Articles » Disease-First Aid
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How To Treat Your Dog's Dandruff: 7 Tips
Dandruff mostly occurs when the dog’s skin cells naturally form, die, and flake off at a very fast rate.
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Helping The Mother Dog Give Birth
Sometimes you may have to assist the mother while she is giving birth. Puppies are usually delivered head first in a diving position while some are born tail and hind legs first. If the mother is having a hard time with the delivery, you can help her by gently pulling out the exposed puppy as she restrains. However, if only the legs are out, call the vet immediately for advice. If the mother does not lick the newborn puppy, you will need to remove the membrane from his face and clear the fluid from his nose and mouth. Rub the newborn puppy vigorously with a towel in order to stimulate his first breath. Do not handle the newborn puppy more than what is necessary.
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Emergency Dog Accidents: Burns, Seizures, Gastric Torsion
During an emergency or an accident, you can reduce your dog’s immediate pain and discomfort or even save his life with prompt, immediate action. You need to always be prepared for such accidents and emergencies such as burns, seizures, and gastric torsion.
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8 Items That Every Dog Owner Must Know When Going To The Vet
1. Your veterinarian is one of the most important people in your dog's life. You should choose your veterinarian just as you select your own doctor, by reputation and quality of service. You and your dog should feel at ease with this professional. You need to feel that you can trust your veterinarian, especially in an emergency situation.
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6 Ways To Help Soothe Your Puppy's Teething
Teething is a natural process that occurs when your pet’s deciduous (baby) teeth are replaced by adult teeth. This process usually starts in puppies between the age of 3 and 6 months. All puppies go through teething because it helps them relieve the discomfort that is associated with the process. In addition, it may help the new tooth penetrate the gums. Teething is something that you should not prevent.
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What do minerals do? Minerals, in addition to vitamins, only make up less than two percent of any formulated diet for dogs. However, they are the most critical of nutrients. Although minerals are without any calories or energy, their main function is to assist the body in energy production. A dog's body can make vitamins, but it cannot make minerals. All minerals come from the food that your dog eats, but the availability of the minerals is quite complex.
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What To Do When A Foreign Object Gets Inside Your Dog’s Body
With their combination of scavenging habits and inquisitive nature, most dogs, at one time or another, will be likely to have a foreign object embedded in their skin. Sharp objects such as glass, needles, thorns, as well as plant seeds, are the most common culprits that can be embedded in their skin. These items often enter the eyes, nose, ears, skin, vulva, and particularly the area between their toes. For this reason, always examine your dog’s coat and skin for any sign of foreign bodies after taking him out for walks.
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The Potential Dangers Of Your Dog's Vaccinations
Many dogs have allergic reactions that are the direct result of vaccinations. Because of the severity of some of these reactions, vaccines have become a very controversial subject. There are an increasing number of dangers and the veterinary community is becoming more aware of these issues when it comes to routinely giving annual vaccinations.
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Dogs carry over 60 percent of their weight on their front legs, with their hind legs acting as accelerators. Their front legs are attached to the rest of his body by muscles with no collarbone, which provides for more flexibility. All this powerful equipment is susceptible to injury or damage by misuse, particularly in breeds whose bone structure has been changed through selective breeding.
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What To Do When Your Dog Is Bleeding
Dogs are naturally curious animals. They will try and investigate anything and everything that crosses their path. It is very common for them to get into small accidents and experience minor scrapes and cuts. They may either run into sharp objects, step on glass, or get caught on barbed wires
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What Do Laboratory Tests Reveal?
As a responsible dog owner you should take your dog to the veterinarian at least once per year. This is a good habit to form with your dog that will keep him healthy for years to come, as well as enable you to prevent diseases, instead of waiting for them to form. A yearly physical examination will consist of evaluating your dog's general attitude and appearance. The eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and skin will be fully checked. The vet will also check the musculoskeletal, respiratory, nervous, digestive, genitourinary, and circulatory systems.
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How To Resuscitate Your Dog If His Heart Stops Beating
A dog’s breathing and heartbeat can suddenly stop after being in a traffic accident, drowning, poisoning, or from shock. When this happens, it is crucial to administer an immediate cardiac massage as well as artificial respiration in order to save his life. As soon as you notice that he has stopped breathing, have someone help you call the vet for advice while doing your best to resuscitate the dog. It is very important to get oxygen rich blood to the brain as quickly as possible to prevent brain damage. His heart needs to be restarted within a few minutes in order for him to survive.
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Treating Your Dog's Constipation
Constipation usually occurs when the dog does not get enough bulk in his diet or when he does not get enough proper exercise. When a dog does not get the chance to eliminate when he needs to, he may develop the habit of holding it in. A dog that is not let out enough will also likely to develop this habit. n these simple cases of constipation, you may use the following treatment to ease your dog’s discomfort:
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Natural Ways To Prevent And Treat Arthritis In Dogs
Arthritis and bone disease are very common in dogs and usually take one of several types. These include hip dysplasia, dislocation of the kneecap, arthritis of the elbow, swelling and pain in the leg bones, and degeneration of the shoulder joint.
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Is Your Dog Straining To Urinate?
If you notice any changes in your dog's normal urinary function then you must get him to the vet as soon as possible to be investigated. Your dog's kidneys are responsible for filtering the blood, while retaining useful chemicals, and ridding your the body of harmful and toxic chemicals. Waste material is then passed down the ureters to the bladder where it is stored. When the dog's bladder is full, the dog passes the urine through the urethra and out of the body.
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How To Give Your Dog Home-made Enema
Sometimes, you may need to do more than just giving solid or liquid medication to your sick dog. Depending on his condition and symptoms, you may also have to provide other kinds of nursing care, such as giving enemas.
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Cleaning Up Body Discharges Using Natural Ingredients
Often times a disease will cause discharges from different body orifices, including the eyes, ears, nose, and anus. Many sick dogs are left feeling miserable by the accumulation of the discharge that they cannot remove and can irritate underlying tissues.
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Your Dog's Veterinarian Visit: 6 Basic Areas Of A Full Examination
It is up to you to notice any changes in your dog's behavior or other odd instances that may indicate that your dog is sick. After all, he cannot tell you when he is feeling bad. Any information that you can give to the vet will be helpful in determining what may be the problem. In most instances, the vet will carry out a complete basic physical examination. During this examination he will more than likely ask you a lot of questions about your dog.
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5 Tips When Dealing With An Injured Dog
Many traffic accidents involving dogs, both minor and severe, could have been prevented with proper obedience training. Be sure that your dog is well trained and always under the control of a reasonable person when he is being walked outside, especially when being walked near a busy road.
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4 Tips To Aid Your Dog Of Diarrhea
Is your dog having a problem with diarrhea? Does he have “accidents” while trying to get outside to go to the bathroom? While your dog may not loosing too much sleep over the problem, there is no doubt that you are not happy with the runny mess being made in your house!
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2 Ways To administer Liquid Medication To Your Dog
There are 2 effective methods for getting any form of liquid medication down your dog’s throat: Make a pouch or pry the mouth open.
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The Importance Of Giving Your Dog First Aid Treatment
It is our job as dog owners to make sure that our pets are happy and healthy. However, it is not always an easy job given that our dogs are curious and intelligent creatures with a tendency to get themselves into all kinds of trouble. And when they do get in sick or hurt, it is up to us to examine them and find out exactly what the problem is.
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Respiratory Disorders: Nasal Discharge, Breathing Problems, Gagging
Sneezing or Nasal Discharge It is very common for all dogs to sneeze on an occasional basis, especially when they first wake up. However, allergic sneezing is typically a nonproductive sneeze that occurs in paroxysms and the infections will often produce puss. If you notice a bloody discharge from a single nostril then that is an indication of a tumor or a foreign object. What to do: If your dog is displaying such symptoms then immediately consult your veterinarian for the correct diagnosis. While eliminating the cause of allergic sneezing is the best option, it can also be reduced by giving your dog antihistamines. Medications will need to be administered if there is an infection. These infections can be viral, bacterial, or fungal. If there is indeed a tumor, then surgery will be the only option. And in the fortunate event that your dog merely has a foreign object stuck in his nostril, then the object can be sneezed forward enough until the vet can reach it and remove the object.
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Respiratory Disorders: Acute Coughing, Snoring, Voice-changing
Acute Coughing Although we have discussed the issue of your dog having a persistent and constant coughing problem, acute coughing can be a sign of something a little less dangerous, but important nevertheless. Acute coughing may be a sign of kennel cough, acute bronchitis, inhalation pneumonia, a foreign object in the airway, or even an infection of the tonsils, larynx, or pharynx. Kennel cough is contracted from other dogs which causes inflammation of the voice box. Bronchitis is caused by a bacterial or allergic inflammation to the bronchi in the lungs. And of course any foreign object stuck in the lung will cause acute coughing.
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Mouth & Tooth Disorders: Drooling, Reluctance To Chewing, Misaligned Bite
Excessive Drooling If your dog is showing sings of excessive drooling then it may be caused by a salivary cyst, a periodontal disease, tongue injury, or simply a foreign object. Salivary cysts look like large blisters that occur under the tongue. If your dog has periodontal disease then the cement that holds his teeth in place gets destroyed. Tongue wounds can occur from self infliction or by getting info fights with dogs.
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Five Ways To Prevent Congenital Problems In Dogs
Prevention is the main key in order to avoid diseases and illness from attacking your dog. In fact, the best prevention begins even before you start breeding the dog. But what do you do if your pet was born with a health problem? There are a few options for you to choose from when helping your dog that is born with a congenital defect. Often times, surgery can correct a structural defect. Other aspects such as good feeding, good amount of exercise, proper grooming and veterinary care all help in controlling certain disorder and symptoms from occurring. But the most effective treatment for congenital defects is in preventing them from happening in the first place.
