As with humans, a dog’s health changes as it ages. Unfortunately, a dog ages much faster than we do. Regardless of your dog’s age, you can play a big role in preventing disease and making sure he stays as healthy as possible for as long as possible. After all, you don’t want to have to take your dog to the vetsend all the time. In this article you can read how you can know when your dog is sick, but important still how you can prevent this and that’s always good to keep in mind to make the right choice.
How do I know if my dog is sick?
A dog may not be able to tell you that he is sick, but he can “show you. Being aware of the signs of the most common diseases is one way to reduce the risk of your dog getting sick. It’s pretty scary to realize that at least 10% of all pets that the owner says are healthy turn out to have a disease at their annual checkup anyway. To see if your dog might be sick, you can watch for the following symptoms. For example, a sick dog may have bad breath, excessive drinking or urination, increased or decreased eating, or a change in energy level. Symptoms may also include the dog feeling very stiff or being unable to walk up and down stairs, sleeping more than usual, having to cough and sneeze a lot, having itchy skin or diarrhea or suffering from dry, red and cloudy eyes. If your dog shows any of the above symptoms, it is advisable to contact your veterinarian immediately. Because diseases are not always recognizable and because symptoms of disease are often attributed to old age, diseases are often only revealed during checkups. Partly for this reason, it is important to have your dog checked annually by your veterinarian.
How to prevent your dog from getting sick
Because not all diseases show obvious symptoms, preventive testing can be recommended by your veterinarian as part of his annual examination. Preventive testing can detect disease in its early stages, when treatment will be most successful. In addition, it can avoid significant medical costs and the risk of your dog being sick without you knowing it. Another advantage is that your veterinarian will be familiar with your dog’s levels when he is not sick, so he can and will recognize abnormal levels more quickly.
