Dog Health. (Included in this section) *Common Health Problems  *Giving pills and medicine to dogs *Emergency treatment before you get to the Vet. *Care of older dogs.                                    Common Health problems.   At the outset I would like to make it clear that if you have any doubts at all about your dog’s health, do not hesitate to consult your  Veterinarian.  From personal experience I know that this is the wisest course. This information and advice is not intended to replace expert Veterinary attention. If  a dog doesn’t eat  as well as usual  you might get the impression  the dog is simply “off colour and so you decide to delay the visit for a few days.   With diseases such as Biliary fever this delay can prove fatal. Biliary, commonly known as Tick bite fever is caused by the tiny parasite, introduced into the body of the dog by the bite of a tick.   The parasite destroys the red blood cells. The first symptoms of  Biliary is  an appearance of listlessness in the dog and often loss of appetite.  However, from personal experience I know that a greedy dog might sometimes continue to eat even though it has the first stages of Biliary. Later symptoms include pale mucous membranes – an examination of inside the mouth and the eyes will reveal this.  But this is usually much later in the more advance stage  of the disease and this may be too late to treat the dog successfully. Another symptom is brown urine. If you suspect your dog, normally a very greedy eater, is off his food it would be wise to take a rectal temperature.  The normal temperature of the dog is 38.5 C.  If the temperature is higher then you can see the danger signals. Once again, I would stress,  if you have any doubt at all take your dog to your Veterinarian for a positive examination.  This  can only be made by an examination of the blood under microscope.   If treatment is early, it is usually very effective.   Treatment after  injection by the Veterinarian  will involve feeding the dog a good quality balanced dog food and the avoidance of fatty foods. There are occasions – when Biliary is not involved -  where home treatment can be given for relatively minor  health problems.  Examples of this follow.  The purpose of this article is to give advice about these situations.   But the advice is not intended as a substitute for reliable Veterinary advice. Constipation, Constipation in dogs is quite frequent and often depends on the type of dog food you are feeding.  Exercise and the presence of a high percentage of roughage in the diet are important.    The faeces of a healthy dog should be firm and there should not be more than a moderate amount of straining.   If you suspect that your otherwise healthy dog is constipated a very useful remedy is Liquid Paraffin. Milk of magnesia is also very helpful. One teaspoonful twice a day is enough in most cases.    If necessary you can use a glycerin suppository, which you will usually find very effective. A useful tip is to add a tablespoon of bran to the dog’s food Arthritis and Rheumatism. Very often older dogs are subject to arthritis and rheumatism, and often there is a joint problem.    Aspirin is the simplest  remedy.  5 grams may be given three times a day for about a week or longer.    If  the problems persists there is a very  effective remedy available from your Veterinary that is manufactured by Pfizer called Rimadyl.  This medication, however, is only available from your Veterinary,  who will advise you about the precise dosage depending on the weight of your dog.   Enteritis. This is due to inflammation  of the bowels and can be the result of many different causes.  The dog might have eaten something unusual which could have caused the problem.  It could also have been caused by worms.   If the cause is worms, this is often easy to determine by examination of the stools.  In certain instance however, this is not always a completely reliable test.   There are however, excellent worm remedies on the market that have the effect of ridding your dog of the common types of worms.   Gastritis This is sometimes the result of over-feeding or it may be due to the presence of  a bone splinter from eating chicken bones or fish bones.    A symptom of Gastritis would be frequent vomiting and also a very marked thirst.  Veterinary help should be obtained if the condition persists.  However, until you are able to visit your Veterinarian you can assist by withholding all food from the dog for twenty four hours and also adding a small amount of glucose to the drinking water. You will also find the standard mixture, obtainable from all pharmacies, of Kaomagma and Pectin, or Kaopectate is  very helpful.  A convenient way of  administering this liquid is to a  use a syringe and squirt the mixture slowly into the mouth by forming a pouch of the lips. Flatulence This is very common in dogs and can be very unpleasant and embarrassing  if you have guests..  It is caused by  the bacterial action on  undigested food in the dog’s intestines.  Very often it is the result of using a low quality food that contains less digestible ingredients.  Changing to a better quality food might  make a marked difference.   Alternatively,  because high quality foods are very expensive, one can  mix the normal  foods you feed with a quantity  of the better quality food in the diet. Rice is a very useful and inexpensive source of food.   You can  add a portion of cooked rice to the dog’s normal ration of food.   Obesity.   This is as much a problem with dogs as it is with humans!  It is definitely a decided health risk for your dog to be overweight. Some dogs are particularly greedy eaters, and will eat whatever amount of food you place before them.  While this can be a decided advantage whether the dog is ill or not, it is certainly a health hazard to allow the dog east as much as it wants. If your dog is overweight, the best solution is simply to cut down on the amount of food.  Give 2/3 of the amount you usually feed.   It may take a few months before your dog is a normal, healthy weight, but it is certainly in the animal’s interest to adopt this course of action.   Coprophgia  (Eating stools)   This is a very unpleasant  habit that people often difficult to curb.  It  definitely is a habit, not a sign of any vitamin or mineral deficiency.  Often it a habit that occurs when a dog is confined to a kennel.  It may be due to boredom and lack of mental stimulation. The solution is to keep the dog’s kennel area as clean as possible.   Another solution is to apply an unpleasant, strong smelling substance or liquid to the stool before the dog has had an opportunity to eat it, to curb the  habit. By trial and error the  substance most offensive to the dog’s sense of smell and taste  can be established.   Verbal commands can also be effective.                 How to give pills and capsules. Your Veterinarian will often prescribes pills or capsules for your  sick dog. The easiest way to administer them is to wrap the pills or capsule in a thin slice of cheese. First,  to avoid  any suspicion on the part of the dog, give the dog a thin slice of cheese  without any medication  at all.  Then follow with the pills wrapped  inside in the form of a sandwich in the thin slice cheese. A very useful way of doing so is with a medicine plunger.  In fact plastic plungers, which are very inexpensive and  usually used for administering medicines, and should always be available Emergency treatment before you can get to your                                      Veterinarian In most instances if you are concerned about your dog’s health it is always wise to pay an immediate visit to your Veterinarian who has specialized training to deal with the problem.   There are occasions however, when it is not possible to obtain immediate Veterinary attention.   Until you are able to get your dog to the Vet, the following advice may be helpful.   Dog bites. It sometimes happens that two of your own animals that normally get on well together can  fight.  As a result there may be nasty teeth wounds.    The area around the bite should be shaved  and an antiseptic solution can be inserted in the wound. Insert the plunger filled with the antiseptic directly into the wound.   Quite often, if the wound is not a serious one, the wound may heal without necessitating a visit to the Vet. Instead of an antiseptic, it is sometimes possible to use an  antiseptic ointment which will also be effective. Where the wound is not a serious one I have also found an aerosol medication that contains balsam of peru, castor oil, and  trypsin  very helpful.  The extension  tube that is attached to the aerosol can be squired  directly into the wound.   However, if the wound is not considerably better the next day, a visit to the Vet is advisable. Choking. Emergency treatment is obviously necessary if you find that your dog suddenly appears to be choking.   It may simply be a  bone or splinter of wood that can be seen at the back of the throat, in which case it can be removed.  If however, you cannot see what has caused the  problem it may be because the foreign object has been embedded too deep in the dog’s throat.  In which case emergency treatment by a Veterinarian is essential.   Cuts.   It is advisable to clean the cut with an antiseptic or  peroxide.   If the cut is very deep and the bleeding will not stop it may be necessary to bandage the wound and then  apply pressure  by applying a bandage tied tightly around the area before taking the dog to the Veterinarian.   Heat stroke.   There have been occasions where dogs have suffered heat stroke at  dogs shows,  This has happened at German Shepherd Dog shows  where the dogs  been required  to run very strenuously  in extremely hot weather.  If  your dog is unfortunately the victim of heat stroke immerse the dog immediately in cold water.   Let the dog lie down and pour cold water over him.   Burns. It does sometimes happen that a dog is accidentally burnt.  A useful remedy is a solution of strong tea applied to the burn.   You can also apply a thin layer of Vaseline.  If the burn is serious then obviously the dog must be taken as soon as possible to the Vet. Incidentally a poultice of strong tea is also useful as a helpful remedy for excema.   Poison.   If your dog suddenly falls down panting and shaking, vomiting and obviously suffering from severe stomach cramps, it may be a symptom of variety of disorders.  If it is not possible for you to take the dog immediately and you suspect that the cause is poisoning, then emergency treatment is required to induce vomiting.   To  induce vomiting a common method is salt , one teaspoonful mixed with warm water; or mustard in the same proportion.     Forcing this mixture down the dog’s throat will cause him to vomit. It will be helpful if you are able to establish the type of poison he has eaten before taking him to your Veterinarian for treatment as soon as it is possible for you to do so.   Care of an older dog. Some of the smaller breeds live to fifteen or sixteen years.  Some even longer.  But dogs of  medium size usually age very noticeably by the time they are eleven or twelve.  The very large, giant breeds usually only live to the age of eight or nine, but of course there are exceptions.  The older dog will find it difficult to cope with  changes in  weather temperature,  either extreme cold or  great heat so allowances will have to be made in his sleeping conditions. Also his bedding should be softer and more comfortable than  before. Care of the teeth is also a problem with older dogs.   The condition of teeth deteriorates with age.   Allowances  should be made with the food that is given to him. If you have in the habit of giving him meat it might be necessary to cut it into smaller pieces.   It will also be helpful to increase the number of times you feed him a day.  Make sure that he has a lot of liquid.   With regard to exercise, this also should be reduced if he shows signs of discomfort from arthritis.   Stair climbing might present a problem for him as he grows older so this will also have to be taken into account. Constipation  may also present a problem with an older dog.  If you see any evidence of straining it would be wise to give him a small amount of  milk of magnesia.  The quantity to be given will depend on his size and weight. If you happen to have more than one dog, both males, another   problem you may encounter is that  the younger one, who might have been quite prepared to be subservient to the older dog, might now try and assert himself.   As a result scuffles might break out and the older dog will no longer be strong enough to assert himself. This situation is   rare, because a dog who has been the accepted leader for most of his life is usually respected by the younger dogs even when he old and frail.   Nevertheless it does happen and you should be aware of possible problems.