You can prevent your dog from passing intestinal parasites on to other pets by cleaning up after them as soon as they have a defecation or bowel movement. By picking up their stool immediately, you can prevent the larvae from getting into the grass, especially if your dog has parasites like hookworms.

Yes, your indoor dog can still get intestinal parasites. Even though your dog is indoors, they come into contact with the outside environment when they go out for walks or to potty. They can get parasites like hookworms and roundworms from the grass or by ingesting a live flea. There are some intestinal parasites that are also contagious to people, so we need to be cautious about that. Dogs can get tapeworms when they ingest a live flea, so if your dog is an indoor dog, but they have tapeworms, that means that when they are going outside to go potty, fleas are getting on them and they're chewing at them and swallowing a live flea because that's the only way a dog can get a tapeworm.

Most dogs pick up intestinal parasites from either other dogs, the environment, or they might have them from their mothers.

Intestinal parasites can be prevented with environmental control, but it requires 100% effectiveness, which is quite challenging. While these parasites can be prevented and treated, it's going to be fairly hard.

Depending on your dog's temperament, you can either approach from the front or from behind. For dogs that are head shy, coming from behind the head and using a finger to drop the medication in can be more comfortable. Always reward them with a treat or praise afterwards to reinforce positive behavior.

Cherry eye is a condition where there's a third little eye gland that you usually can't see. This gland is there to help produce tears, and in some dogs, the ligament that holds it down in place can be a little stretchy, and the gland can pop out. Cherry eye is like this bright red gland. It'll look like there's a little red tumor right here on your dog's eye. They are typically not bothersome to the dog as long as they're not traumatized. They can traumatize them, in which case they need to come in and have meds, and you'll know because it'll be even redder or even bleeding. It can be surgically repaired. It's recommended to not remove the gland as it can lead to dry eye later in life. Surgery performed by a veterinary ophthalmologist to tack the gland back down has a better prognosis.

Dogs can get pink eye, also known as conjunctivitis. If the conjunctivitis is caused by an upper respiratory tract infection, it can be contagious to other dogs but is usually not contagious to people. There are different types of conjunctivitis: allergic, viral, and bacterial. But the main thing is that it's just inflammation of the pink part or the fleshy part of the eye.

Cataracts are where the lens becomes super thickened, and it's almost mineralized. No light can get to the back of the eye. I cannot see to the back of the retina when I'm looking with my scope, and they cannot see out. Cataracts can be diagnosed through a physical exam. They appear like a bright white starburst in the eye. The only 100% effective treatment for cataracts is cataract surgery, in which the diseased lens is liquefied and replaced with an artificial one. It's actually amazing because these animals wake up and they can see. There was a case I saw in vet school, it was an older diabetic dog. She was about eight or nine, and she's been blind for two years. She was my patient, and when she woke up, I was right there with her. I got to take her outside for the first time, and she hadn't been able to see for two years. Just seeing the joy on this dog's face is amazing. There are veterinary ophthalmologists that can perform cataract surgery, but it's a highly rewarding surgery and it is a fix.

Yes, breeds with smooshed faces, also known as brachycephalic, such as Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Shih Tzus, Lhasa Apsas, Pekingese, and in some cases Pomeranians, are more prone to eye issues. This is due to their shallow orbits. However, eye issues can occur in any breed.

The best way to determine if your dog's eye is injured is by visually examining the eye. Look for abnormalities such as redness, discharge, excessive tearing, or squinting. Other signs may include the dog refusing to open its eye, swollen eyelids, or the presence of a cyst or growth on the eye. These are indicators that something is wrong and needs to be checked out.