Dog owners always have lots of questions about how to look after their pets, so here are some useful FAQs to help look after your pet.

1. What supplies do I need to have on hand before I bring my new puppy home?

Always remember to take a travel crate with you when picking up your puppy. Be sure to have some good puppy food at home and small bowls for food and water, as these are your puppy’s essentials. It might be worth asking your vet or breeder about the best food for your new puppy. Get the bedding sorted too and have a few toys ready for your puppy to play with when it comes home. Don’t forget to make an appointment with your veterinarian for your puppy’s first check-up!

2. I’ve heard about microchipping – what is this?

Microchipping is very popular these days and it is an essential part of dog health care. The microchip itself is a small device that goes under the dog’s skin – often placed near the neck. Then, should your dog ever run off and get picked up by a shelter, they can read the microchip and place it back in your safe hands. If you’re unsure about the need for microchipping, you have to ask yourself how much time your dog will be with you and if it could get out of your home’s boundaries easily. However, given that the implantation procedure is such a safe and simple one, you really should consider it. Some dogs are always with their owners, but they can still run away given half the chance.

3. I think my dog has worms – how do I know for certain?

If you need to know more about dog health care, you should take into consideration troublesome worms. There are some common types of worms that you should be aware of and these include hookworms, tapeworms and whipworms. Worms are internal irritants and one such as heartworms can be fatal. It is therefore essential that your vet routinely checks for worms.

4.  Why should I get my dog fixed?

Unless you plan to professionally breed your dog, you should get him or her neutered or spayed (fixed). Just think of all the millions of stray animals and those that get kicked out of homes – don’t add to this problem, which is why getting your pet ‘fixed’ is the best solution. There are many pets neutered and spayed each day and the majority come out absolutely fine, so it is definitely worth doing – plus, things are so quick these days that your pet could be out in the same day.

As well as controlling the over-population of animals, getting your pet ‘fixed’ can also benefit their health. If you have your dog neutered or spayed before it reaches 6 months of age, then its risk of developing certain types of cancers and infections will be cut in half.

If you take the time to review the dog health advice available on the Internet or at your local library you will see that it is not just little baby humans that suffer from a risk of ear infections. It’s actually fairly easy to spot the warning signs that there might be trouble in there even without being an expert or taking your pet to the vet.

If you watch him or her you might notice that there is more head shaking than is typically normal for your pet. Maybe he or she is doing more scratching than you recall in and around the ears. While all mammals, humans alike will from time to time find the urge to scratch the ears. It could be an dogs ear infection or it could be some form of parasitic infestation like mites or even something as mundane as having some severely dirty ears. Dog health information is everywhere and will help you to identify the culprit and find the appropriate solution should you decide to handle it yourself rather than visiting the vet. The bottom-line on an ear problem, whether it is an infection or an infestation is that it needs to be dealt with swiftly and decisively because the longer you take getting it taken care of the longer the dog is going to suffer and ultimately the more it is going to cost you to end it.

A dogs ear infection is something that is going to be best dealt with by using some form of medications. You really should bite the bullet here and take the canine to the vet. They are properly equipped to diagnose and handle the problem and they are the ones that will be able to make sure that it is completely taken care of so it does not reappear. Either way you need to be well informed and make sure that you take the dog health information as seriously as if it were your own personal health.

Just like us humans dogs have an outer, middle and an inner ear and there are different types of dog ear infections that can be present in those various places. This is yet another of the reasons that a vet is your best option and its difficult to find the dog health symptoms. You will notice or find that the dogs that are most susceptible to this type of issue are ones like the cocker spaniel and other dogs that tend to have floppy droop over ears. They tend to also be the hardest to treat because the ear continually covers the area and getting it to stay clean during treatment can be a difficult task.