Just like humans, even a strong, healthy dog will sometimes feel crummy. Your dog will experience any number of ailments throughout his adult life, but there are some common ones you should look out for.

Elbow Calluses

Calluses, which seem to be more common in large breeds, are the result of pressure from laying on a hard surface. Mild calluses are usually harmless, but large or infected ones require veterinary treatment. To prevent elbow calluses, provide soft bedding or padding for your dog’s resting place. Choose material that can be replaced or washed frequently for sanitary purposes. If your dog is inclined to chew or swallow material, ask your veterinarian to recommend a product.

Ear Infections

Low-grade otitis (inflammation of the ear) is a common ailment that can be difficult for owners to detect. It’s especially common among floppy-eared dogs, whose moist ear canals provide a comfortable breeding ground for bacteria, yeast, and fungus.

The earlier an ear infection is detected, the more your veterinarian can do to minimize its impact on your dog. Look for the following signs:

• A brown, odourous discharge in your dog’s ears. This substance is produced when the ear’s wax glands become overactive and inflamed, and often results in that unpleasant “doggy smell.”
• An unusual reaction to an ear rub. If your dog leans his ear into your hand to increase the pressure as you rub, or if he flinches when you approach his ears, he may have an ear infection.
• Frequent shaking and scratching for no obvious reason.

Preventing an ear infection is even better than detecting one early on. Excessive ear cleaning can cause inflammation, but occasional cleaning is fine. Using a veterinarian-approved ear cleaner on a cotton ball or soft cloth (not a cotton swab), wiping only the accessible part of the ear. Above all, make sure your dog’s ear canals are dried thoroughly after an ear cleaning or bath, as moisture encourages the growth of infection-causing organisms.

Dogs & Chocolate

You may have heard that chocolate is poisonous to dogs. As with many substances, the poison is in the dose.

A little bit of chocolate won’t hurt your dog. But, like many of us, dogs tend to overindulge in rich tastes. And chocolate contains an ingredient that, like caffeine, makes dogs hyper and excitable. If they eat too much, it can cause seizures, so think twice about offering your dog this sweet—even a Chocolate Lab.

Parvovirus

Parvovirus is spread from dog to dog via contact with infected feces, or carriers like shoes, clothing and food and water bowls. Most often spread in kennels, the best (and only) way to prevent parvovirus in your dog is to adhere to a regular vaccination schedule provided by your veterinarian.

Once contracted, the parvovirus can be eradicated by using an appropriate solution of chlorine bleach or iodine to clean kennels and other areas where dogs congregate.

Parvovirus can survive many weeks on contaminated surfaces. For this reason, kennel owners should exercise great caution when placing puppies where a parvovirus infection has occurred. Only after a thorough disinfection of the premises should you introduce fully vaccinated pups. Even then, it’s important to remember that antibodies puppies acquire from their mother can interfere with the development of their own immunity to parvovirus. This effect can last up to 16 weeks, so puppies should receive their final puppy parvovirus vaccination at 16 weeks or older. Remember too that sick dogs should be segregated from their healthy peers.

Dogs who have been at shows, field trials, or in other situations of contact with other dogs, should be kept in isolation and observed for signs of parvovirus and other diseases before being returned to the kennel. Kennel visits should generally be discouraged.

Heartworm

This mosquito-transmitted disease can be fatal to your dog, so aim to prevent the illness. Getting rid of heartworm once a dog is already infected takes powerful drugs and can require hospitalization.

Start with an annual blood test to see if your dog is already carrying these deadly worms. If the test is negative, your veterinarian will recommend a preventive heartworm medication. This may be given either monthly or daily. Some veterinarians recommend giving your dog the medication year-round, but it should at least be administered during the months when mosquitoes are active in your area.

Doggy Vision

To bring your dog’s vision into focus, read below.

Seeing Colour:
Despite what you may have heard, not all dogs are colour-blind. They do see colours–just fewer than we do. In the visual spectrum of light wavelengths, dogs lack the ability to see the range of shades from green to red, seeing only in shades of yellow and blue.

TV Viewing:
Dogs can see flickering light better than humans. Therefore, they may experience television as a series of moving frames rather than as a continuous scene. Some dogs find this irritating.

Visual Clarity:
A dogs’ visual acuity is lower than a humans’. A rough estimate is that dogs have about 20/75 vision. This means they can see at 20 feet what a human could see clearly at 75 feet.

Night Vision:
Although your pup may not have the colour range and visual focus that you do, his night vision is far superior. Thanks to a reflective structure behind his retina, dogs see objects in the dark as if lit by an eerie glow.

Back to top