Real-life Stories

Cataracts in a Dog: Snoop Goes Blind in Both Eyes

Do you know what can cause your dog to go blind, and can you do anything about it? Conditions that can lead to loss of sight in dogs include: genetic predisposition age eye injuries infections/inflammation cancer diabetes cataracts glaucomas suddenly acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) Further information: Blindness In Dogs: Causes, Treatments And Prevention What are cataracts? A cataract is…

by Jana Rade

Respiratory Distress in a Dog: Peanut’s Breathing Trouble and Collapse

The reasons your dog might have a hard time breathing include obstructions of the airways, infections, inflammatory conditions, lung, or heart disease. Because of their anatomy, brachycephalic breeds, such as Pugs, are particularly susceptible to breathing problems. In severe cases, dogs might need surgery to allow them to breathe. It always breaks my heart to see one of these dogs…

by Jana Rade

Sudden Deafness in a Dog: Tora Loses Her Hearing

A change in behavior can alert you to important changes in your dog’s health. Tora’s story makes two essential points about the significance of behavioral changes and avoiding the assumption trap when deciphering the situation. Why did Tora suddenly stop responding to her mom? Was she being stubborn? What if the reason your dog doesn’t respond to your requests is…

by Jana Rade

Acute Ear Pain in a Dog: What Caused Obi’s Severely Painful Ear?

What do you think can cause acute severe ear pain in your dog? The severity, speed of onset, and circumstances are some of the key criteria to consider when assessing the big picture. Would you expect an ear infection to go without any signs and then suddenly have your dog screaming in pain? Maybe. The typical signs of an ear…

by Jana Rade

Loss of Balance in a Dog: Timmy Develops a Head Tilt and Starts Falling into His Side

When your dog cannot stand up or walk, it is one of the scariest things to witness. I have been there. There are some terrifying diseases that can cause such symptoms including: infections poisoning IVDD immune-mediated conditions inflammatory conditions vascular conditions tumors Further information: Drunken Gait/Ataxia in Dogs: Why Is My Dog Stumbling Around? The most common cause of loss…

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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