Finding cool activities is natural in the summer months. Water activities are a perfect solution for you as well as your dog. Dogs that don’t normally take pleasure in getting wet will have a swim if they are encouraged to get wet on a hot day!

There are canines that enjoy swimming with people, retrieving toys or simply just running around in the water. Certain dog breeds have been bred to be around water. Some of these breeds are: Labrador Retrievers, Newfoundland, Golden Retrievers, Irish Water Spaniels, Portuguese Water Dogs, and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Some Poodles and Spaniel breeds also enjoy the water. Don’t rule out many mixed breeds that are always ready to dive in!

Pets need daily exercise. Your pet will not only be healthier, but calmer when indoors. Including your dog in your day at a nearby lake can be a fun adventure for all. Taking a swim with your dog and playing ball in the water is a lot of fun.

Another great idea for your water outing is a floating dog toy. Many floating dog toys come attached to rope handles that make it easy to play toss and tug games in or out of the water.

To prevent your dog from an accidental drowning, canine life preservers are available to purchase and come in various sizes and styles. This will help dog owners enjoy the outing, knowing their dog is safe. Your dog may not realize that they are getting fatigued and requires a short break away from the water.

If you don’t want to travel outside of your own backyard, your dog can take a dip in your pool. This is really a personal preference since some pool filters can’t handle dog hair. Even if your dog doesn’t shed, pool owners have differing opinions about pets in the pool. Sometimes dogs can rip the liner or damage the pool equipment.

An easy resolution is to acquire a pool made specifically for your dog. Most dog pools are very durable, transportable, easy to fill and empty and made of tough PVC. These pools are easy to setup in the backyard, on deck or patio. These dog pools fold up making them easy to take on a summer trip and easy to store during the cold winter season.

Dog teeth cleaning should be something which is done regularly as a part of your pet care routine. If possible, your dog’s teeth should be brushed daily, or least every other day. Dogs are just as susceptible as we are to tooth disease, so it is important to make sure that our dog’s teeth are kept clean and free of tartar.

Dental Disease and Your Dog’s Health

Diseases of the mouth, teeth, and gums can be very painful for your pooch and because they aren’t able to tell us when they have a toothache, as pet owners we must be diligent in keeping up with our dog’s dental care. If left untreated, a tooth infection may develop into serious complication for your dog and affect vital organs such as their heart, liver, or kidneys.

Your dog’s diet definitely has a direct effect on their dental health. Choosing foods and treats that are fortified and designed to keep their teeth and gums healthy are an easy way to implement dental hygiene into your dog’s life. Although professional cleaning by a veterinarian is an option, this should only be considered in extreme cases as unnecessarily having your dog anesthetized is not only expensive, but it also puts undue stress on your pet.

Getting Started with Dog Teeth Cleaning

Even if your dog is no longer a puppy you can train them to accept having their teeth brushed with some patience and perseverance. Both dogs and puppies alike can be acclimated to having the toothbrush in their mouths simply by starting out using your finger and a dab of peanut butter.

As your pet licks your finger and the peanut butter, begin rubbing the teeth and gums while offering plenty of praise. After a day or so of this, or as soon as your dog begins accepting this new process, use a piece of gauze wrapped around your finger and do the same thing as above. Rub the gauze around the teeth and gums using a circular motion as you would with the toothbrush. Once they are used to this, it’s time to introduce them to the real thing.

You should not use toothpaste which is made for humans, as this will cause your dog to have an upset stomach. There is toothpaste designed for dogs which have a taste and smell which appeal to your pet. Let your dog lick a little off of the brush and then add more and start brushing.

You’ll need to lift up your dogs’ gums to be able to reach their upper teeth -the canines especially. To get the best results, hold the brush at a 45 degree angle; this lets you clean teeth and gums simultaneously. Use a circular motion and pay special attention to your pets’ back teeth, which are especially subject to tooth disease.

Make dog teeth cleaning a happy occasion for your dog. Keep low key to prevent your dog from getting too excited to hold still. You should only need abut a minute to get your dogs’ teeth clean and make sure that they stay healthy and happy.

Nothing is worse than discovering your pet has a serious illness, and finding that if you had gotten attention earlier, it would have been less severe. Sometimes the smallest change in personality or behavior can signal the onset of an illness, so knowing what is and is not normal for your pet can be essential. When you see something abnormal, it can be helpful to know some basic things to watch for.

Being attentive to your dog’s normal behavior can be the best thing you do in discovering symptoms of ill health. The better you know your pet the more likely you will be to see the early signs that he is in trouble. You are the first line of defense for keeping your dog healthy. For instance if you have a well trained pet who never has an accident and suddenly your slippers are soggy in the morning it could be the first indication that you need to seek veterinarian assistance.

Blood in your pets urine or feces is always a serious problem so even though it may seem somewhat gross to inspect it is a good idea to check it every once in awhile. Viruses such as parvo present in bloody stool and bloody urine can indicate kidney disease or failure. When you are talking about these types of illness time is of the essence so do not delay. Your attentiveness and quick action could very well save your pet’s life, get her to the veterinarian as soon as possible.

Another common complaint among pet owners is vomiting. Dogs will do this mildly when they have eaten something that does not agree with them. Like the time my mini-pin ate a battery. However if you notice repeated vomiting with fever or pain symptoms it is more than likely a health issue. Nausea and vomiting can be a sign of stomach ulcers or a more serious ailment. No matter the cause, the effect on your pets’ health can be devastating since she could dehydrate very quickly. In severe cases, pets have died from dehydration.

Last but not least never overlook the obvious, your dogs’ hair. A dogs’ coat whether longhaired or short should be thick and relatively glossy. If the coat looks or feels unhealthy then your pet is likely unhealthy also. Examples of an unhealthy coat would be excessive brittleness or coarseness. The only exception would be in the wirehair terrier breed. Bald patches and rashes can point to something as simple as an unbalanced diet or something more serious such as allergies. All of which are treatable when caught before complication arise like secondary infections from scratching irritated skin.

These are only a few basic health problems that your dog might be facing, so take the time to figure out what is normal for your dog and what is not; this is the best way to figure out how healthy he is!

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Dog arthritis can be caused by injury, congenital defects, or ageing. Surprisingly, injury is a major cause of arthritis in dogs, and therefore affects many younger dogs. Quite minor injuries can result in the condition. A predisposition to conditions such as hip dysplasia can cause early onset of an arthritic condition in dogs. Older dogs who have never suffered an injury are likely to develop arthritis as they age.

There are many forms of arthritis in dogs that can create pain. As in the case of humans, dog arthritis is an inflammation of a joint or joints. Anywhere a dog has a joint they can have arthritis. The cartilage in the joint may be inflamed, but it can also be joint fluid causing the issues within the bones. The main types of arthritis in dogs are osteoarthritis, immune mediated, infective, and idiopathic arthritis.

Dog arthritis symptoms usually involve a gradual onset of limpness in the limbs. In other words, lameness will result to the point where the dog finds it difficult to walk. Most often a dog will also be less likely to be active in activities such as walks, playing, or even going up stairs. The stiffness of the limbs is likely to be more pronounced in the mornings or after long naps, but the stiffness often disappears through the day.

A dog afflicted with arthritis will tend to feel pain if their limbs are touched near to where the joint is inflamed. There is usually swelling as well, and you may be able to feel this.

There is arthritis medicine for dogs that will help treat the inflammation. However, many dog owners find that natural treatments for arthritis in dogs are more helpful. Glucosamine for dogs and MSM for dogs are two popular natural ingredients for dog arthritis treatments (and arthritis treatments for humans, as well). In fact, many experts are of the view that there are three essential ingredients for an effective natural arthritis treatment – glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM.

Glucosamine is an amino sugar which occurs naturally in the body ? but part of the effects of aging is the loss of the ability to produce enough of this sugar for the body’s needs. Glucosamine is not found in any significant food source, but can be obtained from the shells of shellfish. The anti-inflammatory effects it offers are very useful in the treatment of arthritis, in humans and in animals alike.

In many cases, a change in diet may be sufficient to alleviate arthritis in dogs. Some arthritic conditions will respond to this step in conjunction with exercise. Obesity can be a factor in the development of arthritis, so by keeping the animal at a healthy weight, the aches and pains of arthritis can be taken away, as well as keeping the dog in a better overall state of health.

Often, though, arthritis remedies will be required, to keep the pain of your dog’s arthritis symptoms under control.

Veterinary medicine has limited answers for treating arthritis in dogs, but there are natural alternatives that can even reverse canine renal failure.

Worm infestation is a common ailment in dogs. Worms are parasites that live inside of your dog and all cause different problems. It all depends upon the kind of worm your pet has. There are generally five major worm types: roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, whipworms and the heartworm. These worms can cause light to severe complications and must be treated. Let’s take a look at the different types of parasites and what each one does.

The roundworm is the most common infestation. This parasite will pass to pups from their mothers either before birth or while she is nursing. Roundworms can be passed to humans. In dogs, this worm causes a potbellied appearance and weight loss. These worms multiply at a very fast rate if left untreated. An adult female roundworm can lay up to 200,000 eggs daily for a year. This may cause an obstruction in the dog’s intestinal tract and lead to death. You should treat your pets with a regular schedule of de-wormer beginning when pups are weaned. Commercial as well as natural treatments are available.

The hookworms are like round worms in that they are an intestinal parasite. The hookworm however is smaller and feeds on blood from the intestinal wall. Since their diet is blood, the hookworm can cause anemia and occasionally death in dogs. There are few symptoms of hookworm and they will not be visible in stool or vomit. To determine an infestation, you must see your vet who will do a stool analysis. Although this is another parasite that can be passed to humans it will not cause the same problems in humans as in canines. In humans, the worm cannot penetrate much deeper than just under the skin, this causes an itchy rash with a worm like appearance.

The tapeworm is so named because of its appearance; it is long and flat looking much like a piece of tape. This type of worm is spread in dogs by the ingestion of an infected flea. For example, the flea feeds off an infected animal picking up the tapeworm egg, and then your pet eats the flea while grooming himself. Symptoms of tapeworm infestation are nervousness, abdominal pain, itching especially around the anus, vomiting and weight loss. If you see any of these symptoms, you may want to seek medical attention.

Whipworms live in your pooch’s colon and cannot be seen by the naked eye. They feed off of your dog’s intestinal wall and cause many ailments. dog worms symptoms of the whipworm include diarrhea which contains blood or mucous, flatulence, weight loss and anemia. The whipworm is the hardest worm to get rid of but both pharmaceutical and natural treatments are available. Our dog, Lucy, not only had parvovirus but was infected with whipworms, too. An oral medication was given to her.

Finally, the most serious of dog worms is the heartworm. This worm is passed from one animal to another through the mosquito. The key to survival of heartworms is prevention. People who live in warm damp climates that are prone to heavy mosquito activity should especially be concerned, and take precautionary measures. Once infected there are few good treatment options, most include giving the animal limited doses of arsenic, the treatment alone can kill the dog. The infection is so serious because the heartworm takes up residence in the heart and arteries to the heart causing it to enlarge and eventually fail. Symptoms can include coughing, weight loss and a potbellied appearance much like other dog worms symptoms. No matter which type of parasite you think you may be dealing with get some help either veterinarian or natural but be pro active for better canine health.

Dog worms are an ever present problem for your dog. Dog worms symptoms depend upon the type of dog worms that are present in your dog. Heartworm is without doubt the most serious parasite, but all types of canine worms can make your dog sick. Discover how to prevent symptoms of dog worms by preventing the worms.

Besides food, water, exercise, and plenty of love and attention, your dog will rely upon you to manage his health. Your pooch is not like a person, even though he occasionally seems so. He is susceptible to a number of ailments, including worms and parasites. If these little bugs are allowed to fester inside your canine’s body, they can cause severe health problems.

Below, we’ll explain how the issue starts and why parasitic infections are so problematic, especially for puppies. You’ll also learn to recognize symptoms that suggest your puppy has a few stowaways inside his body. Lastly, we’ll describe how the condition is treated.

How The Infection Begins

Many owners would be surprised to know their puppies are likely to already have parasites and worms when they adopt them. Most pups will experience them at some point during their young lives. The mother is often the root cause.

If a puppy’s mother had not been regularly dewormed prior to becoming pregnant, she may have played host for an assortment of different parasites. If that was the case, it’s possible that your pup was infected while he was still in her womb. It’s also possible that he ingested the bugs while nursing. The parasites can travel along the placenta and find their way onto the mother’s mammary glands.

Another potential hazard is dog feces. Canines are routinely exposed to the feces of other dogs. This often happens while visiting parks or during walks. If there are parasite eggs present, your pooch can easily ingest them.

Recognizing The Symptoms

If your dog has developed a parasitic infection, he may begin to lose weight. It’s common for canines who are suffering from parasites and worms to lose their appetite and experience diarrhea. If the infection is serious, your dog may start to tire easily and display low energy levels. The quality of his coat might also decline and he’ll likely develop a pot belly.

How The Problem Is Resolved

Treating a parasitic infection involves several stages of deworming. The reason is because the medication that is used is only effective on adult parasites. Your puppy may ingest eggs and larvae, but the medication will not be effective on them until they mature. That can take months.

Experts recommend deworming be performed every two weeks for the first two months of your puppy’s life. Then, your dog should be dewormed again at three months. If the infestation is serious, plan to deworm him once a month for three additional months. It’s also important to clean any area in your home that your pup frequents. Otherwise, he may become infected again after having been dewormed.

It’s worth underscoring that your puppy will likely endure one or more health issues at some point before he reaches adulthood. Plan for it. Make a note of any symptoms that suggest he may have picked up stowaways. And make sure you’re taking him to his veterinarian on a regular basis. Treating these types of infections is easy, but your puppy relies on you to get them resolved.

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