Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
Brewing medical issues don’t always come marching in with a huge nobody-can-miss banner. Often the signs can be very subtle, such as a change in your dog’s behavior or routine. Kenzo’s story In Kenzo’s case, the only sign that something has changed was the fact that his housemate started bullying him. Not really that surprising as she is young and…
Lots of people think hip dysplasia is a tight, sore, arthritic hip. However, it is really a hip that is too loose and lacks stability. Thank you, Ron Rutherford , for sharing Ruby’s story. Ruby’s journey with hip dysplasia Ruby was a purebred German Shepherd. She was the sweetest canine companion I’ve ever known. Capable of being fierce, she was…
The standard tests to diagnose kidney disease are urinalysis and complete blood profile. Dogs with chronic kidney failure may have anemia, abnormal electrolyte levels, and elevated blood pressure. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels in the blood are evaluated to assess kidney function. BUN is rather ambiguous and can be elevated for a number of reasons. It is not…
Dogs normally get tapeworm infection by ingesting an intermediate host—a flea. Cookie never had fleas, though. So how did it happen? Cookie’s story Hunting and snacking on rodents has backfired. Cookie has tapeworm infection. In theory, we knew this could happen. In practice, this is really our first experience with intestinal parasites. Jasmine did have roundworms once when she was…
Does an abnormal result on your dog’s lab work automatically mean there is a problem? Not necessarily. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek an explanation and retest. Cookie’s elevated ALT ALT is short for alanine aminotransferase, which is an enzyme found primarily in the liver but also in other tissues (kidneys, heart, muscles, and pancreas). When a cell is damaged,…