Today's tip is about doing a daily check on your dog. Most of us likely don't do this. We figure, the dog looks healthy, he'll let me know when he's sick or hurt. But this is not always the case with dogs.
You should consider doing daily checks. Doing these can prevent unnecessary visits to the vet, and in the worst case, may save your dog's life.
While I don't make a habit of brushing my dogs' teeth, I do check their teeth often. I personally worked with a dog who, while doing some bite training, broke one of his canine teeth. He never flinched, yelped or anything, to let me know something was wrong. He acted completely the same throughout the day, until I examined his teeth that night.
It was then I noticed not only had he broken a tooth, he had pulled it all the way out. Had I not done my daily check, I could have missed this and he could have got an infection, causing more pain and suffering, as well as again, unnecessary vet bills.
A second example I saw was a dog who likes to play in weeds, and brush. The dog thought this was really a good time. A few days had passed and the handler called me to tell me his dog had a large abscess in his foot, in between his toes.
I told him he would need to take him to a vet. The handler took him to the vet, the dog had to be put under anesthesia, and have the abscess surgically opened and the foreign object removed. It was simply a "fox-tail" of a sharp weed, which got in between the toes, embedded in the skin, and because no check was done, became infected. That's a few hundred dollar visit and all the handler would have had to do was a daily check.
So, moral of the story: take five minutes and inspect your dog. Everyday, and/or every time there is activity outside the home. You start and the head, and work your way to the rear. Just smoothly run the hands along all parts of their bodies, checking for lumps, scratches, lacerations, bugs, ETC. Then open their mouth, look at their tongue and teeth. Make sure their gums are pink.
Open their ears, and check for any foul odor. Foul odor usually means infection. Look at their eyes. They should be clear and free of discharge.
Check each individual paw, and inbetween their toes for any foreign objects. Check the tail and legs.
Then last but not least, check their genital area, especially in males. You don't want any large pockets of water, or open sores or anything of that nature.
Once you've done this a number of times, you'll get to know your dog and you'll recognize the second something doesn't feel right or doesn't look right. This is a good way to keep your dog happy and healthy.
Thanks
Maligator Kennels
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