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Abdomen - Swollen
A swollen abdomen can be a sign of serious disease in dogs. The most serious is Bloat in which the abdomen rapidly fills with gas, usually lopsided, and often becomes tight enough to play like a drum. This condition is VERY serious and you must contact a vet IMMEDIATELY - see Bloat for more details.
An abdomen may appear swollen if a dog is overweight, but compare it to the rest of its body. If the dog has a lot of body fat, the swelling may well be fat. If the dog does not have much body fat, it is not obesity.
Pregnancy will cause the abdomen to swell in the later stages. This is only possible in a bitch that has not been spayed and typically shows 6-8 weeks after a season. The mammary glands and teats are often swollen by this stage also.
Puppies are quite prone to appearing swollen after a meal. Provided this is not gas, this is normal. They have a relatively bit appetite for their size and this should go down after a couple of hours. Excessive swelling in a pup or a swelling that does not go down could be worms; pups need regular worming.
If there is no obvious reason for the abdomen being swollen, have your dog checked by your vet. There are a great number of reasons, many of them serious, especially in older dogs. Causes include growths, liver disease, heart disease, internal bleeding, uterine infection (pyometra), hormonal abnormalities and peritonitis.
Abrasion
An abrasion is a traumatic wound in which some of the skin surface is lost, but the skin is not broken. If your animal has such a wound, simple first aid is required. Clean the wound with warm clean water and cotton wool and remove any dirt. Check that there are no holes in the skin;- if there are, contact your vet. If not apply a mild antiseptic – diluted Dettol or Savlon is good, most antiseptic creams for humans are also fine for this purpose.
The wound should dry and scab in a couple of days, and the scab will go in a 1-2 weeks. If it fails to dry or it starts to swell, contact your vet.
Abscess
An abscess is an infected swelling full of pus (a rather smelly liquid of yellow, green or brown colour, often tinged with blood). This occurs where a dirty wound seals and bacteria grow beneath the skin, or where infected material becomes trapped.
Dogs do not commonly get abscesses on their body, although bite wounds can readily become infected in this way. If they occur, they will appear as a soft, painful, hot swelling and may discharge.
Dogs are prone to abscesses in two particular locations. One is a tooth root abscess of one of the upper cheek teeth. This appears as a hard swelling of the side of the face just below the eye which appears quite rapidly. This requires removal of the offending tooth.
The other location is in the Anal Glands as an extension of anal sac disease. See Anal Glands.
Accident - RTA
Dogs are not as often involved in Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) as cats. Usually you will know if your dog has been hit by a car. A responsible owner should not let their dog roam unsupervised where there is traffic.
If your dog has been involved in an accident, get it checked by a vet at the earliest opportunity. The obvious injuries usually involve the limbs and head, but there are often internal injuries, especially in the chest.
Dogs can also be involved in an accident inside a car. If dogs are carried in cars without a seat belt, they are at risk of being thrown around inside the car in an impact. This may not only injure them, but also other occupants. Seat belts for dogs are available in a variety of sizes and are easily fitted. Never travel with a dog on the parcel shelf – take the shelf out and sit them in the boo
Anaemia
Anaemia is a reduction in the number of red blood cells in the blood stream. This reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. The main sign of this is weakness and lack of ability to exercise, panting very readily. The gums will be very pale. Anaemia must be severe to cause a problem at rest. Some forms of heart disease can cause similar signs.
If you suspect your dog has anaemia, contact your vet and he/she will need to take some blood to confirm and try to discover why. If a dog is anaemic there is either a reduced production of red cells or an increased loss.
Causes of increased loss include external bleeding, internal bleeding (most commonly a bleeding abdominal tumour), rat poison, blood parasites (rare in UK) and destruction of red cells by the immune system.
Causes of reduced production include kidney disease, hormonal abnormalities, leukaemia, bone marrow cancers, iron deficiency (uncommon in dogs) and lead poisoning.
Anal Glands
The anal glands are small scent glands at the opening of the anus. They are a small sac normally about the size of a small pea which produce a strong smelling pasty material which they normally empty when faeces are passed. The glands can also be released when a dog is scared.
In many dogs, these glands fail to empty properly and gradually fill up and enlarge. Why is uncertain but theories include a physical blockage, weakness of the muscle which squeezes it and lack of dietary fibre. This can cause irritation, which the dog will try to relieve either by chewing a spot near the area or by rubbing the anus along the ground.
The irritation can be relieved by emptying the glands. Your vet can do this. You may be able to learn to empty the glands yourself, but this is trickier in some dogs than others. The frequency this emptying is required varies greatly between individuals. It is possible to surgically remove the glands, but this is only necessary in troublesome cases.
If the full gland becomes infected, it may become an Abscess. This will appear as a very painful swelling by the anus which may discharge blood and pus. If this occurs, you will need to see your vet.
Anorexia
Anorexia simply means not eating. This should not be confused with Anorexia Nervosa, which is a well known psychological disorder in humans. As far as we know, this condition does not exist in dogs (although there can be behavioural reasons for not eating).
If a dog is anorexic for any length of time say more than 36-48 hours, check with your vet. Also see Appetite, Reduced.
Appetite - Decreased
A dog that will not eat is always worrying, but this must be weighed up against what is normal for your dog. Some dogs, especially in smaller breeds, do not have a big appetite and will miss the odd meal. A significant decrease from what is normally eaten should always be considered abnormal, especially if it stops altogether.
Any dog that is unwell for any reason may have a reduced appetite. A dog that is feeling nauseous will not eat and this may be accompanied by vomiting (see Vomiting). If the reduced appetite persists, contact your vet.
Appetite - Increased
Many dogs appear to have an almost insatiable appetite. This is an instinct from the wild animal. In the wild dogs are scavengers and opportunists, eating almost anything edible when the opportunity presents itself. When they find a large amount of food, they will eat as much as they can as it will probably not be there later and they do not know when they will next find something.
As our pets, however, they have a plentiful and regular supply of food (us), but this instinct is still strong in some dogs, especially the medium to large breeds. This means that many dogs have a tendency to over eat and become obese if they are allowed to eat as much as they want.
Thus, in most cases, an apparently excessive appetite is quite normal. There are, however, diseases that may cause an excessive appetite. As a rule of thumb, if your dog puts on weight if it overeats, it is normal, but if it has a ravenous appetite and loses weight or fails to put weight, get you vet to check your dog. There could be a problem with the absorption or digestion of food in the gut.
An increased appetite may also be triggered by some hormonal abnormalities. Anti-inflammatory steroid drugs can boost appetite in some dogs.