How can I tell if your dog is sick?

The first sign that the dog is ill is most often behavioral changes. The dog becomes listless, apathetic,sedentary, loses interest in previously favorite games, reluctantly goes for a walk. Often sick dogs try to huddle in a dark nook, utter moans or whining. They do not respond to the nicknames, and if they respond - they reluctantly rise from their seats. Sometimes the dog, on the contrary, becomes more aggressive, does not admit even familiar people.

Another sign of the disease may be loss of appetite. Although not always: sometimes dogs that are kept in urban conditions may not eat for about a day. This is due to the fact that urban dogs are sometimes overfed, and they move little, so in this way the animal simply arranges a voluntary "unloading day." Abnormally increased appetite, by the way, can also testify that the dog is ill.

In a sick dog, wool instead of smooth and shiny becomes disheveled and dull, often during an illness the animal loses weight. You can also determine that your dog is sick, on the nose. In a healthy dog, the nose of the nose is cold and wet, and in the case of a sick person it is dry and hot. But to be guided only by this featureit is impossible. When the dog is asleep, and also in the first minutes after awakening, the nose may be dry and hot. And in the first time after raising the temperature, it sometimes remains cold.

By the way, about the temperature. Normally, the body temperature of a dog is higher than that of a human, and is 38-38.9 ° C. If the animal's body temperature is 39.5 ° C or higher, the veterinarian should be contacted as soon as possible, because a fever may be a sign of an infectious disease.

The temperature in dogs is measured rectally. You can use for this purpose a veterinary medical thermometer. It should be greased with something greasy - oil, petroleum jelly or cream. While holding the dog in the groin area, you need to carefully insert the tip of the thermometer into the anus. Do this very carefully and patiently. After 2-3 minutes the thermometer can be reached.

After the procedure, you need to praise, caress the dog. If she does not refuse food and there are no problems with digestion, you can treat the dog some kind of delicacy - so you fix a calm reaction to temperature measurement.

Please note that fever does not always indicate that the dog is sick. It can increase with fright and excitement, in heat, after physical activity. So it's best several times to measure the temperature of a healthy dog ​​at rest and then compare it with this figure.

Two more objective indicators of the health of the dog are pulse and respiratory rate. For change pulse You need to put your fingers to the femoral arteryanimal, it is on the inside of the thigh. Normally, the pulse is 70-120 beats per minute. In large and quiet dogs, it can be smaller, and in dogs of small breeds - more, reaching 160 beats per minute. Here, as with the temperature, you need to compare with the normal pulse of your dog at rest.

Frequency of breathing determine by movement of the abdomen, chest orthe wings of the dog's nose. The normal rate is 10-30 breaths per minute. Males breathe less often than bitches, and adult dogs are less likely than puppies and young animals. In the heat, with overexcitation and physical exertion, breathing becomes more frequent, but in a healthy dog ​​it quickly recovers.

A sign that the dog is sick, may be digestive disorders, diarrhea, constipation or vomiting. In principle, a slight upset stomachmay be the result of merely overfeeding or eating an unfamiliar dog food. So here it is necessary to look at the "scale of the disaster" and the presence of concomitant symptoms. For example, diarrhea with blood "insignificant disorder" is unlikely to be called.

Another sign that the dog is ill, may be:

• 
  discharge from the nose, eyes and other organs (transparent mucous or purulent);
• 
  strong thirst;
• 
  dyspnea;
• 
  difficulty swallowing;
• 
  craving for eating inedible objects;
• 
  increased molting;
• 
  icteric or cyanotic skin and mucous membranes;
• 
  problems with urination, changes in the color of urine;
• 
  unnatural pose.

In general, there are many signs that a dogsick, coincide with signs of cats disease. Observed these symptoms can be in a variety of combinations. If something in the appearance or behavior of the dog inspires you with fear, it is better to contact the veterinarian as soon as possible. Many animals were rescued precisely because the owner on time noticed that his dog was sick, and came to the rescue of his pet.