Maintaining your dog's good health is very important. You must be aware that if your dog has health problems, paying for your dog medical care is something that you can’t avoid. Even if your dog is healthy, you should take him to a local vet each year for a yearly check-up and necessary vaccination. If your dog gets sick, you should take him to the vet without hesitation.

A dog cannot tell us that he feels sick, so we should observe our dog carefully to find out if he has some health problems. Dogs can have many different illnesses. Many of them can be treated easily but some are more complicated. Dogs can have various diseases; like humans, they can suffer from diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, or arthritis.

In the article only the most common dog health problems are mentioned. However, if you find out that your dog has problems with his health, contact your local veterinarian for advice what to do.

Dog health problems can arise any time, so be prepared that something like this might happen any time.

Obesity problems

Dog obesity is one of the fastest growing problems nowadays. If your dog is overweight its health could be seriously threatened. Obese dogs have difficulty walking and breading, and cannot tolerate a lot of exercise. Besides, obesity can be the cause of many other diseases. In worst case obesity can lead to a heart failure or even death. More about obesity in dogs ...


Dog skin problems and allergies

Causes of skin problems can be different, from fleas, allergies, other insect bites, bacterial infections and other. Usually you can find out that your dog has skin problems when he scratches himself very frequently, has on his skin hot spots, hairless spots, red or dry skin or even wounds. In this case best would be to visit your local veterinarian who will thoroughly examine your dog and advice you how to treat this problem.

Dog allergies can be caused by different things; most common causes of allergies are dust, dog food, insect bites, and allergies to specific materials or even medicaments. Some allergic reactions can be very serious, resulting in bloody diarrhea, vomiting and more. If you suspect that your dog has allergy problems, take him to a veterinarian where they can do various allergy tests to find out on what your dog is allergic.

Ear and ear infections

Dogs often have ear infections, which can be easily treated by thorough cleaning and maybe a local antibiotic treatment, prescribed by your veterinarian. Maybe there is something stuck in their ear and it has to be removed. Some dogs have also eye infections, but this problem can easily be treated. Ask your veterinarian how to treat this.

Poisoning

Common dog health problem is poisoning. Very dangerous substance is antifreeze (if dog licks this it can easily become poisoned), rat and mole poison and other different pesticides people use in their garden. Symptoms are different, but most common are vomiting, seizures and any other. When your dog is suspected to have eaten any poison, urgent veterinary help is needed, otherwise you dog can easily die.


Arthritis and hip/elbow dysplasia

Arthritis is a common problem that older dogs and overweight dogs have. However, arthritis is often a genetic disease and also young dogs can have it.  Hip and elbow dysplasia are also very often genetic diseases, caused by improper breeding, by which genetic disorders are inherited from one breed generation to another. Both, arthritis and dysplasia reduce activity of your dog and cause him pain when moving.

Genetic diseases (hip and elbow dysplasia, arthritis, deafness, progressive retinal atrophy, epilepsy etc.), are particularly problem of purebred dogs.

Infectious diseases

Dogs can have infectious diseases, caused by bacteria, virus, fungi or parasites.

Viral diseases are rabies, parvovirus, distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, herpes virus, and influenza. In some countries vaccinations against rabies is demanded by law some other vaccinations are recommended.  A very common fungal disease in dogs is ringworm, or dermatophytosis, an infection of the skin, hair, or nails, most commonly caused by Microsporium Canis.

There are also common tick-borne bacterial diseases, including Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. For that reason it is important that you treat your dog with anti-ticks treatments regularly in order to prevent such diseases. Another bacteria caused disease is Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira.

Gastrointestinal problems

Dogs can have also gastrointestinal problems, eating almost everything they can find, also foreign body, can cause different problems, from vomiting, diarrhea and anorexia. Foreign body can cause obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract which can be very dangerous.

Some larger breeds are also more susceptible to a syndrome of gastric torsion and bloat. This condition, if it happens, is very serious and needs urgent veterinary help, otherwise a dog can die in a few hours.

Cancer and tumors

Dogs can also suffer from cancer and tumors, like humans. Like with humans, it is important that cancer is discovered and diagnosed at a very early stage to be treated more successfully.

Best you can do to keep your dog healthy is feeding him with proper and balanced nutrition and enabling him enough play and exercise.  Observe your dog very carefully, any unusual change in his behavior that you detect can be a symptom, that there’s something wrong with your dog’s health. And then do not hesitate to visit your veterinarian.

Related Articles:
Encyclopedia of Dog health Problems: http://www.dog-names.org.uk/canine-health-online-encyclopedia.htm
What are the Most Common Dog Health Problems?" http://www.puppy-training-at-home.com/common-dog-health-problems.html
Natural Dog remedies:http://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/canine-health-problems.html
Wiki Dog Health: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_health