Puppy Illness
All About Puppy Illness
If you and your family are considering getting a puppy, you should first learn about how to identify puppy illness. There are specific signs and red flag symptoms that should be addressed immediately. In most cases the puppy illness can be cured with antibiotics. But there are a few diseases that dogs can get that are contagious to humans and can be fatal. There are things you can do to help prevent this situation.
Before you purchase your puppy make sure you are buying it from a reputable kennel or pet store. These puppies are less likely to have puppy illness because they are annually inspected. In order to have a kennel, dog breeders must follow rules when it comes to vaccinations, worming and breeding. So getting a free puppy from a neighbor may not be such a good idea.
Free animals that people give away usually have not yet been seen by a veterinarian. They haven’t had any medical treatment and could be infected with any illness. Although the puppy may look perfectly healthy, it may have irreversible problems. Nobody wants to explain to a toddler or small child why their new puppy is sick or dying. You can ask the kennel or pet store for a certificate of health for your new puppy, so you know exactly what the puppy needs next concerning its medical care.
The sad truth is that even the puppies from the most reputable breeders can still have problems. They can become injured or pick up an illness from another dog. It may be a good idea to know the symptoms of puppy illness.
The first thing the puppy can be affected by is internal parasites. Even before the pup is born it can become infected and even know parasites are easy to treat they can still be fatal. If it is lucky enough to be born healthy it can become infected by nursing. Because the puppies are so small, they cannot handle these parasites like adult dogs. So the infected puppy could become very ill or even die. The first thing that should be on a puppy health certificate is the date of worming. Proper worming insures that they puppy will not have any parasites. So make sure to keep up to date on any scheduled worming.
The most dangerous puppy illness is canine distemper. It can affect the puppy in three ways. Diarrhea, pulmonary distemper and nerve distemper are the ways the disease can harm the puppy. The symptoms include a high fever, cough and vomiting. Although this puppy illness is sometimes fatal, if it is diagnosed fast enough and the proper medications are given the puppy can recover.
Canine hepatitis is another harmful puppy illness. It is a viral infection and the symptoms of this disease include a swollen painful stomach as well as a high fever and vomiting.
Parvovirus symptoms include bloody diarrhea and vomiting. This puppy illness is fatal if left untreated. In fact, a puppy can die of this anywhere from forty eight to seventy two hours after contracting it. Along with the initial symptoms the puppy can also have a high fever, or seem very tired and sad and its stools can have a bad odor.
Leptospriosis and rabies are two illnesses that also affect humans. These diseases can be spread to humans and the symptoms can include tiredness, fever and vomiting. Rabies can be delivered to humans by an animal bite and this illness can be fatal if not taken care of immediately.
If you keep up with vaccinations and worming you can avoid most of these problems. Remember that paying for a puppy that has had all of its medical care is the best way to have a healthy, life long friend.