Every dog has to go through it, every dog most probably hates it as much as anyone else does, but the fact of the matter is that your dog will show sick symptoms once in a while and will become ill. This is natural for a dog or any other animal, they all get sick and there’s nothing anyone can do to prevent it.

On the other hand there are ways in which you can ease the suffering a bit for your dog and help them get the fast paced recovery they deserve. There are probably many different home remedies for helping you dog get better, but often if any are going to work then it will be the suggestions or medication your vet will give your after a diagnosis of your dog, so when you fear your dog is ill you should take them to the vet as soon as possible.

Ok, so let’s now look at some of the more popular of the hundreds of symptoms that your dog may be feeling.

Not wanting to move

Many dogs when ill wont want to move very far, have pain in moving, refusing to exercise, limping or has signs or injured paw/leg, or just general decreased agility. Theses can all be signs of illness or injury and should be watched out for.

Discharge

This may seem an obvious choice but many dog owners fail to notice discharge from eyes, nose, and ears. These should only normally be a worry if the discharge is coloured.

Appetite

A dog’s loss of appetite is a good well recognised symptom of illness as well as over eating without weight gain, sudden weight loss, or diarrhoea. Keep an eye on your dog’s diet and food habits to make this easier to recognise when it happens.

Itching and Scratching

Itching or scratching and trying to rub themselves up against furniture can be symptoms of bad skin or new pests on the scene. At this time your dog may be feeling ill or unwell or have it to come.

Mouth Problems

Bleeding or soar looking gums, along with discoloured teeth or teeth loss all need to be diagnosed properly by a vet and could be due to a more serious illnesses.

This type of infection is highly contagious and it affects a lot of dogs. This virus causes death. Parvovirus, along with Canine Distemper, is one of the most feared that affects the canine population. It was first spotted out in the 19th century.

Now it has spread all over the world and many dogs contract it. It is said that the disease was a mutation from the Feline Panlencopaenia virus - Distemper in cats.

Infection spreading:

Parvovirus gets transmitted very fast and usually to dogs that were not vaccinated.

The virus can be taken from stools and urine and remains. Even though the virus is not air-borne, it can be transmitted through a single contact with an infected animal. Only 10 days after the first contact, the symptoms of Parvovirus appear.

Symptoms of the Parvovirus infection:

Usually general depression and high fever are the most common. The dog will also refuse to eat, will vomit and have yellowish diarrhea. Bloody traces are also common. If the disease is not controlled, it can lead to dehydration and also death.

Survival chances:

Usually the younger the dog is, the more problematic the disease is. So far many of the puppies that were infected have died. Also, if the dog survives, he will have problems with the heart and other organs. Permanent digestive problems can also appear.

Treatment:

Vaccines work really well but there is no cure. Sometimes antibiotics and intravenous fluids can reduce and control the symptoms. Also, the dogs that have survived a parvo attack can get it again.

Best Cure:

This magical cure is called prevention. The best way to fight this virus is to get the puppy vaccinated and keep it out of trouble. You must also keep the dog away from infected dogs.

Destroying the Virus:

Keeping the area where the dog lives, clean, is a must. You must destroy the sheets or clean them really well. You must keep the dog warm and under veterinary supervision every day. Using chlorine bleach and disinfectants is the proper way to do it.

You must not allow the virus to exist during the dog's treatment. There have been cases of infection when the virus was inactive for many years and then it turned into a full blown disease. So take care of your dog and keep it away from infected dogs or areas where he can get this awful illness.

Glaucoma is one important eye problem that can cause serious problems for humans and also for dogs. Glaucoma happens when the eye gets a higher intraocular eye pressure. The fluid that exists in the eyes has a well defined shape.

The fluid quantity is regulated by the body in order to maintain the pressure in the eyes, at an optimal level. When the pressure goes beyond limit than glaucoma happens. This disease can even cause vision loss. The optic nerves and the retina are affected. You should know that for dogs this illness is painful. This is why immediate medical attention is required.

Glaucoma Symptoms

There are some of the most usual symptoms that appear:

- Eye pain

- Pupils get larger

- Yellow or greenish discharges from the eyes appear

- The cornea is clouded

- The eyes tend to lose colors

- The number of blood vessels in the eyes will increase

- Eyes can become bloody

- One eye can look larger than the other.

Glaucoma Causes

The drainage system of the eye can cause this. If it works improperly problems appear. In this as the eye can not remove the excess liquid and pressure is built up.

Eye inflammation and injury around that area are the most common causes.

Glaucoma Types

Two main types appear: primary and secondary. The genetic predisposition determined the primary type of the disease. For example, the drainage pores in the eye can be too large, too small or in an incorrect angle. This results in fluid accumulation.

Glaucoma Diagnosis

Only the veterinarian can place a certain diagnosis as it is the most qualified person to do that. You can also check a veterinary ophthalmologist. They will do complete blood work and they will examine the dog. They also see what the intraocular pressure is and the ways to drain the pressure away. They use tonometry and gonioscopy to remove the pressure. Sometimes they can do conduct ultrasonography to determine the existence of tumor or eye cancer. You must always take the dog to the vet if you see some signs of trouble.

Glaucoma Treatment

Surgical and medical treatments are available for this disease. Surgery will remove the pressure by removing the fluid excess build up. They can even prescribe pills, eye drops or injections. It is not hard to treat or manage this disease if you learn to take care of it in time.

Laser cyclophotocoagulation is also at hand and this technique will destroy portions of the dog's eye that create the fluid. Usually surgery is recommended in those cases when the eye can still be saved. In other cases the pain is just managed using medication.

In humans epilepsy is a serious condition. So is for the dogs. They have this disease also and they can find it difficult to deal with. Epileptic seizures can appear. Usually the dogs that are between 1 and 3 years tend to develop this problem more often. It is a serious illness and it must be treated as such.

One can not stop an epileptic attack from happening but it can be kept under control. Some of the solutions are to feed the dog the best food, do some regular exercises with him and give him various vitamins and nutritional supplements to help his immune system. One can not confuse this illness with just a regular one because it is not. Do not give the dog cheap food as it has food preservatives that can be harmful and they can cause other seizures.

Symptoms

Seizures are the most common symptoms. Besides that the mood swings and the behavior changes follow. You will see that the dog will start to hide himself from the world, drool and also vomit. He can even lose control over his bladder. Some dogs even lose consciousness and have pretty violent muscle contractions.

You will also notice stiffening in the legs, teeth gnashing and some vocalizations. The dog will also become thirsty, a bit disoriented and in many cases, sleepy. Usually after a seizure the symptoms disappear.

Epilepsy Treatment

This is one of those diseases that can not be cured but only managed. Certain medication solution can reduce the seriousness of the disease. You must take the dog to the veterinarian and monitor its condition all the times. You must be patient and follow the doctor's advice. The disease can be managed and it is up to you to find the ways to do that.

Many dogs that have this illness live a good and comfortable life. Your dog can do that too. Do not be scared when it is having a seizure because it will pass. Normally a seizure episode takes about half an hour. It will disappear after that. It is very important that you keep the dog safe and warm when it is having a seizure. You must not prohibit him to vomit. The dog must feel that he is loved even if he is getting vomit on the carpet. Otherwise he will also be scared when having a seizure and that will only complicate matters.

The hookworms appear quite frequent in dogs' diseases. In the majority of cases, the puppies are the ones that get infected. The hookworms are some small internal parasites which are able to cause death, especially in the puppies.

Old dogs rarely get infected with the hookworms. And if they do, the infection is not that severe and it cures quickly. A dog owner should always protect the dog from these parasites because they can cause serious damage.

Appearance of hookworms in dogs

Besides hookworms, dogs also can get tapeworms, roundworms, and whipworms. The hookworms are most of the times caused by some infested soil that has worms. The dog can eat the eggs of the worm. These larvae then are able to go into the lungs and then the whole pet's bloodstream.

But after they infest the body, all the larvae will return to the pet's intestines. That is the place where they become adults. As they do that, they also try to reverse the course again and they do that by causing serious damage.

Symptoms of the hookworms in dogs

The owners should overlook the dog and notice any kind of symptoms of hookworm infestation. The most common symptoms are weight loss, anemia, progressing weakness and diarrhea.

The Hookworm symptoms happen when the pet already ahs the adult worms inside. This is bad because it is the final stage of the infestation. The larvae do not cause symptoms that will alarm the owner of the infestation. The worst is when the larvae are dormant inside the dog bitches. When they have puppies, the worms will get easily transferred to them and they could kill them. A hookworm infestation is not fatal for the adult dogs and it can be treated so easily. But in small dogs and puppies, that have a low immune system, it can be deadly.

The treatment of this disease

The vet is the only person who can make an accurate diagnosis. He will do that by taking a close look at the pet's feces. The best treatment is to give the dog some de-wormer medication. Usually there are some pills that need to be ingested by the dog. The medication slowly poisons the bad worms and makes the dog better. But be careful about respecting the dosage. If you give him the pills in a larger dosage, it can kill the dog.

Most of the adult dogs get this type of infestation a few times in their lives. Most of the dogs that go out a lot get this disease. So, from time to time, if you are the owner, check the dog's stool for signs of hookworms and any other parasites.