How to Save Your Dog from Diseases?

Science has made it amply clear that having a dog in your life can improve your well-being and health. When you are a dog person, you can be sure of one thing – you want the best for your little one.

However, you also need to know and understand that they can contract various diseases, and this can make them fall ill. These diseases can affect how well they are living their life, and in some cases, they may be passed on to you as well.

Keeping up to schedule with vaccinations

One of the best ways to prevent your dog from falling sick is vaccines. Some of the diseases preventable that way are mentioned below:

• Bordetella
• leptospirosis
• ‌distemper
• ‌Lyme disease
• ‌heartworms
• ‌parvovirus
• ‌intestinal worms
• ‌rabies

Some of these vaccines would be administered based on where you live. Your vet may prescribe remedies depending on your dog’s vulnerability to certain diseases.

You must follow the vaccination schedule created for them to provide them with the best protection. In case of some diseases, you might have to administer boosters at a gap of a few years.

Using preventive medication 

Pests such as ticks and fleas are common for dogs and are valid for one spending time outdoors. These parasites are as irritating as it gets, and they might carry diseases such as the following and spread them too:

• anaplasmosis
• Lyme disease
• Bartonella
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever

Providing your dog with a tick and flea preventive will help keep those parasites away from them. These days, you get tick and flea collars along with oral medications and topical ones. You can also ask for heartworm preventives for your dog.

As far as preventive medicines are concerned, you get both prescribed and over-the-counter ones. Always talk to the doctor to find the best option for your dog.

Checking them over when they come inside 

Does your pet spend any time outside the home? In that case, checking them for ticks and fleas when they come home from outside would be a good idea. It must be done even when using preventive medicines for such parasites.

If you have two dogs and one of them goes out regularly, you must check the one who stays at home – this needs to be followed up routinely. In case you find a tick remove it as soon as possible so that you can reduce the risk of your dog being infected or falling sick.

If you can’t remove the tick, you can just get an appointment with the vet.

Getting them routine vet visits 

While dogs usually show signs of sickness, in some cases, the symptoms are not that conclusive evident straight away. You need to get your dog checked by a vet at least once a year – it would be better if you did it twice every year.

Such wellness exams can help you discover issues, such as diseases that your dog is already suffering from and you do not know yet.

During these routine exams, the vet would check your dog from head to tail, and they would always look around for signs of potential issues.

Scheduling appointments when they show signs of sickness

Your dog could get a lot of diseases that would cause several symptoms. For example, if they are suffering from parvovirus, a condition that affects their small intestines, they would show the following signs:

• lethargy
• loss of appetite
• bloody diarrhea

If they are suffering from Rocky Mountain spotted fever, they would show the following signs:

• coughing
• difficulty in breathing
• facial swelling

Sometimes, the symptoms are not severe, but getting an appointment with the veterinarian as soon as possible is still better.

Read Also: How to Deal with Diarrhea in Dogs?

Avoiding putting them in situations where they could get bitten by another animal 

You must read about common signs of anxiety and fear in dogs. You must also always keep them from roaming around unsupervised. If you have wild animals in your home, such as the following in your home talk to professionals so that you can remove them humanely from your home:

• rodents
• reptiles
• bats

Always keep them away from wild animals that tend to carry diseases such as the following:

• foxes
• raccoons
• skunks

Neutering or spaying them 

It is common knowledge that when we spay or neuter our dogs, we ensure that there are no pregnancies we want. However, did you know that these surgeries – minimally-invasive ones – can prevent several diseases as well?

Spaying your dog can minimize the risk of infections and cancers of the mammary glands and the uterus. If you neuter your dog, you lower the risk of those who have prostate cancer and eliminate the chance that they would have testicular cancer.

Preventing gum diseases 

You should start providing your dog oral care when they are still pups. You can get them professional cleaning by a vet or brush their teeth at home. It would ensure that they do not suffer from gum diseases when they grow up.

If your dog’s gums are inflamed, it is a sign that their teeth need a bit of TLC. If you do not take care of the inflammation, it can lead to gum disease later on. Tartar and plaque full of bacteria can spread beneath their gums.

Stopping the spread of diseases among dogs 

If one of your dogs has signs of infection, you must keep them away from the rest. If you work as a dog handler, judge, or staff at dog competitions, you must wash your hands before touching your dogs. I’d appreciate it if you could use a sanitizer.

Please don’t share items such as leashes, bowls, and toys; disinfect them immediately. It applies to all things and surfaces that your babies usually share. Also, could you keep them as clean as possible?

Ensuring proper nutrition 

Nutrition is indispensable, especially when ensuring your dog is healthy and in a better condition to eliminate diseases. The kibble that you feed them is killing them silently. While you would not notice the symptoms of such feeding immediately, it would slowly affect and compromise their health.

It would make them vulnerable to some severe illnesses, including allergies. So, try feeding them completely natural treats and food to ensure they are on the appropriate diet and free of germs or diseases.

Conclusion 

There is one more thing that you would do well to remember. Could you ensure your dog never eats rotten food or contaminated water? It goes for soil that might contain bacteria, viruses, and other such parasites from other animals.

For this, please ensure that you are covering the garbage cans as tightly as possible. Never allow your dog to drink out of pet bowls used by other dogs. It is also better to avoid feeding them a diet of raw meat.

FAQs

Que: How can I keep my dog healthy naturally?

Ans: There are some tips that you can adhere to make sure that your dog is healthy:

• satisfying your dog’s nutritional requirements
• helping them maintain a healthy weight
• ensuring that they get lots of exercises

Que: What causes diseases in dogs?

Ans: It depends on the disease that we are talking about. For example, canine distemper caused by a virus happens to be highly contagious. Canine influenza virus causes canine influenza, and canine parvovirus type 2 causes parvo.

Que: How can diseases be prevented in dogs?

Ans: If you have several dogs and one is sick, keep them away from the rest. Could you make sure they do not get in touch with anyone or anything else in the house?

Que: What to do if your dog has a disease?

Ans: It is significant to remain calm and note their symptoms and when they started showing. After that, could you contact the doctor and ask them if you need to take your dog to them or a hospital?

Que: What foods improve dog health?

Ans: It depends on the food and the dog in question, but in general, some human foods are supposed to benefit dogs, such as carrots and chicken.