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Your dog will look to you to keep them healthy. These metrics should be visible to pet parents in addition to daily checkups with a veterinarian, including routine health tests such as an annual blood panel, fecal examination, and urinalysis. Below are seven signs that shows that your dog is in good health.
Shiny Coat
If your dog is in good shape, it will display on its coat. As a result of normal shedding and natural oils, healthy dogs have a clean and shiny coat. Except when it gets particularly filthy, you should not bathe your canine friend on a daily basis.
Keep an eye out for excessive scratching, biting, or licking. As this may indicate that your dog has skin allergies or discomfort, it could also indicate that fleas or bugs have infested your dog.
Regular Bowel Movements
The stools of a healthy dog are firm, excreted in one motion, and free of blood or discoloration. Also, if your dog has developed a toilet routine, he or she will try to adhere to it, so any change from this may indicate tummy or urinary issues. Stress, in addition to parasites and viruses, will disrupt your dog's digestion. If you have just recently taken your pet home, he or she might be nervous. Even if this is the most probable cause of any watery stool or constipation, you should always notify your veterinarian.
High Energy Levels
The majority of dogs prefer running to walking. If your pet is sluggish, refuses to play as they usually do, or slows down, this may indicate a variety of other issues. It can range from minor problems like muscle pain to life-threatening conditions like cardiovascular disease.
Your dog should be enthusiastic about their favorite hobbies and be involved. If your dog's temperament changes for more than three days, this could suggest potential health issues and necessitate a trip to the vet if it continues.
Healthy Teeth And Gums
Healthy dogs have healthy teeth and gums. Dental issues are unpleasant and can make it hard for your dog to eat, so look for signs such as a loss of appetite, swollen gums, or bad breath. Crispy, kibble-based diets and dental chews are also excellent options for keeping your dog's teeth clean.
Clean Ears
If you cuddle up to your puppy and there is no waxy odor coming from their ears, that is certainly considered healthy. Clean ears and no odor are a signal that your dog is in good health. But, your pet's ears can get dirty at some point, so it's necessary to clean them on a regular basis. If you ignore your dog's ears, he or she can develop an ear infection, which can be very painful for them.
Clear Eyes
A healthy dog has shiny, bright, and sparkly eyes. You must be able to see clearly through the cornea, as well as the iris patterns. A shift in diet to species-appropriate foods will help to minimize the amount of tears and staining. If it is not a major health issue, it is suggested to wipe tear stains on a regular basis with chemical-free, all-natural cleaning products.
You may also substitute plastic food and water bowls with stainless steel bowls, which do not harbor bacteria that irritate your dog's face. Probiotics can also be added to your pet's diet to help reduce staining.
Healthy Nails
Healthy dogs have long, straight, and solid nails. There is no brittleness or cracking. They can be white, black, or a color mix. There are many explanations why your dog's nails might be brittle, breaking, weak, peeling, elastic, fragile, or cracking: A poor diet, fungal infections, yeast, or physical damage are all possibilities. Keep an eye out for any signs of inflammation near the nail beds. Inflammation may be caused by a paronychia infection. It develops along the toe's edge and the underlying tissue. If left untreated, the toe can need to be amputated surgically.
Bring up any questions or doubts you have about your dog's wellbeing when you see your veterinarian. For a wide range of diagnostic and treatment measures such as blood gases, electrolytes, metabolites, and coagulation markers, get the veterinary blood chemistry analyzer, which is compact, battery-powered, and fully automatic.
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It's terrifying to discover your cat desperately tearing out its own fur. This isn't a common behavior. Cats clean themselves and remove shed hair on a regular basis, but it is not excessive. A cat that regularly removes big clumps is suffering from a severe health problem.
The cat might also be biting, meowing, and scratching itself. If you see your cat pulling out fur and losing weight, you should seek the help of a veterinarian. It is possible that your furry feline companion is suffering from:
Fleas And Parasites
The most common cause of your cat's hair pulling is most likely fleas or other parasites that have found a home in your cat's fur. If your cat becomes itchy or uncomfortable as a result of these parasites, their first reaction would be to bite and pull at their hair. If this is the case, the first step will be to take your cat to a veterinarian. They might be able to administer a parasite-killing drug for your feline companion. The drug may also prevent new parasites from clinging to your cat's fur, which will keep your cat from tearing its fur out in the future.
Stress
Cats, like humans, can be quickly stressed by abrupt changes. If you've recently moved, or if there has been a change in the family, or even if you've simply rearranged the furniture, your cat could react by grooming obsessively. Although it can help your cats cope, it may also cause hair loss and bald spots, causing more harm than good.
Allow your cats plenty of time to adapt to your home and everything in it, and try to keep the atmosphere as comfortable as possible. If you've done whatever you can to keep your cats in a safe environment but they're still showing signs of discomfort or anxiety, speak with your veterinarian about recommending an anti-depressant for your pet.
Medications
If your cat is already on a combination of drugs, the drugs could be causing itching. You must not stop your cat's medications, instead inform your veterinarian of your cat's distress and hope that they prescribe anything better.
Make a list of the drugs that have a negative impact on your pet, as you may want to avoid them and other medications with similar ingredients in the future.
Allergies
As with humans, coping with allergies in your cat is primarily an elimination process. Environmental allergens, such as dust mites, pollen, or mold, can irritate the skin and cause cats to pull their hair out. Food allergies or reaction to perfumes in cat litter may also cause Cat to yank out clumps of her fur.
Your veterinarian can advise allergy tests to determine the source of environmental allergies, or a food trial with a limited-protein diet that splits the protein into pieces so small that the immune system cannot recognize them. This prevents the allergic reaction from starting in the first place.
The Takeaway
Visit your veterinarian and have them run tests to rule out any other, easily treatable health problems. If nothing medical is triggering your cat's tendency to pull, try to pinpoint the onset of the issue to track down the source of their anxiety. If necessary, remove it or restrict your cat's exposure to it. Provide him with new toys to help distract him from his anxiety, and spend time playing with him to wear him out. In severe situations, the veterinarian can prescribe medicines or recommend you a vetscan flex4 rapid test to help you rule out any infectious diseases.
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IVDD is an abbreviation for intervertebral disc disease. It is sometimes referred to as herniated disc(s) or ruptured disc(s). The backbone of a dog is made up of individual bones, or vertebrae, that form a tube that protects the spinal cord. The discs are the joints that link the vertebrae. They have a softer core and a harder outer layer. The spine bears the dog's weight and must move in a number of ways. The discs' role is to act as shock absorbers for the vertebrae.
What Are Symptoms Of IVDD?
The signs can differ depending on the type of IVDD that your dog has. Among the warning signs are:
Maintaining a low neck position
Inability to completely raise the head
Neck or back pain
Slow, uncoordinated movement in four or more limbs or the hind limbs
Limping on one or both front limbs
Urinary infections
Panting or shivering
Four-limb paralysis or trouble breathing
A crouched back or stiff posture
The most serious cases may include lost bladder control, inability to sense painful sensations, and/or paralysis, which is especially difficult for pet owners to watch.
IVDD Treatment Options
IVDD can advance rapidly and cause permanent harm if not treated promptly. As a result, you can get your dog checked by our team as soon as you find any symptoms of back pain or trouble walking.
There are two basic methods for treating IVDD in dogs:
Non-surgical:
We should try a treatment solution that involves pain relief and cage rest for patients who are experiencing their first bouts of back pain or moderate weakness. We also use this method if the patient is unable to undergo an MRI due to owner choice or concurrent medical conditions.
Surgical:
If your dog is having trouble walking or has back pain that is not responding to rest or treatment, spinal cord decompression surgery may be the best alternative. Our goal is to eliminate all disc material that is placing pressure on the spinal cord. We may also administer a preventative treatment to minimize the risk of your pet developing IVDD in the future.
How To Prevent IVDD
IVDD is not absolutely avoidable. However, there are ways to reduce risk in dogs that are predisposed to it. Overweight dogs are more likely to develop IVDD, so keep your dog's weight under control. Use ramps or lower steps designed for dogs to reduce the ways your dog can be hurt by jumping up and down off of furniture or stairs. The use of a belt rather than a leash will reduce the risk of IVDD in the neck. Most importantly, take the dog to the vet for routine checkups. Your veterinarian may be able to detect minor changes that signify IVDD before it becomes serious. This allows your dog to get care sooner, avoiding the discomfort and immobility induced by IDVV later on.
To help treat and diagnose patients, i-STAT Alinity v is an simple-to-use, portable veterinary analyzer that allows electrolyte, chemistry, acid base, blood gas, and hematology testing on a single portable device.
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Dog snoring is something that could be funny or irritating. It is also very common, even in healthy dogs. However, dog snoring can be a sign of a variety of health problems and it is worth keeping an eye on, particularly if a dog makes snoring sound when they are awake. No matter what the source, whether it's constant or troublesome, it's time for a checkup to see that it's not one of the following.
Allergens
One cause for puppy snoring is the existence of allergens in and around the house, varying from smoke and dust to tree and plant pollen. If you think that the pet fur has taken you down, think of how your pets react to the human hair! Allergens can cause mucus accumulation and postnasal discharge, which can have a negative effect on snoring.
Dental Problems
Another root cause of snoring may be an ulcerated tooth or some growth or mass in the oral cavity or sinus. Left unaddressed, infection can spread through the pet's body, causing even more severe problems.
Obesity
Obesity has been associated with several health issues, but it certainly has close connections to snoring in dogs. Any extra weight your dog carries will place more pressure on their breathing. Both through internal fat contributing to the weight of tissue in the airway and palate making noise when they breathe, to the fat around the ribcage making their respiratory mechanisms work harder every time they breathe.
Lumps, Bumps And Blockages
Anything that narrows the airway or induces turbulent airflow can lead to dog snoring. This could involve physical blockages or irregular growths such as polyps, or even a tumor. These are uncommon, but they occur from time to time.
Breed Anatomy
Flat-faced breeds are particularly susceptible to snoring, since their airways are narrower and may have more difficulty moving air in and out. In this situation, snoring might be natural, but it's still a good idea to double-check with your vet if you're worried about it.
Weather
Dry air may cause the nasal tissues to bind together, leading in the snoring of dogs who are normally quiet sleepers. In some cases, changes in altitude due to travel or even differing air pressure can increase snoring.
Sleeping Position
Your dog's sleeping position can have an effect on his snoring. Your dog's head and neck can just be situated in such a way that airway noise is created while breathing. As with humans, a dog sleeping on its back might be more prone to snore than a dog sleeping on its side.
Snoring is a symptom, not a disease. If your dog has unexpectedly started snoring, or if they have disturbed sleep, check them out by your veterinarian to rule out any underlying health issues.
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