If you own a dog and are a responsible pet owner, you will most likely either know what things can affect your dog or you are going to look into it at some point during the life of your pet.
You might just be surprised to learn how many things out there are actually affecting dogs both down through time and more recently.
While you should certainly discuss any dog health issues and thoughts or concerns with the family vet we are going to give you some guidelines to think over right now.
The first thing is to start with a clean bill of health from your vet.
Make an appointment and make sure that you are at a point where there are no issues with the dog.
This way you know that anything strange or unusual in your pet's behavior pattern that pops up will be cause for concern.
One of the most common health conditions that your dog might face during its life is a run it with parasitic infestations.
These can cause all sorts of issues and diseases in your dog.
There are parasites that attack the outside of the pet as well as internal varieties that can cause everything from discomfort to death.
The external ones you are familiar with, fleas, ticks lice and mites are but a few.
You can help to spot and control these pests with regular brushing and grooming of your animal.
The best indication that your pet might be infested is that he or she will be constantly scratching especially on the chest and in the immediate area of the ears.
Treatment options will vary and you can get this information from your vet when you discuss the dog health issues with him or her.
The internal parasites that can infest your pet are actually harder to detect and cure.
These particularly nasty pests usually, though not always, are passed to your pet from another animal.
So it is best to keep your pet away from areas where stray animals can wonder and / or come into contact with your pet.
These internal parasites include Whipworms, Tapeworms, Hookworms, Heartworms and Roundworms.
They are easily capable of causing a rather rapid and untimely death so you need to identify and deal with them as quickly as you can.
There are various forms of skin diseases that can affect your canine friend and mange is the most commonly found which is caused again by parasites.
The treatment for this can range from baths with medicine to shots or the applications of cream and regular oral type medication such as pills.
Rabies, which is a disease transmitted through the exchange of saliva or spit, Actually is the one disease that causes the most concern because there is no cure or treatment available.
That means if your pet gets it, he will be put down.
Parvovirus, Canine Distemper, Paraifluenzan and Leptospirosis are less common and not deadly today although they are still a huge concern.