Following is a list of the top diseases experienced in dogs. Many are easily prevented with immunizations. Those that don’t have preventive shots can often be avoided with proper care. Make sure your dog is up-to-date on all shots and make it a point to know the causes of these disorders in order to give him the best possible care.

Distemper:

Distemper is fatal in 80% of puppies and 50% of adults. All dogs are extremely vulnerable, and should be vaccinated, with subsequent boosters in keeping the recommendation of a Veterinarian.

Parvovirus (Parvo):

Parvo is extremely contagious, especially among puppies, and can lead to death within 48 to 72 hours after exposure. Symptoms include depression, loss of appetite, vomiting and severe diarrhea

Rabies:

Rabies is a virus and becomes fatal when symptoms appear. Because rabies can be fatal to humans and other mammals, state and local laws uniformly require rabies vaccination, many mandating booster shots yearly.

Kennel Cough:

This is a respiratory disease especially prevalent in kennels and shelters. Symptoms can include a dry hacking cough along with inflammation of the larynx, bronchial tubes and trachea. Vaccination, as often as every six months is recommended.

Leptospirosis:

Symptoms of Leptospirosis include lethargy, kidney inflammation, low-grade fever, vomiting, reddening of the mucous membranes and conjunctiva, and blood clotting abnormalities. Infectious canine hepatitis:

Lyme Disease:

Symptoms of Lyme Disease in dogs will include lethargy, joint pain, lack of appetite, lymph node enlargement, and fever.

Coronavirus:

Diarrhea and vomiting are symptomatic of this dog disease so it can be confused with parvovirus. Other indications are loss of appetite, smelly diarrhea, lethargy and dehydration..

Heartworm:

Heartworms are parasites that grow and multiply, infesting the chambers in the heart, arteries in the lungs. Symptoms appear gradually, usually manifested in easy tiring, lethargy and a soft cough. If not treated, it eventually brings on death by congestive heart failure in a once active animal

Who knows what is really in that bag of kibble at the grocery store? You have turned over the package and read the ingredients, but still it seems baffling. What do all of those long, scientific words really mean? The only way to really know what your dog’s diet consists of is by making it yourself at home.

Is it difficult to make a natural diet from home for your dog? No, a little bit of time and knowledge will leave your dog’s diet healthy and nourishing. And, the best part, you will know what your best friend is eating.

Creating a healthy diet for your dog at home will allow you the opportunity to take charge of your pet’s health. Many options are available for you when selecting the specific amount and ingredients for your dog’s diet. Always talk to your veterinarian about what to feed your pet. Your vet will help you to decide what products and foods are best to avoid and include in your natural dog diet. Also, they can educate you about any supplements that may be a good addition to your dog’s diet to maximize health potential.

You may consider the raw diet for your pet. This dog diet consists of raw meat, vegetable juices, and grains. The philosophy behind this dog diet is to return to the diet nature intended. Getting your dog’s diet back to the basics will help to encourage good health.

An organic dog diet is easily achieved at home with the purchase of organic meats, vegetables, and grains. If you have access to home grown organic goods in your local area, this may be the best option for your pet. If you have the time and space, consider growing your own organic vegetables for use in your dog’s diet. What better way to keep your dog’s diet on track?

So, you have decided to go natural? Good choice. Now that you have turned away from the processed food, what options are available for treats? You can make your own natural dog treats at home. Simply give your dog a baby carrot or piece of apple as a natural treat. Dogs love ice cubes as a snack. This will not alter his diet at all..

The dog’s diet can include homemade treats such as frozen vegetable juice or dog biscuits made from organic ingredients. Do remember to subtract the amount of treats from the daily regimen at mealtime to keep the diet balanced properly. For instance, if the dog’s diet typically includes five baby carrots a day, you may want to subtract this from the meal and use them throughout the day as treats.

Take control over your pet’s health by making your dog’s diet at home. Avoid processed food that is not as healthy for your pet. Many natural diet options are out there. Speak to your vet about which natural dog diet is best for you and your pet. When the quality of your pet’s health is important, a natural diet for your dog is the best way to go.

Nursing a sick dog is one of the vital measures that a dog owner needs to understand.  Similarly, when a dog becomes sick, the dog is in need of more care and affection based activities by the dog owners. Nursing a sick animal is often considered as an art and this should not be taken as a causal measure.

 Yes. You need to take extra care to the dog when it becomes sick. For example, the sick dog with high fever needs to be given only some bread pieces and bulky non-vegetarian items may be avoided.  Such dogs should be kept in some calm place after medications are taken and should not be disturbed.  During the nursing of the dog who has taken the drug, the animal needs coaxing and stroking by the owner.  Don’t raise the dog’s head too much to avoid the passing of drugs given by the mouth directly into the respiratory organs like lungs.  During the nursing measures, take care by giving warm fluids.

 Safety is to be given more priority during the nursing activity in any dog. When the dog has severe diarrhea, the animal may start showing signs of dehydration. Hence, the nursing care for dehydration includes an addition of small doses of salt and glucose to water in a careful manner.
Similarly, the vomiting dog also needs proper nursing care.  Ice cubes may be given in such cases along with egg whites to smooth the esophageal passage.

 Nowadays, a non-contact based infrared thermometer has come up in the market to obtain the temperature of the animal without much stress.  Place the dog in a shaded place if the temperature is so high and provide good ventilation to the suffering animal.   If the animal is suffering from hypothermia, provide warm blankets to given comfort to the animal.

These types of food materials are different with different grades of liking by the dogs.  Dogs like dry foods only if they are tasty only and however, on comparison, the dogs prefer only the canned food items. Reason for such preference by the dogs is that in case of canned food items, the moisture is about seventy to eighty per cent but in case of dry food, it is only about ten per cent.

 However, if you view it in terms of nutrients, often the dry food contains nearly ninety per cent nutrients whereas the canned food items contain only less per cent of nutrients and most of the times.  It is only soy products that are structured so well to look like meat pieces.

 Hence, to make up the nutritional balance in the body systems, the dog has to eat more amounts of canned food materials than the dry food materials.  Hence, just compare the cost factor related to this feature by you.  Many dry food items are soybean and rice based.

 Now some dry food items are based on corn. Sometimes, beef based or chicken based food items come in the cans along with mineral and vitamin supplements suited for the upkeep of the dog’s health status. Larger dogs that weigh more than thirty pounds need to be fed with semi moist food items or dry food items in most of the occasions.

 This is to satisfy the food receptors in the stomach. This is due to the fact that the larger dogs need to eat plenty of moist food or the canned food items to satisfy these criteria.  But it may not be practically possible in these larger dogs.  The small sized dogs may have a satisfactory level of nutrients if fed even the moist food items.
However, the caloric density of the dry food should not be forgotten. Enriched dry food items are highly welcome ones than the non -enriched food items.

 Bathing a domestic dog needs to be given more emphasis. This is because of the information that if you are careless in bathing, the animal may end up having some infections.  For instance, if you don’t close the ears with large cotton ball, the water may enter into ear canals and may cause some ear infections with signs like constant discharge from the ears and shaking of head.

 Frequency of bathing in reality depends on the breed of the dog. If the dog is of a hairy type like the English cocker spaniel, then the bathing is to be carried out once in six to eight weeks. If these breeds are bathed too frequently, then the skin and coat loose the protective characters.  However, when the dog has defecated on the skin due to the frequent digestive upsets leading to diarrhea, to avoid the stinky smell, the dog may be subjected to frequent bathing some times by the owners.
 
 Consider more care in avoiding some irritant soaps or human soaps. The soap materials used for human beings are not appropriate for dogs.  Similarly, many human shampoo products are having some components that are not appropriate in the proportions that are to be used in case of dogs. Therefore, always try to use the shampoo products that are mentioned mainly for use in dogs. Take more care in using any new product. 

 Always have good time and patience for products required for bathing in one place with availability of water source.  Dogs love the sprinkling of water, river, and oceans.  Even when you are using bathtub, have everything in one place and then start bathing of the dog. Try to have a leash, conditioner, towel, and shampoo in the bath place.

 Conditioner is of helpful to make the combing activity easier later. Bathing should be a convenient natural process to both the dog and the owner. This should not be a burden.