Canine distemper is a viral disease that affects animals in the families Canidae, Mustelidae, Mephitidae, Hyaenidae, Ailuridae, Procyonidae, Pinnipedia, some Viverridae and Felidae (though not domestic cats; feline distemper or panleukopenia is a different virus exclusive to cats). It is most commonly associated with domestic animals such as dogs and ferrets, although it can infect wild animals as well. It is a single-stranded RNA virus of the family paramyxovirus, and thus a close relative of measles and rinderpest. Despite extensive vaccination in many regions, it remains a major disease of dogs. Rabies is a viral zoonotic neuroinvasive disease which causes inflammation in the brain and is usually fatal. Rabies primarily infects mammals and is caused by the rabies virus. Animals with rabies suffer deterioration of the brain and tend to behave bizarrely and often aggressively, increasing the chances that they will bite another animal or a person and transmit the disease.
Lyme Disease and More in Dogs and CatsProtecting your cat or dog (or both) from ticks is an important part of disease prevention. In fact, there are several diseases that can be transmitted to your pet from a tick bite. Some of the most common tick-borne diseases seen in the United States are Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, and tick paralysis. Here we will briefly discuss these and some of other tick-borne diseases that affect dogs and cats.
Dogs’ joints take a pounding, from running after tennis balls to jumping off the back deck. And for some dogs, that’s a problem. More use means more injuries and can lead to joint-related problems such as ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tears and osteoarthritis.
Dogs are not on a quest for world domination. They are not socialized wolves who are constantly striving to be ‘top dog’ over us, and they are not hard-wired to try and control every situation. Contrary to what traditional training ideologies and much modern media would have you believe, most canine behavior problems stem from insecurity and/or a desire to seek and maintain safety and comfort – not from a desire to establish higher rank and be the ‘alpha’ over you. Think diabetes is just for us people? Think again. Canine diabetes mellitus (also known as sugar diabetes) is on the rise. Whether the numbers are due to an increase in dog obesity or better screening is up for debate. What’s clear is that this disease is fairly common. But the good news is, it’s also treatable and manageable.
As with humans, diabetes means the body isn’t producing enough insulin. Insulin is critical to allow glucose–a simple sugar from food–to pass into the body’s blood cells, where it’s used as fuel for metabolism. Too little glucose in the blood cells is obviously a problem. The average age when dogs get diabetes is in the six-to-nine year range. Some breeds, such as German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Poodles, Keeshonds and Miniature Pinschers are more vulnerable to the disease, although all breeds can get it. Females are three times more likely than males to develop diabetes. Diabetes can be serious. If left untreated, it can lead to cataracts, liver and bladder problems, weakness, and coma. It’s important to be aware of the symptoms and have your dog tested if you suspect diabetes. Every year when you bring your pet in for a check-up, your veterinarian likely talks to you about vaccines and gives Fluffy or Fido a good look over. They may draw blood, or recommend preventative care routines, like a dental cleaning or grooming. But what are some of the most common serious ailments for cats and dogs that your veterinarian wants to help you prevent and control? "What should dogs eat" is the most important question we should ask to ourselves. I want to say something very important to you. Dogs can live 27 years! Yes, dogs can live 27 years! However, I want to ask you something. Have you ever seen a dog living that much? Actually, it is almost impossible to see a 27-year-old dog in today's world. Why? Because we do not feed them with healthy food. I have a dog named Atom. He is two years old, and I don't want to loose him too early. I want to tell you how you should feed them with excellent recipes. What is healthy, what is not and how you can prepare healthy homemade dog food. A titre test is a small blood sample collected and sent to a lab to check a dog’s level of immune defenses. This test will help determine whether a dog requires annual vaccinations. The term “titre” refers to the strength or concentration of a substance in a solution. When testing is done for titre, the blood is checked for the presence and strength of the dog’s immunological response to a viral disease. If the pet has satisfactory levels of vaccine titre, the pet is considered sufficiently immune to diseases or possesses good immunologic memory and does not need vaccination for that year. Dog intelligence is "...the resultant of the process of acquiring, storing in memory, retrieving, combining, comparing, and using in new contexts information and conceptual skills" as it applies to dogs.
Studies have shown that dogs display many behaviors associated with intelligence. They have advanced memory skills. For example, a border collie, "Chaser", learned the names of over 1,000 objects and retrieved them by verbal command. Dogs can use such memory skill to make inferences. For example, another border collie Rico, learned the labels of over 200 items and then inferred the names of novel items by exclusion. That is, he identified and retrieved those novel items immediately and also 4 weeks after the initial exposure. Dogs are able to read and react appropriately to human body language such as gesturing and pointing, and to understand human voice commands. Dogs demonstrate a theory of mind by engaging in deception. |
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