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By Jessica M
 There is a parasite that feast on the epidermal waste of dogs and cats alike. They are earmites. Do you have dogs in your home, or do you take care of dogs for others? Then you should be aware of the signs of these pests.
They are large enough to be seen most of the time by the naked eye. A magnifying glass will help you see them quite easily. You may notice that your dog is scratching his ears a lot, or acting different. Your dog could develop a serious yeast infection. This can happen if he scratches, but sometimes it happens even if he doesn't.
A brownish discharge around your dog's ears can alert you to these dog ear mites. What's happening is that the mites are stimulating the production of ear wax. So if you're seeing this, it may be time to give your dog a check up.
You can tell yourself if your dog has ear mites, simply by using a cotton swab to gently remove some of the wax from your dog's ear. If you look
at this wax sample under a magnifying glass, you'll be able to tell whether there are mites infesting your dog's ear.
It is very important to get your dog treated right away if he has ear mites. They can make your dog's life miserable, but more than that, they are dangerous. They can cause your dog's ear drum to rupture. They can cause seizures, even death.
The mites are rather mobile as adults. It's easy enough for them to migrate from one animal to the next, infesting all your other pets. Be sure that you inspect your other animals for the signs of ear mites too.
Want to discover and get rid of ear mites quickly and easily? Visit Earmites.net and make sure you and your pets enjoy being ear mites free. Common Dog Diseases, Illnesses and Conditions
By David Hensley
 Like all pet animals, dogs too are prone to lots of diseases. To keep the dogs free from the diseases, they should be understood first and accordingly treated well with the assistance of the veterinarian. Some of the common dog diseases are discussed below:
Rabies: Rabies is a very common dog disease caused by a virus affecting the central nervous system of the dog. Rabies is known to be spread through saliva. There are several stages observed in the dogs. In the first stage the dogs are seen with a behavior change, in the second stage the dogs become very violent and in the third stage body parts of the dogs stop coordinating with each other. There is no cure till now for this deadly disease.
Bloat: This is a serious condition of the dog. The stomach of the dog gets twisted, which is due to over eating. The symptoms of bloat are restlessness and depression combined with dry heaves.
Distemper: It is considered to be the worst dog disease worldwide. This leads to fatal condition of the puppies up to 80 percent and adult dogs up to 50 percent. The common symptoms of this disease are congestion in the chest, coughing, diarrhea, gunky eyes, nasal discharge etc. At later stages it affects the nervous system of the dogs leading to paralysis. It is a highly contagious dog disease. It can be transmitted from the feces of the infected dog. This dog disease too does not have any cure.
Parvovirus: It is a very contagious disease affecting the intestinal tract of the dogs. It is also said to affect the heart of the dogs. The symptoms of this disease are severe diarrhea, depression, decrease of appetite. The feacel matter of the dog is found to be in a different color with blood stains. The symptoms appear within hours of the infestation and can even kill the dog within 2 to 3 days of infection. Hence, it is considered as a deadly disease.
Kennel Cough: It is very common among dogs. It is a kind of respiratory disease. This can be easily treated.
Canine Viral Hepatitis. This disease affects the liver, kidney and the blood vessels of the dogs. The common symptoms are profuse thirst, vomiting, hemorrhages, loss of appetite etc. This virus too spreads through the faeces of the dogs.
Leptospirosis: This disease is caused by bacteria and, even human beings get affected by the bacteria. There are several species of bacteria found to produce the disease in dogs. The common symptoms include lethargy, fever, kidney inflammation, clotting of blood and conjunctivitis. In more chronic conditions it can produce pneumonia, intestinal inflammation and jaundice.
Heartworm: Heartworms are a kind of parasites which multiply and grow, causing infection in the chambers of the heart and arteries of the lungs. The symptoms may start with mild cough, fatigue and lethargy. If it is not treated properly it can lead to congestive heart failure.
Retinal Dysplasia: Abnormal development of the retina is the disorder. This is very common in most of the dog breeds. The minor forms lead to vision problems and the acute forms leads to total blindness in dogs. Cataract can also accompany with this disorder.
David Hensley contributes several informative articles regularly to http://www.petsmixonline.com and http://www.petsmanners.info which have exhaustive resources for pets health, training and their manners. Pet Obesity - A Growing Concern
By David Hensley
 Obesity in pets is common nowadays causing real problems. The obesity in pets is due to either over feeding or not providing any exercise to the pets or not providing the right diet. Obesity in pets is also attributed to the modern lifestyles of people, who leave their pets alone in their house, eating for themselves whatever they want and not providing any exercise. Obesity conditions of pets can lead to devastating state of their health like high blood pressure, skin problems, increased risk to diabetes mellitus and heat intolerance resulting in pets facing high risks of heat strokes during hot weathers, risk towards infections and towards anesthesia.
Obesity in cats:
Nearly 25 percent of cats are known to be clinically obese, meaning excess fat accumulation of the body. Not having a check on the cats obesity may lead them to the reduction of the cats life span. Obese cats are prone to heart diseases, arthritis, skin disorders, fatty liver disease, lower urinary tract diseases, diabetes and cancer. Obesity can lead to or can be a cause for diabetes.
The main reasons for obesity in cats:
Obesity in cats may be due to aging process or due to the breed, or due to genetics which can cause increase in body weight. Mixed breed cats suffer from obesity than pure breeds.
Neutering female and male cats bodily functions gets reduced up to 25 percent leading them into obesity. By eating extra calories too, they become obese. Low thyroid hormonal levels also cause obesity.
Obesity in dogs:
The incidence obesity is more when the dogs are owned by an obese person than the dogs owned by a physically fit person. The dog breeds, which are more prone to obesity, are small terriers, cocker spaniels, dachshunds, beagles etc. This does not mean that other dog breeds are not prone to obesity. Any dog, which is lethargic and lies down all the day, is obese. It has been found that around one third of people do not know that their dogs are obese.
The reasons for obesity in dogs:
When dogs are fed on table scraps they become obese as the food cannot be monitored for quality. The food with a good nutritional balance and value has to be provided for their well being rather than feeding scraps of food.
Spayed female dogs are more prone to obesity. Likewise castrated male dogs too are prone to obesity. A dog may be obese due to under active thyroid hormones making it overweight and sluggish. Also when dogs are not provided regular walks and exercise they tend to become obese.
Ways to overcome obesity in pets:
The pets should be provided with good nutritional food with rich protein content and make the weight loss procedure to take its toll gradually. They have to be supplemented with amino acids, vitamins and minerals for regaining their stamina.
Time should be spent with the pets to make them run, jump and do mild exercises to keep them fit. The valuable time spent with the pet can be very relaxing to both the pet and the owner.
David Hensley contributes several informative articles regularly to http://www.petsmixonline.com and http://www.petsmanners.info which have exhaustive resources for pets health, training and their manners. Share Your Opinion. (0 posts)
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