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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