Dog health advocacy

CCL Tears Conservative Management: My Two Cents on Non-Surgical Treatment of Cruciate Ligament Tears in Dogs

Is there a way to treat your dog’s torn cruciate ligament without surgery? The best treatment option for your dog’s CCL injury depends on several factors such as: size/weight age/activity level overall health/other medical conditions degree of damage I always give serious consideration to non-invasive options before making any treatment decision for my dog. Why put your dog through surgery…

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

Shoulder Injuries in Dogs: Is Cookie Suffering From Medial Shoulder Syndrome (MSS) or Instability (MSI)?

There isn’t much talk about front leg lameness in dogs or shoulder injuries. Unless you have an agility dog, you might have never heard of these issues; neither have I until recently. Most people are familiar with hind leg problems in dogs such as cruciate ligament tears, hip dysplasia, luxating patella, and so on. The only front leg condition that…

by Jana Rade

Eye Injuries in Dogs: Buzz’s Story of a Sore, Red Eye

Canine eyes are incredibly vulnerable, and even the smallest injury can lead to serious trouble. When your dog injures their eye, it is always a reason for concern and reason to consult with a veterinarian. Causes of eye injuries in dogs include scratches, blunt force, foreign bodies, abnormally growing eyelashes, or abnormal eyelids. Jasmine had to have her renegade eyelash…

by Jana Rade

CCL Tears TightRope Repair: My Two Cents on the TightRope® CCL Fixation System

The TightRope fixation technique is an update on the traditional suture repair. The modifications were to address concerns about safety, effectiveness, and availability of the surgical CCL repairs available at the time. The TightRope fixation differs from the traditional suture stabilization in the following ways: stronger material bone anchors TightRope versus extracapsular repair Extracapsular repair The traditional suture repair achieves…

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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