General Dog Health
Every dog owner takes their dog to the vet for their immunizations and of course, when something seems amiss. It’s easy to think of your dogs health when he or she is sick. Doing a quick general dog health check every two weeks or so could head off illness, a large vet bill…you may even save your dogs life!
Ears
Run your hands over your dogs ears, feeling for any lumps, or anything that shouldn’t be there. This is how many people find ticks on their dog! A dogs ears are generally a great environment for a variety of parasites, bacteria and fungus. Warm and moist, the ears present a special challenge in longer-eared dogs like Saint Bernards. Inspect the interior of the ear, look for dark matter and even smell the ear. Dark matter could suggest ear mites; dark matter plus an odor could be a yeast infection. At any rate, if your dog shakes his head alot, take a look – anything but a bit of oily residue in the ears, and it may be time for a visit to your vet.
Eyes
Are your dogs eyes clear and bright? Do they seem to have excessive redness or discharge? Dogs can suffer from allergies in the environment the same way we can, so if their eyes seem red or have a yellow or green discharge, a trip to the vet it definitely in order. Antibiotic drops can be given to clear up this type of eye infection.
Coat
This is especially important if you have a long-haired breed. Run your hands along your dogs entire length, behind their ears, down their legs, and their belly. Feel for any matts and remove them. Giving the coat a good once-over can also make you aware of any lumps or abnormalities on your dogs body. Plus, they love it, and it’s relaxing and stress-relieving for you as well!
Paws
Take a good look at your dogs paws. Do the nails need to be trimmed? Do the pads look healthy and relatively clean? Take good care of your friends feet, as this is where many arthritis problems can start. If your dog has an uncomfortable area on his foot, many times you won’t even know it. Biologically dogs are survivors, therefore you won’t see a dog limping until something is very wrong. By that time, you definitely have a larger problem than a torn pad or sore toenail. Constant limping can cause muscular imbalances that result in arthritis later in life.
Hopefully this small guide will help you have a greater awareness of your dogs overall health. Keep your dog healthy and you’ll both be happier!
This is an excellent post,
I have 2 golden retrivers that used to suffer horrific almost bi monthly dog ear yeast infections. I fully agree with your post that the dog owner MUST take the dogs to the vets to determine exactly what the ear infection is. However in my experience pumping my dogs full of antibiotics and spending out over $2000 in the same time on vet bills and I can honestly tell you my dogs just kept getting them just as regularly and I had a massive bank bill to pay. If your dog has a yeast infection antibiotics can help, especially a one off yeast infection. If, however the dog suffers regularly, antibiotics will only damage the dogs. I was able with the help of my vet to naturally cure my dogs after the vet told me some disturbing facts and guess what? The main problem here is the drug trade is a big fat business that makes a tonne of cash. The more you go to the vets and pay for antibiotics, the more you will go back. Yeast infections can be dealt with naturally and the real issue is an allergic reaction, often due to the appalling food we feed our dogs. Remember it wasn’t all that long ago that a particular cat food company was found to have metal in the food, what was the metal-cat identity chips. The poor people had been feeding their cats, well other cats. All for money.
Always determine with the vet what the ear infection is and do what they say. However If its a yeast infection and a recurring one you may need to look at diet and and there’s a ton of anti yeast natural products that can be used when prepared correctly. For example apple cider vinegar, natural probiotic yogurt and a grushed garlic and water solution are all very anti yeast as are a number of perfectly healthy foods.
Warmest Regards
Richard