Dental Care for Dogs
Some people don’t realize that
dental hygiene is as important for dogs as it is for
human beings. Just like in people, dogs’ teeth
can gather plaque after eating. When plaque builds up
and hardens it becomes a coarse brown substance called
tartar. As tartar accumulates it can work its way under
the gums and cause painful infections and gum disease.
This goes on in the mouths of dogs just like it does
in people. You brush your teeth every day, probably
three times. What does your dog do?
Teeth Brushing for Doggies
Veterinarians recommend that dog owners
brush their dog’s teeth at least twice a week
to keep the buildup of tartar at a minimum. Most pet
supply stores carry specially designed toothbrushes
and toothpaste just for dogs. Remember that a dog’s
sense of taste and smell is far more acute than that
of a human and the zesty, tingly, mint taste of toothpastes
for people will be extremely awful to a dog. Try brushing
Rover’s teeth with Crest just once and it will
likely be the last time he lets you anywhere near him
with a toothbrush. Use the specially designed doggie
toothpaste.
Dental Chew
Some people don’t have the time
or patience to brush their dogs’ teeth on a regular
basis. If you’re one of these, you’ll want
to care for Chopper’s choppers in another way.
A dog’s natural tendency to chew is a built-in
dental care mechanism. Dog biscuits break into small
chunks when chewed and rub against the teeth, providing
a cleaning service. There’s no substitute for
brushing your dog’s teeth, but if you can’t
do that, make sure he gets some sort of crunchy dog
biscuit on a regular basis.
Mouth Diseases in Dogs
Dogs that do not receive proper dental
care and do not have access to crunchy teeth cleaning
foods run the risk of several types of mouth disease.
These can be as mild as gingivitis (a gum disease that
results in swollen, inflamed gums) and as serious as
a bacterial infection that can spread through the dog’s
bloodstream causing damage to vital organs. You owe
it to yourself and your dog to take care of his teeth.
Doggie Dentistry
Dental services are available for dogs,
just like they are for people. A dog’s teeth can
be filled, capped, and extracted if necessary, just
like a human’s. The best course of action, however,
is to avoid the need for such services by properly caring
for your dog’s teeth. If you can avoid unnecessary
pain and discomfort for your furry friend, you should
do so. Preventative doggie dental care can save you
money as well. Doggie dental procedures can be quite
costly.
Signs of Heartworm Infection
When a dog is first infected with heartworms,
there are literally no signs and the presence of heartworms
can not be detected even with a blood test. Once the
worm larva reaches the heart and matures, however, signs
that are detectible by X-ray start to develop almost
immediately. These include damage to the blood vessels
around the heart and lungs. It is rare that a dog will
be infected by only one worm and as the mature worms
in the heart grow in size and number, the conditions
worsen, eventually causing a blockage of blood flow.
It is at this point that the dog will start to display
physical signs which can include pain, hypertension,
difficulty breathing, lethargy or even fainting. In
extremely progressed cases the dog can suffer from heart
failure and death although by the time the heartworm
disease has reached this stage the owner has probably
realized that something is going on and sought veterinary
care.
Treating Heartworm Infection
Once a dog has been diagnosed as having
heartworms, treatment must be started. What this treatment
is and how it is administered is dependant on the stage
of heartworm infection. Generally, there are four stages
of heartworm disease.
Stage One – Dogs at the lowest
risk – heartworms are detected in X-rays but all
other tests appear normal.
Stage Two – Dogs are moderately infected, may
have some difficulty breathing and be demonstrating
coughing
Stage Three – Dogs are severely affected &
may display weight loss, have difficulty breathing,
blood tests likely show kidney and/or liver damage
Stage Four – Dogs have Vena Cava Syndrome and
are in shock, essentially dying – surgery may
be undertaken to remove worms, but there is no guarantee
that it will save the dog.
When it comes to heartworms in dogs,
prevention truly is the best medicine. The best time
to begin a preventative treatment is early in puppy-hood,
before the dog is seven months old since dogs older
than seven months are at a great risk for adverse reactions
to the preventative treatments.
That’s Not What They Meant by
“Scooby-Snacks”
Why do dogs eat feces?
“I don’t eat any animal
that hasn’t got sense to disregard his own feces.”
“A dog eats his feces.”
“I don’t eat dog either.”
“But would you consider a dog to be a ‘filthy
animal?’”
“I don’t know if I’d call a dog ‘filthy,’
but they’re definitely dirty. But a dog’s
got personality. Personality goes a long way.”
“So, by that reasoning, if a pig had a better
personality, he’d cease to be a filthy animal?”
“That’d have to be one charming pig. He’d
have to be ten times as charming as that Arnold on ‘Green
Acres.’”
- Pulp Fiction
For reasons that are still fairly unknown
to veterinarians and scientists, some dogs seem unable
to resist the tasty treat of their own or another animal’s
feces. Amongst a group of dogs a decent sized lump of
excrement is less safe than an errant Twinkie at an
Overeater’s Anonymous meeting. If dogs ran the
world the finest restaurants would serve big steaming
plates of the stuff as an entrée and the doggie
version of T.G.I. Friday’s would serve it as an
appetizer, cleverly fashioned into a flower shape. We
don’t even want to guess what would be served
as a dipping sauce.
It was once thought that the tendency
some dogs have to eat feces stemmed from a nutritional
need of some kind. Poor diet and poor health were considered
to be the motivation for this seemingly bizarre and
definitely disgusting (to humans) behavior. Vets and
animal health specialists now say that isn’t the
case as research shows no connection between canine
dietary or nutritional needs and the phenomenon. At
this point, scientists are stymied. No one knows why
some dogs do this.
In the case of a mother dog that has
recently given birth, the behavior is completely normal.
Mother dogs will teach their pups to urinate and defecate
by licking their hindquarters. The pups respond to the
stimulus by doing what is expected and the mother will
eat the results instinctively. For dogs in the wild
this behavior served two useful purposes. It kept the
whelping area clean and eliminated the odors of the
pups’ waste that could attract predators. The
puppies often learn this behavior from their mothers
and mimic it. Most puppies stop doing this by the time
they are weaned.
It is more curious when non-parent adult
dogs eat feces whether it is their own or that of some
other animal. Some scientists suggest that this is scavenger
behavior and natural for dogs who are traditionally
scavengers. The theory doesn’t explain why some
dogs do it and some do not, however.
As natural as it may be, it is not a
good idea to allow your dog to engage in this behavior.
Eating of feces can expose a dog to internal parasites
and bacterial infections, as well as raise the risk
of viral infections like distemper and parvo. The best
way to prevent a dog from engaging in this behavior
is to remove the temptation. Keep the yard free of feces
by disposing of it promptly. Owners can also train the
animal early, before it becomes too habitual. Other
methods that have been employed with varying degrees
of success are feeding the dog things like garlic and
pumpkin which are believed to make the feces less appealing
and spraying the feces with a foul smelling solution
(most dogs despise citronella, for example) that will
make the dog not want to eat the excrement.
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