Dog Ailments

Dogs can suffer from similar ailments that we get as we age, including arthritis and pain in the joints.

Some breeds of dogs are more prone than others to getting certain ailments and you need to be aware of the possible problems that your particular breed of dog might get as it grows older.

By giving your dog a warm place to lie when it sleeps you might be able to ward off arthritic pain.

By keeping the body weight down to acceptable levels for dogs that are prone to overeating and weight gain might stop your dog from developing other symptoms that can affect the quality of life.

It is far better to control things that can affect the dogs health during the course of their life than to make them, and you, pay for ill health as they age.

According to many dog experts our pets should be living for a lot longer than the current life expectancies that we have come to accept.

With good medication we can expect to enjoy more years with our dogs but it is just as easy to add many quality years to their life by ensuring that they get the optimum nutrition and suitable living standards during the course of their life.

Most dogs are very hardy but even they will benefit from additional comforts and care.

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There are two types of worms that you are likely to have to contend with in keeping your dog healthy, and they are the round worms and the tapeworms.

Round worms are the ones most prevalent in puppies and they generally look like small white pieces of string of about three inches in length.
They can grow up to twice this size in a full-grown dog.

Round worms live in the small intestine of the dog and can become so concentrated that they will block the passage.
They can be passed by the bowel and this can obviously affect other dogs that are in contact with dogs that have round worms.

It only takes a matter of days for the worms to become fully developed and it is easy for them to spread quickly from one dog to another.

The speed by which they can breed and multiply has been one of the reasons why many people originally assumed that puppies were always born with round worms although it has since been proven that this is not the case.

More often than not the puppies have got the worms from their mother in the confines of their kennel.

There are so many different symptoms that can appear when a dog has worms that anything you notice outside of the ordinary behavior of your pet should be addressed by a visit to your vet as a worm infested dog can become a very unhealthy, unhappy dog very fast.

Left untreated worms can kill a dog so it is better to be safe than sorry if you suspect your pet might have worms or have been in contact with other dogs that might have worms.
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Rewarding Your Dog is the best way to train your dog…

Rewarding your dog is probably the single most important aspect of good training.

It is a well-known fact that reward training is the fastest way to get a dog to change their behavior and rewards in the form of positive reinforcement are the fastest way to get the desired results.

Reward training also makes the whole process more fun for the owner and the dog.
It becomes a bit of a game and helps to reduce any boredom and keep both the dog and the owner motivated.

It is also a good idea to finish each training session with a time for play so the dog associates the learning with fun times and is more excited about these sessions in the future.

Many people also like to have a little time before the training sessions for fun too, but that really depends on the personality of your dog as some can get overly excited and this can make the training sessions harder to control.

It is not often that you will find people promoting the use of ‘reprimand’ training these days as this is quite a dated technique and has been proven to be less effective than the newer positive action training techniques.

Dogs will quickly become discouraged by this type of training and they can also get confused when they are unsure what they have been doing wrong.

It is far better to focus on more positive actions that are used to replace those areas of the dog’s behavior that are causing problems.

There are certain circumstances where the dog is aware of doing something wrong and in these instances where they will know why they are being reprimanded it is certainly suitable to do so, but once they have been reprimanded it is time to move on quickly and get back to the positive aspects of training.
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By: Douglas Black,

We all know about the risks and dangers of skin cancer. We are careful to cover our children with a high SPF sun block before they go out to play in the sun, and we understand that we need to protect our own adult skin as well. Should we protect our pets as well?

Can animals develop skin cancer, as humans can? They absolutely can. Many pet owners are surprised to learn that the family dog or cat is very susceptible to the damaging rays of the sun, and care must be taken for their welfare as well as ours. Common sense tells us to provide plenty of shade and limit our pets’ exposure to direct sunlight during peak hours.

Direct sunlight is not the sole cause of skin cancer in pets, but it is certainly a major contributor. Hormones, previous burns, viruses and inoculations are among the other factors that can cause animals to acquire skin cancer. Pets, like humans, have a genetic predisposition to the development of skin cancer. It’s a disease that can run in your pet’s family, the same way it can run in yours.

Like their fair-skinned human counterparts, light colored dogs and cats are at greater risk of developing skin cancer. Pets with white fur are, of course, at the higher end of the risk scale. Any parts of the body where the coat is thin are at greatest risk. These include the stomach, inside of a dog’s hind legs, and the ear tips, pink noses, and outer eye areas on cats.

Hairless breeds of dogs and cats have no natural protection from the sun’s rays. Dalmatians, pit bulls, pointers and bull terriers are among the breeds of dogs most at risk. It’s interesting to note that when a Dalmatian develops skin cancer, the disease strikes only the white areas and misses the black spots.

Like humans, skin cancer strikes pets later in life. When your dog or cat reaches about nine years of age, you should schedule veterinary checkups every six months. With early detection, your pet will have a better chance of surviving skin cancer.

Early detection, however, is not always enough. The disease can progress quickly in six months, so it’s important that you are aware of how he or she normally behaves. If your pet is experiencing pain or discomfort, his or her normal behavior will change. As your pet’s caregiver, be aware of this natural sign that dictates it’s time for a thorough physical check-up.

Look for weight loss, changes in eating habits or a disinterest in taking part in everyday activities like playing and going for a walk.

Be on the lookout for physical changes to your pet. If you note changes to moles, or newly developed sores on your pet, get him or her to the vet quickly.

Your pet may his or her discomfort to avoid disappointing you. Dogs and cats are keenly in tune to the moods of their owners and they naturally want to please. Sometimes, animals will follow an innate instinct to hide symptoms out of fear. In the natural world, illness equates weakness, and weakness brings death. Therefore, it can be a natural response for your beloved pet to hide his or her illness.

Pets, like humans, can develop skin cancer from excessive exposure to the sun. Your pet naturally loves to spend time outdoors, and you need to be the protector. Provide a cool, shady resting spot or simply limit the time spent outdoors to early morning or late afternoon and evening hours.

Essayist Sterling Ostin is a freelancer for numerous popular web sites, and you can read more articles by him if you click here or visit this site.

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