by Eliza McGraw
Your dog can tell you with a look that he needs to go outside. He can tell you with a bark he wants his dinner, and he can even tell you with a wag that he loves you. But your dog can't tell you how he's feeling, so it's up to you to know the signs that he's sick and take steps to get him well again.
Your best defense against dog health issues is good preventive care. The general vaccines dogs should receive include those that prevent distemper, canine adenovirus-2, canine parvovirus-2 and rabies. Depending upon where you live and whether your dog has special needs, the doctor may recommend others.
Some common ailments, however, can't be warded off with a shot. Once you understand the warning signs, you'll know when your dog is feeling fine and when he's as sick as. . . well, as a dog.
Hip Dysplasia
It's easier to understand hip dysplasia if you imagine the hip as a ball and socket joint. In a dog with dysplasia, the ball (the femur's head) pulls out of the socket (the acetabulum) as far as it can. The ligament surrounding this mechanism is stretched repeatedly, leaving local cartilage to wear down. This process leads to bone spurs, the primary symptoms of degenerative joint disease.
What to look for. Hip dysplasia is a common dog health issue in big dogs such as Great Danes, Golden Retrievers and Saint Bernards, and can either show up in puppies, who often heal as they grow, or in older dogs as part of the aging process. Symptoms include difficulty walking, jumping or standing up after lying down for a while. Overweight dogs suffer more.
Treatment. Treatment for hip dysplasia varies widely depending on your dog's age and the severity of the problem. In young dogs with severe cases, therapy can include remedies as radical as surgery on the pelvis. For older dogs, therapies include weight loss, exercise, medication and supplements.
Bloat
As its graphic nickname "bloat" suggests, gastric-dilation volvulus (GDV) occurs when the stomach fills with air (gastric dilation) and then rotates (volvulus), which makes breathing difficult and can seriously damage the dog's digestive system.
What to look for. Dogs with narrow chests — such as Weimeraners and Great Danes — are at greater risk than wider-chested breeds for this dog health issues. Consider GDV if your dog continually retches without vomiting, or if he has the trademark distended belly. Dogs with GDV may also salivate excessively and appear distressed.
What to do. Feed a dog susceptible to GDV in a quiet area. If you see symptoms, call the vet right away — GDV is life-threatening and can progress rapidly.
Treatment. The vet may need to remove the excess air from the dog's stomach with a tube or needle. Because GDV is so serious, a dog with GDV may be in shock, so he might receive medicine and therapies to address shock as well. After that, surgery repairs the damage done to the stomach.
Heartworm
Heartworms are parasitic worms (Dirofilaria immitis) that migrate to the right side of a dog's heart and the large blood vessel that connects the heart to the lungs. Heartworms can block the key blood vessels that lead from the heart to the lungs, causing death.
What to look for. Many dogs don't show symptoms of heartworm infection, although some show weight loss, general torpor, or a cough. Some dogs with heartworm infection have a potbelly because fluid builds up in the abdomen. Most often, however, heartworm disease is discovered during a routine blood test.
What to do. Testing for heartworm should be included in routine checkups. If you suspect that your dog could have heartworm — if, for example, you haven't given him preventive medicine, or if you've adopted him recently — ask your vet to evaluate your pet.
Treatment. If the heartworms are in the larval stage, oral medication may be sufficient. If adult heartworms are present, however, the veterinarian treats the infected dog with an intramuscular injection. If the infestation is extraordinarily severe, the worms may have to be surgically removed.
Ingested Foreign Body
Your dog eats something inedible, like a bone, rock, toy, plastic bag, dental retainer or coin. Foreign bodies lodged inside a dog's gastric system can cause perforation, dehydration or starvation, all of which can be fatal.
What to look for. The first sign that your dog has ingested a non-food item is usually vomiting. If he has eaten something big — like a rubber ball — he won't be hungry and will retch often. With a smaller object, these signs are less but still present.
What to do. If your see your dog eat something little, your vet may recommend giving him mineral oil to help move the item through. But if your dog is vomiting and has no appetite, it's time to get to the vet's office right away — the item might be in the stomach or large intestine.
Treatment. Your vet will use an x-ray to figure out what the dog has eaten and where it is lodged. Sometimes, she may use petroleum jelly to try to lubricate the digestive tract enough to allow the object to slide through. In other cases, surgery is required to remove the object. (Make Healthy Dog Treats.)
Eliza McGraw is the author of Everyday Horsemanship and Everyday Trail Riding. She writes about animals, the American South and other topics from her Washington, DC home.
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