21 Symptoms You Should Never Ignore in Your Dog - PetPlace

1. Pacing and Restlessness. In dogs, pacing and restlessness can be indicate pain, discomfort or distress. These symptoms can be associated with ... diseasesconditionsofdogs21SymptomsYouShouldNeverIgnoreinYourDogdiseasesconditionsofdogs21SymptomsYouShouldNeverIgnoreinYourDogThereareserioussymptomsthatshouldneverbeignoredinyourdog.Asymptomisdefinedas“anyproblemthatcanindicateanunderlyingdisease”andmaybeyourfirstcluetothepresenceofalife-threateningprobleminyourdog.Hereisalistof21symptomsthatshouldneverbeignoredifyouseethemfromyourdog! 1.PacingandRestlessness.Indogs,pacingandrestlessnesscanbeindicatepain,discomfortordistress.Thesesymptomscanbeassociatedwithaconditioncalledbloatinwhichthestomachtwists.Bloatislife-threateningandmostcommonlyoccursinlargebreedordeep-chesteddogs. 2.UnproductiveRetching.Dogsthatattempttovomitandareunabletobringanythingupisanothercommonsymptomof“bloat”.Youshouldcallyourveterinarianimmediately.Clickheretolearnmoreabout“bloat”. 3.CollapseorFainting.Acutecollapseisasuddenlossofstrengthcausingyourdogtofallandbeunabletorise.Somedogsthatsuddenlycollapsewillactuallyloseconsciousness.Thisiscalledfaintingorsyncope.Somedogsrecoververyquicklyandlookessentiallynormaljustsecondstominutesaftercollapsing,whereasothersstayinthecollapsedstateuntilhelped.Allthereasonsforcollapseorfaintingareseriousandshouldnotbeignored.Seeyourveterinarianimmediately.Clickheretolearnmore. 4.NotEatingorLossofAppetite.Anorexiaisatermusedtodescribethesituationwhereananimalloseshisappetite,doesnotwanttoeatorisunabletoeat.Therearemanycausesofa“lossofappetite”andisoftenthefirstindicationofillness.Regardlessofthecause,lossofappetitecanhaveaseriousimpactonananimal’shealthifitlasts24hoursormore.Younganimalslessthan6monthsofageareparticularlypronetotheproblemsbroughtonbylossofappetite.Clickheretolearnmore. 5.LosingWeight.Weightlossisaphysicalconditionthatresultsfromanegativecaloricbalance.Thisusuallyoccurswhenthebodyusesand/orexcretesessentialnutrientsfasterthanitcanconsumethem.Essentiallymorecaloriesarebeingburnedthanarebeingtakenin.Weightlossisconsideredclinicallyimportantwhenitexceeds10percentofthenormalbodyweightandisnotassociatedwithfluidloss.Thereareseveralcausesforthis,someofwhichcanbeveryserious.Clickheretolearnmore. 6.BreathingProblems.Respiratorydistress,oftencalleddyspnea,islabored,difficultbreathingorshortnessofbreath.Thiscanoccuratanytimeduringthebreathingprocess,duringinspiration(breathingin)orexpiration(breathingout).Whenyourdoghastroublebreathing,hemaynotbeabletogetenoughoxygentohistissues.Additionally,ifhehasheartfailure,hemaynotbeabletopumpsufficientbloodtohismusclesandothertissues.Dyspneaisoftenassociatedwithaccumulationoffluid(edema)inthelungsorthechestcavity(pleuraleffusion).Thisfluidcanleadtoshortnessofbreathandcoughing.Thisisaveryserioussymptomandshouldbeevaluatedimmediately.Clickheretolearnmore. 7.RedEye.A“redeye”isanon-specificsignofinflammationorinfection.Itmaybeseenwithseveraldifferentdiseasesincludingthoseinvolvingdifferentpartsoftheeyeincludingtheexternaleyelids,thirdeyelid,conjunctiva,cornea,andsclera.Itmayalsooccurwithinflammationofthestructuresinsidetheeye,withglaucoma(highpressurewithintheeye)orwithcertaindiseasesoftheorbit(eyesocket).Eitheroneorbotheyescanbecomered,dependinguponthecauseoftheproblem.Someofthepossiblecausescanbeseriousandultimatelycauseblindness.Clickheretolearnmore. 8.Jaundice.Jaundice,alsoreferredtoasicterus,describestheyellowcolortakenonbythetissuesthroughoutthebodyduetoelevatedlevelsofbilirubin,asubstancethatcomesfromthebreakdownofredbloodcells.Thereareseveralcausesforjaundiceandregardlessofthecause,jaundiceisconsideredabnormalandseriousinthedog.Clickheretolearnmore. 9.TroubleUrinating.“Troubleurinating”canincludestrainingtourinate,frequentattemptsaturination,andevidenceofdiscomfortwhenurinating.Discomfortmaybedemonstratedbycryingoutduringurination,excessivelickingattheurogenitalregionorturningandlookingatthearea.Thereareseveralunderlyingcauses.Someofthecausesifleftuntreatedcanresultindeathinaslittleas36hours.Clickheretolearnmore. 10.UrinatingandDrinkingExcessively.Thesesignsareoftenearlysignsofdiseaseincludingkidneyfailure,diabetesmellitus,thyroidglandproblems,uterineinfection(calledpyometra),aswellasothercauses.Dogsnormallytakeinabout20to40millilitersperpoundofbodyweightperday,oronetotwocupsperdayforanormalsizeddog.Ifyoudeterminethatyourpetisdrinkingexcessively,makeanappointmentwithyourveterinarian.Clickheretolearnmore. 11.Fever.Afeverisdefinedasanabnormallyhighbodytemperatureresultingfrominternalcontrols.Itisbelievedthatfeverisamethodoffightinginfection.Thebodyresetsthetemperaturecontrolareaofthebraintoincreasethebodytemperature–probablyinresponsetoinvasionofforeignmattersuchasbacteriaorviruses.Thenormaltemperatureindogsis100.5to102.5degreesFahrenheit.Ifyourpettemperatureishigh,callyourveterinarian.Clickheretolearnmore. 12.Seizure.Aseizureorconvulsionisasuddenexcessivefiringofnervesinthebrain.Theseverityoftheseizurecanvarybetweenafar-awaylookortwitchinginonepartofthefacetoyourdogfallingonhisside,barking,gnashinghisteeth,urinating,defecatingandpaddlinghislimbs.Aseizurecanlastfromsecondstominutes.Seizuresaresymptomsofsomeneurologicaldisorder–theyarenotinthemselvesadisease.Theycanbecausedbyseveraldisordersincludingepilepsy,toxinsortumors.Clickheretolearnmore. 13.BruisingandBleeding.Abnormalbruisingandbleedingariseswithdisordersofhemostasis(clotting).Clottingabnormalitiesarealsocalledcoagulopathies,becausetheyreflecttheinabilityofthebloodtocoagulateorclot.Bleedingfromclottingdisturbancesmayoccurintotheskin,themucousmembranes,andvariousinternalorgans,tissues,andbodycavities.Theimpactofsuchbleedingontheaffectedindividualmaybemildorseveredependingonthedegreeofbloodloss.Clickheretolearnmore. 14.Coughing.Coughingisacommonprotectivereflexthatclearssecretionsorforeignmatterfromthethroat,voicebox,and/orairways,andprotectsthelungsagainstaspiration.Itaffectstherespiratorysystembyhinderingtheabilitytobreatheproperly.Commoncausesincludeobstructioninthewindpipe,bronchitis,pneumonia,heartwormdisease,lungtumors,kennelcoughandheartfailure.Someofthecausesarelifethreateningandallpetswithacoughshouldbeevaluatedbyaveterinarian.Clickheretolearnmore. 15.BloatedorDistendedAbdomen.Abdominaldistensionisanabnormalenlargementoftheabdominalcavity.Thistermisusuallyreservedforabdominalenlargementduetocausesotherthansimpleobesity.Onecauseofabdominaldistensionisabnormalfluidaccumulation.Anothercauseofabdominaldistensionisenlargementofanyabdominalorganincludingtheliver,kidneys,orspleen.Distensionofthestomachwithair(“bloating“)orfluidordistensionoftheuterus(womb)duringpregnancy,canresultinabdominaldistension.Pressurefromtheabdomenpushingintothechestmaymakebreathingmoredifficultandpressurewithintheabdomenmaydecreasetheappetite.NOTE:Itisimportanttorecognizeabdominaldistensionbecauseitcanbeasymptomofpotentiallylife-threateningdiseasesandshouldbeinvestigatedthoroughly.Clickheretolearnmore. 16.BloodyDiarrhea.Bloodinthefecescaneitherappearas“melena”whichmakesthestoolsappearblackandtarryisthepresencesuggestsdigestedbloodinthefeces.Melenaisdifferentfromfreshbloodinthestool(hematochezia).Bleedingintothecolonorrectumappearsasfreshbloodinthestool.Bloodydiarrheashouldbeevaluatedbyyourveterinarianassoonaspossible.Clickheretolearnmore. 17.BloodyUrine.Hematuriaisthepresenceofredbloodcellsintheurine.Itmaybegross(visibletothenakedeye)ormicroscopic.Thereareseveralpossiblecausesincludingbacterialinfections,cancer,stonesintheurinarytract.Clickheretolearnmore. 18.BiteWounds.Bitewoundsareoftentheresultwhentwoanimalsengageinafightoraggressiveplay.Bitewounds,whichmayonlyappearasasmallpuncturewoundintheskin,canactuallybequiteextensive.Oncethetoothpenetratestheskin,severedamagecanoccurtotheunderlyingtissueswithoutmajorskindamage.Somewoundsmayappeardeceptivelyminorbutmayhavethepotentialtobelifethreatening,dependingontheareaofthebodybitten.Allbitewoundsshouldreceiveveterinaryattention.Clickheretolearnmore. 19.BloodyVomit.Vomitingbloodcanfreshblood,whichisbrightredorpartiallydigestedblood,whichhastheappearanceofbrowncoffeegrounds.Thereareavarietyofcausesofvomitingbloodandtheeffectsontheanimalarealsovariable.Somearesubtleandminorailments,whileothersaresevereorlifethreatening.Clickheretolearnmore. 20.LethargyorWeakness.Lethargyisastateofdrowsiness,inactivity,orindifferenceinwhichtherearedelayedresponsestoexternalstimulisuchasauditory(sound),visual(sight),ortactile(touch)stimuli.Lethargyisanonspecificsignassociatedwithmanypossibleunderlyingsystemicdisorders.Itmayhavelittletonoimpactontheaffectedindividual;howeveritspresencemayrepresentsevereorlife-threateningillness.Lethargyofmorethanaday’sdurationshouldnotbeignored,andshouldbeaddressed,especiallyifitpersists.Clickheretolearnmore. 21.PaleGums.Palegumsormucousmembranescanindicatebloodlossor“shock”.Thepossiblecausesforeitherbloodlossorshockarelife-threateningandthusshouldbeevaluatedimmediately.Clickheretolearnmore. Wehopethisgivesyoumoreinformationonthemostcommonandimportantsymptomsindogs. Petinsurancecanbeasafetynetforyouandyourpet,helpingyourpetcarebudgetgofurther. GetafreequotefromPetPartnerstoday. UnderwrittenbyIndependenceAmericanInsuranceCompany GetYourQuote PetPartners,Inc.isanindirectcorporateaffiliateofPetPlace.com.PetPlacemaybecompensatedwhenyouclickonormakeapurchaseusingthelinksinthisarticle.0pawsupShare:Dr.DebraPrimovic-DVMJune07,2016Share:PopularPostsPetWellnessandHealthAnxiousDog?ThisNaturalSuppleme...PetWellnessandHealth6WaystoGetYourDogtoSwallow...JustForFun10PumpkinSpicePupperstoWarmU...Previous/NextArticleDiseases&ConditionsofDogsGunshotInjuryinDogsPreviousArticleDiseases&ConditionsofDogsPeritonitisinDogsNextArticleDiseases&ConditionsofDogsGunshotInjuryinDogs