Dog Treatments - Treating
|
Pain Management For Your Dog |
If your dog injures themselves, it will probably be obvious that they are in some kind of pain or discomfort. However, when the injury is less severe or the pain is caused by an illness or an old injury it can be more difficult to detect. Obviously your dog cannot tell you when they are hurting but they do give some obvious indicators to let you know they are in need of dog treatments. Unfortunately it's in a dog's nature to hide their pain. So it is unlikely you will even know they are in pain until it's so bad they cannot tolerate it any longer.
Here is a list of symptoms and signs to watch for:
- Whining, low growling, or even howling
- Laying very still and quiet or moving around – can't get comfortable
- Non-responsive or listless
- Grouchy, unusually foul tempered, aggressive, may even try to bite
- Not sleeping and lack of appetite
- Act out of the ordinary, wanting extra attention
- May bite at themselves or chew on themselves
You also need to look for basic common sense signs of pain. For example, is your dog having trouble getting up or laying down? Maybe they usually jump right up on the couch but they aren't even trying now.
You know your dog the best, so trust your instincts. If you suspect your dog is suffering, get them into the veterinarian immediately. You can then discuss what safe options are available to you and your dog and what type of dog treatments you want to implement.
Pain Medications For Dogs |
Once you have visited the vet and discussed which is the correct of the pain treatments for your dog, you can begin dog treatments to relieve their pain immediately. Depending on your dog's level of pain your vet will make an appropriate choice of what dog treatments option your dog needs.
The other pill forms include good old fashioned aspirin. My vet specifically recommends Bayer 81mg aspirin for Rodeo. He unfortunately had an accident as a puppy and broke one of his back legs. They did surgery and pinned it but it's just never been the same. It healed straight and doesn't bend anymore but he gets around amazingly well on his three legs. He mostly just uses the fourth one for balance.
He loves to go work cattle with my husband and especially loves when we have cattle drives. He is definitely in his element with the cows. Unfortunately after a long day of working cattle he is really sore, especially in his hip and leg. I've found that a couple of the Bayer 81 mg that I sneak inside of a treat or hotdog works beautifully for him. I also will turn a heating blanket on for him sometimes and that seems to give him some relief.
My veterinarian has always said to never give my dog any acetaminophen or NSAID's in the past. However, it's my understanding that many veterinarian's are changing their standing on NSAIDs. It seems if they are given in the proper doses they offer relief to symptoms such as inflammation, stiffness, and joint pain. They are also saying that it will help your dog heal faster. It is important to note that if you choose to utilize NSAIDs, that you need to be very aware and alert for side effects. This medication tends to have more serious side effects than the others.
- Vomiting
- Stop eating and drinking or drinking too much
- Bowel movements change – either diarrhea, bloody or even tarry in appearance
- Jaundice
- Frequency in potty breaks changes – either more or less or distinct odor problems
- Skin irritations
- Tiredness, lack of energy, depression type behavior
- The last but most important side effect is internal bleeding, liver damage and death
If you and your veterinarian choose to use NSAIDs, it is very important for you to monitor your dog very closely and report any changes to your veterinarian immediately.
Alternative Dog Treatments |
There are also alternative options for your dog treatments. As I mentioned earlier, simple everyday things like a heating pad especially designed for animals can be beneficial to a dog with arthritis. There is also many homeopathic treatments available in today's modern world. Treatments you may think of as human treatments are becoming popular for dog treatments.
Acupuncture has become popular where it is available along with aromatherapy. Many grooming facilities and veterinarian offices now offer massaging services for your dog treatments. Anything that is all natural or holistic is extremely popular. Like everything else, we are wanting to get the chemicals out of our pet's lives just as much as we are out of ours.
First Aid Dog Treatments |
Do you know how to treat your dog's minor emergencies? What if your dog was drowning? As with a human, the first thing to do is try and clear their lung's of water. Then you need to lay them down preferably with their head lower than their body. Open their mouth and begin to do compressions on their chest by pushing on the ribs and then release the pressure immediately. Just like adult human CPR, you will use 5 second breaks in between compressions.
So what do you do if your dog gets choked on a bone or a piece of one of their toys? Again, you open their mouth and try to spot the object blocking their airway. You then begin to pump on the chest like you would do if they were drowning and see if it will dislodge the food or toy. Even if you can't completely remove the object, you may be able to move it enough so that the dog can get air. You then need to rush them to a veterinarian so that the item can be removed immediately.
Burns and Heat Stroke |
If your dog happens to have the unfortunate luck of burning themselves somehow, you need to immediately submerse the body part in cold water and leave it there for as long as possible. You may attempt to wipe off what burned them if it was something like hot oil, but the best thing to do is to get them medical attention immediately.
If your dog spends time outdoors, then the possibility of a heat stroke increases. Anytime they are left along outdoors on a really hot day, your dog is susceptible to heat stroke. If you find your dog passed out or unable to stand, or they are panting heavily along with a frothy mouth and vomiting then you need to act quick to start getting their temperature down. Wiping their face clean and pouring cool water on your dog will immediately start lower their body temperature. As soon as you have temporarily treated them, you need to get them to a vet for IV fluids, medication and more cooling.
Poisoning |
The last item I want to cover is poisoning. If your dog suddenly becomes listless, collapses, vomits, convulsions, twitching, seizures or bleeding you should suspect poisoning. Contact your veterinarian immediately. If you can make your dog throw up that is the best. You can use household sodium carbonate like you find as a water softener. I also have heard of mixing mustard and table salt with water and forcing it down your dogs throat. Personally I'd like to see that, cause I know how my dog's would react!
The point of having some knowledge of how to how to treat basic health issues that may arise with your dog, is that it could potentially save their lives and at the very least you are able to comfort them and explain their symptoms to your vet better. This makes for a better relationship and better dog treatments.
Dog Food Review Form |
Tattle Tails - Your Scoop On
Dog Food & Your Dog's Life
Dog Food & Your Dog's Life
We are working hard to become a top web resource for dog food, dog treats and dog accessory information. Our focus is of course to help dog owners learn how to “Love Your Dog Healthy”.
We spend many long hours researching dog information. Even with the resources available and years of experience, the limited hours in the day just do not allow us to acquire the information we'd like to on our furry companions.
With this in mind, we'd love to give each of you the opportunity to share opinions of your dog food, dog supplies and of course your adorable dog stories.
Return To Homepage From Dog Treatments Page
Click Here To Go To Dog Accessories
