Today I’d like to tell you about these emergencies in the hopes that it will help keep your dog safe. There are some that you can’t do anything about but many that you can prevent.
- Vomiting – Sometimes vomiting occurs and you don’t know why. Other times, it is from changing your dog’s food too quickly, feeding table scraps or from allowing your pet access to the trash. Keep trashcans covered.
- Diarrhea – Most of the common reasons for vomiting also lead to diarrhea. Make food changes slowly, feed only dog food and ensure that your trashcans are covered.
- Limping – There are lots of reasons for limping (also referred to as “lameness”). Some you can’t do anything about – sprains and injuries can happen. But a common cause for limping is that the pet has been allowed to roam off the leash. Often the pet winds up being hit by a car or experiencing some other trauma.
- Lacerations – Lacerations are cuts in the skin. Common causes are glass in the yard or nails in fencing and trash. Many times dogs come back inside with lacerations.
- Bite wounds – This is a VERY common emergency that is usually caused by pets being allowed to go outdoors unsupervised. Keep pets in fenced-in yards and/or on leashes.
- HBC/Trauma – HBC is a common medical abbreviation for “hit by car”. This is common in pets that are allowed to go outdoors unsupervised. It is even MORE common when it rains. Pets that are commonly taken out on a leash when the weather is good are often allowed to go out on their own when it is raining – and subsequently they are hit by a car.
I hope this gives you some tips on how to prevent some common pet emergencies that can occur.
