When to See the Veterinarian

When to bring your dog to the Veterinarian:

  • Sustained, significant increase in water consumption.
  • Weight loss.
  • Significant decrease in appetite or failure to eat for more than 2 consecutive days.
  • Repeated vomiting.
  • Diarrhea for more than 2 days.
  • Persistent coughing gagging or panting.
  • Hair loss.
  • Itching
  • Seizures.
  • Reluctance or inability to chew food.
  • Inability to urinate or move bowels, or pain or blood with urination/defecation.
  • General Pain.
  • Limping

***NEVER give human medication to your dog unless instructed to do so by a Veterinarian.

It may be an emergency if your dog exhibits any of the following:

  • Difficulty breathing, noisy respiration, blue tongue, gasping for breath.
  • Bleeding that does not stop from any part of the body; apply pressure with a clean cloth and go!
  • Bloated or distended abdomen or swollen or painful abdomen with or without vomiting.
  • Heatstroke heavy panting, extreme weakness, body temperature about 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Inability to deliver puppies or kittens, labor contractions for longer than one hour or, more than 15 minutes of labor with the fetus or membrane showing.
  • Loss of balance or consciousness or seizure, including tremors, coma, staggering, convulsions, sudden blindness, tilting of the head, biting at imaginary objects, sudden changes in disposition such as unusual withdrawal or out-of-character aggressiveness.
  • Major trauma, injury, or shock from falls, vehicle accidents, wounds, cuts, broken bones
  • Signs of collapse, bewildered appearance, dilated pupils.
  • Ingested poison; bring the container or the commercial or chemical name of the product or a list of ingredients if you have it.
  • Penetrating wounds anyplace, but especially in the chest or abdomen.
  • Vomiting and diarrhea with blood or violent episodes.
  • Facial swelling.