Dog Health Problems Symptoms Of Diseases In Dogs

Dog health problems symptoms are something that you should know about when you own a dog. Any dog is sure to get sick from time to time and you need to know what to do. Here are some of the common symptoms that a dog may suffer from and some of the diseases that these symptoms may indicate.

Abdominal swelling or pain: may be caused by a digestive disease such as enteritis, or by constipation, canine bloat or hepatitis. In puppies, abdominal swelling can be a sign of roundworms.

Aggression: if the dog is showing unusual aggression and an apparent change in personality, it may have rabies. Rabies is sometimes accompanied by breathing difficulties.

Blood in urine: may be a sign of kidney disease. Blood in feces is not necessarily so serious and may be caused by constipation.

Coughing: a dog that coughs may have distemper, kennel cough, an allergy, worms, canine parvovirus, hepatitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia or even heart disease.

Diarrhea: digestive disorders, food poisoning, worms, allergies, or disease of the pancreas.

Excessive drinking: indicates kidney disease or diabetes.

Fainting: heartworms or heart disease.

Fever: like humans, dogs develop a fever with many illnesses, including kennel cough, parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, rabies, Lyme disease, food poisoning, or heatstroke.

Fits, convulsions or seizures: may be canine epilepsy.

Flaky or scaly skin or scabs: mange, scabies, dandruff, allergies.

Hair loss: usually caused by parasites such as mange, fleas, scabies or ringworm. Can also be caused by allergies, Cushing's syndrome or overactive thyroid.

Lameness and difficulty walking: arthritis, hip dysplasia, Lyme disease, rabies, thrombosis, cysts, patellar luxation (dislocation of the kneecap).

Losing weight: probably worms, although this might also be a symptom of a serious condition such as diabetes, heart disease or cancer.

Nasal discharge: distemper, kennel cough, allergies.

Not eating: could be caused by Lyme disease, kennel cough, mange, rabies, heartworms, heart disease, any virus.

Panting (other than after exercise): often a sign of heart disease.

Scratching ear: a sign of fleas, allergies or ear infection.

Shaking head: ear infection or fleas.

Vomiting: many possible causes including distemper, canine bloat, enteritis, hepatitis, parvovirus, worms, kidney disease, allergies, food poisoning, diabetes, Addison's disease, or just over eating.

Wheezing: probably kennel cough.

When dog health problems symptoms develop in your much loved pet, it can be very worrying. You cannot ask the dog to tell you exactly what is wrong and often times, the same symptoms may have many different causes.

Some of these canine health problems are common illnesses that are not grave at all, but sometimes there can be an underlying condition that is potentially serious or even life threatening. Therefore, if you see any dog health problems symptoms developing in your pet, consider taking your dog to the veterinarian right away to discover exactly what is wrong.