The Healthy Dog

Your dog will rely on you to keep him in good health.
A proper diet, regular exercise and grooming,
and routine check-ups at the veterinarian will
help keep your dog in top form. It’s also
important for you to get to know your dog’s
habits – eating, drinking, sleeping, and
so forth – since sometimes a variation in
those habits can be an indication that
he isn’t feeling well.

The information on this page should be
used as a guide for keeping your dog
healthy and identifying problems.
Ask your veterinarian for advice on
healthcare and prevention and be sure to
seek medical advice if you think your dog is ill
or hurt. The AKC Pet Healthcare Plan can help
with the cost of providing quality healthcare
throughout your dog’s life.

Topics on this page: Signs of Good Health,
Vaccinations, Spaying and Neutering,
When to Call the Vet

Signs of Good Health

Skin – Healthy skin is flexible and smooth,
without scabs, growths, white flakes,
or red areas. It ranges in color from pale
pink to brown or black depending on the breed.
Spotted skin is normal, whether the
dog has a spotted or solid coat. Check your
dog for fleas, ticks, lice, or other external parasites.
To do this, blow gently on your dog’s
stomach or brush hair backward in a few
places to see if any small specks scurry
away or if ticks are clinging to the skin.
Black "dirt" on your dog’s skin or bedding
may be a sign of flea droppings.

Coat – A healthy coat, whether short or long,
is glossy and pliable, without dandruff,
bald spots, or excessive oiliness.

Eyes – Healthy eyes are bright and shiny.
Mucus and watery tears are normal but
should be minimal and clear. The pink lining
of the eyelids should not be inflamed, swollen,
or have a yellow discharge. Sometimes you can
see your dog’s third eyelid, a light membrane,
at the inside corner of an eye. It may slowly
come up to cover his eye as he goes to sleep.
The whites of your dog’s eyes should not be yellowish.
Eyelashes should not rub the eyeball.

Ears – The skin inside your dog’s ears
should be light pink and clean. There should
be some yellow or brownish wax, but a
large amount of wax or crust is abnormal.
There should be no redness or swelling
inside the ear, and your dog shouldn’t
scratch his ears or shake his head frequently.
Dogs with long, hairy ears, such as Cocker Spaniels,
need extra attention to keep the ears dry
and clean inside and out.

Nose – A dog’s nose is usually cool and moist.
It can be black, pink, or self-colored
(the same color as the coat), depending on the breed.
Nasal discharge should be clear, never
yellowish, thick, bubbly, or foul smelling.
A cool, wet nose does not necessarily mean
the dog is healthy, and a dry, warm nose
doesn’t necessarily mean he’s sick.
Taking his temperature is a better
indication of illness.

Mouth, Teeth and Gums – Healthy gums
are firm and pink, black, or spotted,
just like the dog’s skin. Young dogs have
smooth white teeth that tend to darken with age.
Puppies have 23 baby teeth and adults
have around 42 permanent teeth, depending
on the breed. As adult teeth come in, they
push baby teeth out of the mouth.

To check your dog’s mouth, talk to him
gently, then put your hand over the muzzle
and lift up the sides of his mouth. Check
that adult teeth are coming in as they should,
and not being crowded by baby teeth.
Make sure the gums are healthy and the breath
is not foul-smelling. Look for soft white
matter or hard white, yellow, or brown matter.
This is plaque or tartar and should be brushed away.

Mouth infections can lead to serious
problems in the gums and other parts of the body,
including the heart, so it's important to give
your dog's teeth and mouth special attention.

Temperature – A dog’s normal temperature
is 101 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit
(38.3 to 39.2 degrees Celcius).
To take your dog's temperature,
you'll need a rectal thermometer.
Put some petroleum jelly on the bulb
of the thermometer. Ask someone to hold
your dog’s head while you lift his tail and
insert the thermometer about an inch or
so into the rectum. Do not let go of the thermometer.
Hold it in until the temperature is read
(about 3 minutes for a mercury thermometer),
and then remove gently.

Heartbeat and Pulse – Because dogs come
in a wide range of sizes, their heartbeats vary.
A normal heart beats from 50 to 130 times
a minute in a resting dog. Puppies and small
dogs have faster speeds, and large dogs in top
condition have slower heartbeats.
To check your dog’s heartbeat, place
your fingers over the left side of the chest,
where you can feel the strongest beat.
To check the pulse, which is the same
speed as the heartbeat, press gently on the
inside of the top of the hind leg. There is
an artery there and the skin is thin,
so it's easy to feel the pulse.

Elimination – Urine is a good
indicator of a dog’s health, and should
be clear yellow. Most adult dogs have
one or two bowel movements a day.
Stools should be brown and firm.
Runny, watery, or bloody stools,
straining, or too much or too little
urination warrant a call to the veterinarian.

Weight – A healthy dog’s weight is the
result of the balance between diet and exercise.
If he is getting enough nutritious food and exercise
but still seems over- or underweight,
he may have a health problem. Don’t let your
dog get fat by giving him too many
between-meal snacks; obese dogs often
develop serious health problems.
The best way to tell if your dog is
overweight is to feel his rib-cage area.
You should be able to feel the ribs
below the surface of the skin without
much padding.

Vaccinations

Regular vaccinations from your
veterinarian can keep your dog from
getting serious and sometimes fatal
illnesses such as distemper, parvovirus,
hepatitis, leptospirosis, coronavirus,
and rabies. A vaccination is also available
for kennel cough, a respiratory problem
that affects young dogs or dogs exposed to
many other dogs.

A puppy’s first vaccines ideally
should be given at five or six weeks of age
and continue over a period of several weeks,
up to sixteen weeks. Afterward, yearly
booster shots provide the protection your
dog will need. Be sure to stick to the schedule
your veterinarian gives you to insure immunity.

Spaying or Neutering Your Dog

Unless you know you are going to
show your dog, it is best to have your
female spayed or your male neutered.
Spaying or neutering is a fail-safe method of birth control.

A spay operation removes the female dog’s
ovaries and uterus. A spayed female will not
come into season two or three times a year,
as unspayed females do. She will not attract
male dogs from miles around, she will
not discharge on rugs, sofas, or bedding,
and she will not be prone to diseases such
as pyometra (uterine infection) and mammary cancer.

A neutered male cannot breed successfully.
His desire to roam in search of females
will be reduced, and he may be less aggressive in
defending his territory. Also, he will be less
susceptible to prostate cancer.

Apart from these benefits, spaying or
neutering will not change your dog’s personality.