Health

4 Most Common Yet Preventable Diseases in Dogs

4 Most Common Yet Preventable Diseases in Dogs

Owning a dog, or rather allowing your dog to own you, can be one of the most simultaneously worrying yet incredible fulfilling choices you could ever hope to make.

One thing that is regularly on the minds of every responsible dog owner across the length and breadth of the country and beyond is the constant desire to protect their precious pet from the various, and sadly all-too-regular illnesses dogs can contract.

With this in mind, continue reading to learn of four of the most common yet preventable diseases in dogs.

Contents

1.    Gastric Torsion

Gastric torsion, more usually referred to as simply ‘bloat’, is essentially when your dog’s stomach becomes unnaturally and potentially dangerously enlarged and can be even more serious when the stomach starts to shift in position due to its size.

Gastric torsion leads to air and all fluids being unable to leave the stomach, which will make your dog start to vomit and belch, and symptoms include the following:

  • Excess saliva
  • Continuous retching
  • Needing to vomit but being unable to
  • An inability to settle
  • A visibly enlarged stomach

Fortunately, there is a simple way to ensure that your dog does not develop gastric torsion, which is to ensure that your dog eats slowly rather than wolfing down their food. Placing treats in Kong-style toys and food in time-releasing, slow-feeder bowls will force your dog to chew and swallow at a more relaxed pace and help stimulate your dog’s emotional senses.

2.    Heartworm Disease

Another tragically fatal, potential disease that your treasured dog could contract, which is frankly frustratingly simple to prevent, is heartworm disease.

Dogs of all sizes and species can contract heartworm disease from one singular mosquito bite, and it can often be hard to tell when they have developed the illness until it is too late to do anything about it.

The simplest way to prevent your dog from contracting heartworm disease is to register with a prestigious and reputable vet, such as easyvet.com, that can supply you with regular heartworm medication as a preventative measure.

3.    Poisoning from Chocolate

Hopefully, you will already be entirely aware of how dangerous and potentially fatal it can be for your dog to ingest chocolate, especially for younger and smaller dogs. Additionally, dark chocolate is much worse for the stomach and digestive system of a dog than milk or white chocolate, but suffice to say, you must prevent your dog from coming into contact with any chocolate of any kind.

Chocolate poisoning can result in a host of different symptoms which greatly vary in terms of severity, including diarrhea, constipation, panting, shaking, pacing, and in more serious cases, heart attacks, seizures, and tragically even death.

4.    Dental Problems

As with human beings, poor oral health can lead to a myriad of different illnesses and diseases in other parts of the body, and dogs are certainly no exception.

One of the most serious impacts of poor dental and oral health in dogs is the development of kidney disease, and this is why, therefore, it is incredibly important that you help your dog look after their teeth, tongue, mouth, and gums.

Regularly brush your dog’s teeth, encourage them to chew healthy and dental-specific treats, and always be on guard for watching what your dog decides to eat, especially when outside of the home.

Arnold Bloom

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