ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Caring for your dog

Updated on October 21, 2015
melaine profile image

The writer has been an English teacher for the past twenty-three years and likes to write during her free time.

How Many Dogs Have We Lost?

Have you lost a dog to Canine Parvovirus?

See results

Caring For Your Dog

A dog is man’s best friend! Anyone who owns a dog will agree that life would be quite incomplete without one. They make the best companions one could think of having. However, looking after a dog is not that simple. They need the utmost care. You must be able to watch for signs of something going wrong. You must be able to nip the disease or injury in the bud.

By instinct a dog will try her best to hide all signs of illness. The reason for this is that in the wild a sick animal is as good as dead. Watch her carefully and you will know exactly what is wrong. For instance, she may seem to have suddenly put on weight but doesn’t seem to be eating much or she may have suddenly lost weight. One of the most common signs that something may be wrong is that she may turn up her nose at the food in front of her. A dog’s increased intake of water may be a sign of something more serious like diabetes or kidney stones. Also, a healthy dog will always have a thick, beautiful and shiny coat. If her coat appears lustre less and dull or develops patches in places, you must realise that something is wrong. A flea allergy might be the cause. It might also be a skin infection. Another subtle sign of illness may be a lethargic dog. If she is suddenly very inactive and dull, a trip to the vet may be what she needs. Of course, sometimes a very hot day may be the reason for your dog’s inactivity but if this lethargy continues for more than two days, it is definitely a cause for concern. If your dog is vomiting frequently or forcefully, the vet must be contacted immediately. It may be a stomach infection but it could also be something as serious as Parvovirus.

Canine Parvovirus is a contagious disease that mainly attacks dogs. This is a deadly disease and can be spread through direct contact or through the faeces of dogs. It can be very severe in puppies that are not yet vaccinated. There can be the cardiac form or the intestinal form. The cardiac form is very severe and can cause cardiac arrest while the intestinal form causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Treatment often involves hospitalisation.

How do you know if your dog has parvovirus? They will show symptoms of the illness within five to ten days. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy and fever. Sometimes the symptoms are so severe that dehydration may take place and therefore the dog will need to be put on drip and hospitalised. Prevention is the best way to ensure that your dog does not suffer. Since the virus survives in faeces and soil throughout a whole year, make sure that your surroundings are clean. Do not let your dog sniff in garbage or other dirty areas. Give your puppy the vaccination. It is given in three doses three or four weeks apart. This can save your pet’s life.

© 2011 Melaine

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)