Beaphar

illness

Lack of appetite
If your dog does not fancy his food, you may be overfeeding him. But if he normally has a healthy appetite and suddenly does not want to eat, it can be a sign of illness. First check if the dog might have found something to eat from the rubbish bin or if any of its (molar) teeth have come loose or are broken. The latter especially will cause dogs to avoid eating anything, because their mouths are very sensitive.

Coughing
Coughing can indicate a disease (kennel cough, canine distemper, an infection of the airways), but also a piece of (fish) bone might be stuck in your dog’s throat. Older dogs may cough frequently, especially after physical exercise, as an indication of a heart condition. With young puppies, coughing can be caused by round-worm larvae migrating to the puppy’s lungs, as part of their lifecycle, before being coughed up and swallowed down to the stomach where they will grow into adult worms. You should always be concerned when a puppy starts coughing, because it could indicate canine distemper and/or kennel cough. Take a coughing puppy to a vet and don’t try to nurse the dog on your own first. Dogs do not catch a cold as people do, so coughing indicates something else is amiss.

Diarrhoea and constipation
If your dog attempts to defaecate, but does not succeed, you may think your dog is constipated because it’s faeces are too hard. This could very well be the case. However, maybe he passed liquid faeces earlier, and is now simply trying to clear an empty and infected intestine, and is only excreting some blood and mucus. If the latter is the case, your dog might seem to suffer from constipation, but is actually suffering from diarrhoea. Problems with the intestine are very unpleasant.
In mild cases of stomach upset, you can give your dog Sherley’s Gastrine Tablets, which are formulated to settle the stomach. However, should the diarrhoea last more than two days, contact your veterinarian.

Bloody faeces
Any sign of blood in your dog’s faeces should be taken very seriously and your veterinarian should be consulted immediately.

Vomiting
Every dog will be sick every now and then, especially if it eats too quickly or its food is too cold. However, a dog that throws up constantly, is a matter of concern, as it is possible the dog is showing the first signs of an illness. It could also be the case that the dog has eaten something poisonous or has swallowed a foreign object and if the object is not thrown up, it will get stuck somewhere in your dog’s body and cause problems. If your dog suffers from constant vomiting, we recommend you see your veterinarian about the problem. With bigger dogs that have eaten a large quantity of dry food a few hours before, there is a chance of gastric torsion or bloat, and if you do not intervene, it could lead to premature death for your dog.
By routinely ridding your dog of worms and fleas he will remain in good health. For more information, see “Worms”.