It can be very easy to panic if you have a sick dog on your hands.
This is a road that I know all to well having owned 8 dogs during my life.
The last thing you want to do is panic and buy some off the wall remedy that's not going to work or could make them worse.
Then again you couldn't take them to the vet but even your vet could rip you off if they don't know what they are doing.
They get a lot of sick dogs in and its very often that they over charge or prescribe you something that cost more money than you could afford or doesn't even work to begin with.
The best thing to do is stay calm and spend a few hours doing some hard core research.
I recommend hanging out at forums and asking lots of question from dog owners who have been down this road before.
There are plenty of experts who you can learn from.
Learn from their mistakes instead of making the mistakes yourself.
You never know what kind of info you are going to get from someone that just wants your money but when it comes to other dog owners who are passionate about dogs the same way you are and when it comes to a sick dog you can bet they are going to be there for you in the most honest way.
So start by hanging around dog forms and asking lots of questions.
Also visit yahoo answers.
That's another very good resources which I highly recommend.
When there is something wrong with your dog always ask as many things as you can before making a critical decision that could effect their health.
Remember their life is in your hands and its up to you to think carefully about what to do.
The last thing you want to do is make a rash decision that could make them sicker.
There are great remedies for all sorts of problems but there are even more things out there that don't work at all and are a waste of time.
So check around.