Prevention is the main key in order to avoid diseases and illness from attacking your dog. In fact, the best prevention begins even before you start breeding the dog. But what do you do if your pet was born with a health problem? There are a few options for you to choose from when helping your dog that is born with a congenital defect. Often times, surgery can correct a structural defect. Other aspects such as good feeding, good amount of exercise, proper grooming and veterinary care all help in controlling certain disorder and symptoms from occurring. But the most effective treatment for congenital defects is in preventing them from happening in the first place.

Here are five ways on how you can prevent congenital problems in your dog:

1. Never breed unhealthy dogs. Get together two unhealthy dogs and you have the perfect recipe for unhealthy offspring. Even if one dog is in good health, mating that healthy dog with one that is in poor condition still produces a very high risk of congenital problems to develop in their offspring. You must avoid breeding pets that have obvious birth defects or behavior problems. Although the dog may not have a specific genetic problem, its overall support system is not a good candidate for developing healthy offspring. In addition, avoid acquiring such pets unless you are willing to give them the special care they require.

2. Avoid breeding or selecting dogs with family health disorders. Do not breed dogs if their close relatives have congenital defects, physical problems, or inheritable behavior and temperament. Try to find out the medical histories of both parents and what percentage of related puppies has had birth defects. If the percentage of birth defects is less than 5 percent, chances are they have a very low risk of producing unhealthy offspring.

3. Avoid breeding close relatives. Breeding two dogs within the same family such as siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles has a tendency to “fix” latent defects into their offspring.

4. Do not select or breed inbred dogs. Be extra careful with dogs that are currently popular in your area because it is likely that they have been weakened by intensive inbreeding.

5. Choose breeds that best resemble their canine ancestors. Features to look for are face shape, size, color, ear shape, coat texture and length, tail shape, and limb proportion that most closely resemble that of wolves. See if you can match at least four or five of these traits. Examples of such breeds include most of the retrievers, basenjis, shepherds, sled dogs, spitzs, and pointers.

Acute Coughing

Although we have discussed the issue of your dog having a persistent and constant coughing problem, acute coughing can be a sign of something a little less dangerous, but important nevertheless. Acute coughing may be a sign of kennel cough, acute bronchitis, inhalation pneumonia, a foreign object in the airway, or even an infection of the tonsils, larynx, or pharynx. Kennel cough is contracted from other dogs which causes inflammation of the voice box. Bronchitis is caused by a bacterial or allergic inflammation to the bronchi in the lungs. And of course any foreign object stuck in the lung will cause acute coughing.

What to do: Kennel cough is extremely contagious so be sure to isolate your dog and get him to the veterinarian right away. Cough suppressants can be given to your dog to ease the pain. Medications an be administered to treat any of the above infections. And if there is only a foreign object stuck, then the vet can pull it out with forceps.

Snoring

There are many breed of dogs that have elongated soft palates that hang at the back of the throat, especially those dogs with compressed faces. This soft palate interferes with the larynx and produces a snore. An allergic inflammation in the throat can also be the cause of your dog’s snoring problem. Also, snoring is enhanced if the dog has narrow nostrils and larynx.

What to do: Although snoring may not seem like a series issue, it is always best to consult your vet for a full checkup. And if you have a dog breed such as the Pekingese or Pug that snores, this could be a sign of potential heart and breathing problems. Your dog may have surgical reduction of the length of the soft palate to reduce or eliminate the snoring issue.

Changing Of Your Dog’s Voice

If you notice that your dog’s bark is altered in any way, then it could be due to damage of the larynx. Also, allergic reactions from bee stings can cause laryngeal swelling. Worst case scenario for the older dog is that a tumor has developed.

What to do: Your vest may give your dog antihistamines or anti-inflammatories to reduce allergic swelling. If the problem is as severe as a tumors, then your dog will undergo surgery to have the tumor removed.

Excessive Drooling

If your dog is showing sings of excessive drooling then it may be caused by a salivary cyst, a periodontal disease, tongue injury, or simply a foreign object. Salivary cysts look like large blisters that occur under the tongue. If your dog has periodontal disease then the cement that holds his teeth in place gets destroyed. Tongue wounds can occur from self infliction or by getting info fights with dogs.

What to do: If your dog’s drooling is the result of salivary cysts, then they will be need to be drained by your veterinarian. The damaged saliva gland must be removed as well. If your dog is suffering from periodontal disease then his teeth will have to be removed if the problem has persisted to the point of loosened teeth. Bites and burns will also need the veterinarian’s attention. And it may be too painful for your dog to eat under these circumstances, so be sure to feed him small soft pieces of food.

Reluctance to Chewing

Some dogs develop certain mouth and tooth problems which keeps them from wanting to chew or bite down all of the way. This can be a result of a tooth cavity, a tooth root abscess, a fractured tooth, or distemper teeth. Large cavities are visible as damage to the tooth enamel and often occur at the gum margin. Root abscesses may be a bit difficult to see. The molars are the teeth that most commonly fracture. And your dog may have contracted the distemper virus as a puppy, which causes his teeth to look eroded as the dog grows up to be an adult.

What to do: Most of the time the best practical thing for your veterinarian to do is to remove the tooth that is causing your dog’s pain. Routine tooth decay can be treated with fillings. If your dog is suffering from abscesses and/or fractures then this will require root canal work. And lastly, if there is tooth damage from the distemper virus, those teeth that are damaged will have to be removed by your vet, because distemper damage is permanent and cannot be reversed.

Misaligned Bite

Many dogs have an undershot jaw or an overshot jaw. When looking at your dog’s mouth, the upper and lower teeth should mesh perfectly when he closes his mouth. Breeds such as the Pekingese and Bulldog tend to have an undershot bite, while Doberman and Collies tend to show an overshot bite.

What to do: Fortunately for your dog, no action is typically necessary unless the bite misalignment is causing your dog discomfort. Discomfort is most likely to occur with overshot jaws as opposed to undershot ones. Your vet can fit a removable tool over the upper front teeth and hard palate, which will help aid the dog’s bit to move to a more comfortable position.