Dog owners should know a bit about the various common dog health problems that their pet couild get over the course of their lives. There is an old canine folklore held and believed by people from long ago saying that a cold and wet nose on a dog is a sign of good health. The truth is that there is no basis in science whatsoever that when a dog has a cold, wet nose, that they are healthy and have no problems such as heart problems, worms, mange mites or any other canine health condition.
Responsible owners should disregard such beliefs without scientific basis and focus on looking at the overall condition of the dog including regular physical checks of the eyes, teeth, ears, mouth and skin for any abnormalities that could be signs and symptoms of a particular disease. On top of that, the dog owner should be responsible enough to provide all the care and attention that their dogs need including proper nutrition, preventative medicine and good grooming to ensure that their pets will be in good and healthy condition for years to come.
Signs Of Common Dog Health Problems
There are a number of signs and signals that might be telling you that your dog has specific dog health symptoms or problems or diseases. Dog owners need to make sure they are familiar with symptoms of potential dog health problems so they can take quick action and avoid bigger problems later on.
* Overall, a healthy dog’s coat is shiny, soft to the touch and full. With wiry coated dogs, like Australian terriers, you need to be sure that the coat is springy and has thick strands of fur. Breeds with double coats should have no indication of thinning on the undercoats.
* Redness, sores, scabs, scales, flakes, lumps and growths on the dog’s skin can be signs of health problems. Your dog’s skin and fur should be free of parasitic infestation like ticks, fleas or mange mites. An overabundance of scartching or biting of their own skin could mean your dog is infested with parasites like mange mites.
* Just like us, bright, shiny eyes in your dog means good health. Around their eyeballs, dogs have an area that needs to be pink to show that they are healthy. This area is called the conjunctiva and a pale color in this area could signify some underlying health problems. Its important that there be no abnormal discharges from the eyes, especially no greenish or yellow fluids.
* Bad odors and/or bloody discharge from the ears is good symptom that something is wrong. Its important to keep the ears clean and free of parasites like mange mites.
* Gums that have a healthy pink color which may contain some black pigmentation is a sign of good health. Pale or very light colored gums could mean your dog has anemia. Reddish gums that leak droplets of blood can often be signals that there is something amiss peridontally and this combined with a rank breath odor can spell trouble with a hidden health problem.
* Thinking back to the old time thinking about a dog’s nose, a dog full of health usually has a cold, wet nose but this is really only due to the kind of clear and watery discharge that are normal in dogs. If a foul and colored discharge from the nose emanates, this is a sign of an abnormal condition and should be looked at. These kinds of discharges in young puppies could indicate canine distemper and may turn out to be fatal.
A few of the other factors to indicate good dog health are weight, body temperature and the appearance of urine and feces. The most important thing is to understand these symptoms of dog health problems so that the minute you spot something out of the ordinary, you can take action right away.