I'd like to begin this article with a personal story about my truelove, Sunny. He's a 7 year old, white, Spitz and I love him to death. Every time I go back home, I can't help but hug and kiss him till he wishes to run away from me. On my last visit, I wasn't at home too often and would go out visiting my old friends. As I kept leaving him behind, alone in the house, he would start to cry and make weird noises. My neighbors would tell me that he would keep pacing around the entire backyard, waiting for me. Needless to say, I got worried and was wondering if this behavior was hinting toward something dangerous. I took him to the veterinarian and all he did was keep asking me about any unusual behavior or symptoms; but I came up blank.

After this incident, I found out that every dog tends to display certain symptoms. These symptoms indicate that proper dog care is not being followed through and somewhere down the line, it could be due to our negligence. (I'm not saying that all dog owners are negligent, but with tons of chores to finish in a day's time, it's very common). Since they can't say what's bothering them in words, they tend to show the symptoms to us. All we have to do is to be alert and catch their behavior changes in time. And if and when we make an error, our furry friends end up suffering big time. And to avoid such an event from occurring, go through the article for helpful information on different illnesses and their symptoms.

Various Symptoms of Different Dog Illnesses

It is advisable that you immediately visit your veterinarian if you find any unusual behavior in your pet. As there are various ailments and diseases that can affect your dog's health, finding the root cause of it becomes highly essential. Whenever a dog isn't feeling well or wants to tell/hint something, he/she will show you signs and symptoms for sure. As a dog owner, it is your responsibility to notice these symptoms and get your pooch to the vet immediately.

In the following article, we have listed some common symptoms that can trigger serious dog health problems. Go through each of them and understand the main reasons behind them.

When Your Dog Isn't Eating Anything
After a quick run, following a command, or for being a sweet companion, we tend to give our pets some treats. This is true when your dog doesn't show interest in eating anything for about or more than 24 hours. If your sweetheart doesn't show interest in food and treats, he/she would have loved to hog on before, then it's a clear sign that something is not right. Loss of appetite in dogs is an indication to certain diseases, stress, or not enough attention from the owners. Along with these, there can be many reasons why your dog doesn't wish to eat, like difficulty chewing, teeth or gum problems, Addison's disease, dog flu, constipation, feeling depressed, change in weather/temperature, or problems with kidney or liver.

All these causes can be directly related to your dog's disinterest in eating anything. As loss of appetite is a serious symptom that needs to be addressed as soon as possible, do make it a point to visit the veterinarian at the first sign. Only a vet can be the right person to understand these symptoms and give proper diagnosis.

When Your Dog is Coughing Excessively
Many a time, you would find your dog coughing. It may not seem serious at the moment, but persistent coughing can be an indication for blockage in windpipe, kennel cough, problems with heart, or pneumonia. Excessive coughing in dogs can lead to respiratory problems, bronchitis, and heart failure.

In order to detect any of these ailments, along with coughing, check if your dog is having difficulty breathing, has fever, or is coughing up mucus; all these are clear dog sickness symptoms. So don't take these signs lightly and visit the veterinarian immediately for correct diagnosis and treatment methods.

When Your Dog is Urinating More or Less Frequently
For dogs, urinating excessively and having an unquenchable thirst may point to diabetes, liver disease, adrenal gland disease, and/or kidney disease. If your dog has been urinating excessively, there comes a point where he or she will do so inside the house. You will notice puddles of urine here and there around the house, and that you have been filling the bowl of water way too often. As for urinating less frequently, your dog might be straining every time the urge comes. These symptoms are clear signs of something is definitely wrong and you should visit the veterinarian immediately.

When Your Dog's Stomach is Sick
Similar to humans, even dogs vomit, and it is a clear sign of certain illnesses. The symptom of vomiting can help detect problems and diseases such as Addison's disease, dog allergies, food poisoning, kidney problems, excessive eating, worm infestation, diabetes, or leptospirosis (swamp fever). There are times when your pet will go outside, play, stay active, eat a few leaves and junk here and there, and come back home and vomit. Now this isn't such a bad thing. On the other hand, if your pet vomits and is acting lethargic and won't eat anything, then it is something to be concerned about.

If your dog's stomach is feeling queasy, he/she may throw up things that are irritating him. There may be a yellowish-froth type of vomit that can tell you that his/her stomach is acting up. When a dog has frequent vomiting episodes with presence of blood or bile, it can be a sign of weakness, dehydration, and fever. These are very serious health issues which require proper medical treatment.

If there are any other symptoms you'd like more information on, be sure to read dog health questions and answers for more help. Dog illness symptoms are not to be taken lightly as they are obvious indications to serious health problems. Be the voice for your dog and help him/her get better soon.