Animals can’t tell that something is wrong with them, so their good health can be determined by the owner’s quick reaction. What symptoms are worth paying attention to?
The first sign that should draw the attention of the dog owner is his reluctance to eat. There may be several reasons for this. During the summer heat, dogs, like humans, feel less hunger and prefer to drink more, so it is not necessarily a symptom of illness. Reluctance to eat may also be due to unpalatable food.
However, a lack of appetite can indicate a number of serious diseases and canine ailments, including food poisoning, cancer, dog depression, toothache or a cold.
Another common symptom of a dog’s illness is its bowel problem. Diarrhea and vomiting are the most common. They can result from eating a foreign body, too much grass or hard to digest food. Then such symptoms should subside after several hours. However, if they persist for more than 24 hours, it is a clear signal that the problem may be much more serious. There may be several causes, from parasites, to severe food poisoning, to cancer. The best thing to do then is to go to a veterinarian, who will thoroughly examine the dog for all possibilities.
As with humans, rapid weight change should be a cause for concern. The problem can apply to dogs that have quickly lost a few pounds, as well as those that have quickly started to gain weight despite maintaining the same feeding regime. It can take several weeks even months to notice changes, even drastic ones, so it is worth going to the vet as soon as you notice a change in your dog’s weight.
The disease can develop quickly and wreak great havoc on your pet’s entire body. Weight loss is most often a symptom of an internal disease, especially cancer, but weight gain can be just as dangerous. An unhealthy diet, calorie-dense food, faulty eating habits, hormonal disorders or digestive problems can cause a dog’s weight to suddenly change.
Dogs have their own character and daily habits. Taught from puppy age, they develop their own habits, which the owner knows very well. That is why, if he observes changes in the behavior of the animal, he can easily determine that something disturbing is happening to him. The first signal, which occurs most often, is the pet’s weakness, lack of enjoyment of basic activities that daily arouse its interest, visible sadness and failure to greet its owner at the door. Most dogs react in this way to complaints of pain, but this type of behavior can also be the beginning of dog depression. Equally worrisome in a dog is psychomotor hyperactivity, aggression and hydrophobia. These symptoms can often be the first signs of a dog being infected with rabies.
main photo: unsplash.com/JC Gellidon
