As diabetes is for humans, a diagnosis of canine diabetes mellitus calls for some lifestyle changes and proper management of the diabetes. Diabetes in dogs is caused by a lack of insulin produced by the pancreas.

Dogs that are middle age or older are at the highest risk for the diabetes mellitus. Obesity increases the risk. Younger dogs may also be affected by diabetes mellitus in which cases it is typically hereditary.

Insulin is necessary to utilize glucose from the diet for energy. Blood glucose levels can rise to unsafe amounts if insulin is not available to metabolize the glucose in the blood.

The treatment for canine diabetes mellitus usually includes a control diet, regular exercise, and insulin injections. The size of the dog in the dog’s breed can affect the frequency and dosage of insulin necessary to control canine diabetes mellitus.

The veterinarian will instruct the dog owner about the proper storage and administration of the insulin. The dosage of insulin varies between dogs. The injections are given below the skin along the dog’s back. The veterinarian may change the dosage until the ideal dosage is found.

The dog owner may need to frequently test the dog’s urine with a test strip that indicates the level of glucose in the urine. The veterinarian may have the dog owner keep a log of the dog’s diet, insulin injections, any changes in behavior, and urine test results.

Managing diabetes includes a consistent routine of eating and exercise. Often, the dog with diabetes mellitus is given part of its daily food early in the day with the rest given up to ten hours later.

Extra food and snacks given to the dog can jeopardize the dog’s health. A strict feeding routine is necessary for the proper management of the diabetes. A consistent level of exercise daily can make canine diabetes mellitus easier to manage.

The veterinarian may suggest a specific diet for the dog with canine diabetes mellitus. Dog food that is high in fiber and protein is often recommended. The dog owner may feel somewhat overwhelmed with all the necessary changes, but this feeling may subside as the diabetes management becomes part of the daily routine.

In the same way that millions of people cope with diabetes, so too, does the disease affect canines. Specifically, the disorder is called diabetes mellitus (DM). An insulin deficiency prevents your pooch’s body from metabolizing glucose effectively. There are two varieties of DM: Type I and Type II. The former is the most prevalent type (99% of dogs with DM suffer from this type) and occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin. The latter occurs when insulin is manufactured but your pooch’s body isn’t able to use it properly.

In this article, we’ll describe the warning signs that may suggest your canine has developed diabetes mellitus. It’s a potentially life-threatening condition, so catching it early is critical. We’ll also explain how the disease is diagnosed and treated as well as what you can do at home to help your dog manage the disorder.

Possible Warning Signs

The most common symptoms of DM include a marked increase in the amount of water your canine drinks and as a result, the frequency with which he urinates. You might also notice that he is losing weight even though he maintains a strong appetite. Other signs include a general apathy or decrease in physical activity and the sudden onset of blindness.

Treatment After Diagnosis

The health of your pooch can decline rapidly once diabetes mellitus develops. His body’s inability to process glucose effectively can lead to severe dehydration and other health issues. It is important that you have a veterinarian perform a full physical exam if you notice any of the warning signs described in the section above.

The veterinarian will ask you about your dog’s eating routine as well as his elimination activity. You’ll also be asked to describe any changes in his weight and disposition. Then, a urine analysis is performed to identify possible infections and review glucose levels.

Once diabetes mellitus has been diagnosed, your veterinarian will teach you how to administer daily insulin injections for your pooch. He or she will also create a diet and exercise routine that will help your canine manage his weight. During the first several weeks of treatment, the amount of insulin administered will likely change. Most veterinarians prefer to start cautiously with small doses and increase them gradually.

What You Can Do At Home

Providing care for your dog involves administering daily insulin shots (sometimes, twice daily) as well as any other medications that your veterinarian has recommended. You’ll also need to be vigilant regarding your canine’s eating and exercise routine in order to ensure he maintains a healthy weight level. If your dog experiences an insulin overdose (he might seem weak or disoriented), give him food right away.

As noted, diabetes mellitus can be potentially deadly. However, once it has been diagnosed, you can help your dog live a healthy, happy, and problem-free life.

Several veterinary resources state that dog scratching is one of the most common reasons for veterinary visits. Several parasite infestations and skin conditions are causes of dog scratching.

While most causes of dog scratching are difficult to identify, fleas are often noticeable. The fleas or the flea dirt may be visible or the dog owner may be bitten by the fleas themselves.

A severe flea infestation can cause hair loss and sores on the dog’s skin due to scratching. Dogs may be allergic to flea saliva that can make these symptoms significantly worse.

Other types of allergies can also cause skin irritation that leads to scratching. Dogs can be allergic to materials or substances in their environments, vaccinations, medications, or the food they eat.

Ear mites can cause dog scratching, especially of the dog’s ears. Dogs often shake their heads when they have ear mites.

Mange is a parasitic infestation that can be a cause of intense dog scratching. Causes of dog scratching from parasites can also be due to lice, ticks, and hookworms.

A common cause of dog scratching are hot spots. Hot spots are a severe, prolonged reaction to a skin injury or irritation from infections, allergic reactions, or poor grooming. Hot spots can also cause hair loss and severe skin irritation.

Itchiness in dogs can be caused by infection of hair follicles by staph or hypersensitivity to staph. Sebaceous adenitis is a skin condition that causes destruction of the sebaceous glands. Sebaceous adenitis causes dog scratching and hair loss.

Two less common causes of itchiness than some of the previous causes are calcinosis cutis and pelodera dermatitis. Often a symptom of Cushing’s disease, calcinosis cutis causes mineral buildups of the skin. Pelodera dermatitis is caused by larvae from a worm that is not normally parasitic.

Some types of cancer can cause itchiness in dogs. Lymphoma and epitheliotropic lymphoma are two types of cancer that can be causes of dog scratching.

Mosquito bites and stings from bees or wasps can cause itchiness. In severe reactions to insect stings, ulcers or hives may develop. Since itchiness is a uncomfortable symptom of many different conditions, dog owners should have their dogs examined by a veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

Pet owners everywhere are at one time or another faced with the issue of how to get rid of fleas! When your pet gets infested with fleas it can be a terribly frustrating experience for both the owner and pet. Our local pet food store sells an assortment of flea collars, flea powders and flea shampoo including Frontline for fleas. Even though the staff are helpful, it is pretty hard to know which product to use and almost impossible to know all of the active ingredients of these dog flea products. There can be some hazardous side-effects of those well known but potentially highly harmful dog flea products. The chemicals used in some of the household name products and major national popular brands on the market may be poisoning our pets and marginalizing our own family?s health at the same time. So the question is, how to get rid of fleas safely?

As people become more aware of issues pertaining to their health, dog owners are seeking all-natural alternatives to the question of how to get rid of fleas. Some of the more common and popular all-natural dog flea remedies are sketched out below:

1. Household salt. Sprinkle it all over the house and let it sit for a week or more. Apparently fleas don?t seem to like salt. Your dog will lay on the carpet and the salt will get on his coat. A short time thereafter the fleas are gone.

2. Talcum powder to treat dog fleas. Cover your dog or cat with baby powder and this will smother the fleas. This remedy is often recommended for puppies or kittens who are too young to be treated with any flea chemical. You can also use baking soda.

3. For the dog fleas on adult dogs, you could try an olive oil bath. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the fleas just drown in it and fall out. Start from the dog?s head and work your way back so the fleas don’t move to the face where it’s really hard to pluck them off. Then you just shampoo the oil out and the dog fleas will wash down the drain.

4. Other people think garlic is the only way to go in the battle against dog fleas. Use fresh garlic diced in a food processor or by hand. You can put a dab of oil into it in order to make it more paste-like plus the oil will make for a nice shiny coat. Some people use a garlic pill supplement while others use freshly chopped garlic and mix it into the food.

It would appear that there are many natural alternatives to treating dog fleas. These treatments will likely work best at the point of initial infestation. For a really bad cases of fleas you might need to try a stronger dog flea remedy such as Frontline. In figuring out how to get rid of fleas its best to do your research. However, with all matters pertaining to the health of our dogs and cats, please check with your doctor about potential side effects.

Dogs are like humans. They will benefit from as much preventative medicine as we can offer them, and they’ll also benefit from their owners being attentive to the tell-tale signs of ticks, and fleas, and other dog aliments.

If your dog licks her paws, she might an allergy that leads to fleas or ticks. You want to be on the look-out for your dog sneezing or scratching itself, your dog licking its feet or rubbing its face, or hair loss and scabs and sores. One treatment is to give your dog regular dog baths, at least once or twice a week, along with a regular rub down with a wet cloth. Fleas can carry other parasitic organisms, such as tapeworms, and these tapeworms can lead to allergic reactions, anemia, hair loss, and infections. Ticks can carry the deadly Lyme disease.

Worms take second place in the list of possible dog aliments, after fleas that is. The worms may come in the form of heartworms, hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms, or whipworms. If your dog has worms, some of the symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, lost weight or lethargy. Worms are typically not noticeable without stool examination or blood tests. Take your dog in for an annual check-up for worms, and other infestations.

Canine Distemper affects the nervous system and organs. Its a good idea to vaccinate your dog for this disease as it can be fatal. Rabies is also preventable through vaccination. Rabies happens when one infected generally transmitted by the bite of an infected animal to non-infected animal. It is almost always fatal and can be transmitted to humans. Coronavirus, Kennel Cough, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, and Parvo are diseases that include symptoms such as coughing, labored breathing, and weight loss, as well as vomiting or diarrhea.

Early detection is the best way to keep your dog a fit and happy dog. Take your dog to the vet and ask about vaccinations. A lot of diseases can be prevented by a simple vaccination. Not only will you help keep your dog happy, but you’ll do yourself good as well. After all, humans are not immune to dog diseases. If your dog gets fleas, you might find yourself starting to itch.

Diet is equally important. You might want to start buying hypoallergenic dog food from the vets or start making your own home-made dog-food.

To learn more about how to keep dog healthy be sure to check out our site today.

Canine eye problems are a common reason for veterinary visits. Some common canine eye problems include dry eye, conjunctivitis, and dog cataracts. Certain eye problems are common in some dog breeds.

When the lens of the eye becomes opaque, it can be a sign of dog cataracts. The cataracts can block the dog’s vision. Though cataracts are typically associated with older dogs, dogs of all ages can get cataracts.

One serious eye condition that can result in blindness is glaucoma. A decline in vision, redness, eye cloudiness, and a dilated pupil that does not respond to light our signs of glaucoma.

Canine conjunctivitis is similar to pink eye or conjunctivitis in humans. Itchiness, tearing, and redness are common symptoms of canine conjunctivitis. Canine conjunctivitis is often caused by allergies.

A condition that causes the eyes not produce enough tears is called dry eye. Dog breeds that have protruding eyes such as Pugs and Shih Tzus are susceptible to dry eye. Dry eye can be a serious canine eye problem for dogs with protruding eyes.

Bulldogs, poodles, and cocker spaniels are susceptible to an canine eye problem called cherry eye. A prolapsed gland of the third eyelid is the primary symptom of cherry eye.

An inward folding of an eyelid which caused the eyelashes and hair on the eyelid to rub against the eye is called entropion. This condition is most common in Cocker Spaniels, Shar Pei, Rottweilers, and Labrador Retrievers.

Another condition that affects the eye and eyelashes is atopic cilia. This condition causes an eyelash to grow abnormally which can cause an ulcer on the cornea. A canine eye problem that causes the eyelashes to grow along the edge of the eyelid which irritates the eye is called distichiasis.

Puppy strangles, also called puppy pyoderma, is a condition that can cause abscesses on the eyelid.Dermoid is another condition that can cause ulcers. Dermoid is a canine eye problem with the genetic cause characterized by hairy skin on the eye.

If a dog gets dirt or debris in its eye, the dog owner can flush out the eye with sterile saline. Any inflammation, soreness, swelling, or sores on or around the eye needs to be examined by a veterinarian. Any changes to a dog’s eyes or visual ability should prompt the veterinary visit.

Moses Wright has been a lover of dogs for many years. He set up this site to provide information on list of large dog breeds and dog illness symptoms to help fellow dog owners learn more about their pets.

Premium dog foods are definitely better than your garden variety economy counterparts. But how do you tell the difference between the two? Is price the only indicator of how healthy the dog food is? Does a premium pet food have a different kind of label? How do you know what is premium?

The quality of the ingredients in the dog food is what differentiates a premium dog food from an economy one. Dog food companies will try to lure you in with great advertising about how great their food is for your dog. Many now show delicious pictures of food on the bags. Don’t be fooled though. The only way to really tell a premium dog food is by looking at the dog food ingredients.

Look at the first 2 ingredients to see if you are purchasing a premium dog food. Economy dog foods use a lot of low quality grains and meat by-products. Premium dog foods list an animal meat as the first ingredient.

Grains: Economy dog foods usually have a grain as the first ingredient, premium dog foods will not. Dogs are able to digest some grains well, like rice and oats, but have difficulty with corn and wheat.

Some grains, such as soy, wheat, and corn, are also common sources for food allergies in dogs.When utilized as by-products, such as corn wheat gluten, they are nothing more than cheap fillers. Their main purpose is to fill up your dog’s stomach so that he feels full. It’s kind of like human junk food - fill your tummy with no nutrition.

Animal meat by-productsare another top 2 ingredient that just are not found in the best premium dog foods. Meat by-products are what is left from a slaughtered animal after all the human-grade meat has been removed - bones, feed, heat, lungs, brain, etc.

Like the grain by-products, these provide very little nutritional value to your dog, but do boost up the protein ratio in the dog food. The quality of the meat by-product is another big mystery that no one seems to be able to answer.

Premium dog foods will have a meat meal or meat as the top ingredient, with a meat meal being the better choice. Many premium dog foods will have 2 or 3 meats/meat meals listed in the top ingredients, thereby giving your dog better protein and nutrients.

What about price? Is that a good indicator of the type of dog food? Not really. Of course if you see a really cheaply priced dog food, it is probably an economy food. But just because the food is expensive, does not automatically mean it is a healthy, premium dog food. Again, you need to take a peek at the dog food ingredients list to really know what you are getting.

And now there are more types of dog food, like holistic and organic. To find out more about the different types of foods available for your dog and how to carefully select the best premium dog foods for your particular pet at the Healthy Dog Food blog.

A common cause for a dog’s urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection. Urinary tract infections often cause pain during urination and difficulty urinating.

Urinary tract infections are less common in male dogs than female dogs since the male dog’s urethra is longer which could prevent bacteria from infecting the bladder. For much the same reason, urinary tract infections is much more common in cats than dogs.

Urinary tract infections are most commonly caused by bacterial infections in the bladder. Bacteria enters the bladder through the dog’s urethra. The urethra is the tiny tube through which urine passes from the bladder when the dog urinates.

A dog’s urinary tract infection can cause the dog’s urine to contain pus, crystals, or blood. Some other symptoms of urinary tract infections include lower back pain, increased thirst, and increased volume and frequency in urination. A urinary tract infection may decrease the dog’s ability to hold its urine which can cause accidental urination in the house.

When diagnosing a urinary tract infection in dogs, the veterinarian may do a rectal exam. This allows the veterinarian to feel the dog’s urethra. The veterinarian is likely to press on the dog’s abdomen to feel the bladder and take a urine sample for analysis.

An upper urinary tract infection in dogs can negatively affect kidney functioning. Lower urinary tract infections do not affect the kidneys but still need to be treated.

A dog’s urinary tract infection is commonly treated with antibiotics. The analysis of the urine sample helps the veterinarian choose the best antibiotic to fight the infection.

If the antibiotic does not successfully eliminate the infection, it could be a sign that an underlying disease is causing the infection. In many cases, the failure of the antibiotic is due to the dog not receiving the entire course of the antibiotics.

Diabetes mellitus and Cushing’s disease are examples of diseases that can make a dog susceptible to developing urinary tract infections. If the dog is on medication for another condition or has a abnormality of its anatomy, the dog can be prone to urinary tract infections.

The symptoms of urinary tract infections can also because by other dog diseases. Bladder stones and bladder cancer can both mimic the symptoms of a urinary tract infection and can cause urinary tract infections.

Dogs can develop a rashes and skin irritation just like people can. Often, a dog owner will notice redness, swelling, or an increase in the dog’s scratching.

An allergic reaction is a common cause for a dog skin rash. Small bumps on the skin called hives may develop due to allergies. Hives and skin rashes from allergic reactions often clear up on their own, but a dog owner should still consult the veterinarian for instructions on how to treat dog skin rashes.

Even though a dog can develop an allergic reaction to products and dog food that the dog had been exposed to for years, the use of a new substance or exposure to new things are the likely causes. Exposure to a new dog shampoo, eating a new dog food, or changes in the dog’s environment are common causes of skin allergies. The dog owner may want to try taking these new things away to see if the dog skin rash or hives go away.

Flea allergies are a common cause for a dog’s allergic reaction. An allergic reaction to flea bites can cause a red rash and hairloss. Getting rid of the fleas is how to treat dog skin rashes from an allergic reaction to flea bites. Often, this is all that is necessary for this type of dog skin rash to clear up and the dog’s coat to grow back.

Some dogs develop what is known as a hot spot. A hot spot is sometimes referred to as moist dermatitis or pyotraumatic dermatitis. A hot spot develops when an initial irritation to the skin causes a dog to bite, lick, and scratch a particular area.

The initial irritation that causes a hot spot can be caused by a number of things including a tick bite, fleas, an allergic reaction, or bacterial infection. The dog may develop hairloss in the area of the hot spot. The dog’s licking, biting, and scratching often make the condition worse.

A veterinarian should be consulted for the best way to treat the hotspot. Hot spots are often treated by shaving the area of the hot spot and applying cool compresses. The veterinarian may prescribe the use of a special shampoo, oral medication, or topical ointment to treat the hot spot.

A number of different fungal, parasitic, and bacterial skin infections can cause dog skin rashes. A dog owner needs to take a dog with a rash to the veterinarian so that the cause of the rash can be treated.

Many products like dog shampoos and dog skin care products claim to be how to treat dog skin rashes. A dog’s skin rash may not improve if the cause of the skin rash is not properly diagnosed and treated by a veterinarian.

Dental care is as important for dogs as it is for their owners. However, dog dental care is often neglected. Regular brushing of the dogs teeth can prevent dog dental problems.

Dog dental disease is caused by the buildup of plaque and tartar on the dogs teeth. Dental disease can make eating painful for the dog and could potential cause other problems. Daily teeth brushing prevents these problems by removing the plaque.

Veterinary dog dental care is an annual or semi-annual cleaning which removes plaque and tartar that the owner may not be able to remove. The dogs teeth can also be inspected for problems during this time.

If the dogs daily teeth brushing is started while the dog is a puppy, the dog is less likely to resist the brushing. Teeth brushing is uncomfortable for many dogs.

Dog dental care products are made to promote dog dental health and make it easier for dog owners to brush their dogs teeth. Finger brushes are small toothbrushes that fit on the dog owners finger. Dogs are often more receptive to finger brushes than regular toothbrushes.

For dogs that are especially difficult to brush their teeth, a warm, wet washcloth may be used as first to wipe the dogs teeth. Eventually, the dog may relax enough for the use of a finger brush. If the dog is relaxed, the dog owner may want to try using a soft, childs toothbrush.

Toothpaste made for human consumption can make a dog sick. Special dog toothpaste is available at many pet stores.

Some dog foods and dog treats are marketed as being good for a dogs teeth. Many of these food products are not proven to be effective. They should not be used as an alternative to proper dog dental care.

Some dog rope toys and bones are designed to improve dog dental health. While these may help, dog teeth brushing is still the best way to ensure proper dog dental hygiene.

As the dog ages, the dogs teeth wear down. This is a common condition that is usually left untreated. If the tooth wear causes difficulty for the dog, the veterinarian may make suggestions for treatment.