Dog healthcare

Regular health checks at home, help you keep your dogs’ health on track. If you have any concerns with their wellbeing, consult a vet as soon as possible.

If your dog is uncomfortable with being handled during their health checks, take things slowly, progressing at the dog’s pace and rewarding them with praise and/or treats for any small improvements.

General – Run your hands over your dog and check for any lumps or swelling.  If your dog behaves differently, such as moving away from pressure, breathing rapidly or whimpering this could indicate that they are in pain.

Ears – Check inside your dog’s ears for redness, itchiness, or unusual smells. Ears should look clean with no thick brown/green waxy discharge.

Eyes – These should be bright and clear with no signs of redness, soreness, or discharge/weeping.

Nose – A healthy nose is crust-free with no runny or thickened discharge or bleeding.

Mouth – A dog’s mouth should have white/cream teeth with no excess tartar (thick brown build-up) and their gums should be a healthy pink or black, depending on pigmentation.

Gums should never be bright red, swollen or bleeding. Additional signs of oral issues are; dropping food, reluctance to eat, excessive salivation or clawing at the mouth. Always ask your vet to check your dog’s teeth every time you visit. Regular brushing of dog’s teeth is the best way to keep teeth and gums healthy, although this should be introduced gradually and only attempted once your dog is comfortable with you.

Bad breath in a dog can indicate a few issues but most commonly bad oral care. Plaque on teeth and gums can lead to tooth decay and gum disease, sometimes leading onto more serious health issues.

Feet – Check regularly in-between their toes to make sure no foreign bodies are present (such as grass seeds).

Extreme weather can impact your dog’s paws. In winter, it is common for dogs to get their pads cut by ice. It is recommended to clean their paws after a winter walk to prevent anti-freeze or road grit staying on their paws and creating soreness, this also reduces the potential for them to digest the chemicals, if they lick their paws.

In summer, hot surfaces can burn your dog’s pads so walk on grass when possible. It is important that you don’t walk your dog during temperatures of 24℃ + as this greatly increases the risk of heat stroke.

Skin and coat –A healthy dog’s skin can be white, pink or black depending on their pigmentation. When checking for skin problems, spread their fur with your fingers and check for crusting, itching, scaly spots or any infected or inflamed areas. A dog’s coat (depending on the breed) should be shiny with no bald patches, dandruff, or fleas.

All dogs should be routinely vaccinated against Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfluenza and Parvovirus. In addition, dogs can also be vaccinated against Kennel Cough; this vaccine is especially important for those dogs attending regular shows or staying in boarding kennels.

Puppies receive some immunity from their mothers, however, this immunity fades rapidly from six to twelve weeks of age so for this reason, a puppy should receive their initial vaccination around eight weeks of age. A primary course of vaccinations involves 2 injections, typically administered two weeks apart. This gives your pet immunity for the first year of their life. Your puppy should be kept indoors for at least one week after its second injection, to avoid exposure to infection before full immunity is achieved.

Annual booster vaccinations should then be given to your dog through the entirety of its life.

All dogs can catch worms. Puppies should be wormed every two to three weeks from the age of two weeks until they are twelve weeks old, this is then continued monthly until they are six months old. Adult dogs should be wormed every three months for life. Some of the main signs that your dog has worms include scratching around their rear, fatigue, and visible worms in their faeces. However, not all worms are visible so its important to treat your dogs for worms as a preventative measure.

Fleas can cause pets to be become restless and distressed. They cause itching and inflammation, possibly leading to major skin problems. They are responsible for the transmission of tapeworms, and it is important to remember when treating your dog for fleas, to treat for tapeworms too. Effective flea treatment and control involves treating both the environment and the dog. 

There are multiple ways to treat parasites such as fleas and worms, prevention is better than cure, so speak to your vets as they will be able to advise the best preventative treatment for you.

Neutering is important not only to reduce the number of unwanted animals but also to prevent any serious health issues, such as a pyometra (infected womb) and certain cancers. Neutering is a routine operation and involves removing the reproductive organs of an animal. This involves a day at the veterinary practice for the operation and they should have approximately two weeks of rest after the operation before they can go back to their normal amount of exercise.

Microchipping is a legal requirement for any dog over the age of eight weeks old in England and Wales. All breeders are responsible for ensuring puppies are microchipped before selling them. If you are buying a puppy from a breeder, make sure that your puppy is microchipped before taking it home and that you have the details to change the microchip. Microchipping is a simple and effective way to make sure that your pet can be easily identified should you become separated.

Each year, on average, one pet in three will require veterinary treatment for illness or accident. As treatment becomes more complex and sophisticated, costs inevitably rise and, on many occasions, may become a limiting factor. Additionally, third party insurance should be taken out should the unthinkable happen and they injure someone, injure another dog or they damage/breaks someone else’s belongings or property.

All dogs leaving Cheltenham Animal Shelter will have been fully vaccinated, treated for worms and fleas up to the date of adoption, microchipped, and will have 4 weeks free pet insurance with PetPlan™. We aim to neuter all animals before adoption, but if that is not possible you will receive a neutering voucher and be told when they are booked in for their operation.

If you have any questions about general dog care, you can email our team on [email protected]