How to Keep Your Dog Healthy

It is very important that you watch your dog’s health carefully and notice any changes in your dog’s behavior and health. For example if your dog stops eating, or starts sleeping more than normal, these behaviors can signal a larger health problem for your dog. Once you do notice a change in your dog, set up a vet appointment as soon as possible. Since the dog can’t tell you how bad it feels, you have no idea how severe the condition is. In these cases, it is often better to be safe than sorry. When you do see the vet, any information you have about the dog and it’s recent behavior will be crucial to determining the problem and a proper diagnosis. The vet should complete a physical examination of your dog and ask you questions about how the dog has been acting, or if anything in it’s environment has changed. During the physical examination the vet will inspect the following areas in hopes of finding additional information about your dog’s health.

Here are a few important aspects of your dog’s health that you should pay attention to and talk to your vet about if you notice any irregularities.

1. Eating habits- Has your dog been eating more/less dog feed recently?

2. Sleeping habits- Has your dog been sleeping more than normal or staying up all night instead of sleeping?

3. Activity- Has your dog been slower and less active than normal? Is your dog limping when walking, or has the dog stopped jumping recently?

4. Skin/Coat- Have you noticed any changes in your dog’s skin or coat? Does the dog have bumps, bites, rash?

5. Breathing- Has your dog had breathing or coughing problems lately?

Kelli runs a Dog Health website with resources and advice on dog health topics.