Signs Of Heartworm In Dogs

sometimes it's obvious when pets hurt, butother times they are really good at hiding their pain, unlike meg, who was ejected from disney world again. >> meg: they were all robots!!! [crying] >> voiceover: and now, the vet who makes drdolittle look like dr knownothing

Signs Of Heartworm In Dogs, >> voiceover: dr andy roark! people get really upset if they come in tosee me for an an annual examination for their pet and i have to tell them that their pet isin pain.

often they miss the subtle signs at home. let's make sure this doesn't happen to youand your pet. >> stephen: i take my pets to a witch doctorwhen they're in pain. >> meg: i thought you took your pets to andy. >> stephen: i do. here are the secret signs that pet ownersoften miss. if your dog or cat's hair coat is greasieror messier than usual, it may be because they've stopped grooming.we need to ask ourselves why. often, it's because they're experiencing pain,

either in their back or in their neck and it hurts them to groom so they're notdoing it. people tell me all the time that their doghas gotten grumpy in his old age. i guess he does things like bark at the squirrelsto stay out of his yard, or play checkers at the dog park, or watch fox news. no, no...it's the news. with real live foxes.they love it. seriously, sometimes older dogs and cats justdon't have the patience

that they used to. however, pets that arebecoming grumpy or aggressive often are uncomfortable. they cower,growl, snap because they either hurt or they are worriedabout being hurt. if you had a painful back and someone, whethera human or a dog, sat on you, you'd probably hurt as well. >> stephen: i sat on my hamster's back onetime. >> stephen: one time... shallow rapid breathing is one of the mainsigns of pain that i look for in patients. it can even progressall the way up to panting.

>> meg: i guess pet health inspired a lotof songs by r. kelly. most pet owners think that panting means theirpet is hot or tired. this isn't always true. i, however, am always hot. and usually tired. if your dog is panting or breathing quicklyat times that don't make sense, he could be in pain. rapid, shallow breathingis also a sign of pain in cats. however, if your cat is panting, grab himand go to the vet right now. panting in cats is bad news. if your dog used to jump up onto the bed andhas stopped,

or if he used to follow you up and down thestairs and doesn't do that anymore, that makes me suspiciousof arthritis or other possibly painful processes. >> stephen: i stopped walking up the stairsyears ago. >> meg: i really wish you would stop makingme carry you up the stairs. the same thing is true if your cat stops jumpingup on the counter tops, climbing the cat condo, or generally gettingaround like he used to. there are lots of reason that pets lick orchew spots on their bodies. one of the main ones is pain. if your pet is always licking one spot, especiallyif it's a joint or

an area that's been wounded, there's a goodchance that it hurts. pets that get up and down and circle and justcan't get comfortable and settle, may be hurting. i hear peoplesay all the time, "oh he's old and he doesn't sleep so wellanymore." often these pets are old and thin, and sothere's no a lot of padding on their bones, and it's uncomfortable forthem to lay around. if you have an old pet that just can't getcomfortable, we need to make sure he's got a bed that's soft, supportive,and full of padding. if he still can't get comfortable, we needto look a little deeper.

some pets just don't want to be picked up,and i get that. >> meg: i don't want to be picked up. >> stephen: well how do we get you to move? >> meg: use your words! if your pet used to be fine being picked up,and now he cowers, runs, cries, or bites when you reach for him,i'd make sure he's not in pain. older pets can have housetraining accidents.sometimes it's just a slip, but other times it's painful for them to getup and move around. also, i see pets with back pain that are strugglingto get into

the right posture to go. in dogs, this canlead to constipation. in cats, it can lead to spraying outside thelitter box. >> meg: what causes them to spread littereverywhere outside the box? aliens. [creepy scifi sound] thank you so much for watching. please, help me to help pets by sharing thisvideo with other pet lovers

and by telling me what topics you'd like tosee covered on the cone of shame in the comments section below. until nexttime, let's be the people that our pets deserve.

[music]