Like us, there are many things that can go wrong with your dog’s eyes. Some of the most common dog eye infections include conjunctivitis, uveitis, and scleritis. Treatment can be as simple as application of eye drops, or as serious as emergency surgery. This article will take a look a some of the most common canine eye infections.

Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is a condition that occurs when the mucous membranes of the eye become inflamed. You may know of this condition as “pink eye”, as it occurs commonly in humans too. Conjunctivitis in dogs is usually the result of a viral or bacterial infection. However, allergies and ticks can also be causes. Your dog will have a yellow or clear discharge coming from his eyes. You will need to keep the area around the eyes clean and give him the prescribed medication.

Uveitis

One of the next common dog eye infections is uveitis, a condition which can have lasting negative effects on vision. It is characterized by the inflammation of the uveal tract, which surrounds most of the eye. Dogs with uveitis show symptoms such as light sensitivity, excessive tear production, and eyelid spasms. Uveitis can be secondary to other diseases affecting your dog. Eye ointment or oral medications will help reduce inflammation and pain. In some cases, antibiotics or anti-fungal medications may be prescribed. In severe cases, the eye will have to be removed surgically.

Scleritis

Scleritis is also one of the common canine eye infections. This disease causes inflammation of the sclera, the white outer coating that enclosed the eyeball. It usually affects only one eye at a time. Most cases of scleritis occur because of a disease caused by parasites such as Lyme disease or toxoplasmosis. Dogs with scleritis are usually given steroids to treat the condition.

Cherry Eye

One of the final common dog eye infections is cherry eye. This condition results when the gland of the third eyelid protrudes and proceeds to become inflamed. It is usually a problem with younger dogs. In order to treat cherry eye, the gland will have to be replaced surgically.

These are some of the most common canine eye infections. If you want to learn about a wide range of other dog illnesses, stop by dog-illnesses.com today. Come learn about diseases such as canine anaplasmosis that can affect your beloved pet.

When canine cancer hits your family, the results can be devastating. Hearing that your beloved friend is sick is never going to be easy to deal with. However, the good news is that there are practical steps that you can take to help your dog’s cancer immediately. Focusing in on key vitamins and minerals can help your dog’s immune system fight off his or her bout with canine cancer. Let’s take a look at some of the key vitamins and minerals that your dog will need for fighting off dogs cancer .

No matter what course of dog’s cancer treatment you ultimately decide to follow, help your pet get the best nutrition possible. This is an absolute must so that he or she will have a robust immune system. While all vitamins and minerals are important, there are a few that stand out as being critical. These nutritional components should be added to your fight against canine cancer.

Vitamin C Isn’t Just Good For Fighting Off Colds and Flues

As it turns out, good old vitamin C does more than give a cold a run for its money. Due to the fact that vitamin C helps boost the immune system, it is possible for vitamin C to play a rather significant role in fighting your dog’s cancer. Studies have shown that vitamin C has been able to extend the lives of patients with terminal cancer. It can be administered either through an I.V. or through pills. In terms of safety, vitamin C is a very safe compound and if too much is consumed or administered it can generally be flushed out of your dog’s system fairly quickly.

Vitamin E Is An Immune System Stimulate

Your immune system and that of your dog’s will both love vitamin E as it can effectively boost the immune system. Additionally vitamin E works as an antioxidant to help prevent the free radicals that are at the heart of cancer. Current research indicates that vitamin E can effectively stop cancer cell growth and division. This remarkable fact should be put in the forefront of your mind in regards to treating dogs cancer as vitamin E may very well have the ability to stop the disease. Here is a word of caution however. Too much vitamin E can cause serious medical consequences. Therefore, caution should be exercised.

Selenium-A Quiet Heavyweight

You might not hear too much about selenium, but selenium can deliver a real punch against dog’s cancer. There have been over one hundred studies done in animals that yielded some fascinating results. As it turns out selenium has the ability to prevent numerous types of cancer including beast and liver. How important is selenium in the fight against cancer? One study found that high doses of selenium were able to stop breast cancer from forming by eighty to ninety percent.

You Can Help Your dogs cancerThrough Nutrition

There are many ways that you can help your dog in his or her battle against dog’s cancer. One of those key ways that you can help your dog is through the proper and judicious use of nutrition. Through nutrition you can help you dog boost his or her own immune system naturally.

Caninecancercenter.com is one of the leading canine Cancer Care.Center for dog cancer.. We provide the latest technology of cancer care that remains your dog happy and healthy.

The Lyme disease is quite a new disease. It has been found recently in the north and western parts of the US. The alarming think about this disease is that it can be transmitted form dogs to humans quite easily.

Since 1975 this disease has been a constant sign of concern in all the states of the United States of America.

The source of infection

The source is a microscopic parasite also named deer tick. The white-footed mice and the white tailed deer are the main hosts. When the mice or the deer is in the wood area or areas with plants, the tick attached itself to the body of the hosts. These ticks don’t fly or jump. They just sit there and wait for the host to carry them out.

Attack method

The ticks can attack a dog almost everywhere on the body. They can attach themselves to ears, neck, feat or head. The tick bites are not painful, they are like a bee sting. It is quite common that an infected dog doesn’t show distress from the tick bites.

The symptoms

The infected dog will show an elevated temperature. He can also be restless and show a bit of limping. Other symptoms that follow are the pain, warmth and joint swelling. Also, it is hard to notice, but underneath the dog’s coat, some inflammated areas can appear.

That is where the tick has bitten the skin. Make a habit of checking the dog’s skin form time to time and watch out for these symptoms.

The treatment

Once you have spotted some symptoms, take the dog straight to the doctor. The vet will diagnose the dog and give him the right medication. Don’t wait a while before taking the dog to the vet. The Lyme disease can easily spread to you too and in advanced stages it can even kill the dog.

Serious repercussions happen if it is left untreated. The dog can even get paralyzed on his limbs. After attacking the front and then the back limbs, the disease will for sure attack the chest muscles and disable them. This means the dog will no longer be able to breath on his own. He will choke and die of asphyxiation.

Learn more about lyme disease in dogs, causes of lyme disease in dogs and effective treatment for lyme disease in dogs at LymeDiseaseInDogs.Net.

Pet CPR is a very important skill for those who deal with emergency medical cases concerning dogs. Although not everyone learns it, those who do are a vital factor in saving the lives of many beloved pets. Do dogs get hepatitis? People obviously do. But do dogs get this disease? And how does this affect them?

Hepatitis is actually a very broad term. It will signify an inflammation of the liver, although the causes may actually differ. Since the liver is a very complex and vital organ a disease that incapacitates it will prove to be fatal. The livers primary functions are the detoxification, metabolism, the storage of glycogen and the synthesis of plasma protein. It also produces the bile that aids in digestion. The good news is, the liver is a large organ with plenty of reserves. The bad news is, since it has a large reserve, it won’t show apparent symptoms unless the liver is seriously damaged.

Although dogs do get hepatitis, it may be different in cause and effect from human hepatitis. There is what is called Infectious Canine Hepatitis. This disease is caused by a virus, and may prove to be a fatal disease in some dogs.

What is It? This disease is caused by the CAV-1 an adenovirus. Dogs typically acquire this virus from contact, either through inhalation or ingestion of urine, eye secretions, and nasal secretions of infected dogs. This type of virus does not affect humans or other animals, only dogs.

The virus will attack the liver, eye, kidney, and blood vessel cells upon entry into the system of the dog. Fortunately, not all of these infections are fatal. Some dogs, after acquiring this virus, will manifest a cough, lethargy, loss of appetite, moodiness and low grade fevers. In some cases, they do not show any symptoms at all.

Some will develop blue eye. Blue eye is a bluish discoloration of the cornea of the pets eye. Dogs that go through these become immune to re-infection from the disease. This will usually be the case in healthy, mature dogs with a healthy immune system.

However, there are some dogs especially puppies that will become very ill due to the virus. These dogs will develop internal bleeding, liver disease, tonsillitis, and general inflammation of the eyes and mouth. If left untreated, this condition could quickly deteriorate to shock and death.

The virus is also known to attack the dog’s spinal cord and brain. After infection the virus will take about five days to a week before manifesting openly. By this time the dog will be secreting the virus through its stool, urine, saliva, and nasal secretions. In two weeks time, the dog either succumbs to the illness or develops chronic hepatitis coupled with cirrhosis of the liver. This will seriously impair the dog’s capacity for converting glucose, and absorbing toxins.

This condition will reduce the liver’s capability to perform functions necessary for life. These functions include filtering harmful and toxic elements from the blood, storing blood sugar for conversion into usable energy, and creating many proteins that are necessary in the system.

Unfortunately, there is no way to destroy the virus after it has entered the dog’s system. Veterinarians will treat the disease by good supportive therapy intravenous fluids, good diet, rest, medicines to lighten the liver’s workload, and good care all aimed to strengthen the dog’s ability to recuperate. They will also give antibiotics to treat secondary infections.

There is a vaccine for this disease. It is a routine part of a puppy’s vaccination plan. And partly due to its efficiency, the cases of canine hepatitis in the United States are low. Therefore, the best way to keep your dogs free from this disease is a proper vaccination plan, and prompt and periodic visits with the veterinarian.

Canine hepatitis can prove to be a troublesome disease that, if unattended, will surely result in a dog’s death. With proper information about this disease dog owners will be able to take preemptive steps to assure themselves that their pets are safe from this debilitating diseases.

Chronic Active Hepatitis: As opposed to the previous disease, this form of hepatitis is harder to treat and the prognoses are not very promising. This usually occurs in dogs of advanced age. The disease is caused by other factors such as toxins and molds in the dog’s diet. Infectious Canine Hepatitis can also cause this.

The symptoms of this disease are hard to pinpoint, but generally they will include lethargy, diarrhea, loss of appetite, swollen abdomen, jaundice (or yellowing eyes, gums, and skin). This disease could advance into the nervous system and render the dog blind. Seizures, coma and death usually follow.

To avoid this disease, good health habits including a good diet that emphasizes foods screened for toxins and molds should be exercised.

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Is your dog sick? What are your dog’s symptoms? We all know that your dog can’t tell you if it feels bad (at least not in so many words), so it’s your responsibility to take care of your dog and to understand when your dog is feeling bad.

Just how do you do that? Well, the best thing I can suggest to you is to know exactly how your dog feels when it is not sick. If you know this, and you know it well, you will be able to tell the difference when your dog is really sick without anyone else having to tell you otherwise.

When your dog feels bad he will probably exhibit some sort of symptom that should communicate to you, if you’re really paying attention, that he does not feel well. What is a symptom? Well, to be precise, a symptom is often defined as “a physical sign that a disease or sickness is present”. Knowing exactly what kind of symptoms your dog has can usually guide your veterinarian toward diagnosing your pet illness.

Here are just a few of the more common symptoms your dog may exhibit if it is injured or feels “under the weather”, including: vomiting, diarrhea, going off it’s food, stumbling, seizing, drooling or limping.

The ability of recognizing your dogs symptoms and knowing when they need to be treated professionally is very important. This is a skill that everyone does not have but learning it can be the difference between life and death in many instances. The best thing I can tell you is to watch carefully. If your dog exhibits any thing out of the ordinary, and if that symptom continues or worsens over time, then it could very well become a problem.

Certain symptoms, such as seizures, breathing problems, or any kind of collapse should prompt you to get your dog a veterinary exam immediately. If there is ever any kind of doubt about the seriousness of any symptom then please contact your veterinarian or local veterinary emergency facility immediately and ask. Don’t wait to see if it’ll go away on it’s own. Explain the symptoms to the pet professional and ask for their advice. It is always better to be safe than sorry if you’re not sure whether or not your dog is in serious trouble.

There are all sorts of serious symptoms that should never be ignored in your dog. Potentially any of these symptoms could easily indicate an underlying disease and might even be your first clue to the presence of a life-threatening conditioning in your dog. You never know. So, here are a few symptoms that should never be ignored if you see them in your own dog!

Seizure. A seizure is often a symptom of some sort of neurological disorder. They can be caused by several things including epilepsy, toxins or tumors. Contact your veterinarian immediately.

Collapse or Fainting. Any reasons for collapse or fainting should always be considered serious and should not be ignored. Contact your veterinarian immediately.

Breathing Problems. Respiratory distress, labored or difficult breathing or even shortness of breath are all very serious symptoms and should be taken care of immediately.

Bloated or Distended Abdomen. Abdominal distension is an abnormal enlargement of the abdominal cavity and can often be a symptom of potentially life-threatening disease. Contact your veterinarian immediately.

Unproductive Vomiting. Dogs that attempt to vomit over and over and are never able to bring anything up is very serious. You should call your veterinarian immediately.

Trouble Urinating. This can range from: straining to urinate, frequently attempting to urinate, or even great discomfort when urinating. This can be very serious. Contact your veterinarian immediately.

Bruising and/or Bleeding. This should be evaluated immediately by your veterinarian.

Not Eating or Loss of Appetite. This is often the first indication of illness in your dog. This should be evaluated immediately by your veterinarian.

Pacing and Restlessness. In dogs, pacing and/or restlessness can usually be indicative of pain, discomfort or distress in your dog. In many cases it an indicator of a serious problem. This should be evaluated immediately by your veterinarian.

Losing Weight. There are several causes for this, if you’re not actually trying to help your dog lose extra pounds – some of which can be very serious. This should be evaluated immediately by your veterinarian.

Urinating and Drinking Excessively. Either of these are often the early signs of several diseases such as: kidney failure, diabetes, thyroid problems, uterine infections, etc. If you think that your dog is drinking excessively, make an appointment with your veterinarian immediately.

Fever. The normal temperature in dogs is 100.5 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If your dogs temperature is higher, call your veterinarian asap.

Excessive coughing. Don’t think that this is no big deal. Coughing is a common protective reflex to clear the throat, etc. It can also affect the respiratory system if the coughing is excessive. Common causes of excessive coughing can be quite severe, such as: an obstruction in the windpipe, heartworm disease, bronchitis, pneumonia, lung tumors, kennel cough or even heart failure. This should be evaluated immediately by your veterinarian.

Bloody Diarrhea – Bloody Urine – Bloody Vomit. Any of these should be evaluated by your veterinarian as soon as possible. Some may be the result of minor ailments, while others could be severe or even life threatening. Contact your veterinarian immediately.

While the list of dog symptoms above is not at all all-inclusive, it is meant to be merely a resource of symptoms of which you should always be aware of as a dog owner. Keep an eye on your dogs health in much the same way you would do so for your own child and you will be well on your way to a long and lasting relationship with your own dog. Your dogs health is important so watch for any symptoms your dog may exhibit closely and be ready to act on them as necessary.

If you’d like to learn even more about your dogs health and how to keep your dog healthy, please check into the book called Veterinary Secrets at: http://www.veterinarysecretsrevealed.com for more information or visit my website at: http://www.pedigreedpups.com

Caring for the health of your dog’s teeth and gums is crucial to his, or her, overall health. It is important therefore that your dog’s teeth are brushed regularly and care is taken to prevent the risk of gum disease and abscesses, which can lead bacteria to pass quickly through the bloodstream and infect the kidneys, liver or brain with life threatening consequences.

The following tips are intended to help dog owners care for the dental health of their animals and ensure that potential health issues are prevented.

The Problems Caused by Poor Dental Care

Because of their diet, dogs, unlike humans, are unlikely to suffer with cavities. However, if a dog’s teeth and gums are not cared for correctly, they are likely to develop gingivitis, an inflammation of the gum, and plaque.

Plaque is a build-up of bacteria, which is cause by food caught between the teeth and along the gum line. If left, these bacteria can cause serious health issues, such as abscesses described above.

The good news is that all that is needed to prevent plaque formation is general oral hygiene. In other words, brushing your dog’s teeth regularly.

How to Brush a Dog’s Teeth

Obviously, as with any task that your dog may find unpleasant, the best way to tackle brushing your dog’s teeth is to begin at an early age.

It is wise to bear in mind that you do not need any expensive equipment. In fact, using a child’s soft bristled toothbrush will suffice. However, it is imperative that you purchase canine toothpaste, which can be found at all good pet stores or from your veterinarian.

When training a dog to accept having its teeth brushed, you should start gradually. For example, first, you may like to simple lift the sides of the mouth. If your dog accepts this, offer plenty of praise. Begin brushing the sides of the teeth, but do so for only a few seconds at a time. Again, if the dog reacts well, give him, or her, lots of praise.

Eventually, you will find that you are able to increase the amount of time you can spend cleaning the teeth and the areas that your dog allows you to touch. If brushing is difficult for your dog, be sure to concentrate on the rear teeth on both sides of the mouth, because this is where plaque will begin to build.

Treats and Chews

One way of helping your dog to shift food debris is to provide a crunchy treat after meals. Typically, it is the wet foods, canned and pouched, that will pose a problem, so if your dog is eating a dry, crunchy diet, extra chews may not be necessary.

Of course, all the big dog food companies now offer chews and sticks that are specifically designed for dental care. These are effective and have the extra benefit of providing fresh breath. However, non-specific crunchy snacks are equally beneficial in ridding the teeth and gums of food debris.

Veterinary Cleaning: Prophylaxis

Prophylaxis is a thorough cleaning and examination of the teeth and gums while under anesthetic. This may be required for older dogs, those with dental problems or a rescued dog, whose dental health may have been neglected. Prophylaxis entails detailed examination of each tooth, X-rays and a thorough clean and polish of the teeth.

Your dog may require this procedure from time to time, but it should not be used as an alternative to regular brushing and care at home, because putting an animal under anesthetic always carries risk.

Remember, even if your dog is not keen on having his, or her, teeth cleaned, it is fundamental to their health and should be an important part of routine care. If you encounter problems with resistance, seek the advice of a veterinarian or a canine obedience expert.

Samantha Markham is a freelance writer from the UK. She is currently working for Remmeer.com, a high quality suplier of pet products. Visit Remmeer.com for unique gifts for dogs and dog owners and poignant dog memorial stones & markers.

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a clinical condition which is the final result of severe heart disease. It is usual that when a dog has heart failure, heart disease is also present in the body. However, it is true that in some cases, heart disease can be present, but never lead to congestive heart disease.

When high diastolic pressures in the heart build up into the veins and capillaries, then congestive heart failure can occur, which in turn causes a leakage of fluid out of those vessels.

Heart failure is the end result of many different cardiac and pericardial diseases. These include:

Decreased myocardial contractibility. This is a weak heart muscle, which is commonly seen with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Valvular regurgitation. This is a leak in one of the four heart valves, as seen with mitral and tricuspid regurgitation.

Increased myocardial stiffness, which impairs the heart’s ability to fill with blood.

In the beginning, the signs of congestive heart failure can be quite mild and difficult to see. However the symptoms can become more severe in a short space of time. Some of the symptoms to look for are:

Lack of energy – the dog becomes much less active and tires quickly during the later stages of congestive heart failure;

Poor appetite;

Weight loss;

Heavy breathing – the dog can show signs of difficulty in breathing, panting and coughing whilst resting;

Coughing;

Swollen abdomen – the dogs’ stomach can enlarge as fluid accumulates in the liver and abdomen; and

Change of mouth color – the color of the membranes of the mouth can be grayish rather than being a healthy pink color.

The first thing that is needs to be done though, is to manage the clinical signs of congestive heart failure by reducing the formation of edema and effusion and to increase the cardiac output, which is the delivery of blood to the tissues.

There are a wide variety of treatments available for Congestive Heart Failure, depending on the severity of the condition.

One of the most popular drugs used for this disease is Digitalis. This is a medication which belongs to a group called positive inotropic agents which help to increase the concentration of calcium in the heart muscle cells.

Diuretics are also another well known drug used for dogs with this condition. These drugs help to remove built up fluids that occur in the lungs and abdomen.

Monitor your dogs attitude and any changes in appearance when you spend time with your friend. It is essential to keep a diary of anything that varies from “the norm” so that you can show it to your vet. Check your dog on a daily basis for:

- breathing, see if it is heavy or labored;
- loss or reduction of appetite;
- restlessness;
- fainting; and
- profound lethargy.

However, it is important to remember, that canine congestive heart failure is a major disease and it is a necessity to have regular visits to your veterinarian to ensure that your dogs’ needs are being met.

You must have seen, a kind of discharge coming out from the ears, nose, anus and eyes of your dog, when the dog is not keeping well or going through some kind of disease. This is really sad, because as it is the dog is suffering, and to top it, these accumulations cause a kind of irritation to them. They come out in parts of the body where the dog cannot reach it, to clean by themselves.

You are the one who have to help him in this case, and below are a few cleaning tips.

Nose: Dank a piece of cloth and wipe off the discharge very slowly and carefully. As there are chances that the discharge might have dried up, so you need to have a lot of patience and time to clean them. It is better, if you don’t try to clean the whole thing in one short. One of the most sensual parts of the dog is the nose, so try and clean it in many sessions. Once you have done with the cleaning, slowly pat dry the place and apply some almond oil. You can either use the almond oil as it is or mix it along with some Vitamin E oil. Do this process couple of times in a day.

Ears: Take about half a teaspoon of almond oil and warm it up, you can do this by placing the oil on some hot container and then drop them into the years with the help of a dropper. This will help you clean the oily and waxy ear discharges. You might require help from somebody else, to hold the ears of the dog in the right position, so that you can drop the almond oil, without messing it all around. Now slowly pull up the flap of the ear and pour the oil into the ears, ensuring that the oil is running down straight into the ears. Now close the flap and massage the ears. While you massage, you will hear the noise of the oil squishing inside. This oil will help in liquefying the other fragments and wax. Then take a tissue paper, and wipe off the extra oil on the ears. You can also use cotton to wipe around the ears but be careful not to push it inside.

Eyes: Mix about quarter teaspoon of salt in a cup of distilled or purified water. Take this solution and apply on the eyes, this solution will help you dissolve the discharge around the eyes without any kind of irritation. After you clean the eyes, if you feel the eyes are getting irritated, then apply some almond oil. If the eyes are seditious then you can use some castor oil, if the eyes are ulcerated or dry then use cod liver oil.

Anus: If the dog is having diarrhea, then there are a lot of chances that they will have a lot of irritation and swelling in the area. Anus can get very easily infected during diarrhea, as there is growth of bacteria there. All you have to do to protect your dog from this kind of bacterial infection is to keep the anal are very clean. You can smudge the area softly with a damp cloth. Make sure you don’t rub, as it will cause further more irritation to the dog. Then pat dry the area and apply some calendula ointment for about 2-3 times a day with the help of some cotton.