Your four-legged friend’s feet play an important role in his daily life. They provide insulation to keep him warm in cold temperatures, contain sweat glands to cool him off in the heat, absorb shock, provide traction and balance, bear the majority of his weight, and allow him to run to greet you at the end of a long day.

Unfortunately, this means they also endure a lot of wear and tear. Watch out for these paw problems—and catch any issues early by regularly checking your dog’s digits.

Ticks are the vampire of the pet world. They latch onto your dog or cat, attach themselves and suck their blood until they’re engorged with your pet’s blood. Then they fall off and rest until they’ve digested their meal.

What happens next is they may quietly die, or they may feel ready for another feeding. It depends on the life cycle of the tick, the type of tick, and other such factors.

While fleas are an especially common problem for dogs and cats during the summer months, pet owners generally have to battle parasites year-round. After all, our homes can be a nice, cozy environment for fleas in all seasons!

While fleas are an especially common problem for dogs and cats during the summer months, pet owners generally have to battle parasites year-round. After all, our homes can be a nice, cozy environment for fleas in all seasons!

You might be surprised to discover how common dog worms are in the environment. In fact, some sources say most dogs - even healthy dogs -- host a low level of worms nearly all the time. After all, your dog goes outside, probably eats questionable substances on occasion, and may be known to roll in smelly areas. Since dog worms are often in the dirt (or in whatever else is in the dirt!), or are transmitted by fleas or mosquitos, you can see how it wouldn’t be a surprise that your dog could have worms.