|
Common
Diseases of Dogs
|
|
Disease |
Nature
of Disease
|
Causative
Agent |
Distemper |
affects
non vaccinated (non immunized) puppies in contact with infected
animals; symptoms include loss of appetite, fever; inflammation
of the brain is usual cause of death; some dogs may recover,
but others have spastic tremors; foxes, wolves, mink, skunks,
raccoons, and ferrets also susceptible |
virus |
Infectious
hepatitis |
affects
dogs by causing hemorrhages and severe liver damage; affects
foxes (Rubarth's disease) by causing inflammation of the
brain; clinical signs are variable because disease symptoms
vary from severe to inapparent (i.e., no manifest
signs) |
virus |
Salmon
poisoning |
occurs
after consumption of raw salmon or trout carrying rickettsial-infected
flatworm (fluke) larvae (Nanophyetus salmincola);
affects dogs, foxes, and coyotes primarily in the Pacific
northwestern United States; symptoms include high fever,
swollen lymph nodes; usually fatal within five days |
rickettsia |
Prostatitis |
inflammation
of a gland near the urinary bladder (prostate gland) in male
dogs; usually controlled by antibiotic drugs; other prostate-gland
disorders may result from tumours (carcinoma, sarcoma) or
from abnormal increase in cell multiplication (hyperplasia) |
varied |
Congenital
heart |
may
occur in 1 percent of all dogs; heart disorders may lead
to secondary disease diseases such as pneumonia, accumulation
of fluid in body cavities, laboured breathing, edema; heart
failure occurs |
inherited
tendency |
Hip
dysplasia |
crippling
disorder common in many breeds (especially German shepherds);
a shallow hip socket (acetabulum) results in an unstable
hip joint, particularly during motion of hindleg |
apparently
inherited tendency |
Kidney stones
(calculi, urolithiasis)
|
calculi
develop in kidney, bladder, and male urethra (tube from bladder
to outside of body); surgery usually necessary; inherited
types include cystine calculi in certain dachshunds and uric
acid calculi in male dalmatians |
hereditary,
functional disturbance |
Hypothyroidism |
thyroid
gland may function marginally or be absent; symptoms include
awkward, slow movement, coarse, dry coat; treatment includes iodine,
thyroid preparations |
functional
disturbance |
Dermatitis |
common
symptoms include skin inflammation and loss of hair; causative
agents include nutritional deficiencies, bacterial infections,
hypothyroidism, allergies, hormone imbalances, and parasites
(e.g., fleas, lice, mites, fly larvae, and ticks) |
varied |
Strychnine
poisoning |
accidental
ingestion of 0.75 milligram of the poison (found in rat poisons)
per kilogram (about 2.25 pounds) of body weight may cause
death from convulsions and respiratory distress |
chemical
compound |
Glaucoma |
a
group of eye diseases in which the retina and optic nerve
are damaged; certain breeds have a hereditary tendency for
the disease; other breeds develop glaucoma as a result of
other eye disorders |
hereditary
tendency in some breeds |
|
|
usually
found in boxer dogs; symptoms include bloody diarrhea; severely
and chronically affected dogs become emaciated; an infectious
agent observed microscopically in the thickened colon has
not yet been isolated or characterized |
not
yet characterized |
Pancreatitis |
in
acute types the gland may be destroyed because of inflammation
from unknown causes; an animal that lives may develop diabetes
mellitus or be unable to secrete enzymes from pancreas, or
both, thus preventing digestion, which increases the appetite
and causes progressive weight loss; treatment difficult |
unknown |
