Archive for the ‘Dog diseases’ Category
Do you know regular examination and care of dog paws is more important in preventing diseases? So you ought to provide a perfect dog paw care. Most of the dogs are having sensitive feet. Hence it is very difficult to check the dog paws regularly. Dog paw care can be practiced regularly if you check regularly right from puppy hood.
The top five tips for dog paw care includes-
1. Regular Trimming of Claws
You should trim the claws regularly. Overlong claws are more susceptible to damage and can cause the dog discomfort.
2. Prevent Paw Licking
The sore or irritated paw should be protected well either by Elizabethan Collar or covering the foot by bandage from constant licking.
3. Dry The Wet Paws
You should dry the dog paws effectively after bathing, exercising in wet grass, bathing, or swimming as a precaution against infection.
4. Check the Paws After Exercising
Thoroughly check the dog paws for thorns, ticks, scratches, cuts and other debris after exercise. This should be done especially when your dog running or walking over rough ground.
5. Look for Dog Paw Problems
You can look for bare patches of inflamed, crusty skin on the dog paws, cuts on any part of the paw, swellings or foreign bodies between the toes, and damaged claws. You should immediately seek the help of a vet to sort this problem at the earliest possible time.
If you follow these five golden rules of dog paw care, your dog will walk and run effectively through out its lifetime. So your dogs walking depends on your dog paw care. Happy exercising!!!
Do you know dogs cannot lose heat by sweating? Because they have no sweat glands. All they can do is pant. Hence dogs are more prone for temperature-related injuries. The common temperature-related injuries in dog are-
1. Heat Stroke
2. Frost Bite
3. Hypothermia
Heat Stroke
Heat stroke is one of the commonest causes of avoidable death in dogs. A dog’s temperature will raise up to 43.3° C (110°F), if it is being tied in a room without ventilation during hot day. If you left the dog in that condition, it literally get cooked up. A hot car is real deathtrap for dogs. Even parking in the shade and leaving a window partly open is not safe. Some of the dog owners will leave the dog inside the car and heater would be switched on during cold weather. This will also lead your dog to fall as a prey to heat stroke.
Frost Bite
Frostbite is mostly likely to occur to the extremities after exposure to below-freezing temperature, especially when it is windy. Drying the dog with a towel will help to relieve from frost bite.
Hypothermia
Hypothermia can occur in new borne puppies. Some times hypothermia will occur after anesthesia also. This condition is more prevalent among toy breeds and those with short coats. disowned puppies are prone to this condition. It is mandatory to keep the orphan puppies in a warm, drought-free environment especially for the first weeks of life.
Heatstroke occurs rapidly in dogs, often proving fatal in minutes. The initial signs of heatstroke are rapid and heavy breathing. The dog becomes distressed, salivates, gasps for breathing, and collapses.
Do you know an effective way to treat the dog with heatstroke is to cover the body of your pet with damp towels? You can maintain the temperature of the towel by poring water over the towels continuously.
The First Aid
Following first aid will help you to help your dog a lot-
1. Remove the dog from the source of heat.
2. Immediately pour water over your dog. Use tepid water initially, which should be followed by cool water. Immediately cover your dog with damp towels.
3. Allow it to drink ad-libitum of water.
4. If your dog didn’t recover within few minutes of these first aids, immediately take the dog to your vet at the earliest possible time.
It can be very frightening if your dog suddenly collapses. There are two kinds of collapse: a faint and Seizure. It is not easy to differentiate between them if you’re seeing them first time.
If your dog faints, don’t panic. remain calm. Usually the collapse will last only a matter of seconds, no more than a minute or two at most.
Lay the dog on its right side in a comfortable position. If its gums and tongue appear bluish and the dog is unconsious, ensure a free airway by pulling its tongue as far out of its mouth as seems comfortable. Get someone to call the vet for advice. Meanwhile, attempt artificial respiration if necessary.
Check for the heart beat by feeling the left side of its chest behind the elbow and give first aid if necessary.
The main cause for the collapse is lack of oxygen to brain. It may be caused by poor circulation resulting from the heart’s failure to pump blood effeciently.
A convulsive fit may signal a brain disorder such as epilepsy. The dog will normally take longer to recover than after a faint. Even metabolic disorders of the liver and kidneys, and diabetes mellitus, can also cause convulsive-type collapses and lead to coma if treated.
