Cats & Dogs - Dog Illness Symptoms - Learn When Your Dog Needs Help

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Dog Illness Symptoms - Learn When Your Dog Needs Help

Richard Cross Terris

A dog's illness symptoms vary from one environment to the other. It may be perfectly acceptable that your cuddly Pekingese wants to lay around by your side all the time, but this may be a warning signal if somebody else's generally active Pekingese is behaving this way towards them. The key to recognizing illness symptoms in dogs is to pay attention to them and see if they are doing unusual things that are out of character. Many dog illnesses symptoms become obvious when you start to look for them.

Of course, dogs are always full of surprises, but you should be able to tell the difference in a happy surprise and one that may be a dog Parvo virus symptom or other debilitating dog illness.

The first indication of a dog being sick is they are lethargic or seem exhausted or sleepy in an abnormal way. Is the dog just laying there and refusing to interact with you? When you coax him to walk, does he give it a go and then stop? Is he limping? Is he persistently licking a certain spot on his body? Is he having loose or uncontrollable stool? These are all symptoms of dog illnesses.

Did you take his temperature? You can quickly take his temperature with an ear thermometer to see if he is too hot. When using the ear thermometer you must make sure to insert it properly so that it will read his internal temperature. You cannot just feel his forehead like you do a human to make a guess of it, you have to get the reading from the inside. You need an accurate internal temperature. Oral and Rectal mercury thermometer readings are fine too, in fact, rectal is probably the recommended choice. However, you may need some assistance with the task.

Your dog's temperature should not be more than 102 degrees Fahrenheit or 39 Celsius. A fever in your dog is an illness symptom and should be tended to immediately, particularly if there are other symptoms accompanying it. Fever is present in many dog illnesses such as deadly dog Parvo virus, Lyme disease, pneumonia, and other infectious diseases. Many owners of Big Dogs will often treat a dog's fever with human aspirin. This is only recommended after you've discussed it with the veterinarian. This is not recommended for small dogs. You should never give your dog Tylenol or Motrin or the generic equivalents.

Why is the dog scratching and licking himself so much? What do these illness symptoms indicate? He may have dermatitis, scabies, ringworm, fleas, ticks, or mites. Possibly it might be that he may only be grooming himself to look pretty for his master. When your dog has been spayed or neutered, you may see an increase in his grooming regimen because he will now have more time for it.

It is possible that the dog can have allergies. This will vary with dogs of all shape and style. Most allergies can be treated inexpensively with the guidance of your animal doctor. This may include dietary supplements, changes to environment, or a cream or spray that you can apply to the dog.

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Do you want to train your dog like a professional? Have a look at dog training ebook. Richard Cross is owner and webmaster of Dogsandyou.co.uk, a dog health website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Cross_Terris
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This news arrived on: 06/14/2008

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