One of the ways to give your dog and your dog’s veterinarian the best chance at overcoming a medical problem is early detection. If you can detect a problem with your dog’s health in its early stages, the veterinarian is given a decided advantage.

What complicates the problem of early detection is that your dog may be very stoic. There are no outward signs that there is anything wrong. When the problem becomes evident, there may be unfortunate progress in the ailment.

A way to monitor your dog’s health is to clean up the dog stools daily. In the process, you will become familiar with the consistency and volume of the daily waste. Any changes may be indicative that the dog is having some problems. If the dog’s food is consistent in quality and quantity, then the ‘output’ should be equally consistent. If the dog is not able to process the food properly, it is a cause for concern.

The dog may not be showing any outward signs of distress. However, if your dog is not digesting the food well, then a visit to the veterinarian may be able to catch any problems in its early stages.

Catherine Forsythe