Care & Prevention for Good Health of Your Small Breed Dog!

Are you a dog lover? Do you have smaller breed dogs? When you choose a "best friend" that is a small breed there are some things that you should be aware of for the potential health risks of these smaller breed canines. As an experienced dog owner of many different breeds of different sizes, I have found that it is best to know the possible issues that could arise with any size dog, so here are some tips and information for you to keep in mind if you are a small breed dog owner, or are thinking of becoming one.

As a general rule, small dogs tend to be prone to problems with their gums as well as their teeth. Because of this, I strongly recommend two things to keep your dog's mouth healthy. First of all, brush your dog's teeth once every day, preferably after their last meal of the day. Secondly, it is a really good idea when choosing what kind of food to feed your dog to avoid canned foods and stick primarily to the dry biscuits. Read the ingredients carefully carefully before making your choice. The canned varieties usually have more sugars and the moisture can stick to the gums longer, causing tooth decay and gum infections. There are also a variety of treats on the market that are made specifically to help keep your dog's teeth healthy. These are not only a treat for your dog, but it will help keep their teeth and gums healthy at the same time.

Another things I have found with smaller breed dogs is that they often have "small dog syndrome". This is particularly common when there are multiple dogs in the household and they are the smaller of the pack. For example, my male papillion suffers from this problem. He lives with a female golden retriever and a female great dane, so as you can imagine, he developed issues early on. Symptoms include excessive barking, excessive playfulness with the other members of the pack and anything else that they can think of to annoy the other canine members of the pack. To combat this problem and in fact to head it off before it starts, be sure to give your small dog as much attention as the larger dogs, and treat all of the pack members equally; meaning do not do things like talking in a different higher pitched voice to the smaller dog than the larger ones. You may not realize it but the dogs will notice it, and behave accordingly.

Another thing to be aware of with smaller dogs is the Parvo virus. They have a tendency towards it and it can be a very serious health problem particularly for puppies. The dog sitting service that I work for just had a client with a 4 month old puppy that died from the Parvo virus a few months ago. To keep this from happening to your puppy be sure to have him or her vaccinated for it. (Although small dogs are more susceptible to Parvo, I recommend vaccinating your puppy regardless of what size breed it is.) Parvo virus causes vomiting and diarrhea, so if you even remotely suspect that your puppy may have this virus, be sure to get treatment immediately, as it is deadly!

Small dogs have an increased risk for a collapsed trachea. The breeder that I got my papillion from, Ellen Marcus, of Hannibal, Missouri, explained to me that the reason this happens is simply that the trachea of a dog is also it's windpipe, and if the cartilage around the windpipe becomes weak, the trachea will start to collapse. The smaller the dog, the higher the risk, so be aware of this in case your dog has some shortness of breath, has a kind of honking sound when he or she coughs, gets breathless when exercising. If any of these symptoms occur then take your dog straight to the emergency animal hospital! For small dogs, Ellen Marcus also suggested that we use a harness as opposed to a leash and collar around the dog's neck in order to avoid putting any unneeded stress on the dog's neck.

Many small dogs suffer from low blood sugar. They tend to have a very fast metabolism as opposed to larger dogs, so it is wise to feed your dog a few times throughout the day instead of just one time in the evening. Also, be sure that you give your dog high quality and preferably veterinarian recommended dog food. For our dogs (this includes all of our dogs, not just the papillion) we feed them Ultra Nutro. It comes in varieties for a dog's particular size, age and needs. Not only is it a healthy choice and our dogs love it, but because of the higher quality ingredients in the food, the dogs do not eat as much of it as they did before when we were more concerned with the dog food cost, so overall it is not more expensive to feed them the higher costing dog food.

With a lot of awareness and little bit of prevention, you should have a good experience with your small breed dog! Long live your dog!