Articles. News. Information.

Category of Information, News & Articles


Dog Health Conditions and Terms You Should Know, Part 3...


Continued from part two.

Epilepsy/seizure disorder

When your Boxer is between 2 to 5 years old, he may develop seizure disorder.

When he has an epilepsy attack, he'd be unconscious and may look like he is not breathing but he is. He is not suffering.

The information that would be important to your veterinarian regarding such episodes includes:

> Duration of the attack

> The type of muscular activity your Boxer exhibits during seizure

> Any abnormal behavior during the attack

> Frequency of the seizure

What you do in such instances is not panic and time the attack by actually looking at a watch or clock.

It may only take place for 30 seconds but may seem forever to you. You need a veterinarian if it lasts more than 5 minutes.

Emergency treatment is definitely called for if your Boxer goes into seizure for 10 minutes or longer, twice in the span of 24 hours, or if he has a second attack before he could completely recover from the first seizure attack.

Remain by your Boxer's side; be there when he comes out of the seizure to calm him. Stroke and comfort him.

To keep your Boxer from hurting himself during the seizure, move away furniture from the immediate area and protect him from water, the stairs and any sharp objects. If you can, place a pillow under his head to protect him from head trauma.

Unlike seizure attacks in human, animals do not swallow their tongue. So you don't have to put your hand or spoon or any other object into your Boxer's mouth when he has an attack. You might get bitten.

Also, keep children and other pets away from your sick Boxer.

Coming out of the seizure, your Boxer will be groggy, confused and feel like he has done something wrong. He may make unusual sounds and stumble around.

Do not allow him on the stairs until he has fully recovered. In the mean time, sooth him by talking to him softly, offer him some water, stroke and comfort him.

And if he doesn't recover fully after 30 minutes, consult your veterinarian or any emergency vet facility.

Flea-infected Boxers

Flea-infected Boxers can develop skin diseases especially those allergic to fleas.

Black specs in the fur and bite marks on the skin tell if your Boxer has them. To check further, spread some newspapers and place your Boxer on top. Brush him and look for the black specs falling off.

Fleas live up to 6 weeks, feeding on blood and during that time would have laid hundreds of eggs that mostly land on your Boxer's bedding, carpets and other favorable nests around your home.

The eggs hatch into larvae that seek nice, dark places while feeding on flea's droppings, dust, human shed skin, dandruff and other such tasty morsels.

The larvae turn into hardy pupae that could survive for months before changing into adult fleas.

Fleas are host to tapeworms. Both problems are likely to occur together in your Boxer and, therefore, the treatments are also usually given together by the vet.

A bit of garlic a day may keep the fleas away from your Boxer.

Heart ailments

-Bradycardia or slow heart rate may be a symptom of thyroid disorder in Boxers.

-Dialated cardiomyopathy constitutes a serious, emergency case.

Your dog may collapse from it or the back legs have sudden pain and paralysis.

It is a serious heart condition whereby the heart muscle is enlarged and thin walled. Your Boxer will experience shortness of breath, coughing and can't take to exercise.

Another serious heart condition is called cardiac conduction disease that is affecting Boxer's longevity. It was previously known as Boxer cardiomyopathy but the new term is used to differentiate it from dilative cardiomyopathy.

Cardiac conduction is difficult to deal with due to 3 factors.

-One is many Boxers will not show any symptom (asymptotic) but will just drop dead suddenly from it.

-The Boxers develop this disease later in life, often after they have been bred.

-There was no good screening method for it until the one recently developed by Ohio State University researchers, called the 24-hour Holter monitor test.

However, there is still no assurance that Boxers "cleared" now from cardiac conduction disease by the Holter test will remain so in the future.

Many breeders and Boxer experts are now working to refine the test procedures, expand the database and come up with a guideline to select only, for breeding purposes, those Boxers with high probability of being free of the disease.

There are also concerns elimination of too many dogs from the gene pool would be bad for the breed diversity and could cause more problems in the future. Some opinions hold that extensive culling should only get done after more studies on genetic diversity in Boxers.

Hip dysplasia

This is a bone disorder whereby there is an improper fit of the large femur bone with the hip socket, causing lots of pain and lameness.

It occurs more in males

This articles is available at http://www.thingsfordogs.com/dog-health3.php

Part 1 is available at http://www.thingsfordogs.com/dog-health.php
Part 2 is available at http://www.thingsfordogs.com/dog-health2.php

Daniel Lesser
Dog and Puppy Articles, Pictures and Resources http://www.thingsfordogs.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Pet insurance saves cash, but comes with caveats
The Associated Press - 6 hours ago
One way to protect yourself is to buy pet health insurance. It's still not that common. Less than 1 percent of pets are insured in the US, according Petplan ...


Tricked-out Greater Cincinnati dog park will put teeth in Pet Stop ...
Bizjournals.com, NC - 6 hours ago
Pet Stop Fence Systems CEO Bob Slattery hangs with his dogs Blue, left, and Bo. What began as a business-expansion strategy is ending up as a little slice ...


Vets Worry About Pet Health In Ailing Economy
MSNBC - 9 hours ago
But the move has pet docs concerned. Their line of work, just like health care, is typically resistant to recessions. But not this time. ...


The Oregonian - OregonLive.com

Lawmakers vote: No more pets allowed in Oregon Capitol
The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR - 7 hours ago
Technically, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services has a no-pets policy covering most state offices. No word yet whether that means Hershey is ...


Olathe family, pets escape fire
Kansas City Star, MO - 15 hours ago
Firefighters say working smoke alarms alerted two Olathe residents to a fire in their home early this morning. According to a release from the Olathe Fire ...


C&G Newspapers

County animal shelter working to get more pets into good homes
C&G Newspapers, MI - 9 hours ago
The shelter has changed its policies and has started working with pet adoption organizations to get more animals off the streets and into good homes. ...
Calaveras animal shelter sees brighter days Stockton Record
County dog licenses now on sale Shelby Township Source Newspapers
Residents criticize animal shelter conditions, administration Gaston Gazette
CharlotteObserver.com
all 5 news articles


County shelter offers free clinic for pets
San Diego Union Tribune, CA - 6 hours ago
Coupons to spay or neuter pets also will be available. Dogs must be kept on leashes, and cats and rabbits must be in carriers. Rabies vaccinations for dogs ...


Most popular and unusual pet names
NECN, MA - 4 hours ago
(NECN) - Today on the Animal Connection, we're talking pet names. The most popular and the most unusual. Vicki Croke is an animal expert, author and host of ...


Hotels roll out the red carpet for traveling pets
Philadelphia Business Journal, PA - 11 hours ago
“People are willing to spend money on pets because, in these hard economic times, our pets love us no matter what our economic condition. ...


Residents fear for pets after man shoots neighbor's dog
McKinney Courier Gazette, TX - 10 hours ago
"My dog is not the only dog that gets out,'' said pet owner Kevyn Allen. "Why did he have to shoot my dog? Our whole family is beside itself. ...
Pit Bull Fatally Wounded After Shooting, Neighbors Fear for Their ... WiredPRNews.com (press release)
all 18 news articles

Pets - Google News

Home | Sitemap
© 2006 eInfoJunction.com Homepage | Web Directory | Article Directory| Bid Directory