any contact with infected dogs.

Once a dog picks up the parvovirus infection it invades the intestinal wall, causing serious inflammation and damage. The manner and place where the dog got the bug is difficult to pinpoint but the signs of infection is usually seen some time a week after the infection.

One of the most unsettling characteristics of parvovirus is that its first indications are very common and can be brought about other diseases. 

Diarrhoea and throwing up are clear indications in the early stages of the illness. The initial indications are not the reasons for the death but rather the damage inside done by the virus. The disease destroys the important lining of the intestinal system which may bring about dehydration and instigates septicaemia an infection of the blood that can be lethal. 

The key to successful treatment of CPV is early diagnosis, but unfortunately it’s a tricky disease to definitively diagnose. To begin with, diarrhoea and puking are the usual signs of a lot of other illness. Generally a blood test will be performed by a vet and it the outcome display a low white blood cell count, more test will be done to find out if the cause is CPV. The main ways to confirm CPV is to detect the virus in faeces, or to find traces of the resultant antibodies in a dog’s blood. 

If the disease is caught early enough, before severe dehydration and before the onset of septicaemia, a dog can make a full recovery (though unfortunately young puppies, which are particularly susceptible, are often the hardest to treat, as are certain breeds including Rottweiler’s. The first step is to ward off dehydration with intravenous fluids. To restrain the virus, antivirus drugs are given and to manage the symptoms, other medicines will be provided. CPV is always a serious illness, but with a swift diagnosis and thorough care there’s a good chance that a dog will make a full recovery. 

Given the hardy resistance of the virus to just about everything - with the exception of chlorine bleach - it’s very hard to guard your dog against the risk of infection altogether. It is good the there is a vaccine available because vaccination is the most effective way to ward off disease which puppies should get as part of their vaccination course, the later on it will be booster for them. 

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Vets Somerset - One Serious Illness of your Pet Dog - Cancer

Cancer is such a scary illness that when we hear it we think that only people suffer from this. And just as with humans canine cancer comes in all manner of forms, due to all manner of causes, and with all manner of prognoses. Using simple words cancer is when the process of the original cell division goes astray. There is a damaged cell or atypical DNA that splits up and continues to do so, thereby making an unconstrained and growing occurrence outside the usual needs of the natural cell substitution that holds the body together. The purposeless lump that results is a tumor. The useless lump that is produced is called a tumor.

Similar to human beings there are innumerable sources for the splitting of this atypical cell. Chemical or environmental reasons may be the cause. Dogs, fortunately, don’t tend to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, but they are exposed to sunlight, and may well come in contact with carcinogenic chemicals in the course of their life. Canine cancer may also be down to an inherited genetic tendency. However the abrasion of the DNA through the years may also be the reason. Older people and older dogs usually suffer from cancers.

Vets Somerset Explains - What are the symptoms?

The most obvious symptom of cancer in a dog is some sort of lump. But then you may observe other signs like decrease in weight and less appetite, fatigue and listlessness. At this point it’s time for the veterinary professionals to step in and make a diagnosis. In case a lump is not seen by the naked eye an x-ray or scan may be required and when a lump is found a biopsy will be needed. Depending on the size and location of the tumor this might be done with a needle, or the whole thing might be removed in a simple operation. Oftentimes the tumor is not malignant. This means that although it will continue growing where it is, it has no tendency to spread elsewhere in the body. A dog will completely recover on the condition that no lasting impairment is done on the surrounding organs.

At times the tumor may be harmful with the possibility of its unusual cell to proliferate or increase in number in other parts of the body. Just as with humans these are the cases that can sadly prove fatal. The treatment for canine cancer has progressed and improved a lot for the past decades and most of what the doctors have acquired and learn have been pass on to the veterinary professionals. Sometimes therapies and other medications may be used on dogs to cure them although these can have unfavorable effects on them.

 

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