The dog is widely considered a man’s best friend. However, to some people, their dogs aren’t just their best friends, but they treat them almost like their own child.
As a pet parent, you can get anxious and worried when one day, you wake up, and your dog just isn’t their usual jolly self.
Like humans and any other living thing on the planet, dogs can also have health issues.
These may be due to several causes like bacteria, old age, eating something bad for them, and spending too much time outside.
Regardless of the cause, you’d want to ensure that your dog goes back to being healthy, so take them immediately to the vet.
But, do you know that you can also manage some dog health issues at home? Here’s how:
#1 Skin Conditions
You may have woken up from a good night’s sleep thanks to your dog’s constant scratching, chewing, and licking at patches on their skin.
Itchy skin can lead to a variety of problems–from your dog losing parts of their fur to complications in the skin due to scratching it raw.
If you’ve ever experienced an itch that won’t go away, you’d know how uncomfortable it is. That’s how your dog feels, too.
If your dog has only started with the itching problem and there are no major damages to their skin, yet, you can treat the issue with a few home remedies.
These include using herbs to detoxify your dog, removing toxins, like artificial fragrances, in their environment, reducing the stress that they may experience, and boosting their immune system with a natural form of Vitamin C.
#2 Fleas
These parasites may also be the cause of your dog’s constant itching. Fleas are harmful not only to your dogs but also to your health. When you get bitten by a flea, you could get an infection, which could lead to complications.
So, in order to protect yourself and your dog from these parasites, you need to get rid of them. You can do this by using a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water to internally and externally treat your dog. This can also keep your yard, home, and dog’s belongings free from fleas.
To keep your home free from fleas, you can use essential oils or scents like lemon, lavender, tea tree, and rosemary. These scents don’t smell pleasant to fleas at all.
Outside your home, you can take advantage of the sun’s heat or use nematodes in areas where you think fleas may be hiding.
#3 Urinary Tract Infections
If you’ve ever had a urinary tract infection (UTI), you’d know that painful and uncomfortable feeling of always needing to go; you’d take several trips to the bathroom because of it.
Fortunately, for humans, it’s easy to describe their pain and feeling to their doctors, making it easier to come up with remedies. However, the same can’t be done with dogs.
A dog that constantly goes out to pee, despite the lack of water intake, cries or whines while urinating. Dogs that have difficulty urinating may also be experiencing UTI.
Bacteria is often the common cause of dog UTI. Thus, one way you can do to help relieve them of the issue is by giving them liquids that could help flush out the bacteria in their system.
Some remedies you can provide include cranberry juice, probiotics, and even a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water.
#4 Vomiting
Have you ever been worried when your dog vomited foams of white or yellow liquid? Or, worse, found hints of blood in their vomit? Seeing your dog vomit is a sure sign that something is wrong with them. Not taking any action when this happens can be dangerous as the dog can be heavily dehydrated.
Some home treatments you can do include cooking boiled potatoes, skinless chicken, and doing fluid therapy. However, if your dog continues to vomit and feel sick, despite the home treatments, take them to the vet to prevent further dehydration.
#5 Diarrhea
Dog diarrhea is often caused by a lot of factors such as stress, parasites, infections, and food intake. Your dog may be having diarrhea when they produce stool that’s watery and loose. Like vomiting, your dog can also be dehydrated when they let out too much of the liquid stool.
Rice-water is an effective home treatment for diarrhea in dogs. You just have to boil the rice in a lot of water, remove the rice, and give your dog the white soup left by the rice. Giving your dog loperamide can also help stop diarrhea.
#6 Dog Worms
Internal parasites like tapeworms, whipworms, hookworms, and roundworms can all be found inside your dog. These can cause your dog to get sick, have hints of blood or worms in their feces, and impact your dog’s overall appearance and well-being.
The best way to detect worms inside your dog is by visiting a vet. However, you can also try out a few home treatments to cleanse your dog of these unwanted internal parasites. These include feeding your dog natural dewormers like carrots, dried coconut, apple cider vinegar, and even turmeric.
#7 Ear Infections
Your little pooch may be suffering from an ear infection if they constantly scratch at their ears, shake their heads, have foul discharge come out of it, lose their balance, and swelling of the ears. Ear infections can be caused by allergic reactions to fleas, bacteria, medications, and food.
These ear infections can be painful for your dogs. So, to help relieve the pain, you can apply a warm compress to the inflamed area. You can also try combining mullein leaf and garlic oil, then create ear droplets. Lastly, spray a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water on the infected areas.
#8 Tooth Decay
Bad breath in dogs can be off-putting. Not only that, just like with humans, dental problems in dogs can also lead to a higher risk of heart, liver, and kidney disease. So, when you detect the first few signs of dental problems in your dog, it’s best to treat them immediately.
There are plenty of doggie treats and toys in the market that helps improve your dog’s dental health. But the easiest way to take care of your canine’s teeth is through routine brushing.
You can purchase a toothpaste that’s dog-friendly so that it doesn’t harm them when they swallow. Also, with brushing, you can prevent tartar build-up. Dogs can easily adapt to brushing once you introduce the task to them daily.
Overall
Dogs aren’t just man’s best friend, but they can also be a substitute child that improves their owner’s life. Like humans, these friendly little critters are also prone to health issues that could affect their overall being.
Thankfully, there are several ways you can manage these health conditions in the comfort of your home.
For natural remedies, you can try out the ideas mentioned in this article. However, if symptoms persist, it might be best to take your dog to the vet for further treatment.
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