What to do if your dog has a cold?

Dogs are strongly attuned to what their human family feels. Dogs become the sounding board of their masters. A dog would patiently endure hearing about the woes and tribulations of the person it gets closest to. As such the dog would wag its tail and jump exuberantly if the master is in a good mood. In the same token the dog would be quiet and have a woebegone expression if the master is sad. Would it be surprising if the dog shows signs of having a cold just like the rest of the human family? At the onset of cold winter months it would be common to hear people sniffle, cough and sneeze. Reddened runny noses and watery eyes would be common as well. These are signs of cold. It seems that dogs are not free from this illness too as when the weather is cold; dogs are noted to sneeze, cough and have runny noses too. Precautionary measures are taken so that the family will not catch cold. What about the pets…what can you do to safeguard the pet from catching cold?

The watery eyes, runny nose, the hacking cough may be signs of a cold especially if the dog manifest these symptoms during the cold winter months. However, what the dog is suffering from may not be an ordinary cold just like what we humans suffer from. A canine cold can be due to a respiratory infection caused by viruses and bacteria. A lot of these infections would not need a vet’s attention as it would be gone after a while. Dog owners would usually allow the cold of the dog to run its course. After the while the dog will it its usual active self again. When you see that what the dog has is “ordinary” cold, it would be best to keep the dog warm. The dog would need to be taken for a walk even if the weather is extremely cold. A jacket would keep the dog warm. Just like humans, the dog must be provided with healthy food, vitamins and supplements that will boost its immune system. Make sure that the dog is provided with plenty of drinking water. A responsible owner would know if the cold is developing into a serious illness. The ordinary and common cold can develop into kennel cough, parainfluenza or the dreaded canine distemper. Don’t procrastinate; take the dog at once to the vet for proper diagnosis and medication.