Dog care

Wound Care Mismanagement in a Dog: From A Swelling To Necrosis In Days

Mismanaged wounds can get unimaginably bad very fast if infiltrated by bacteria. The biggest risk is improper bandaging, wet bandaging, not changing bandages frequently enough and not monitoring the would. When we used a bandage on Cookie’s cut, I was changing her bandage three times a day. Brutus’ story When Brutus, a 22-month-old Great Dane, arrived as an emergency patient…

by Jana Rade

Paw Preference in Dogs: Is Your Dog Left- Or Right-Pawed? How to Test and Impact on Personality and Health

Is your dog left- or right-pawed, or ambidextrous? Why would you want to know, other than that it is fun to find out? Do you know there is a potential relationship between paw preference in dogs and their immune function? One study measured the relationship between left- or right-pawedness and the number of immune cells. It returned some interesting results…

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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