Skin Irritations Can Tell So Much

It is rather common for dogs to develop cysts at some point in their life. At work we often have dog who have all different kinds of cysts. Usually older canines are the ones who tend to develop such problems and when these occur, very often older dogs are too old to undergo surgery to have the cyst removed. However, luckily they do always bother the dog. My dog actually has a growth in her ear and she does not seemed to be bother by it at all. She has lost all her hearing though but being fifteen years old, she is not nearly strong enough to go through a surgery.

At work the other day we had a gold retriever come in with an extremely large cyst next to her tail. It was so large that it seemed as though it would be uncomfortable for her to even sit down but she seemed to be fine with it. The only thing was that we had to careful not to puncture it with a brush and just tried to steer clear of it altogether. If it had been punctured, she would have had to be rushed to the hospital and it was almost scary how easy it was to send this elderly dog to the hospital in critical condition.

The skin of a dog can tell an owner so much about their pooch. Even though a dog is active and seems completely healthy, sometimes growths and skin irritations such as cysts can make it clear that they are not in the best condition at all. Very often treatment for such problems is possible and must be taken advantage of right away. Often antibiotics can be prescribed to help clear up such irritations or growths, sometimes even just a change in diet can be helpful. For more serious cases, steroids may need to be used and in the worst case scenarios, surgery will be recommended. This is why regular check ups with a veterinarian are so vital to a dog's overall health and long life.