Heart Disease in Dogs

Whoever said that heart diseases are only for humans? Whoever it was, he was wrong - it's not just exclusive for people but for dogs as well. Many pet owners know this to be true – there are countless innocent pooches that Canine Heart Disease has claimed. Basically there are two types of the ailment, the first one is involves a defect where the heart valves of your pet will fail to close properly. When that happens, the blood flow loses its rhythm and becomes irregular. The second type is where the walls of the entire heart get lanky/thin. When that happens, the heart tissues will stretch and increase in size. nnCanine Heart Disease isn't a laughing matter, it can and will eventually lead to the death of your pooch unless the necessary actions are taken. The disorder can be caused by parasites. An infected heart of course will lead to this disease and complicate your dog's condition. Your pooch may have been born with the disease because of abnormal development of the cardiac tissues. It could have also been passed down by its parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and so on so forth – in short it can be hereditary. Another cause of this could be improper diet. You may be feeding it too much, and it may not be getting enough of the nutrition it needs. nnJust because it will eat anything doesn't mean you should feed it anything. Fatty foods can make its condition worse by clogging arteries and disrupting the blood flow. Overfeeding, if your dog is tested positive for the ailment, will also make things worse. A lack of exercise would make it more susceptible to Canine Heart Disease. It wouldn't be able to burn fat and regulate its blood flow properly. There are many owners out there with their pets locked up inside the house most of the time. They are just too busy and neglect to fulfill the daily exercise needs of their doggies. nnThis isn't a rare disease that happens to a selected few, it is a very common disease and can happen to any dog. A pet having the disorder will display symptoms according to the severity of the disease. A pooch in this condition won't be showing any signs of the sickness immediately. When it does, the earliest giveaways would be coughing. It would cough a little at first, but it would become more frequent and intense as its condition worsens. Your pet may also become lazy, refusing to take walks or even playing. Owners would notice that it would be lying down most of the time and sleeping more often. nnIt would also be having difficulty in breathing, taking deep breaths from time to time with irregular patterns. As time would pass more symptoms would appear, such as a sudden loss in weight and extreme difficulty in breathing with even stranger patterns. It could even pass out if it's gotten real bad. Unfortunately, there isn't a cure for Canine Heart Disease, but there are methods used to help deal with the symptoms. Such methods include exercise programs specially designed for an infected pet. Proper diet and meals should also be given. If you feel that your pet has the disorder, see your veterinarian for a check-up, advice, and medicine that can help it deal with the ailment.