Why Is My Dog Sneezing?

Seeing a dog sneezing can be funny when it just happens once or twice, but if your pet is starting to sneeze a lot, you may begin to wonder why. Is it just a normal part of a dog’s life, or could it be a sign of something more serious?

Like humans, when animals sneeze it is because their nasal passages are irritated or inflamed. This may be caused by something getting into the nose, like pepper, or it could be a symptom of a viral infection that is causing inflammation. If your dog also has a runny nose it is likely that he is going down with some kind of virus.

An infection of the sinuses is another possible cause of repeated sneezing. Sometimes this can be caused by a tooth infection. An abscess in the upper jaw can easily spread to the sinuses. In this situation you will probably realize that the dog is in pain and needs treatment.

More rarely, a cyst or polyp in the nose might cause a dog to sneeze. If this happens, the dog sneezing could gradually become more and more frequent and you might not even notice that your pet’s habits had changed for a while.

Of course, sometimes dog sneezing may be one symptom of a more serious problem. In this case there will usually be other symptoms too. Consult with your veterinarian as soon as possible if your pet is panting, coughing or wheezing, or appears to have breathing difficulties.

It is also a good idea to see the vet if any viral infection lasts for longer than a couple of days, or if the dog is very tired and lethargic, or is running a fever. Some viruses are more serious than others and may require treatment.

Another sign that means a trip to the vet’s office is if your pet has nosebleeds along with the sneezing. It’s not unusual to have a few drops of blood when a sneeze causes a small capillary to burst, but a flow of blood could be a sign of mites, exposure to rat poison or even a tumor in the sinuses.

Of course, a canine sneeze from time to time is usually nothing to worry about. Dogs like to poke their noses and sniff in all kinds of places, so it is not surprising if sometimes they pick up something that irritates. This could be pollen from a plant, smoke, dust or a small foreign object.

Occasionally, they will get something larger stuck in the nose. If the sneezing continues and the dog is also pawing at its nose or shaking its head, it is probably trying to dislodge something. Most times, the dog sneezing will get rid of the irritant but if the problem continues, see your vet because there may be something there that needs to be removed.

Why Is My Dog Not Eating?

A dog not eating can be worrying. Clearly, a dog who does not want any food is not the healthiest of animals. But what is wrong? In this article we look at some of the possible causes of a dog not eating and what you should do.

Like children, dogs often lose their appetite when they are sick. This actually helps the body to recover because it can concentrate all of its resources on the illness without having to handle digestion of food at the same time. Any kind of minor bacterial or viral infection may cause this to happen.

If the dog is also coughing, it may have infectious bronchitis, also known as kennel cough. This is a very common mixture of viral and bacterial infection that is easily passed from dog to dog. The symptoms are a lot like flu in humans, including fever and lethargy or depression, but may last for up to a month.

There is no complete treatment for kennel cough and in most cases you just have to keep the dog home and let it rest. However, you might want to have it checked by a vet. Sometimes antibiotics are necessary to prevent pneumonia. As with flu in humans, kennel cough can sometimes be serious or fatal, especially in old dogs or those with impaired immune systems.

Lyme disease is a more serious infection that is passed on to dogs from ticks. A dog with Lyme disease will often have painful joints and may limp. It will probably also have a fever and bad breath. Lyme disease must be treated as soon as possible to prevent serious complications from developing.

A puppy not eating may be suffering from red or demodectic mange. This is a parasite that lives on virtually all dogs and many humans, but only causes problems in puppies up to one year old or adult dogs with depressed immunity. The skin becomes itchy, reddened or scaly and the puppy loses hair in circular patches.

Another possible cause of a dog not eating is that the dog has an abdominal obstruction. This means that they have swallowed something that is causing a blockage somewhere in the digestive system and will not pass out. It could be a bone or anything that they swallowed that is indigestible. These obstructions can cause serious problems and you should see the vet with your dog to check this out. Surgery is sometimes required to remove the obstruction.

More rarely, loss of appetite in a dog may be caused by rabies, heart disease or heartworms. Of course, these are serious conditions that will have other symptoms too.

In summary, there may be many different reasons for your dog’s loss of appetite. It would not be possible to be sure what is wrong without seeing the dog. However, you can be sure there is something. Dogs do not stop eating for no reason at all. Therefore, it is important to take your pet along to the vet’s office so that the problem can be investigated and the vet can discover the cause of the dog not eating.

Dog Lyme Disease Symptoms

If your dog has a tendency to pick up ticks, you should watch for dog Lyme disease symptoms in your pet. Lyme disease is a serious illness that can even be fatal in some cases. It is a bacterial disease spread by ticks, especially deer ticks in the USA and sheep ticks in Europe. It was named after the town of Lyme, Connecticut, where the disease was first identified in 1975.

Dog Lyme disease symptoms are a lot like the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Joints can become inflamed, and feet and legs become sore. This means that the dog will start to limp and may have swelling around the joints or lymph nodes.

A fever usually develops, with the dog running a temperature a couple of degrees higher than normal. Normal body temperature for a dog is 101 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit (around 38 to 39.2 degrees Celsius). 103 or above indicates a fever.

A dog with Lyme disease will probably not eat at all and may throw up. His or her breath may smell bad, like ammonia, and the stomach may be bloated and tender to the touch.

In the later stages, dog Lyme disease symptoms include confusion and seizures. If untreated, the disease can eventually cause kidney failure, neurological disabilities and myocarditis, which is similar to a heart attack.

In most cases, the tick has to be on the dog’s body for at least 24 hours before it will transmit Lyme disease. So if you always remove ticks from your pet quickly, then he or she is not so likely to develop this illness. However, it can be hard to know how long a tick has been on your pet, so keep your eyes open for symptoms of canine Lyme disease any time that your dog has had a tick.

Note that Lyme disease may not develop until several months later. It can take 2-5 months for this illness to become apparent in your dog.

It is possible for humans to get Lyme disease too, but it is always caught directly from ticks. So you do not have to worry about catching it from your dog. You will only get it if you have had an infected tick settle on you.

There is a vaccination for Lyme disease which can be given to dogs. However, there is some controversy around its use. Some vets feel that the vaccination is not effective enough to be worthwhile, as it is still possible for a vaccinated dog to contract the illness. But if you live in an area where Lyme disease is common and your dog picks up a lot of ticks, vaccination might be something to consider. You can discuss this with your veterinarian.

If your pet appears to be suffering from dog Lyme disease symptoms, take him or her to the veterinarian right away for treatment with antibiotics.

Dog Health Problems – Symptoms Of Diseases In Dogs

Dog health problems symptoms are something that you should know about when you own a dog. Any dog is sure to get sick from time to time and you need to know what to do. Here are some of the common symptoms that a dog may suffer from and some of the diseases that these symptoms may indicate.

Abdominal swelling or pain: may be caused by a digestive disease such as enteritis, or by constipation, canine bloat or hepatitis. In puppies, abdominal swelling can be a sign of roundworms.

Aggression: if the dog is showing unusual aggression and an apparent change in personality, it may have rabies. Rabies is sometimes accompanied by breathing difficulties.

Blood in urine: may be a sign of kidney disease. Blood in feces is not necessarily so serious and may be caused by constipation.

Coughing: a dog that coughs may have distemper, kennel cough, an allergy, worms, canine parvovirus, hepatitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia or even heart disease.

Diarrhea: digestive disorders, food poisoning, worms, allergies, or disease of the pancreas.

Excessive drinking: indicates kidney disease or diabetes.

Fainting: heartworms or heart disease.

Fever: like humans, dogs develop a fever with many illnesses, including kennel cough, parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, rabies, Lyme disease, food poisoning, or heatstroke.

Fits, convulsions or seizures: may be canine epilepsy.

Flaky or scaly skin or scabs: mange, scabies, dandruff, allergies.

Hair loss: usually caused by parasites such as mange, fleas, scabies or ringworm. Can also be caused by allergies, Cushing’s syndrome or overactive thyroid.

Lameness and difficulty walking: arthritis, hip dysplasia, Lyme disease, rabies, thrombosis, cysts, patellar luxation (dislocation of the kneecap).

Losing weight: probably worms, although this might also be a symptom of a serious condition such as diabetes, heart disease or cancer.

Nasal discharge: distemper, kennel cough, allergies.

Not eating: could be caused by Lyme disease, kennel cough, mange, rabies, heartworms, heart disease, any virus.

Panting (other than after exercise): often a sign of heart disease.

Scratching ear: a sign of fleas, allergies or ear infection.

Shaking head: ear infection or fleas.

Vomiting: many possible causes including distemper, canine bloat, enteritis, hepatitis, parvovirus, worms, kidney disease, allergies, food poisoning, diabetes, Addison’s disease, or just over eating.

Wheezing: probably kennel cough.

When dog health problems symptoms develop in your much loved pet, it can be very worrying. You cannot ask the dog to tell you exactly what is wrong and often times, the same symptoms may have many different causes.

Some of these canine health problems are common illnesses that are not grave at all, but sometimes there can be an underlying condition that is potentially serious or even life threatening. Therefore, if you see any dog health problems symptoms developing in your pet, consider taking your dog to the veterinarian right away to discover exactly what is wrong.

Dog Health Insurance: Is It Worth The Cost?

Dog health insurance is a way of spreading the cost of veterinary care for your pet. Almost any dog can be covered from a 6 week old puppy upward.

If you are wondering about the benefits of ,a href=”https://dog-luv.com”>dog health insurance, keep in mind that one in three dogs will need unexpected medical care within the next 12 months, and two in three dogs suffer from a serious (i.e. expensive) medical problem at some time in their lives.

Veterinarians are now able to treat many diseases that in the past would have been fatal for a dog. However, the cost of these new life saving treatments can be prohibitive. It would be terrible to be in a situation where complicated surgery could save your dog’s life, but you could not afford to pay for it. This is happening to more and more people as the boundaries of veterinary medicine are extended.

Having insurance makes it easier for you to deal with situations where the cost of your pet’s care would be very high. If your pet develops a serious illness or has a medical emergency, it can save you a lot of money to be able to claim the costs on insurance.

Another benefit of dog health insurance is that if your pet is insured, you are more likely to take him to the vet whenever he has a health problem. Although we all like to think that our pet’s health would come first in most situations, there might be times when a trip to the vet was put off because of financial concerns. If you have insurance you do not have to be so worried about the cost when your pet is sick.

As with health insurance for your family, you will find that the different plans offer different coverage. Before you decide on any dog health insurance, take some time to consider various plans from several different companies. Some companies will not cover certain breeds, or they may exclude certain conditions that are common in certain breeds, like hip dysplasia.

If your dog has suffered any health problems in the past, you may want a plan that covers pre-existing conditions. This can mean higher monthly payments but could save you money if the condition recurs. For a puppy, you will want to know if the plan covers vaccinations.

You may also want to discuss dog health insurance with your veterinarian. Some vets are linked up with particular pet insurance companies. This makes it easier to make a claim, but you may not necessarily get the best value for your circumstances.

You can often save on the monthly cost of a pet health care plan by accepting to pay a certain amount of the cost each time that your dog needs treatment. For example if you pay the first $50 or even $25 of any claim, you will pay less per month than if you want the insurance to cover everything.

More and more responsible dog owners are taking out insurance these days. Take a look at a plan for yourself. Dog health insurance can protect your pet as well as your finances.