It is an unfortunate fact, but when your dog is not feeling well, they do not have the ability to come right out and tell you unlike what a human does. Nor are they like the young child who can cry whenever they are feeling discomfort or are hurting in some manner. The only way you have to determine whether or not your animal is feeling well is to monitor the animals behavior. You should be doing this anyway since it will alert you quicker to any pending maladies that the dog is suffering with. You should also be aware that dogs have a much higher threshold or tolerance for pain compared to humans. Where we whine over a broken fingernail or a stubbed toe, a dog will go about their business as if nothing happened. Typically what happens is that they will only cry out once the discomfort or pain has become severe, and usually, it may be too late at this stage to relieve their suffering and effect a cure. For these reasons, you need to be acutely aware of the animals behavior so that you can tell if there is something occurring out of the ordinary. Usually if your pet is not feeling well, there are slight signs that can be carefully noted, just like in human beings. Learning how to observe your dogs behavior so that you can determine what is normal and what isn't is your responsibility. Obviously, the best way to achieve this is to watch how the dog behaves on a regular basis. The key is learning how to differentiate between what is abnormal versus normal behavior. Here are three suggestions for you: • Once you have woken up in the mornings, stop all your activities and go greet the dog, making sure that you spend a couple of minutes observing how they behave and react to your presence. Don't impede the behavior of the animal in any way â€" merely observe them and check for abnormalities. • When your dog is engaged in outdoor activities, whether in the morning or the evening, sit back at a distance and focus on their behavior. Pay attention to the way the dog sits or stands, as well as how they walk up or down the staircase. Regardless of which of these activities that you are observing, make sure you do so for at least 10 seconds. • When your dog is eating, watch them for about 20 seconds to see how they are eating that meal. Other aspects to pay attention to are sleeping habits as well as urination and bowel movements. A 20-second observation period while they sleep is recommended. Finally, be patient with yourself as well as the animal. It will take you a few times in each of the above observance activities to become familiar with their routine. But by the same token, this regularity will eventually enable you to determine not only what normal behavior is and what isn't, you will become acutely aware of the slightest variations in that behavior as well.

Resource: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1572577