10 Common Dog Health Problems with Remedies

When I was a new dog owner, I experienced some serious but common dog health problems in my dog. It is very hard to handle any dog’s health issue for the new dog owners. Time after time I encountered lots of canine health problems and now I know what are the most common health problems and how to manage a dog with different health issues.

Therefore, today I am here to share my experience with you.

10 Common Dog Health Problems with Remedies

It is very hard to find out the common Dog’s health issues. Also, you may often encounter certain diseases in your dog but you can’t find it on this list. I think that’s okay. I breakdown the most common infections I encountered throughout my life. Take a look:

1. Dental disease

You may already have seen your dog suffering from dental disease because oral diseases are the most common dog health problems. Like humans, dogs can fracture their teeth. Even just like us, they can also get a gum infection. Most importantly, you should know that dogs have more chances to get gum disease than humans, even it is said that it has five times more possibility of getting dental infections.

There are a couple of reasons, firstly, dogs have an alkaline mouth. Secondly, unlike humans, dogs usually don’t have their teeth cleaned daily. As a result, dogs encounter this infection more. Mostly, dogs after the age of 3 get such disease. Dental diseases don’t just mean fracture or break of the teeth.

The common symptoms are bad breath, loose teeth, change of taste, ignoring eating dry foods, pus from the mouth, bleeding, bad temper etc.

To recover the infection, you should clean the dog’s teeth on a daily basis. However, sometimes a root canal is needed for the treatment. Obviously, all the treatment should be conducted by a dog’s vet.

2. Ear Infections

Dogs are our best companion, but the thing is, it is somewhat hard to find out what problems our friends may face. Because dogs normally don’t show the sign of illness. Consequently, it creates a hazy situation for dog owners. Such as ear infections that are a common dog health problem. There are many reasons to get ear infections, for instance, allergies, ear mites, yeast, bacteria and more.

However, you may detect some common symptoms, such as:

Ear odour, head shaking, scratching, imbalance, unusual eye movements, Redness of the ear, bloody discharging etc.

If you get those signs in your dog, just don’t be late, go for a dog vet. Mostly, cleaning and treating the ear canal will quickly wash up an infection. However, surgery may be needed for prolonged diseases.

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3. Skin Infections

Every dog owner has to experience this problem. Skin problems are common, but sometimes it is getting very weird and needs to get proper treatment. Most of us do not consider skin problems as a vital one, it is slightly right that most skin problems are not necessarily emergencies, but it is important to get a proper diagnosis. Otherwise, it may cause something unexpected.

In particular, detecting skin symptoms is relatively easy. For instance, excessive scratching, licking, scaling, redness, discolour or hairless spots.

For the treatment, you should consult with your dog’s vet. Most importantly, keep your dog clean and hygienic, and follow as the dog’s vet suggests. However, once the infection is identified, most of the skin issues respond well to treatment.

4. Vomiting and Diarrhoea

I have seen lots of dogs suffering from digestive upset. It is one of the most perceived dog health problems. Like humans, dogs can have a digestive issue from time to time, and it can be resolved by themselves after some days. Nevertheless, If you notice that your dog is experiencing such problems too often, then you should consult with your dog’s vet and ensure healthy foods for the dog. Otherwise, your dog may face a more dangerous infection from it.

The signs of the digestive upset are easy to find out—the symptoms, for instance, numbness, arrogance, bloody vomiting etc.

Parvovirus and parasites are a sickness that will cause an abdominal upset in your dog. So you need a proper diagnosis from the dog’s vet that will determine the exact problem and treatment process.

5. Strains and Sprains spell pain

Our furry friends stand on their toes, ankles and knees forward. It takes lots of energy, strength, and flexibility to chase squirrels, jump on beds, and leap for toys. Just imagine how much weight and stress your dog puts on his muscles. Therefore they may get severe strain and sprain pain.

The sign of strains or sprains may be that your dog begins to lag or is suddenly lame, that means he is unable to use his leg. Most importantly, if you see that your dog is suffering from it for more than a day, then you should go to the dog’s vet. Generally, both strains and sprains can be chronic or sudden and can vary from mild to severe.

For treatment, you should consult with your dog’s vet, and he will figure out what kind of injury your dog is experiencing based on what you inform and physical exam tests.

6. Urinary Incontinence in Dogs

Maybe it is slightly uncommon for many of us, but I included this one as common dog health problems because I have encountered a good number of cases. Urinary incontinence happens when a housetrained dog loses control of his bladder. It can be severe or small urine flows to inadvertent voiding of a huge amount of urine. It causes lots of problems, for example, hormonal imbalance, urinary tract infection, urinary stones, spinal injury, prostate disorder and many more.

The symptoms are dropping urine, which can irritate the skin and make it reddish. This is one of the most recognizable signs of incontinence, and excessive licking of the penis area can be a symptom of incontinence in dogs.

In that case, you should consult with a veterinarian who will try to confirm the cause with lots of past information.

7. Obesity

Maybe this is one of the cutest dog health problems. But still, it is a problem that leads dogs to be so dumb. Most importantly, obesity causes many more infections. The common dog health problems I discussed above, all can happen because of your dog that is obesity. Besides, some dogs are genetically obsessed, but you can resolve the problems by proper guidance and diet.

Okay, now how to find out if you have an overweight dog? It’s easy, just try to feel around his ribs and spine to locate a thin layer of fat that separates the skin from the bones. By doing this, if you can’t find the ribs, then you have an overweight dog.

In that case, consult with your dog’s vet, inform the weight of your dog on every checkup, and try to follow what the vet suggests.

8. Eye Infections

Eye discharge is a very common problem for some dogs. So it can be a sign of any illness from infection to glaucoma to allergies. If your dog has a clear eye discharging, possibilities are good; it’s occurred by allergies or something physical such as dust or wind blowing on the face. Moreover, watery emanation or mucus from one eye is often a symptom of a foreign body, like an eyelash.

On the other hand, yellow-green or pus-like eye outflow could mean a serious disease. You should take immediate steps to recover the problem; otherwise, some eye problems can result in blindness if you don’t provide any treatment.

Symptoms are easy to detect, as I discussed above. Except those, you can point out by reddish eye, excessive pus, excessive blink of eyes, sticky eyes are common.

9. Kennel Cough

This is another common health issue for the dogs. You may encounter that your dog is constantly making noises which sound like he is choking on something. It is a case of kennel cough. Mostly, it is not a serious condition, and most of the dogs can recover without any remedies. Just like human colds can be caused by various viruses. So as for the dog, it can happen for many viruses. You may hear the term Bordetella bronchiseptica, and this is why kennel cough is also known as Bordetella sometimes.

The familiar sign of cough is a persistent, forceful cough and post-nasal drip. Therefore, Some dogs may show other symptoms of illness such as sneezing, eye discharge.

You should consult with your dog’s vet and keep your dog away from other animals and humans.

10. Motion Sickness

I am sure that you encountered this problem with your dog. So I marked this as very common dog health problems because I often got my dog sick with motion. When I take him to the park, it takes some time in the car; as a result, he got sick with the motion. I think most of the dog owners experience such problems in their dogs.

Dog motion sickness is usually seen in puppies and young dogs than the older. The reason for this is the ear structures used for balance aren’t fully matured in younger dogs. Many dogs can indeed handle the motion sickness, but for many, it’s tough to handle.

The signs may include inactivity, laziness or anxiety, yawning, whining, excessive drooling, vomiting etc.

The best way to prevent it is to make your car more comfortable for your dog as much as possible. No certain treatment for this but you should take care of your dog during motion sickness.

In conclusion, I need to say that there are lots of dog health problems that you may encounter, so consult with a dog’s vet every time you find any unusual behaviour in your dog.