Dogs can get no less sick than we humans, but because their ability to tolerate illness is far higher than that of humans, careless owners often overlook the pain they are suffering.
Heart disease
Definition: Very common. Severe heart failure can lead to a decrease in blood flow, reducing the amount of oxygen available to the body’s tissues. At the same time, decreased cardiac output can lead to a buildup of salt and body fluids.
Symptoms: A low, choking cough, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, decreased exercise capacity, significant weight gain or loss, loss of appetite, abdominal swelling, high blood pressure, weakness, wheezing, depression, white gums (these symptoms may also be caused by other diseases).
Causes: originating from disease or defects in the heart’s formative layers, the heart’s conduction system, or blood vessels. Conditions that cause heart failure can be congenital or acquired.
Diagnosis: Veterinarians can detect heart murmurs and fluid in the lungs by auscultation, or abnormal pulses by palpation, and even enlargement of the heart and accumulation of body fluids by X-rays, infection with heartworms and the function of other vital organs by laboratory tests of the blood and urine, or the size of the heart and abnormal structures by ultrasound.
CARE: With minor lifestyle changes, the vast majority of heart patients can live a normal life. Veterinarians recommend that heart patients eat special foods that are low in salt. Allow him to drink plenty of fresh, softened water that is high in salt, and if your home has a water softener installed, it is a good idea to re-distill it.
Pancreatitis
Definition: Inflammation of the pancreas.
Symptoms: Vomiting, diarrhea, fever, dehydration, weakness, weight loss and abdominal tenderness.
Causes: The exact cause is still unknown. Influential factors include: hyperlipidemia, obesity, diet, infectious diseases, trauma, negative reaction to medications.
Maintenance: Your veterinarian will recommend a period of fasting, when no food, including water or medication, is allowed to be consumed to allow the pancreas to rest. After that, allow it to consume small amounts of food that contain easily digestible nutrients and are very low in fat. Keep it off fatty meats, cookies, leftovers and fat additives and provide plenty of fresh water.
Colitis
Definition: Inflammation of the large intestine.
Symptoms: diarrhea (usually with blood and mucus), abdominal pain, depression, fever, weight loss, loss of coat.
Causes: There are many causes, including whipworms, tumors and polyps, food changes, allergies, foreign bodies, and pathological conditions.
Maintenance: Your veterinarian will advise you to choose a mild food, a food with a new source of protein, or a food with a moderate amount of fiber. When eating canned food, carefully warm the can to body temperature, dry feed food should have a small amount of warm water added to it, wait 10 minutes before eating, and after an hour, take away any uneaten, already moistened food.
