Psychological condition
Healthy dogs are lively, lovely, energetic, flexible, with sharp eyes, two ears often rotate with the sound, even when they sleep, they are always on the alert, and when they hear the slightest movement, they will listen to the side of the ear, and stare at the direction of the movement, which indicates a very alert state of mind.
If the dog appears double eyes or half closed, unwilling to move, like lying still, both ears slow response to external stimuli or no response, indifference, or even lethargy, these are neurological inhibition, known as mental depression or coma.
Some sick dogs are excited and restless, running around indoors and outdoors, panicking, screaming, often walking around aimlessly, circling, and even biting all kinds of objects, etc. Such mental state is called mental excitement or mania.
These two mental states are abnormal mental performance.
Nutritional status
To determine the nutritional status of the dog, mainly observe the fat and coat. Healthy dogs should be moderately fat and thin, muscle fullness and robustness, smooth and glossy coat, so that people look after a sense of comfort.
If the dog’s body is thin, muscle weakness, rough coat. Scorched dry, tail hair against standing, often suffering from parasitic diseases. Skin disease. Chronic digestive diseases or some infectious diseases.
Posture
If the dog’s limbs are strongly restrained when standing or walking and dare not bear weight, and if it shows weakness when standing or carrying a step, it indicates that there is an abnormality in the limbs.
If the dog lies down with its body curled up and its head placed under the abdomen or in an unnatural lying posture, and turns over from time to time, it indicates abdominal pain.
Body temperature
Under normal living conditions, the body temperature of a healthy dog stays within a certain range, usually low in the morning and slightly high in the afternoon, and the temperature difference between day and night is usually not more than 1℃. A temperature difference of not more than 1℃ between day and night. If the temperature exceeds 1℃ or is high in the morning and low in the afternoon, it indicates that the body temperature is not normal.
The normal body temperature of healthy dogs is 38.5℃ to 39.5℃ for puppies and 37.5℃ to 38.5℃ for adult dogs.
The simple way to determine the dog’s fever is to analyze the dog’s nose, ears and mental state. Ear root and mental state to analyze.
Normal dog’s nose end is cool and moist, and the skin temperature of the ear root is the same as the other parts.
If you find that the end of the dog’s nose (nose mirror) is dry and hot, the skin temperature of the root of the ear is higher than that of other parts of the dog, the dog’s spirit is low, and the dog’s appetite is poor while its thirst is increased, then it indicates that the dog’s body temperature is high.
In most infectious diseases, inflammation of the respiratory tract. In most infectious diseases, inflammation of the respiratory tract, digestive tract and other organs, solar radiation disease and pyrexia, the body temperature rises. In poisoning. In poisoning, severe exhaustion, malnutrition and anemia. In diseases such as poisoning, severe exhaustion, malnutrition and anemia, the body temperature often decreases.
The most accurate way to measure body temperature is with a thermometer. Temperature measurement, the mercury column of the thermometer should be thrown to 35 ` C a below, with alcohol cotton ball wipe disinfection, and apply a small amount of lubricant (liquid paraffin), the dog by the assistant appropriate bail, the thermometer will be a little up the tail, the thermometer slowly inserted into the dog’s anus.
After insertion, the thermometer should be prevented from falling off, and it can be removed in about 3 minutes to read the degree. When the dog is excited. When the dog is excited, nervous and after exercise, the rectal temperature can be mildly increased.
Respiratory Observations
Respiratory conditions:
The dog must be placed in a quiet state for observation. Examination of respiratory status should include the number of breaths . Breathing style and whether breathing is difficult.
1. The number of breaths: generally based on the chest and abdomen of the rise and fall action measurement, both the chest and abdomen of the rise and fall for 1 breath. In the cold season, it can also be measured according to the exhaled airflow. The number of breaths of healthy dogs is 15-30 per minute. The number of breaths is often affected by certain physiological factors and external conditions, such as puppies are slightly more than adult dogs, pregnant dogs are more than non-pregnant bitches, especially during exercise or excitement can often increase many times. In addition, the temperature. Seasonal changes can also affect the changes in the number of breaths.
2. Breathing style: The normal breathing style of dogs is chest breathing. If the abdominal wall movement is more obvious than the chest wall movement (abdominal breathing) or the chest wall and abdominal wall movement at the same time (thoracic-abdominal breathing), then it indicates that there are diseases in the chest or abdomen, such as pleurisy, pleural fluid or rib fracture. Hydrothorax or rib fracture, etc.
3. Respiratory rhythm: Checking the respiratory rhythm of the dog is also important for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases. The normal breathing of healthy dogs is accurate and rhythmic alternating movements, that is, inhalation followed by exhalation, after each breath, after a short interval, and then the next breath, so week after week, very regular, so it is called rhythmic breathing. Rhythmic disorders are anomalies. However, the respiratory rhythm of healthy dogs can be caused by excitement. Exercise. Fear. Screaming. Temporary changes in respiratory rhythm due to excitement, exercise, fear, sniffing, etc. should be distinguished from pathologic changes. Pain. Hypoxia. Pathologic increases in frequency may occur with nerve excitation and with substantial lung lesions. In toxic coma, the frequency decreases. In encephalitis and toxemia, the frequency is fast and slow (tidal breathing).
When the dog breathes, the mouth is open. Head and neck straightening. Dyspnea is caused by airway obstruction when the ribs are displaced upward and the elbows are extended outward. If the dog’s respiration is shallow and the number of breaths increases, it indicates that the lungs are not fully expanded, which is common in rib fractures. Pneumonia . Pneumothorax or pleurisy. Dyspnea may also be manifested when the airway is narrowed by compression or obstruction by a foreign body or tumor.
Nasal Discharge:
Nasal discharge is almost non-existent in healthy dogs. When a dog has a cold or respiratory inflammation, secretions can often flow from the nostrils. The nature of the secretion is plasma (clear nasal mucus). Mucus. In cases of purulent inflammation, the nasal discharge may be purulent (pus) and may be mixed with blood or tiny bubbles. The amount of secretion often varies with the degree of inflammation. Sometimes no nasal discharge is seen, which may be licked or wiped off by the dog. However, in severe cases the nostrils are no longer licked.
Observations of the digestive system
Observations of the oral cavity:
The first thing to look for is the color of the mucous membranes of the mouth (mouth color). Changes in mouth color can give us indications of many conditions and their degree of severity. The normal mouth color in a healthy dog is pink, with some localized areas of other pigments. A flushed mouth indicates inflammation of the oral cavity or elevated body temperature; pallor indicates anemia; and yellow-red or yellow-red may be present in liver and gallbladder disease. Gallbladder disease may appear yellow-red or yellow-white; when the condition is serious, causing blood circulation disorders or even shock, then the mouth color is cyanotic (cyanosis). While observing the color of the mouth, pay attention to the presence of tongue moss and its color, the mobility of the tongue, the presence of ulcers and breakage. Healthy dog’s mouth is more moist, will not naturally drool, if salivation, from the corner of the mouth out of a strip of sticky saliva, indicating an increase in saliva, then should check the color surface . Gingiva. Buccal mucosa and pharynx with or without blisters. Ulcers and swelling. Attention should also be paid to the presence of foreign bodies or puncture wounds from sharp and hard objects (e.g. bone fragments).
Observation of appetite:
Observations of the appetite for food and drink can be used to gauge diseases of the digestive system and some infectious or toxic diseases. Drinking in healthy dogs . Appetite, especially when the food is rich in fish and meat foods, not only eats quickly, but also growls and even bites the frame to warn other dogs to stay away when they approach. If the dog is found to be just sniffing after feeding, wanting to eat but not eating or walking away, not interested even in the usual favorite food, or not eating much or not eating at all, it means that the dog’s loss or wasting of appetite is a digestive tract disease or infected with some infectious disease . Parasitic disease. However, care should be taken to distinguish between a refusal to eat, a picky eater, or difficulty in eating. In addition, high fever . Diarrhea. Dehydration of the dog, most of the appetite increased significantly, increased water intake. However, in severe cases of circulatory failure, the dog will not drink.
Observation of vomiting:
Dogs are animals that are prone to vomiting, and can sometimes vomit under normal conditions, so it is important to distinguish and analyze the cause of vomiting. If a large amount of stomach contents is vomited at one time and no more vomiting occurs for a short time, this is often caused by food. Vomiting is, in fact, a protective response of the organism. Therefore, when a dog is found to be vomiting, it should be analyzed according to the time of vomiting. The number of times. The amount of vomit. Odor and the nature and composition of the vomit, carefully analyze and distinguish. Such as frequent multiple vomiting, that the gastric mucosa suffered some kind of long-term stimulation, so it often occurs immediately after feeding, until the stomach contents of the vomit until the end; such as caused by feed spoilage, the vomit contains just eaten shortly after the feed (rotting meat, etc.); vomit was coffee-colored or bright red, often varying degrees of gastroenteritis or gastric ulcers; such as vomit for the colorless liquid with foam, it is often empty stomach If the vomit is a foamy, colorless liquid, it is often caused by some kind of irritant ingested on an empty stomach; intractable vomiting, even on an empty stomach, is often caused by gastroduodenal . Intractable vomiting can occur even on an empty stomach, mostly caused by stubborn diseases of the gastroduodenum and pancreas (e.g., carcinoma), in which case the vomit is often mucus; if there are roundworms mixed with the vomit, it is mostly due to excessive parasitization of roundworms. In addition, forced food or medicine, also easy to cause vomiting, need to pay attention to.
Excretion of feces. Observation of urination:
Observation of fecal. Observations of fecal and urinary conditions should include fecal and urinary movements. The movement of urination. Frequency, shape of feces. Quantity. Odor. Color.
1. Defecation status: Dogs defecate in a squatting position, almost sitting down. If the feces flow involuntarily from the anus without taking the normal defecation position, it is common in persistent diarrhea. Some intestinal infectious diseases and lumbar spinal cord injury caused by anal sphincter relaxation or paralysis. If the dog makes frequent defecation movements, but no feces discharge or only a small amount of mucus, this may be the performance of rectal infarction, thus, the sick dog performance appearance of uneasiness, a sense of pain, loss of appetite or stop eating, abdominal fullness and storage of a large amount of gas, it must be timely treatment. If defecation is laborious, the feces are dry. Hard. Small, small amount, dark color, with sticky mucus or pseudomembrane on the surface, seen in the early stage of constipation. Fever or mild gastroenteritis. If the feces become thin and soft, the quantity increases, and the feces are mixed with undigested food, it indicates that the dog’s digestive function decreases. If the number of feces increases, constantly discharging watery . Porridge or mixed with mucus. Pus. Blood. Air bubbles, etc., these are the results of intestinal tube stimulation, intestinal tube movement enhancement, commonly found in enteritis and other diseases. The location and nature of the adherent material should be noted, whether it is on the surface of the feces or in the feces. If there is bright red blood attached to the feces, it is a characteristic of bleeding in the posterior intestine; if the blood is evenly mixed in the feces and is dark brown, it indicates that the bleeding is in the stomach and the anterior intestine. Of course, you should also pay attention to the odor of the feces, whether it is malodorous, fishy or sour. Fishy or sour odor. Fecal parasitic eggs should be examined if necessary.
2. Urination: the male dog’s urination posture is to lift a hind limb and then urinate to the side of the body; the female dog’s hind limb is slightly stepping forward, slightly squatting, arching the back and lifting the tail to urinate. Urinary incontinence is most commonly seen in bladder sphincter paralysis or lumbar spinal cord injury. When urinating, the animal is very restless. The hind limbs and abdomen are supported on the cage net, which is a manifestation of painful urination, mostly due to cystitis. Urethral calculi or periostitis; decreased urine output and frequency of urination are usually seen in acute nephritis. Severe abdominal pain. Shock and heart failure.
Through the above visual examination, you can find abnormal phenomena, timely diagnosis and treatment, to prevent the delayed condition.
