Dog-Health

Welcome to Dog-Health

Dog Health Problem Veterinary Article

What if there was a simple way to reduce stress, prolong and improve the quality of your life, banish the blues, and best of all, decrease the number of doctor visits?

There is! Get a dog. Here are nine ways that having a dog can boost your health.

Improved heart health. Dog owners have lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides than non pet-owners. All these reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Recuperate from illness faster. Seniors in hospitals respond better to treatment and recover more quickly when they have contact with a dog or therapy animal.

Increased chance of surviving heart disease. A clinical research project of heart-disease patients showed that having a dog was the strongest social predictor of survival, even compared to having family and friends.

Longer life expectancy after a heart attack. The presence of a dog improved survival rate even more than having a spouse or close friend. One study showed that men who had a dog were six times more likely to be alive one year after a heart attack than men without a dog.

Reduced stress. Just sitting and petting a dog reduces your heart rate, and therefore stress level.

Regular exercise. It goes without saying that dogs need to be walked, but did you know that even seniors who don't walk their dogs are more active than seniors without dogs?

They don't call dogs man's best friend for nothing. Ninety-five percent of senior dog owners talk to their dog. Over three quarters report that their dogs help when they feel sad. Almost that many say that their dogs help when they feel physically bad. In general, seniors with dogs are better able to tolerate social isolation that seniors without dogs.

Fewer doctor visits. A study of a thousand Medicare patients showed that seniors with dogs had nearly ten percent fewer doctor visits compared to seniors without dogs. Other studies put his figure over twenty percent, a strong reflection of the health benefits of having a dog. Improved well-being. Alzheimer's patients have fewer anxiety attacks and fewer mood disorders when allowed to have a dog nearby. Dog owners report fewer headaches, fewer bouts of indigestion and less difficulty sleeping. Studies show that elderly people caring for a dog improve their overall health compared to their peers living without animals in the home.

Need one more reason? Be a lifesaver. Adopting a dog from a shelter saves a dog's life, too. Senior dogs are too often passed over at shelters for younger dogs or puppies with a longer life expectancy and more energy. But senior dogs have a lot to offer. They are often already housebroken and trained, they are not as active as younger dogs, and they are generally more interested in companionship than a run in the park.

Many shelters have adoption programs to match senior pets with senior people. They will help you choose a suitable dog and often provide ongoing support--sometimes at reduced or no cost.

Having a dog may not be the answer for everyone, but if you're interested, call your local shelter to find out more. There may be a Rover, a Spot, or a Freckles ready to give you a whole new leash on life!

How to Meditate with Your Dog: An Introduction to Meditation for Dog Lovers presents a non-dogmatic approach to meditation. To fetch a free chapter from the book and the introduction from the audiobook go to http://www.DogMeditation.com.
About the Author

James Jacobson is not a dog whisperer or an animal behaviorist. He's not an over-barking, highfalutin, woo-woo kind of guy. He's a real person, who has meditated most of his life, the past twelve years with his dog, Maui. For more than a decade, he has taught classes in Washington, DC, Denver and Hawaii that introduce "newbies" to the joy of meditation by leveraging the love they already feel for their pets. Visit http://www.dogmeditation.com

Written by: James Jacobson

---

More Info

Dog Health Problem Veterinary Article

Your dog is probably stronger and healthier than most humans that you know. However, by taking him from his natural environment, where only the strongest survive, to the artificial one in which most pet dogs live, we have exposed him to an entirely new set of dangers which their instincts are not designed to cope with.

A dog's health is influenced by the genes inherited from his parents and by the care given to his mother during the prenatal period, as well as to the puppy during his first 2 or 3 months of life. A puppy, whose mother was properly cared for during pregnancy, will be more able to handle the hazards of growing up.

The majority of dogs lead perfectly healthy, normal lives. They overcome occasional skin rashes, chills, and upset stomachs, recover from cuts and bruises with ordinary care, sensible first aid when necessary, and professional diagnosis and treatment of serious ailments. Chances are that if you give you dog a normal diet, a healthy home environment, a well balanced life, you will only need to see the vet for check-ups and vaccinations.

A healthy dog's temperature, taken rectally when he is rested, is about 101.2 degrees in an adult dog, 102 in small breeds, and 102.5 in a puppy. It can fluctuate one way or the other, being lower in the morning and higher in the late afternoon. Long-coated breeds have a slightly higher normal temperature than short-coated ones. His pulse is taken at the femoral artery, high inside the thigh. There is no normal pulse rate for dogs. It can range from 120 beats per minute in a young puppy, to 70 or 80 in an older dog. Count the beats during 30 seconds and multiply by 2. Normal respiration ranges from 20 or 30 respirations per minute for a puppy to 16 per minute in an older dog.

A normal eye is bright and clear, although the lens becomes pale blue as he ages. His nose is moist and cool most of the time, but a dry, warm nose doesn't always mean a fever or illness. His tail wags and he carries himself normally. His coat is shiny and sheds normally. He eats his meals without gulping compulsively and without being coaxed, drinks a normal amount of water after meals and exercise, and more during hot weather. His bowel movements are regular and well-formed, his urine is clear and both process's are painless. As a puppy he sleeps most of the time, but as an adult only about half the time, and he is generally friendly, alert, and inquisitive.

A sick or ailing dog will have a temperature over 102 degrees, a sign of fever, or under a 100, a sign of weakness. If it does not return to normal within 24 hours, call the vet. If his temperature is as low as 99, or as high as 104, call the vet immediately. His pulse may be weak or irregular, his respiration at rest may be irregular or labored, panting or weak. His eye may appear dull, red or yellow with a sticky discharge. His nose may be dry and hot, also with a discharge.

His tail may be immobile, carried stiffly or between the legs, his coat may be dry and stand up when it should lay flat, the skin may be itchy and flaky and there may be bald spots, or red patches. He may eat with a good appetite but usually doesn't want food at all, and is usually reluctant to swallow any water. His bowel movements may be abnormal in form or color, have a bad odor, and contain blood or mucus, or he may be constipated with no movement at all. The urine may be dark, cloudy, or painfully produced.

He may sleep all of the time and hide in dark corners; his breath may have a bad odor and be labored. He may show very obvious symptoms of disorder such as swellings, protuberances, lameness, pain, prolonged wheezing or coughing, and unusual sensitivity in some part of his body. His overall general behavior will be lethargic and unresponsive when he is normally friendly and active, or nervous and excitable when he is the quite type with snapping or snarling for no apparent reason.

The symptoms offered here which are fairly obvious and not too far from our own human symptoms, (good and bad). It's the severity of the symptoms for an ailing dog that will determine whether you should call the vet. Far sighted dog and cat owners select a veterinarian as soon as they become a pet parent, for sooner or later they get sick to some degree, and your chances of prompt attention are better if the vet already knows your pet.

About the author:

Randy Jones and his partner Brent Jones have been in the pet industry for a long time. Recently they formed Joncopets.com. On the site, customers can read articles about anything pets as well as shop for the latest fancy dog collars, dog dresses, fancy dog beds, and more for their best friend. Feel free to check out the site at http://www.joncopets.com

Written by: Randy Jones

---

Dog Health Problem Veterinary Best products

---

Dog Health Problem Veterinary News items