Dog health advocacy

TightRope® CCL Fixation System: Dorie’s Knee Surgery

The TightRope surgery was developed as an upgrade to the lateral suture stabilization (LSS) for cruciate injuries in dogs. Is it a better technique with better results? Both techniques have their risks to reward ratio. While stronger than surgical suture, the perception is that the patented braided TightRope material is the main reason for potential complications. It has, however, worked…

by Jana Rade

Rat Bait Poisoning in a Dog: Penny’s Eats Rodenticide

Rodenticides are not poisonous just to rodents. There are two kinds of mouse and rat poisons: long-acting anticoagulants (LAACS) cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) While either of them can kill your dog, anticoagulants have an antidote, while lethal levels of Vitamin D3 do not. In my opinion, poisons that don’t have antidote should not be sold in the first place. Yet, cholecalciferol…

by Jana Rade

What Is an Ectopic Ureter: Frankie’s Urinary Incontinence and Reconstructive Surgery

If your puppy keeps having pee accidents and nothing is working, it is time to consider a plumbing problem. Your veterinarian ruled out or treated for urinary tract infection and the problem seems to go far beyond a house training problem—what is going on? In a healthy dog, urine travels from kidneys to the bladder which allows urine storage until…

by Jana Rade

Canine Blood Tests: What’s In The Blood—Blood Testing And Interpretation

Blood work is a standard, non-invasive evaluation tool in veterinary medicine. The results can shed light on your dog’s general health and organ function. Blood testing is used for the following: wellness evaluation pre-surgical screening illness diagnosis Introduction Every day, all day, cells within the body are being constantly replaced. You lose a layer of skin, and a new layer…

by Dr. Lorie Huston

Homemade Playdough Poisoning in a Dog: Daisy’s Trip to Veterinary Emergency

If you make your kids’ modelling mixture at home, it is perfectly safe, isn’t it? After all, everything you put in there is edible, right? Right. But not everything that humans can eat is safe for dogs. Let’s take a look at an example homemade playdough recipe. The ingredients include: 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup salt 4 teaspoons cream…

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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