Dog Hospital

Not all dog diseases can be transmitted to humans, but there are a few known as “zoonotic” diseases which can be and you must make it your business to know about, especially if you own a dog.

Rabies: It is a very uncommon disease with domesticated dogs, but is very fatal to humans. Rabies can be contracted from dogs that have not been vaccinated. If you get bitten by a dog, then get an anti rabies shot if you are not sure whether the dog that bit you has had its rabies shot.

Internal Parasites: Tapeworms, hookworms and roundworms can be contracted from an infected dog. You need to avoid contact from dog saliva and feces which can contain worm larvae and eggs.

Fungal Infections: Ringworm is the main fungal infection that can be transmitted to a human. It is caused by a fungus and symptoms for humans can be itchiness, skin rashes and nail infections. The infection can be contracted by touching an infected dog or feces.

Leptospirosis: This is a bacterial infection that is found in the dog’s urine, and can cause severe internal damage to humans.

Always wash your hands after playing with your dog, and handle his urine and feces with gloves. All dogs, no matter how careful the environment they are in, are easily susceptible to infections.

Changing seasons from winter to summer impacts dogs as well as humans. This is particularly true about skin. Your dog’s fur is affected by the change of climate.

In winter, the fur becomes dry due to the cold dry air, and as we humans apply dry skin lotion, dogs who are constantly scratching, biting and licking their fur, are probably victims of the dry skin. When this happens, there will be red marks around the body of your dog. He or she will be concentrating on those spots, probably making them worse by constantly scratching and biting at those areas.

Keep alert for this, especially if your dog is continuously doing the above. Immediately take your dog to the vet for treatment.

It is important that you regularly give your dog a bath with a mild moisturizing shampoo that gives body to the coat. Moisture in the shampoo will help heal the dry spots, remove fleas and reduces itchiness in your dog’s skin

Have you noticed how many campsites have banned dogs from their properties? This is the fault of irresponsible dog owners who make it very difficult for others. So below is some common sense advice on what to do with your dog when you are lucky enough to visit a campsite that allows dogs.

Keep your dog on a leash or confined behind a portable fence when you are camping. Remember that not everyone who camps likes dogs. In fact, some people go to campsites to get away from dogs! Having strya dogs running around a campsite can be very stressful to say the least.

Always clean up after your dog. The last thing I want is to get dog poop smudged up against my sneakers, emitting a distasteful smell around my tent. Dog poop is a mess on the trails in your neighborhood at home, and just as much of a mess in the campgrounds.

Manage your dog’s barking. Keep them quiet so they don’t disturb the tranquility and peace of the campsite. Most of us go camping into the wilderness to get some peace and quiet. Dogs bark. We cannot stop that. But excessive dog barking should not be tolerated. Dogs bark more out in the country as they hear noises they are not accustomed to.

Don’t allow your dog to swim close to people fishing. This is the most annoying thing for a fisherman who has probably waited patiently for a catch, only to find a dog swimming nearby scaring off the fish. This is a point that many of us who do not fish understand.

By using these tips and employing a little bit of courtesy to our fellow campers, we will be able to enjoy our camping trips with our best friends for many years to come.

New owners of cute puppies do the right thing by taking them for walks. But the mistake they make is allowing the puppy to walk on its own off leash. What eventually happens is that the puppy leads and the owner follows. This will happen for a few weeks until the owners realize that there is something wrong – why is the puppy always leading and why are we always running after him?

The puppy is getting his daily dose of exercise, and to him there is nothing wrong with his leading the way, because he has not been taught to do otherwise. What the owners have unintentionally taught young Fido is that he leads and the family follows.

This is a big mistake that Fido’s owners have made. They think that they are giving Fido freedom to explore and build his confidence, but there is no sense of leadership being exerted by the owners.

Many people don’t realize that leash walking is one of the most important training tool that will instill your leadership position with your puppy. If you don’t instill leadership and your dominance when they are puppies, you will have 10 times the trouble instilling it when they are adolescents – when they are stronger and faster.

Give Fido plenty of off leash time in safe environments after he has done the work for you by walking respectfully on leash. You will develop a dog who will be more confident and obedient in the long run.

Many of us dog owners have dogs that do not allow us to have a peaceful life. They have frantic energy and we are living in a state of stress.
These dogs need an owner who is calm, yet assertive. There is no point in yelling or being physical with the dog, because that will only give you a temporary reprieve, s the dog will eventually end up screaming with a greater intensity than before.
So to deal with such a dog, you must adopt an attitude of peace and serenity. Any action that you make with the dog – pulling on his leash, asking him to sit etc. must be done with a calm but assertive energy. Take a few deep breaths through your nose to calm yourself down before handling the situation you find yourself in.
As you adopt this calm and assertive behavior, your dog will feed off your energy instead of the other way around. Soon, your dog will begin to calm down more quickly and eventually become and remain the calm and submissive dog that you have yearned for.

In many communities across North America, there is a growing trend amongst dog owners to walk their dogs off leash along city streets and in other areas where dogs are required by law to be leashed. If nothing is done soon by local animal control officers, the outcome will be very serious for both dogs and their owners.

The chief complaints are from those citizens who have been attacked by off leash dogs. There are incidences where smaller dogs being walked on leash are brutally attacked by larger off leash dogs. Joggers have complained about being bitten or chased by similar dogs.

It seems that the local bylaw enforcement officers are not doing their work properly. The guilty dog owners have come up with a number of lame excuses like “he pulls too hard”, or “he needs to go faster than I can actually run “, etc.

This blatant disregard for leash bylaws if left unheeded, will result in a serious injury, and if that happens its very likely that some crafty lawyer will get involved and lawsuits could abound!

Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD) is a congenital disease that mainly affects large breed dogs. The word “dysplasia” means improper growth. Hip dysplasia can be described as a faulty or abnormal development of the hip. In CHD, the hip becomes loose and wobbly, eventually leading to a form of arthritis which is commonly referred to Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD). The degree of lameness that occurs is usually dependent upon the extent of arthritic changes in the hip joint. So too do environmental conditions such as amount of physical exercise, and weight gain contribute to the disease, and bring out symptoms.

What Are the Symptoms of Canine Hip Dysplasia?

The symptoms of CHD depend on the severity of the dysplasia. Another factor is the whether or not degenerative joint disease (DJD) is present. Dogs less than 1 year old have a tendency to have periods of acute bilateral (or unilateral) lameness in their rear legs.

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The statistics are scary: Every 40 seconds someone seeks medical attention for a dog bite, and the majority of victims are children under the age of 15.

According to data tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 25 different dog breeds were involved in biting incidents in 2006, a statistic that shows that any dog can bite if provoked.

To keep pets and people safe, veterinary professionals have joined forces. The third full week in May is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, and doctors promote year-round education of pet owners and parents. Teaching children how to approach dogs slowly and carefully as well as how to recognize warning signs are critical components of dog bite prevention. Remember, not all dogs are friendly and not all dogs want to be touched.

“Any dog may bite, even your family pet,” said Marie Wheatley, president of American Humane, an organization that works to protect children and animals. “Adults should always supervise children when they play with any dog, and they should teach children the best ways to approach and treat animals to avoid being bitten.”

Some children, eager to play or touch an animal’s soft fur, move quickly or lunge at dogs. Such abrupt actions can be misinterpreted by dogs as an attack, and dogs may try to protect themselves by snarling or biting.

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What is diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus, the medical name for diabetes, is a disease caused by a lack of insulin, or the inability of the body to utilize the insulin properly, that affects the level of glucose, or sugar, in your dog or cat’s blood. The glucose comes from the food that your pet eats. The food is broken down into very small components by the pet’s digestive system so their bodies can use it for energy. Glucose is one of these components, and an important source of energy.

Glucose is absorbed from the intestines into the bloodstream where it travels to cells throughout the body. Insulin is required for the cells to absorb glucose. Insulin is produced by the pancreas in response to the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. Healthy pets produce insulin easily, but pets with diabetes don’t. In canine and feline diabetes, unused glucose builds up in the bloodstream.

Is diabetes in my pet the same as diabetes in people?

The two conditions are very similar. In fact, your veterinarian will be using medication, equipment, and monitoring systems that are similar to those used for diabetic people.

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One of the most common calls made to any animal hospital in America goes something like this: “Doctor, I’ve got to get this dog in right away. He’s driving us nuts. All he does is itch and scratch, bite and lick and he’s keeping us up all night!” My thought is that if the pet’s caretakers are being driven “nuts” by the dog’s scratching and licking, how awful must the poor dog feel? This kind of call to the veterinarian refers to a fairly serious case of pruritus (pruritus means itching). In reality there is a wide spectrum of causes and severity of pruritus in dogs with skin and coat trouble. Some dogs can spend hours romping through fields, digging holes, and rolling in the grass and still have no after-effects at all. Others, kept indoors and fed an excellent diet, may have severe skin disorders.

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