3 Must Know Dog Health Care Tips

I am going to share with you some dog health care tips that can save you hundreds of dollars just by knowing how to treat the most common dog illnesses at home. The most amazing thing about these dog health care tips is that you can treat most common dog health care concerns with things that you already have in your medicine cabinet.

Tip #1 Vitamin E pills can be used to treat most common skin ailments in your dog. This is one of the best dog health care tips because Vitamin E pills can be purchased at most any drug store and are very reasonably priced. The Vitamin E pills can either be given to your dog whole or you can pierce the coating and apply the Vitamin E oil directly to your dogs skin. This is a great way to treat your dogs dry skin and many other common skin ailments in dogs.

Tip #2 Another great dog health care tip involves the old stand by Pepto Bismol. Pepto Bismol is a great home remedy for your dogs mild case of diarrhea or an upset stomach. Of course it is always a good idea to consult with your veterinarian to see what dosage is safe for your dog. If your dog is dehydrated from a bout of diarrhea or vomiting, Pedialyte can be used just as you wold for a baby.

Tip #3 Tip number 3 is one of the best dog health care tips because it is all about preventive medicine for your dog. Did you know that the live acidophilus that is found in yogurt is actually just as good for your dog as it is for you? Puppies are often susceptible to many illnesses such as a yeast infection or issues with their digestion. Yogurt will assist with your puppies digestion and keep the natural yeast found in the body to a balanced level.
When purchasing yogurt for your puppy or full grown dog, it is important to get the plain white yogurt with live acidophilus.
These three dog health care tips are only a few of the many things that you can do at home to keep your dog healthy and happy. By looking at alternative health care remedies for your dog, you can save a trip to the veterinarian and promote long term health in your dog. On a closing note, it is always important to inquire with your veterinarian before using any over the counter medication for any other use than what the label states.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberly_Taylor

HOW TO BATH YOUR DOG

Bathing a dog needs to be given more emphasis. This is because of the fact that if you are careless in bathing, the animal may end up having some infections. For example, if you don’t close the ears with large cotton ball, the water may enter into ear canals and may cause some ear infections with signs like constant discharge from the ears and shaking of head.http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

Frequency of bathing actually depends on the breed of the dog. If the dog is of a hairy type like the cocker spaniel, then the bathing is to be carried out once in six to eight weeks. If these breeds are bathed too frequently, then the skin and coat loose the protective characters. However, when the dog has defecated on the skin due to the frequent digestive upsets leading to diarrhea, to avoid the bad smell, the dog may be subjected to frequent bathing some times by the owners. http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

Take more care in avoiding some irritant soaps or human soaps. The soap materials used for human beings are not suitable for dogs. Similarly, many human shampoo products are having some ingredients that are not suitable in the proportions that are to be used in case of dogs. Hence, always try to use the shampoo products that are mentioned mainly for use in dogs. Take more care in using any new product.

Always have good time and patience for products required for bathing in one place with availability of water source. Dogs love the sprinkling of water, river, and oceans. Even when you are using bathtub, have everything in one place and then start bathing of the dog. Try to have a leash, conditioner, towel, and shampoo in the bath place.http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

Conditioner is of helpful to make the combing activity easier later. Bathing should be a convenient activity to both the dog and the owner. This should not be a burden.

PARASITES CAUSE ''SCOOTING'' AND HOW TO PREVENT IT

Parasites too cause the scooting. Scooting is a an anal sac disease. First let's understand what scooting is in detail. This is the dragging of anus with the hind limbs in an extended state. Parasites causing irritation in the anus regions lead to such type of actions in animals like dogs.

However, one should not be under the impression that it is the parasite that alone causes such scooting in case of dogs. There are many occasions in which the dog may have the scooting without any parasite based etiological agent. For example, the anal gland infections, tumors at the anus and injuries near the anal regions also may lead to such type of dragging of anus region, frequently by the affected dogs. http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

Flea bite allergy often causes irritation at the anus region and the animal may try to bite the anus region and the irritations due to these factors lead to the final dragging of anus region on the ground. Cestodiasis in dogs is the condition caused by tapeworms.

In such occasions, if the animal is not treated in time, the animal may be seen exhibiting the scooting activities. Tapeworm segments passed in the stool create crawling like activities near anus.http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

Such crawling activities of the tapeworm segments lead to severe itching at these regions. Hence, to make a relief from this type of constant irritation, the animal starts pressing the anus region on the ground first and then tries to drag it on the ground with typical extension of rear limbs.

Usually there is a packet of eggs when the fecal sample is examined by microscope. However, the flotation technique leads to breakage of these packets to burst and hence, diagnosis is difficult in such occasions. Scooting dogs need to be examined to rule out tapeworm segments, which look like rice like pieces.

These segments are white in color and turn yellow when taken from the body. Tapeworms themselves may be seen in the motion or near anus below the tail regions. Consult your veterinarian for specific cures for this.http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

HOW TO KNOW SIGNS OF ILL HEALTH IN YOUR DOG

Signs of ill health are the most important signs of the health status in your dogs. For example, if the dog has continuous nasal discharge, it indicates the presence of nasal congestion and if the discharge is thick, most of the times, the dog may have pneumonia.

If the dog vomits one or two times occasionally, this may not be taken as a serious sign of ill health but if the dog continues this vomiting, then this is something significant to be looked into.

If the dog has continuous itching, then one needs to check up the dog first by closer observation and examination of skin by separating the hair material especially in case of long haired breeds. You may also come across a lot of ticks or lice on skin, which may look apparently normal at a distance. http://tinyurl.com/2ypjte

If the dog passes loose stool for one or two times, this need not be given more emphasis but if there is continuous passing of loose stool, then the dog is understood to suffer from bowel disorders. If the dog does not pass stool for two to three days, the digestive upsets needs to be ruled out carefully.

Just patiently observe the dog’s walking movements and rule out any abnormal movements in the dog. If the dog is limping, the animal may have foot lesions. Similarly, if the aged dog has reluctant walking and less feed intake along with repeated vomiting, then acute renal disorders like nephritis needs to be ruled out. http://tinyurl.com/2ypjte

If there is whiteness in eyes, suspect the corneal opacity that may occur in diseases like trypanasomosis. When the dog becomes anemic, the mucous membrane of the eyes becomes paler and in severe cases, this may have wall white color. If the dog bites chain and owners or others, look for behavior disorders and rabies needs to be ruled out. http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

YOUR DOG NEED DIFFERENT DIETS AT DIFFERENT AGES

Dogs need different diets at different ages. Yes. This is true. For example, the puppy needs milk as the major food item while an adult dog may need beef or chicken in addition to the boiled egg and milk. So depending on the age factor, the diet schedule varies in reality for the dogs like any other species. http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

Puppies need greater amounts of protein, fat and carbohydrates than an adult dogs. Furthermore, puppies need more frequent feeding schedules in a day, unlike an adult dog. The movement based requirements of diet are more in the case of puppies, since they are often more active than the adult dogs.

Elder dogs need restricted protein but the protein needs to be easily digestible and easily assimilated in the body. The diet schedule should have ample supply of water for them. Feeding aged dogs too much protein may finally lead to over burden to the renal structures and ultimately, the dog may end up damaging filters in the kidney.http://tinyurl.com/2huef8

This is true especially when the immune system of these dogs is compromised due to many factors. Similarly, the elderly dogs need less food only because the movements of the adult dogs are highly restricted and hence, they have to spend a limited of energy.

Female dogs in the pregnancy stage need not be fed a full stomach since it may cause some discomforts to the animal. However, the pregnant animal and the nursing animal need special type of food items that deliver a balanced type of nutrition with proper supplementation of vitamins and minerals.

The nursing animal with puppies need to be fed with enough amounts of calcium and hence, there will not be any calcium based deficiency and the bones of the puppies will be strong without any curving. http://tinyurl.com/2ypjte

HOW TO PREVENT FLEAS AND OTHER PARASITES FROM YOUR DOG

Fleas and other parasites need to be given always a priority by the dog owners. The common incidences of flea bite allergy in case of dogs cause worries among the dog owners. Flea bite induces allergic reactions in the concerned area bitten by the fleas. Hence, the affected area looks like hairless area and the animal starts scratching. http://tinyurl.com/2ypjte

Fleas cause severe dermatitis in dogs with severe flea infestations. Many times, the flea bite causes allergic reactions in the dogs. In many occasions, dogs experience severe discomforts due to these allergic reactions. Medicated collars are available to treat and prevent the infestation with external parasites like ticks or fleas.

Other parasites like ticks, lice in addition to the internal parasites like hook worms, round worms, whip worms etc. cause affections in the health status of the animal. For example, if hookworm affects the animal, most of the times, the dog has anemia. The anemic signs become more prominent depending on the degree of affection by the hookworm. http://tinyurl.com/2ypjte

Hookworm larvae can pass directly through the skin and cause problems in the affected ones. Such dogs may reveal lesions pertaining to the dermatitis in the feet region and in the skin areas. Skin rashes may be seen frequently in such cases and the affected animal passes loose stool, which is of red tinged and mixed with blood material.If the round worms are seen in more numbers, the affected puppies reveal a potbelly condition, which is easily recognized by the dog owners themselves. Piperazine salts are given by oral route for the treatment of this problem. However, broad-spectrum anthelmintics like pyrantel pamoate, fenbendazole etc. are given to treat these conditions.

Many drugs have come in market to treat the fleas and other parasites. Nowadays, the medical agent called as ivermectin is highly preferred by many dog owners to treat the fleas and other parasites in dogs. This drug is available in injection form and oral form. Even the drug is available for the external application also. http://tinyurl.com/2ypjte