Search:

Home | Pets


Canine Liver Disease, A Little Knowledge Could Save Your Dogs Life

By: John Deeprose

Canine liver disease is the 5th leading cause of non-accidental death amongst man’s best friend. Just having a little knowledge of this common, but little written about condition, could save the life of your family pet.

When my West Highland Terrier Joe was diagnosed with a liver condition, I found to my angst that much of his suffering could have been avoided had I known the signs to look for and steps that I could have taken early on to aid his full recovery. Fortunately Joe is now, thanks to a few simple changes in his lifestyle, back on track to being the bouncy little scamp he was prior to his diagnosis.

Simply put, liver disease is a general term used to describe any medical disorder of the liver. The liver is responsible for removing toxins from your dog’s bloodstream and can amazingly still perform this function with up to 75-80% of it affected by disease. The downside of this incredible statistic is that damage is consequently well advanced by the time many diagnoses are made.

Common Causes of liver disease in dogs include:

· Exposure to high levels of toxic chemicals such as insecticides, lead, phosphorus and iron
· Infections such as chronic ear and skin infections and other infections elsewhere in the body.
· Hepatitis
· Common Dental infections
· Inherent liver disease is commonly more genetically inherent in certain breeds such as American and English cocker spaniels and West Highland terriers
· Inbreeding
· Prolonged use of some drugs such as cortisone, steroids, anti-convulsants, parasite control drugs and some antibiotics.

Common symptoms of liver disease in dogs include:

· Jaundice – Eyes, Gums and skin turn a yellowy color
· Vomiting, this may or may not be accompanied by blood
· Diarreah, again this may or may not be accompanied by blood
· Urinary changes may occur such as frequent urination and increased thirst. Urine may turn orange
· Stools may be pale grey, orange or even yellow in color
· Depression or lethargy – your dog may seem withdrawn and apathetic
· Other behavioural changes such as aimless pacing around and circling
· Swollen belly

Diet plays a major part in allowing your dogs liver to regenerate itself, as it is the liver that processes your pet’s food and drink intake.

Foods to be avoided to keep your dogs liver healthy include sugar, chocolate, fried or grilled meat and bones, onion, red and green peppers and tomatoes.

Fresh distilled water is preferable to tap water.

It is also a good tip to use stainless steel food and drinking bowls instead of plastic ones.

I wrote this article with the intention of informing as many people as possible about canine liver disease. I am amazed at the response that i have received from dog owners worldwide and am pleased to add that many have mailed me some interesting dog diet tips that have proven successful in promoting better health in their pets.

It is of course your local Veterinary expert that should carry out the necessary tests and diagnose liver disease in your dog, but by being aware of the common symptoms and actively checking your pet you can play a part in making sure that treatment can begin a soon as possible.

Article Source: http://www.newagelivingarticles.com

John is an avid writer on a variety of diverse topics that he hopes will be both informative and of interest to his worldwide readership. If you would like further information on Canine liver disease then please visit www.jayrecommends.com

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Pets Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Pets


banner











Sign Up for a free account or learn more.
Article Directory Software
Click here to download the exact software that powers this directory for FREE. Start your own article directory today!
Google
Top Authors
Submit Articles
Member Login
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Little Book Of Becoming
Masters of the Secret
The Singularity Is Near
Distribute Your Articles to 1000's!
Wildwind Enterprises
Bookstore
About Us
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
LINKS

All Links DirectoryAll Links Directory is 100% SEO friendly Directory and Human Edited.

Dominate The Search Engines with this software

Make Money Being an Affiliate with this software it's easy!

Learn How to Make Daily Profits Online starting Right Now!

Idiot Proof Clickbank Trick Makes $6,513 In 24 Hours

Amazing New Discovery: True psychokinesis easy to Use. Learn to control it for manifestation, healing, karmic repair with chakras.Visit us to find out how This Is 'PK' Mind Over Matter (Ebook, Free Download) fosters positive permanent change!

Submit Your Articles Quick and Easy with this software!

Get Keyword Elite and never hunt for keywords again!

Gaiam.com, Inc
Spiritual Cinema Circle
Visit the metaphysical directory for a complete list of metaphysics related websites.
Royalty Free Images
NewAgeLivingArticles.com » Copyright © 2007 WildWind Enterprises
Terms of Service | Submission Guidelines | Contact Us | Link to Us| Privacy Policy | About Us | Article Submissions With A Click 100's of Sites!

Powered by Article Dashboard