One of the major threats in canine health is a heart disease that can be acquired or congenital in nature. Heart disease in dogs occurs mainly when normal blood flow is restricted when the dog’s heart valves do not close properly or the muscular walls of the dog’s heart are thinned and weakened. Difficult breathing even while at rest, fainting, a loathing for exercise, loss of appetite, and weight loss are indicative of an impending heart failure.

The heartworm disease is caused by mosquito bites. Heartworm disease is not breed specific and can attack any dog even if the dog is mainly indoors most of the times, because the female mosquito responsible for transmission of heartworm is very tiny and can slip through cracks in windows and doors. If not treated in time, heartworm disease can be fatal at times.

Heartworm disease has the potential of spreading as lots of people travel with their dogs. Many states insist upon a health certificate from a qualified veterinarian. On return, dog owners should get their pet reexamined to ensure that it did not pick any parasite, external or internal, while traveling. Heartworm, hookworm, and roundworm are internal parasites whereas fleas and ticks are external.

The greatest single threat to dog population the world over is from the highly contagious disease caused by canine distemper virus. Puppies and younger dogs are at a higher risk on contracting the canine distemper virus. Although dogs that survive a natural infection develop enough immunity to canine distemper virus, the safest protection is vaccination.

Canine Parvovirus, Canine Bordetellosis (Kennel Cough), Canine Parainfluenza, and Canine Leptospirosis are some of the other problems that are caused by viral or bacterial infections, spread through contact, through fecal waste and nasal secretions of infested dogs, and other means.

All the conditions discussed above are serious in nature and can prove to be fatal in case they are not attended to in time. If abnormal symptoms, like loss of appetite, unwillingness to exercise, difficulty in breathing even while at rest, fainting, extensive coughing, vomiting, squinting, congestion of the eyes, and a discharge of pus from the eyes and diarrhea persist, a visit to the veterinarian is highly recommended.

Article courtesy of PetAlive

When you bring home a pet it means you are adding a member to the family. Just like other members of the family, pets too require health care. Although sometimes you will see a veterinarian prescribe similar to human drugs for your pets, health care for pets is however pretty different from what we are used to in regards to humans.

One of the most common mistakes that we commit is with regard to feeding our pets. We usually tend to associate our own dietary habits on our pets without realizing that pets are animals and are structured differently. For example, dogs require to be fed according to their weight and that too only once or twice a day. On the other hand, some pets like cats and dogs need to be neutered to avoid strong urine and unwanted pregnancies.

The important thing to remember is that you have your friends, family, and recreation, but your pet has only you. Pets too get sick and develop allergies. They also are source of certain allergies to humans too. Many of us do not realize that like any other family member, even pets can get heart attacks, arthritis, behavior problems, cancer, diarrhea, and other ailments that we generally associate with humans. This requires pet owners to be aware of all pet health related issues.

We handle minor ailments in humans easily with information passing down from generations. Small things like calming aggressive behavior, ticks, vomiting, and leaking bladder in pets need treatments that you have to be conversant with. Sometimes it is simply a matter of sugar content in food, or how many times a week you give your pet a bath that is the cause behind your pet behaving abnormally or developing symptoms of an ailment.

Physical changes in your pet are also important and a monthly hands-on examination will go a long way in understanding whether anything serious is developing. Troubled signs include exposed skin, thin or dry coat, ribs showing, lethargy, limp, or simply the absence of “spring” in step.

As with human medication nowadays, there are lots of alternate remedies available for pets too. You can ask your veterinarian or visit the World Wide Web for alternate remedies for pets. You may choose homeopathic medicine for your pets. There are also specific cat herbal remedies and dog herbal remedies available too and a thorough research on the subject will ensure a trouble free life for your pet and go a long way to enjoy having one at home.

Article courtesy of PetAlive

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