Dog Bark Collars

The acral lick granuloma is an illness among dogs characterized by the formation of an area in his body which is without hair, covered with lumped thick skin, and has an angry red color. Sometimes there is an accompanying infection, but sometimes there isn’t any. Such area can be described as traumatized, but this trauma was self-inflicted. That is, the dog’s own actions mainly led to the formation of the ganuloma.

The acral lick granuloma, which occurs mostly in the limbs, usually begins when a part of the dog’s body becomes irritated. When irritated, substances, such as histamine, are released, inducing the dog to lick, bite, or chew the affected area. The irritation occurs when any of the following happens:

· Insect bites – Irksome bites may come from mosquitoes, ants and other similar bugs.
· Wounds – Painful wounds, such as cuts and lacerations, can endlessly bother the dog even though these are already on the way to healing.
· Implanted foreign objects – Objects, such as wood splinters and plant thorns, that have found their way underneath the dog’s skin can pester for quite a long time.
· Infections – Exposure of wounds or open skin to harmful microorganisms can result to a bad skin infection.
· Allergies – The dog is also subject to allergies, although such is quite rare.

When any of the above occurs, the automatic reaction of dogs is to lick the affected area. The constant and continuous licking will transform the inflamed areas, making them hardened, bulging, swollen, and reddish. Hair can no longer grow in such areas. The affected areas may be small or large. There is no characteristic shape but most are circular.

There are few cases of acral lick granuloma that seems to occur for no apparent reason at all. The dog simply started licking his limb. Vets explained this as similar to the formation of bad habits in people.

To address this certain skin problem, several treatments have been employed: Here are some of them:
· Topical solutions – These are solutions that are applied on the irritated area and these solutions have a bad taste. In theory, the taste will make a dog think twice before licking the area again. But the taste of dogs is something that has not been well studied. That is, some dogs find the taste of these topical solutions offensive, but other dogs don’t mind the taste at all.
· Bandaging – To block the area, some owners cover it with a bandage. The bandage will prevent the dog from licking it. But some dogs are quite persistent. That is, they chew the bandage off and then gain access to the abused area.
· Elizabethan collars – This type of collar will limit the movement of the dog’s head. Such will prevent the dog from reaching the mistreated area. Unfortunately, when such area has recovered and healed, the dog may still chew and bite it out of habit.
· Clomipramine – It is a drug designed to change the neuro-transmitting hormones inside the brain. The brain is not supposed to recognize the dog’s urge to lick that specific area. If this medicine is successful, some dogs may still need to take it for the rest of his life. Others dogs can be weaned off it.

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A dog’s trip will be made easier to the vet if the owner already knows what problems the vet should look at. It would be pretty hard on a vet’s perspective to suddenly just see a dog there feeling sick. The vet will have to do lots of various tests just to figure out. So it helps if you could do your own self observation and diagnosis so that when you arrive at the vet, the vet will more or less know what he or she is dealing with. Here are some self observation and diagnostic question measures.

Questions about or for the nose:
• Is the dog experiencing coughs, sneezing or congestions?
• Has there been blood coming out of the nose?
• Are there any nasal discharge?

Questions about or for the mouth:
• Are the lips or tongue swelled?
• Does the mouth appear to be experiencing chronic bleeding?
• Check the color of the gums or the area just above the teeth.
• Can your dog normally close and open the mouth?
• When the dog closes and opens the mouth are there any pains?
• Observe if the dog is drooling or foaming too excessively?
• Can the dog swallow the food normally?
• Check inside the mouth and areas inside the mouth if there are any foreign objects that may have been causing the problems.

Questions about or for the chest:
• Is your pet breathing difficultly?
• Is the pet panting?
• Is it painful for the pet when his or her chest is patted?
• Have you observed coughing?
• Check the heart rate
• Is the heartbeat consistent and steady?
• To feel the heart or the heartbeat place your hand or ear in the dog’s left chest just behind the elbow. Check the heart rate in one minute.

Questions about or for the abdomen or stomach:
• Is the dog vomiting or has diarrhea
• Is the dog eating or drinking abnormally
• Is the stomach swollen or distended
• Is the dog in pain when the stomach area is petted?
• Does your dog chew a lot of items that are not supposed to be eaten such as towels, clothing, etc.

Questions about or for the urinary system:
• Is there difference when the dog urinates?
• Is the dog in pain when he or she urinates?
• Does the dog repeatedly keep trying to urinate but no urine comes out
• Is there blood in the urine
• How frequent does the dog urinate?
• Is there any discharge on the vagina or penis?
• Is your dog licking the genital areas too excessively?

Questions about or for the bones and muscular system:
• Is the dog limping?
• Are the joints or legs swollen?
• Is the dog in pain when he or she walks?
• Is the dog walking on his or her knuckles? Is the dog dragging the legs?

This observations and questions will help give the vet an idea of what could be really bothering the dog. The visit to the vet will be faster because fewer tests will have to be done and the prescription could be more accurate because you have observed your dog more.

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Taking care of a dog is a really serious matter. It is not as easy as buying it and playing with it. If that was the case, maybe buying a mechanical dog would have been right for you. You would need to answer for the responsibilities that come with it such as bathing, grooming, feeding, and of course making sure it is healthy. If your dog has become unhealthy you will be in a more stressful situation.

When your dog becomes unhealthy you would need to nurse him or her back to health. It would be a pretty stressful task when you do nurse your pet back to health. This will usually take days to weeks. But when you do nurse your pet, the recovery period will be faster.

When you nurse your pet back to health it is best if you follow a schedule. The schedule you do could not be very rigid. It should just be enough to make sure that you are able to observe when the proper medication, feeding and treatment should be done.

There are different kinds of situation that you should consider when nursing a pet back to health. You should take into consideration what kind of patient you have and base the treatment there. Here are the different kinds of dog patients.

Newborn Patient (birth to 6 weeks):
This type of patient could be the most challenging. This is because they are unable to fend themselves, you would need to feed them and control the environments temperature. The things that you should prepare when caring for a newborn are cotton balls, towels, heat source and milk replacements. A heating pad is not a good choice because these young animals will just burrow themselves and find themselves under and directly on the heat pad. This will be time consuming as you will have to feed them every 3 to 4 hours. Other required medications will only require more effort from you. Ask the veterinarian’s help to demonstrate how to properly take care, feed, and stimulate urinations and defecations.

Pediatric Patient (6 weeks to 6 months):
These pets need more sophisticated form of treatment and confinement. You will need a kennel or a crate to contain the pet. The pet at this stage can now be able to feed itself, but will eliminate more frequently. At this stage, keeping them clean will be harder. This is because they produce a very large amount of feces, urine and vomit. To avoid getting your place all stinky and soiled be prepared to place the dog where nursing care would be easier and not much of a hassle.

Geriatric Patient:
The care you give to an older dog should just be the same as a pediatric patient. They will also need to be confined in one area of the house so that they will not be stinking up the place. To comfort them from arthritis or degenerative joint disease, extra padding should be put on their beds. The pet may be needed to be hand fed. The pet must also be assisted from walking, rising or laying down. A larger dog will require larger effort and a vet should give you proper assistance to know how to treat it properly. Give a whole lot of attention to maintain your pet’s cleanliness. Clip the long fur on the pet’s rear area to prevent feces from contaminating it.

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Having a dog is one of the coolest things. Having a monster dog on the other hand is a cause for major discussions. This is certainly true, because monster dogs may be horrid to look at but the dogs do become popular. Take the case of Sam, the world’s ugliest dog. The dog may really look scary but it did gain fame.

If you would not want your dog to end up looking like the ugliest or even slightly ugly, you should learn how to take care of it. One of the main reasons why dogs become hard to look at is because of their skin problems. If you wouldn’t want your dog classified as the ugliest, here are skins problems of dogs that you should learn to treat and prevent.

• Allergies: pets will react to allergies by scratching sporadically. Just like humans pets react to allergens that cause sensitivity. Pets will have lots of things that could cause allergic reactions. They could either be contact type, inhaled or through the food they eat. Dogs rarely get allergic to contact such as wool.

They are affected through the food they eat. Most common foods that should be watched out by dogs are corn, dairy products, beef, soy and wheat. When the dogs are just starting to have allergic reactions you will observe that they are licking, biting, rubbing or scratching the skin. It will eventually lead to infection that is characterized by pimples or red bumps. Try to get professional help immediately when noticed.

• Bacterial infection: These are common for dogs but are really more of a secondary condition that results from allergies. Antibiotics are given orally or topically to treat the problem. Treat the bacterial infection immediately while also looking for the primary cause.

• Hot spots or acute moist dermatitis: these things are results of your pain trying to scratch itself to relieve from pain and itch or self trauma. To treat this problem, you would need to clean the pet, give antibiotics (topical or orally), and anti-inflammatory agents.

• Pyoderma: these are wide range infections that will cause pus to a pet’s skin. The treatment is the same as the one in hot spots. However, the treatment is longer. Giving the pet a shower and shampooing and rinsing the pet well also help.

These are only a few of the common skin problems that your pet will experience if you become careless with its health and hygiene; unless maybe you are grooming your pet to be the next ugliest dog.

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If our pet dog could talk in man words instead of barking or whining our life as pet owners could be made easier. Imagine if your dog could say to you “Hey, I’m hungry.” Or “Take me for a walk Bub!”  Well, ok, it didn’t sound well. If your dog acted like that, it would be another bossy or nagging voice to deal with. It could even be worse if your dog was big like a St. Bernard, it could bully you. The only good thing that could come out of it probably is that the dog could be conversationalist.

If your dog talks, it could also tell you how bad he or she feels. You won’t need to just observe and see if your dog is feeling bad. Let’s step back to reality, dogs can’t talk. So it’s up to us to diagnose and observe the dogs properly to figure out what’s bothering them. Here is a list of questions so that when you send your dog for diagnosis it would be much quicker.

General Questions:
• The age of your dog, how long have you owned it, how did you acquire it and has it ever been sick?
• Is your dog being treated for any previous disease and does he have any current medication?
• Does your dog reactive any flea treatment?
• Has it been vaccinated? When and what kind of vaccines?
• Do you have any other pets and have considered them to be ill?
• How is the appetite of your dog? Do you feed it table scraps, what kind and how often?
• How is the water consumption of your dog?
• Has the dog been coughing or sneezing? Does the dog have lumps or bumps?
• How is the bowel movement? Has your dog lost or gain weight?

Questions regarding the eyes:
• Observe the decrease or increase in tear production
• Are the eyes cloudy or reddish?
• Are there discharge coming out form the eyes?
• Are the eyes bloodshot?
• Are the pupils in both eyes the same size
• Are the eyes protruding or sunken
• Is the dog squinting the eyes frequently

Questions regarding the ears:
• Is the ears swelling and are there any discharge?
• The ears should usually be erect, if they are drooping a lot there might be problems.
• Are they inflamed and red?
• Is the dog shaking his or her head a lot?
• Is the dog crying when you or it scratches or rub the ears?

When you have been able to observe and answer this questions before going to the vet. The vet can be able to diagnose it better. Since the vet will not have the whole time to observe your dog. Your answers will help greatly.

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