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Advantage Flea Control
As a pet owner I'm sure you'd be frustrated at the sight of your pet scratching and suffering from fleas. If you look into the veterinary arsenal you will see that there are a number of products that help you fight the war against fleas. Of all...
Breed Profile - The Pug
'Multum in Parvo' -- a lot of dog in a small space, is a very apt description for the Pug. One of the oldest breeds, this endearing little dog has its origins in the Orient although just when and how it came into existence is shrouded in mystery.
...
Can Dogs See Dead People?
Can Dogs See Dead People? By Bill Knell “I see dead people.” Uttered by actor Haley Joel Osment in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, it has become one of the most famous lines in movie history. Although the film was based on a fictional story,...
Clicks Instead Of 'Good Boy' For Dog Training
The first major improvement in dog training since choke chains
and spiked collars, click and treat has quickly establishing
itself in becoming a big hit in the world of dog training.
Currently, there are over 10,000 trainers who are using...
Dog Supplies: What’s Needed Versus What Might Be Fun to Have
Buying a new dog is more than simply finding the cutest puppy in the store and buying a bag of dog food. Acquiring a new canine is nearly as important as adopting a child. They need constant attention and love and buying the proper supplies can be...
Dogs Are People Too...Almost!
You know them. They're the family with fifteen dogs that all the
neighbors hate. Their dogs run all over the neighborhood and are
largely responsible for the local canine population explosion.
When neighbors aren't at their door complaining about...
Emergency Pet and Family Planning
As thousands of families struggled with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of them were also missing pets. Many people have plans to deal with emergencies for themselves, but fail to make arrangements for the animal members of their family....
How to Choose a Pet
Do you know that in the United States pets outnumber people? Recent statistics show that there are about 380 million pets opposed to 290 million people? 62 % of the households own a pet, and 46% of all households own more than one pet. The most...
How To Choose The Perfect Dog Name For Your Puppy.
So you've brought home your new puppy, it's time to name your new animal friend but you're running short on ideas. Choosing a name for your dog can be hard if you aren't feeling very creative, so here we give you a head start with the basics and...
Shih Tzu - Is A Training Collar Right For Your Shih Tzu
There are many excellent training devices that can be used when
training your Shih Tzu. The most basic piece of equipment that
every Shih Tzu owner should own is a quality training collar.
There are many different types of training collars, and...
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Dog Health Conditions and Terms You Should Know, Part 3...
Continued from part two.
Epilepsy/seizure disorder
When your Boxer is between 2 to 5 years old, he may develop seizure disorder.
When he has an epilepsy attack, he'd be unconscious and may look like he is not breathing but he is. He is not suffering.
The information that would be important to your veterinarian regarding such episodes includes:
> Duration of the attack
> The type of muscular activity your Boxer exhibits during seizure
> Any abnormal behavior during the attack
> Frequency of the seizure
What you do in such instances is not panic and time the attack by actually looking at a watch or clock.
It may only take place for 30 seconds but may seem forever to you. You need a veterinarian if it lasts more than 5 minutes.
Emergency treatment is definitely called for if your Boxer goes into seizure for 10 minutes or longer, twice in the span of 24 hours, or if he has a second attack before he could completely recover from the first seizure attack.
Remain by your Boxer's side; be there when he comes out of the seizure to calm him. Stroke and comfort him.
To keep your Boxer from hurting himself during the seizure, move away furniture from the immediate area and protect him from water, the stairs and any sharp objects. If you can, place a pillow under his head to protect him from head trauma.
Unlike seizure attacks in human, animals do not swallow their tongue. So you don't have to put your hand or spoon or any other object into your Boxer's mouth when he has an attack. You might get bitten.
Also, keep children and other pets away from your sick Boxer.
Coming out of the seizure, your Boxer will be groggy, confused and feel like he has done something wrong. He may make unusual sounds and stumble around.
Do not allow him on the stairs until he has fully recovered. In the mean time, sooth him by talking to him softly, offer him some water, stroke and comfort him.
And if he doesn't recover fully after 30 minutes, consult your veterinarian or any emergency vet facility.
Flea-infected Boxers
Flea-infected Boxers can develop skin diseases especially those allergic to fleas.
Black specs in the fur and bite marks on the skin tell if your Boxer has them. To check further, spread some newspapers and place your Boxer on top. Brush him and look for the black specs falling off.
Fleas live up to 6 weeks, feeding on blood and during that time would have laid hundreds of eggs that mostly land on your Boxer's bedding, carpets and other favorable nests around your home.
The eggs hatch into larvae that seek nice, dark places while feeding on flea's droppings,
dust, human shed skin, dandruff and other such tasty morsels.
The larvae turn into hardy pupae that could survive for months before changing into adult fleas.
Fleas are host to tapeworms. Both problems are likely to occur together in your Boxer and, therefore, the treatments are also usually given together by the vet.
A bit of garlic a day may keep the fleas away from your Boxer.
Heart ailments
-Bradycardia or slow heart rate may be a symptom of thyroid disorder in Boxers.
-Dialated cardiomyopathy constitutes a serious, emergency case.
Your dog may collapse from it or the back legs have sudden pain and paralysis.
It is a serious heart condition whereby the heart muscle is enlarged and thin walled. Your Boxer will experience shortness of breath, coughing and can't take to exercise.
Another serious heart condition is called cardiac conduction disease that is affecting Boxer's longevity. It was previously known as Boxer cardiomyopathy but the new term is used to differentiate it from dilative cardiomyopathy.
Cardiac conduction is difficult to deal with due to 3 factors.
-One is many Boxers will not show any symptom (asymptotic) but will just drop dead suddenly from it.
-The Boxers develop this disease later in life, often after they have been bred.
-There was no good screening method for it until the one recently developed by Ohio State University researchers, called the 24-hour Holter monitor test.
However, there is still no assurance that Boxers "cleared" now from cardiac conduction disease by the Holter test will remain so in the future.
Many breeders and Boxer experts are now working to refine the test procedures, expand the database and come up with a guideline to select only, for breeding purposes, those Boxers with high probability of being free of the disease.
There are also concerns elimination of too many dogs from the gene pool would be bad for the breed diversity and could cause more problems in the future. Some opinions hold that extensive culling should only get done after more studies on genetic diversity in Boxers.
Hip dysplasia
This is a bone disorder whereby there is an improper fit of the large femur bone with the hip socket, causing lots of pain and lameness.
It occurs more in male
Daniel Lesser
Dog and Puppy Articles, Pictures and Resources
http://www.thingsfordogs.com
Part 1 is available at http://www.thingsfordogs.com/dog-health.php
Part 2 is available at http://www.thingsfordogs.com/dog-health2.php
About the Author
Daniel Lesser
Dog and Puppy Articles,
Pictures and Resources
http://www.thingsfordogs.com
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