One of the most important things that you can do when you have a dog is to be very mindful of any odd behavior or health issues so that you can respond quickly by taking him or her to the vet in an emergency situation, mostly because that can often make the difference between life and death for your dog. Listed below are three reasons to get your dog to the vet immediately.

Rapid Breathing When Resting

A major warning sign that you should always keep an eye on is if your dog appears to be breathing rapidly. Now, this does not mean that you have to worry about it if your dog is breathing rapidly after a long walk or a play session as that is completely normal. However, rapid breathing becomes a cause for alarm if your dog is breathing very rapidly when he or she is just laying or sitting in place and has not exerted himself or herself recently.

In many cases, rapid breathing when your dog is resting can be a sign of a heart condition or a respiratory issue. In both of those situations, a vet's attention is needed immediately in order to prevent your dog from going into cardiac arrest or eventually being unable to breathe at all.

Weakness

Another major cause for alarm that should prompt you to take your dog to the vet immediately is if he or she is showing signs of weakness. Now, it is completely normal for your dog to slow down as he or she ages or if he or she is feeling under the weather, but it is not normal if your dog is struggling to get to his or her feet or is being very lethargic and not responding to your calls. In this situation, your dog could be struggling due to severe pain or another major health condition, so a vet's attention is very necessary so that he or she can determine the cause of the weakness and attempt to reverse it by providing pain medication and helping to treat whatever health condition caused the weakness in the first place.

Urinary Infection

Finally, it is very important when you own a dog that you pay attention to his or her urine, mostly because any blood in the urine can be a very strong indicator that your dog has a urinary infection or a urinary block. In both of those situations, you will need to get to the vet immediately because if the infection or block is left untreated it could put your dog in a lot of pain and potentially result in the death of your dog.

Make an appointment with your vet today in order to discuss what situations qualify as an emergency and require the immediate attention of the vet and to get your dog completely checked out. You'll want to get your dog to the vet immediately if he or she is rapidly breathing when resting, showing signs of weakness, or appears to have a urinary infection. For more information, contact a company like All-Pets Hospital.