Symptoms of a Dog Cold and Supportive Care
30 Jul 2008
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Simply Right Click and choose Save As to save to your desktop! More FREE Natural Health, Wellness and Pet Ebooks at Remedies4.com!A lot of people would like to know the answer to the question whether dogs can get common colds like humans or not. Dogs do develop symptoms like a runny dog nose, sneezing and cough.
Although all the above mentioned symptoms sound like the common cold in humans, most of the time the condition that is diagnosed is a viral, bacterial or fungal infection in the canine respiratory system. Symptoms resembling common cold should not be shrugged away even though some of the conditions are self limiting and go away on their own.
Sometimes these symptoms, especially if accompanied by fever, can be indicative of serious ailments like the highly infectious dog flu (canine influenza virus) or canine distemper. These ailments can eventually lead to pneumonia if not treated.
Some of the symptoms of canine cold may include:
- Chronic cough.
- Hacking cough that throws up phlegm.
- Yellowish green nasal discharge.
- Loss of appetite.
- Watery eyes.
The first step is to get the condition evaluated by a veterinarian and rule out prevalence of infection. Viral infections do not respond to antibiotics and vaccinations cannot protect dogs from all conditions that throw up symptoms similar to colds. For example, dog flu is a recent disease and the lack of prior exposure means that the dog’s immunity is unable to combat the new virus on its own.
Once it has been established that the symptoms relate to self limiting cold, supportive home care is as important as treatment, if any. To make your dog comfortable for the duration of the cold you can try any or all of the following.
- Insulate the pet from cold and keep him dry. Canine colds commonly occur during winters as cold air tends to tighten the bronchial tubes, making breathing difficult for the dog. Respiratory problems can bring forth abnormal behaviors and become a source of discomfort for owners as well.
- Loss of appetite can lead to loss of vital energy. You may have to coax to eat by offering boiled chicken and brown rice, which will provide extra nutrition as well as strengthen his immune system. A healthy immune system is the best protection against canine colds and consequent opportunistic infections.
- Put a vaporizer near the place your pet sleeps. Moistened bronchial tubes will make breathing easy.
- Homeopathic remedies are safe and can ease the symptoms of canine colds. You may also use some children’s medicines meant for human cold if you prefer.
Remember that canine colds are rarely as simple as they seem to be. Your timely attention will go a long way in making life comfortable for your dog and avoiding progression of a mild condition into a life threatening one.
Reference:
http://dogs.lovetoknow.com/
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