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The things you want to pay attention to are their levels of play and exercise, their interaction and greetings with people and other dogs, and their regularity of 'calls of nature' we'll say.
Try to learn to recognize differences in your dog's behavior, taking into account short-term or one time incidents. If a change in behavior is persistent, in any way obviously detrimental, or if it is ever accompanied by lethargy (sloooowing down) or a change (up or down) in appetite, get to the Vet!
Exercise and Play:
The amount of exercise your pet needs depends on a couple of factors. Chiefly, breed, size and your dogs personality come into play. Big dogs normally associated with sport like retrievers, spaniels and setters need more exercise and play. Herding dogs, hound dogs and most terriers also need a good deal of exercise. Moderate levels are more appropriate for other dog types, including little guys. A moderate level would consist of a couple of shorter daily walks and playtime. Sporting dog owners know that a little leash walking won't satisfy their pup.
Interactions and Greetings:
A good place to be able to spot changes in personality or activity levels is to monitor how your dog greets and interacts with people. Usually there will be a consistent level of exuberance or excitement (depending on if their new or familiar people, or friendly or standoffish people of course) that you can take note of.
If your pup usually loves new people and suddenly seems uninterested or even aggressive, it could be an indicator.
Also, in your usual play behavior, of your animal seems out of sorts, it may be a good cue to look for anything else atypical.
The Call of Nature:
Dogs are great. Cleaning up after dogs is whatever the exact opposite of great is. But we all have to do it, and since we're doing it we may as well take advantage of the information it presents to us. Fecal matter, urine and the regularity in output of either are all very telling and information rich things.
Dogs are pretty consistent when it comes to how often, and generally how much they defecate and pee. It's our responsibility to look for changes in the pattern as indicators of health problems.
How often is normal? Your dog will usually want to pee every 5 to 7 hours on average. First thing when they wake up, noonish, late afternoon, and before bed. Eight hours is as long as you'd ever want to push a healthy dog without letting them out. You'll be cleaning messes, or possibly hurting your well trained and very conflicted dog, if any more time than that passes.
Dogs normally take a number 2, about twice a day. If the fecal matter is fairly small and firm, this is a good sign of health.
Problem indicators include:
- Frequency of urination
- Amount urinated
- Does the dog strain to urinate
- Blood in the urine (easy to miss)
An increased or constant need to go outside, along with straining to pee could indicate an infection of the bladder. A noticeable increase in the frequency and amount urinated, accompanied by increased water consumption, could be a sign of kidney diseased or even doggy diabetes.
If your dog has diarrhea (watery stool) it may be because of a sudden change in diet (such as that mysteriously toppled over garbage can) or it could be an internal parasite. It could also be a symptom of infection. If your dog is straining to defecate or producing hard dry stool they may be constipated.
If any of these problem indicators come up you should consult your Veterinarian immediately.
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| Basic Dog Health |
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| Adult Dog Care |
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