Dog health problems can be difficult to deal with, and unfortunately, many potential health issues can take both you and your dog by surprise. If you don’t deal with them quickly and effectively, they can become expensive.
They might even become emotionally devastating. Don’t just react to do health problems after they occur. Instead, learn what you can do to try to prevent them, to begin with. Your dog will not only be happier, he’ll be healthier.
Potential Health Problems In Dogs
Much like people, dogs can experience a wide array of health problems. Unfortunately, when dogs have a health problem they are not able to tell us what’s wrong.
This inability to communicate what hurts or doesn’t fee right means our dogs often suffer silently until their pain reaches the point where it becomes obvious and requires immediate treatment.
While it’s important to recognize your dog’s symptoms, your dog’s inability to communicate makes it essential to also learn how to prevent dog health problems from occurring at all. Many potential health problems in dogs mirror those suffered by people.
Allergies
Like people, dogs can have several types of allergies. The most common; however, is an allergy to fleas, which can potentially lead to skin infections and/or hot spots.
Make sure you give your dog a safe but effective flea medication every month and have him examined at least annually by a vet to ensure he stays healthy.
If your dog’s skin problems lead to hot spots or ear infections, the real problem might be a more severe food allergy which your vet will need to deal with immediately.
Infections
Dogs can also potentially suffer many types of infections, including ear, skin, eye and tooth infections. Ear infections are very common and typically caused by bacteria or a foreign body inside the ear.
Although infections are fairly common, they are probably also the easiest to prevent all potential health problems in dogs.
Your dog’s ears should be checked frequently for the presence of excess moisture dirt, swelling or red spots. Make sure you also clean his ears and eyes, brush him regularly, and brush his teeth to avoid any possible buildup of bacteria.
Diabetes
Dogs can also develop diabetes, for some of the same reasons as people. Therefore, feeding your dog a diet with too many fatty, sugary, or excessively rich foods could lead to pancreatic issues that might eventually cause diabetes.
Feeding your dog a strict diet limited to commercial dog foods and only minimal table scraps can help avoid canine diabetes. If your dogs do happen to develop it, you’ll need to take him to the vet on a regular basis, and he might need daily shots of insulin which you’ll need to learn how to administer.
Joint Issues
Some dogs are prone to develop problems in their joints such as arthritis and dysplasia. Many purebred dogs are particularly susceptible, but it’s possible for any dog to develop arthritis or a joint dysplasia.
Give your dog daily minerals and vitamins to help forestall joint issues, and ask your vet to check your dog’s joints at least once a year for the presence of any signs of degeneration.
Obesity
This is one of the most frequently seen dog health problems – and also one of the deadliest. Canine obesity is typically caused by overeating coupled with inadequate exercise.
This health condition doesn’t directly cause death but is associated with higher rates of heart disease, liver disease, skin problems, and cancerous and benign tumors, all of which can be dangerous if not dealt with immediately.
It can be prevented as well as treated by feeding a careful diet and ensuring your dog gets sufficient exercise.
Prevention of Health Issues in Dogs
Every dog owner wants to know how they can prevent dog health problems and ensure their dogs lives a long, happy life. If you are one such dog owner, I have some good news for you.
Preventing canine health problems is easy once you understand what is good and what is bad for your dog’s health. To make things easier for you, I have listed 6 factors that influence your dog’s health and life expectancy to a great degree.
By following the tips given below, you can keep your four-legged friend happy, healthy, and active for a long time.
Food
There is a debate raging regarding the benefits of a homemade or raw diet or one that is commercially prepared. The answer is that both are fine if selected correctly. If you are thinking of a homemade raw diet, don’t just find a recipe online.
Make sure that your dog’s nutrition plan is developed by a veterinary nutritionist and reviewed by your veterinarian. To save time, consider a raw “homemade dog diet” that is prepared for you and available in a local pet store.
It must be labeled “This food has been proven to be nutritionally complete or adequate for all life stages.” Avoid labels that say “For supplementation or intermitted feeding” on the label.
If you like the convenience of a commercial diet, that is fine too. We prefer high quality canned foods from reputable manufacturers. Consider those that are veterinary grades such as Science Diet or Purina Veterinary.
Other brands are fine too. We also prefer those foods that are marked “contain human grade ingredients.” If you cannot afford these types of foods, then just go to Walmart and buy the store brand. It’s AAFCO certified to the highest level, which is “tested and found to be adequate.”
Canned foods contain more water than dry, which is preferred since water is essential for overall and urinary health in particular.
Water
Simple clean tap water is essential for maintaining health. As a guide, give your dog the same type of water you give yourself. If your town has high-quality water, then it’s fine to serve your dog that water.
If not, then consider simple filtered water from a pitcher. Make sure your dog drinks plenty of water and stays hydrated all the time. This is a surprisingly simple way to prevent dog health problems.
Taking your dog on an extra walk once in a while assures that the bladder is empty, decreasing the change of problems such as canine urinary infections.
Exercise
Physical inactivity affects your dog’s physical as well as mental health. Regular exercise, on the other hand, prevents stress, improves circulation, strengthen limbs, and boosts the immune system.
So adequate exercise is important to prevent pet health issues. Ball fetching, running, walking, climbing stairs, and swimming is some of the best exercises for your dog. If your dog is overweight, it’s advisable to stick to low impact exercises and avoid high-intensity exercises to reduce the risk of your dog getting injured.
Grooming
If you need to prevent dog health problems, you should understand the importance of keeping your dog clean. If your dog is dirty, it’s skin becomes the perfect home for fleas that carry parasitic infestations.
It also becomes vulnerable to urinary tract infections as bacteria can easily enter its bladder through its urethra (tube that carries urine from the body).
To avoid these problems, you should bathe your pet regularly. You can ask your vet to recommend a mild shampoo and soap, using which you can bathe your pet and keep it clean.
Vaccines
A lot of canine health problems like rabies, kennel cough, and distemper can be easily prevented by vaccinating your dog regularly. You should take your dog to your vet regularly and make sure all the vaccines and preventive medicines are up-to-date.
This one of the best ways to prevent pet health issues. You should be; however, aware of the fact that over vaccination can stress your dog’s immune system unnecessarily. So do not go overboard with vaccinations
Health supplements
Your dog needs to eliminate the toxins from its body every now and then to stay healthy. In order to do so, it needs to eat certain medicinal herbs that most animals in the wild instinctively chew on.
Since your dog does not have access to these herbs, you need to give it in the form of a health supplement. So choose a good natural health supplement that contains herbs like milk thistle, mistletoe, Echinacea purpurea, Huang Qi, and cat’s claw.
Thes supplements eliminate the toxins from your dog’s body, strengthen its liver and other vital organs, boost its immune system, and make it naturally stronger. Giving a small dose of these supplements is, without a doubt, the best way to prevent dog health problems.