Poisoning

Sago Palm Poisoning in Dogs: Piper’s Brush with Death

They are so pretty, aren’t they? Sago palms. Don’t let their looks deceive you–these things are severely toxic. What is even worse, there is no easy way to diagnose Sago palm poisoning–there is no test for the toxin it contains. And there is no antidote for it either. Unless you caught your dog munching on one of these things or…

by Jana Rade

Is Ingestion of Grapes an Emergency?

Grape toxicity for dogs is poorly understood in a way that nobody knows why they are toxic to them. There are stories out there of people who insist that they give their dog the odd grape and their dogs are fine. Some dogs seem to handle that with no problems indeed. There are people who jumped or fell from great…

by Jana Rade

Is Xylitol Ingestion an Emergency?

If your dog ingests xylitol it is an emergency. It takes substantially less xylitol than chocolate to be deadly. There is enough xylitol in just three pieces of sugar-free gum to kill a small dog. What is Xylitol? Xylitol is a sugar replacement, a sweetener, used more broadly every day because of low caloric density and lesser impact on tooth health. It…

by Jana Rade

Xylitol Can Kill Your Dog: Know Where It Can Be Hiding

Xylitol is way deadlier than chocolate, yet awareness of this dog toxin is much lower. Do you know what xylitol is and how dangerous it is for your dog? The lack of awareness makes this poison even more dangerous. At the same time, more and more products contain this [invisible] artificial sweetener. Does your dog like peanut butter? Do you know…

by Jana Rade

Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer by day, dog health advocate, dog writer, member of the Dog Writers Association of American and an award-winning author. 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 in 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 how to 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 save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners . What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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