Conditions

Iliopsoas Injury Symptoms: What Did Cookie’s Iliopsoas Injury Look Like

If you have a dog with a difficult, can’t put your finger on it, lameness have your vet check the iliopsoas muscle. Iliopsoas injuries can not only be hard to treat but also hard to diagnose and detect. Signs can be as subtle as a male dog no longer lifting a leg to pee. Cookie’s story After all the medical…

by Jana Rade

Limited Exercise Fallout: Downside of Exercise Restrictions

Strict rest or restricted exercise is essential to injury recovery. But limiting activity comes at a price. With limited use, muscle strength dwindles and strong muscles help stabilize and protect joints. As your dog is recovering from one injury, it can make them more susceptible to a new one. Cookie’s story Cookie’s recovery from iliopsoas injury was going well. She…

by Jana Rade

Insurance and Declined Claims: Our First Declined Trupanion Claim

The reason for your denial should be spelled out clearly. And it should reflect one of the exclusions to your policy. It is important that you know what your dog’s health insurance policy covers, what are the exceptions, deductions, and limits. A friend of mine, for example, had a policy that did cover arthritis, however, the annual limit was $150!…

by Jana Rade

Facilitating Dog Injury Recovery: Cookie’s Recovery from Iliopsoas Injury—Preventing Slips with ToeGrips

Slippery surfaces are one of the most common causes of setbacks during surgery or injury recovery. Preventing slips is an important part of facilitating your dog’s recovery. You can use rugs, non-slip booties, or you can use ToeGrips. Never heard of them? Cookie’s recovery from iliopsoas injury According to her physical therapist, Cookie keeps improving steadily. Obviously, getting this over…

by Jana Rade

Physical Therapy for Iliopsoas Injuries: Cookie’s Iliopsoas Injury Treatment—Laser, Hydrotherapy and Chiropractic

Now we get to the really good stuff – laser therapy, hydrotherapy, physical therapy, and chiropractic treatments. The first step in treating iliopsoas injuries is to control pain and inflammation. This can be achieved with rest and medications but laser therapy can do amazing things both for pain and inflammation control as well as encouraging the healing process. Without reducing…

by Jana Rade

Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer by day, dog health advocate, dog writer, member of the Dog Writers Association of America, and an award-winning author in my spare time. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Endless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care into my own hands. I learned the hard way that simply seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to finally get a diagnosis for her initial issue. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to use 20 years of hard-earned experience to save others from the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way, as I did.

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