Dog Health

Obesity. If your dog is fat it is almost certainly your fault, for ifyou feed your pet on a normal diet and exercise it sufficiently itshould not get fat. Be honest with yourself, and list all the tidbitsand treats that you feed your pet during the day. You are being justas cruel to the animal as if you were deliberately mistreating it.Obesity can lead to and aggravate heart problems, hip dysplasia andcan complicate matters when your dog needs an anaesthetic - so throw away the chocolate drops and the biscuits, and start to feed yourpet properly and become a responsible pet owner.

Dental Problems. You know how miserable you feel when you aresuffering from toothache, so if you suspect that your dog is feelingthe same way take it to your vet. Canned food is so soft that thereis almost no chewing necessary, so tartar soon begins to build upon the teeth. Once this has happened, your vet can remove it butif you start a programme of dental hygiene when your dog is reallyyoung you can get it used to having its teeth brushed. Do not usetoothpaste but otherwise do it just as you do yours, keeping aspecial toothbrush strictly for the dog. Broken teeth can lead toinfection, and dental abscesses are not infrequent.

Coughs and Sneezes. If the condition persists, take the animal toa vet but before you do, have a look inside the mouth if theanimal is coughing - it might have something stuck in the back ofthe throat that you can see and remove. In this case, do getsomeone else to hold the dog for you and use something like ashort piece of broom handle to slide gently between the teethwhile you are working to prevent them closing on your hand. Ifyou are unable to remove the obstruction easily, give up and go tothe vet quickly. Similarly with sneezing, have a quick look to see ifthere is something like a grass seed stuck up a nostril and if youcan get it out, do so. If the sneeze is a single one, there is no needto worry.

Impaction of the Anal Glands. On either side of the anus aresmall glands that sometimes become swollen and uncomfortable.The dog will constantly lick the area and may also slide his backend along the floor to relieve the condition. You can usually emptythese glands yourself, but get your vet to show you how to do itthe first time.

Internal Parasites. These are usually worms which can be con-veniently divided into roundworms and tapeworms. Roundworms areusually about 1-2 cm (1/2-3/4 in) long and look like thin, whitemaggots. You may see them around the anus or in the faeces. Getsome roundworm tablets and administer them according to theinstructions on tlie pack. But do note that the tablets will not killthe eggs inside the dog, so they will hatch into a new lot of wormsif you do not give a second dose a few days after the firstdirected. It is very easy to neglect this stage when you find that thefirst dose has get rid of the worms. Tapeworms are amazinganimals. They have heads with lots of teeth that lock onto the wall of the gut so that they can extract nutrients therefrom, and thenthey start to grow. A good healthy tapeworm can grow to a lengthof many metres (yards). The body is white, segmented and flat, andyou might find short, broken-off bits around the anus or in thefaeces and again the treatment is by using tablets - tapewormtablets in this case. Roundworms are easy to see but frankly onedoes not often find tapeworm segments despite my description ofthem. The easiest way of diagnosing worms is to keep an eye onthe quantity of food the animal eats. If he becomes abnormallyhungry for no apparent reason and if he also acquires a narrow,pinched look around the flanks there is a good chance that youare feeding worms as well as dogs.

Vomiting or Diarrhoea. Provided that your dog is otherwise welland neither of these symptoms persist, nor do they occur together,it is likely that the animal has only picked up a mild infection orbecome overexcited. In the case of diarrhoea, a dose of kaolin andmorphine should help and for the vomiting, refrain from feedingthe dog until the next day and then give it a small meal. However,if the whole messy business continues or there is blood in thevomit or faeces, call your vet.

Heatstroke. This is almost invariably caused by leaving a dog in acar during hot weather, despite the annual warnings not to do this.You will rightly be accused of cruelty to your pet. Let the dog cool down and give it plenty of fresh air and a drink of clean waterwhen it wants one, and it will probably recover perfectly.

External Parasites. There are several parasites that can cause allsorts of skin problems for dogs. Undoubtedly the one that worriesmost people is the flea. Owners visualise themselves becominginfected as well, and t¦-iere is still a social stigma attached to fleas.A dog flea will not live on you, though it might very well bite you,and oddly enough some people are bitten by fleas far morefrequently than others.

Contrary to popular belief, fleas do not live on a dog all thetime - they jump on to feed, then off again to their home in thedog's bed or favourite armchair, so spraying the dog will only getrid of the fleas that are actually on him. If youput up Vapona blocks throughout the house, you are unlikely tohave flea problems: every new lot that is brought in by the dogsoon dies off.

During the summer when your dog goes for long exciting walksthrough the long grass he might very well pick up the odd sheeptick. These little animals embed their tiny mouth parts in the skinand sit there happily sucking blood. They look like a white or greylump about the size of the nail on your little finger, attached to thedog by a fine point. If you try and pull it off you will almostcertainly leave the very small head embedded in the dog and thismight cause an infection and, if the tick's body bursts during theoperation, you will find it full of blood from your pet. There arevarious ways of getting rid of the things, such as painting themwith alcohol or oil and waiting a day for them to die whereuponthe mouthparts relax, but by far the best way is to pull them offwith a quick jerk. But, do not attempt to do this unless someoneexperienced shows you how - there is a knack to it that is impos-sible to describe - or you will leave the head behind.

One frequently sees dogs scratching, especially in the summer,and sometimes this is in response to eczema or mange caused bylice or mites. This sort of parasitism is really annoying because notonly do you have the problem of the parasite but you also havethe possibility of secondary conditions caused by the dog scratch-ing away at the site of the irritation. Do not bother with creamsand potions - take the dog to your vet because the causal organ-ism has to be destroyed. Some mites cause ear problems whichagain require veterinary treatment.

The other condition which causes a fair bit of distress throughthe summer is caused, unbelievably, by vegetable matter such asthe awns on some grass and corn seeds. These awns have micro-scopic barbs, which sometimes penetrate the soft skin between the toes during a walk in a field or a park, or even enter a nose whilethe animal is having a good sniff at an exciting smell. Once an awnhas dug itself in, it is virtually impossible to remove as it snaps intosegments. Those that are left slowly bury themselves deeper, andevery movement causes them to travel further, often causing infec-tion as they go. They eventually work their way out again throughthe skin but sometimes this might not happen till the seed hastravelled right up a leg. They are nasty things and the woundsrefuse to heal until the awn is out. The only thing to do is to takethe animal to the vet; in the meantime, be aware of the dangerand keep your dog away from fierce looking grass seeds.