Each species have their own heath peculiarities, so do poodles. There are general diseases and a more narrow range of illnesses for each breed separately. There are vital health advice for your poodle and important information about diseases below.
Advice – How to have a healthy poodle
Nutrition, liquid and a perfect place are everything your poodle needs for living, although it needs more for healthy living. It goes about caring.
Actually, we are what we eat. So your pet’s health depends on the food you give. The poodle’s heath guarantee is high-quality food and appropriate amount of it. Sticking up to the feeding rules helps you forget about digestion, allergies and weight problems. It may also lengthen your pet’s life span as well.
Movement is also important for maintaining your and your pet’s health in good condition. Exercise is crucial for joints and muscles in general. Know the measure. If you overdo exercise, you may have new troubles such as a standards’ bloated stomach and toys and miniatures’ joint issues.
Having a lot of friends, both humans and canines, is crucial as well. It is what we call mental health. Hearth makes your pet calm and satisfied. It should feel love and care you give. Your dog loves to communicate with others so give it this opportunity.
Many owners do not pay proper attention to teeth care. All in all, it is a big mistake, since virus coming through the gums is the origin of serious illness.
Do not ignore the vet visiting even if you think that everything is alright. Remember, if you bring your pet when it is already ill, it may be too late.
The preventive methods are the best for worm, flea and tick bites. They carry a serious threat to your pet. Be smart and treat your pet in order to avoid these troubles.
Wide-spread health issues
Skin tumors, bladder stones, tracheal collapse, Cushing’s Disease and cataracts threaten toys while Addison’s disease, bloat, both hyperthyroid and hypothyroid issues, hip dysplasia, collapsed trachea, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Sebaceous Adenitis, Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease and epilepsy threaten all poodles species.
Puppies wide-spread issues
You should be aware with hypoglycemia disease known for blood dropping and lethal outcome. Puppies are not protected from this illness which develops at a rate of knots. The most sensitive to this illness are toys and miniatures. Nevertheless, it can happen from birth to four-month age. Stress or lack of nutrition meal is the main trigger.
You should be on the alarm when your poodle is weak, its walking manner is slightly awkward, it seems to be perplexed, shakes, frequent collapsing, panting. Hasten with proper help otherwise your pet can meet lethal outcome.
You see, puppies are too small and if the one sign responds to your pup’s behavior, it is alright. Though, one can never be too careful and it is better to visit the vet.
Your responsibility is to raise the blood sugar lever and only then you can consult your vet. Rubbing honey on the gums is the best way to do it. Karo syrup or similar treatment empties bowels very quickly and that is the best consequence. On the contrary, honey works for the right reasons. Honey is easy to substitute with warm water with sugar. Give it to drink with the help of a small spoon.
You see that your pet feels better in a minute. Then you can visit the vet. If the situation is too difficult, intravenous helps your poodle to cope with hard time. If you have some hesitation concerning your poodle can handle this, a couple of sugar water tea spoons never bring harm. They help you make your pup hypo active.
Wide-spread health problems for all ages and sizes
Hip Dysplasia
This disease concerns hips joints’ malfunction. It may be a matter of genes as well. To simply say, it is the socket mutation or tendon malfunction. As the result, the balls are dislocated. Despite this disease closely connects your pet with its ancestors, here are some more reasons your poodle can have it. The weight is an important attribute to consider it as a reason to have hip dysplasia. Over-exercising harms as well since the unformed hips receive a great pressure. If your dog grows too quickly, it is one more reason to have this problem. You see the signs in the period between five and ten months old. Still, there is not defined age for this problem.
The symptoms are as follows:
- After the activity you poodle feels weak and tired.
- It is complicated for your pet to get up lying on the floor before.
If your pet:
- Periodically jumps while walking
- Do not use its hind legs while getting up
- Its steps are unsure
- Reluctant to the physical activities
You should try some medication first but operation is inevitable as well. Anti-inflammatory medication goes together with bed rest. This is a kind of preparation for surgery.
If your pet has a combination of these signs, be ready to help.
- Epilepsy
- Epilepsy is the most popular among four fits.
- Slobbering
- Looking at nothing
- Movements without any reason
- Ignoring your voice
- Puzzling
- Limbs refuse to move
- Fainting
- Breath ceasing
If you together with the vet want to find out the level and type of this disease, you can follow this advice.
- First of all, do not touch the dog’s tongue.
- Secondly, eliminate needless stuff near you such as chair, tables.
- Thirdly, turn off the TV, radio and light.
It is important to keep calm. Panic is out of the place.
Use a slim cushion to put it under the poodle’s head.
Take notes of important information such as time, the length, the symptoms you have noticed. If you have the opportunity, you can film this period of time to show it to your vet. Remember, there are a lot of drugs for epilepsy but, unfortunately, they cannot treat it absolutely, they can only mask this disease. Phenobarbital, Dilantin or Primidone is recommended
Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
This illness impact on eyesight, commonly cause blindness. Unfortunately, despite continuous studying has been conducted, there is no treatment. However, some product can just retard the blindness process. If the eyes retina is hurt, both eyes become disable to see. You can notice its earlier symptoms. There are as follows:
-The difficulties to see at nights
-Dilated pupils seem to shine
You have half of the year to prevent complete blindness. This is the exact period of time between you see the first signs and completely losing eyesight.
If the life circumstances are good for your dog, it is easier to cope with this troubles.
Sebaceous Adenitis
Standards suffer from this illness more often than the others. It concerns skin disease. Hair loss is its final outcome. The most appropriate age is between first and seventh year of life. The main problem is that sebaceous gland does not produce skin oil (sebum) thoroughly. That is why the poodles have skin troubles and hair loss. However, the latter does not impact on life span, unlike dry skin does as it is vulnerable to any infections.
It is recommended to use Keratolytic shampoos trice a week for better effect. The skin becomes healthier and smoother.
Use oxydex shampoo and antibiotic ointments to fight the infections
Try propylene glycol, it must be useful too. Last but not the least, omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids is good for skin and coat.
Retinoids are expensive and have side effect. They are dangerous for unborn offspring. Cyclosporine medication impact on the immune system which generates more health troubles.
Luxating Patella
Small poodle is tending to have this disease. On the whole, all kinds of breed can have it. It is about the situation when the kneecap is dislocated. Despite most of researchers consider it as a genetic problem, this disease can be a consequence of injury as well.
The signs can be different, but treatment is compulsory. Imagine a situation when your poodle has injured its leg. For the first time it is painful. When the pain passes, everything seems to be alright. Only after a certain period of time your poodle feels worse as inflammation conducted with extreme pain outburst. Here are some symptoms for you to make this disease more recognizable:
-walking difficulties
-leg does not go as it should be
-leg seems to be seriously injured
-unwillingness to do physical activities
Treatments are similar to those for hip dysplasia developed: to combine bed rest and anti-inflammatory drugs. Surgery intrusion is needed only in critical situation. In addition, poodle which tends to have this illness, is more vulnerable to arthritis.
Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease
Inborn bone ends flaws are called as LCP disease, which toys and miniatures are tend to have. Actually, it means that hurt bone receives a little blood. This makes your poodle feel a little weak and helpless. If you do not start to cure your poodle, its leg may not grow any more.
In addition, male dogs tend to have this illness four times often than females. It is dangerous for four-month old puppies and older as well.
As the illness is quite serious, the treatment is simple. Stick to the bed rest for six months. If you follow this, you can be an owner of a completely healthy dog.
Allow your poodle to get up only for emergency, this is what we call to pee and poo or in other cases. Do not let your poodle get up and you see the result.
Surgery is needed only in that case if the bone end is too fragile after a so long period of resting.
Miniatures and standards wide-spread health problems
von Willebrand’s Disease
It is dangerous because blood clotting. Three types were defined. Type I is wide-spread among the poodles and more delicate than the other types. Be careful if your poodles have a nose or gums bleeding, abnormal bleeding while heating or laboring form female poodles, urine or defecates with bleed.
It is not curable, but it is controllable. You can stop mild bleeding with the help of pressure. You may use sutures if it is needed. Transfusion is another way out to treat this disease. If your pet is hypothyroid, use thyroid supplements to control bleeding.
Standards health problems
Gastric Tortion-Bloat or Bloat or Killer Bloat
It is common trouble when your pet has excessive amount of gas or fluids in the stomach. When the stomach becomes swollen because of gas, the gastric dilation is caused. Slightly turned stomach is called as gastric torsion while completely turned is known as gastric volvulus. These problems are serious with lethal consequences.
Mostly standards are prone to have this disease, especially male dogs from four to seven years old. Those which avoid eating liquid meals and have physical activities in a little period of time after having meal. Remember, two hours should pass and your poodle can freely exercise.
Be aware of bloat signs. Here they are:
A lot of spitting and slobbering
Too much anxiety
Vomiting or managing to do this
Stomach aches
The stomach is rounder and bigger
Fast breathes
Light gums
Treatment should be provided immediately after noticing symptoms. Surgery is inevitable in this case.
Addison’s disease or hypoadrenocorticism
This illness is connected with the lack of cortisone and aldosterone hormones, which adrenal glands produce. The sign of this disease is unidentified exactly as owners are usually late to consult the vet on an early stage.
Standards are too sensitive to this illness, especially female.
If your poodle does not want to eat, is always thirsty, tired, vomits, has diarrhea with blood, lost in weight, has tightened muscles, heart rate is slower than it should be.
Blood and urine tests show if the dog has this illness. If your poodle is affected with this disease, give your poodle what it is lacks, cortisone and aldosterone to be exact to make its life longer, happier and healthier. In addition, the earlier you notice the signs, the better for your poodle life.