How to understand that the dog is sick: useful tips

Often, those who first start a dog at home do not know all the subtleties and nuances of its feeding, care and upbringing. But this is not difficult - if you have the desire, you can easily learn all the skills. After all, even young parents often after the birth of a child do not know how to change his diapers, how to feed and change clothes. Over time, knowledge and experience becomes more and more, and after a few years, an experienced mother herself is able to answer questions about the health and upbringing of the child.

A dog can be compared to a newborn child who has appeared in your family. She also cannot tell you about her worries or where she has a pain. And your task, as a sensitive host and faithful friend, is to recognize in time that any changes are taking place in the animal's body. We will present you some symptoms that may indicate that the dog is sick.

Behavior

The first thing that occurs during any illness is discomfort and pain in various situations. Therefore, the behavior of the dog during the illness varies.

1. Often during an illness the dog becomes lethargic, sleepy and apathetic. She is no longer interested in the games with which she was always glad. The dog is hammered into a far and dark corner so that nobody touches it. Pets prefer to survive the disease alone.
2. Another sign of illness is a lack of appetite. It so happens that the dog refuses to eat if you overfeed him or he spends little time in the fresh air. If these reasons are excluded, then poor appetite may be due to malaise.
3. Sometimes a dog can become aggressive even with those who know more than one year. It happens when a sick animal is squeezed, forced to play. Treat your pet with understanding, do you live an active life when you are sick?
4. Sometimes a dog may not eat, but drinks a lot. This indicates food poisoning, an infectious disease (if the temperature rises and the body sweats). High fluid intake can be a symptom of diabetes.
5. Sometimes a dog may suffer from vomiting and severe shortness of breath. In this case, consult a veterinarian.
6. Constipation or diarrhea (especially with blood) is also a good reason to immediately take a friend to the doctor.
7. The normal body temperature of the dog is 38.5-39 degrees. If it is much higher or lower, you need to consult with a specialist. High fever indicates an infectious disease or inflammation in the body. Low body temperature is very dangerous, and most often indicates intoxication or internal bleeding.

It is very important to closely monitor the pet in order to recognize the ailment as early as possible. Early diagnosis of the disease provides a more productive and effective treatment.

Appearance

If the dog is ill for a long time, or the painful symptoms are sluggish, after a while the pet may change appearance.

1. A healthy dog's coat is usually shiny and smooth. If the pet receives insufficient amounts of vitamins and trace elements (due to poor appetite or lack of assimilation), then the coat becomes dull and faded.
2. Due to malnutrition and refusal to eat, the dog is rapidly losing weight.
3. If inflammatory processes take place in the body (especially with an increase in temperature), the nose remains hot and dry all the time.
4. Sometimes movements can be inaccurate, spontaneous jerking of some muscle groups appears.
5. Unusual discharge may appear from the nose, ears, eyes and mouth.
6. An unpleasant smell often emanates from the mouth of a sick dog.
7. When a pet is sick, it increases salivation.
8. It so happens that the dogs' ears, chest, upper and lower eyelids swell, make the pet's face puffy. Most often it speaks of an allergic reaction.
9. Sometimes a dog may experience bleeding from the nose, mouth, ears, anus. Such symptoms indicate an urgent need to transport a pet to a veterinary clinic.
10. Sometimes it happens that a dog abruptly increases the size of the abdomen. Most often this indicates a torsion of the stomach. This is due to the scrolling of the spleen around the esophagus. In this case, the passage of food is broken. With this diagnosis, the dog becomes restless, then falls, then gets up, howls. This requires immediate medical attention.
11. If a dog has photophobia, it hurts her to swallow, she has become aggressive and there are signs of paralysis - face rage.

Any deviation from the usual behavior of the dog should alert you. In order not to miss the disease, it is necessary to inspect the pet more often - wool, mouth, ears, etc.

What to do if the pet is sick

If the dog is just listless and refuses to eat, do not rush to take it to the doctor. This may be a sign of improper feeding, mild poisoning, or simply manifestations of longing for a friend. In this case, you need to show maximum care and love.

If you suspect that your pet is unwell, you need to follow it for a while - measure body temperature in the morning and evening, provide warmth and a gentle regimen, give a favorite treat, feed it with light food. If the discomfort does not pass - consult a doctor.

Also, for help, the veterinarian should be contacted as soon as possible if repeated vomiting, blood in the feces or vomit occurs, if the dog whines from pain or behaves unnaturally. A doctor should be consulted if any suspicions in behavior and appearance have arisen in relation to the puppy.

Usually, an experienced dog breeder and attentive owner do not have questions about how to recognize the pet's illness. Treat your dog like a friend - with warmth and care. And then you yourself will understand if something is wrong with the animal. Be attentive to your pet, because he can only rely on you.

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