How to Detect What's Ailing Your Dog

When your dog gets sick, he may not be able to explain to you clearly what he is feeling or which part of his body is feeling something. Therefore, as the owner, you must be observant with your dog in order to understand whether he is doing well or not. Understanding the signs are of some common dog ailments will help you better identify what they are and apply the correct first-aid treatment you could give.

• Shock - there four different kinds of shock that can happen to your dog - 1) Hypovolemic, if your dog does not get enough blood circulating in his body 2) Cardiac - when the heart cannot pump blood that fast to supply the need in his body 3) Neurogenic - when a dog has an extreme injury in his spinal cord or brain and 4) Septic - when an infection enters your dog's bloodstream.

Some of the more common signs of shock are loss of body heat in the extremities, a rapid pulse, weakness, and paleness of the tissues in the eyes, gums, and inside the mouth. Shock victims need to be taken to the vet immediately.

• Heat Stroke - this happens when your dog has not gotten used to hot temperature especially if he stays indoors most of the time. The signs of a heat stroke are vomiting, unsteadiness, reddish gums, glazed eyes, a rapid pulse rate, and heavy breathing. If you see these symptoms in him, put him in a cooler shade and pour some cool water all over his body. Take him to the veterinarian immediately.

• Fainting - this occurs when his heart is not able to pump sufficient blood to his brain. It can also happen when your dog experiences very low blood-sugar levels after some heavy physical activities. If this happens, only a vet can be of any help to him.

• Falling - when you see your dog fall over with no sufficient reason, he could be having some very serious infection inside his ears. This is not fatal and could be treated easily with the help of the vet and some antibiotics.

• Bloat - this is caused by overeating and the visible symptoms include the swelling of your dog's belly for no apparent reason. The stomach becomes filled with too mush gases and will make it very tight thus inhibiting blood circulation. This poses a very serious threat to your dog so it must be taken care of by the vet immediately.

To know the signs and symptoms of these particular diseases will greatly help you cope with your dog's illness if ever it happens to your dog. Therefore, with the help of these few information, we hope that it could help you in one way or another to save your dog's life.

Steve Weber offers more info on his web site, Cactus Canyon, for helping canine owners who are dealing with the effects of dog arthritis. Steve's site offers natural and safe glucosmaine products, such as Flexicose for pets, for treating the joint disease.