Dog health advocacy

Dog Poop Consistency: From Hard to Watery—What Does It Mean?

Why does it matter what your dog’s poop looks like? Dog poop consistency is one of the most useful clues about your dog’s health. The longer I’ve been a dog mom, the more attention I’ve learned to pay to poop. It started with Jasmine who had ongoing poop issues from the day she came to us. After years of being…

by Jana Rade

Rottweiler Anesthesia Sensitivity: Navigating Sedation and Medication Challenges with Your Large-Breed Dog

Some dog breeds are genetically predisposed to drug sensitivities—such as herding breeds with MDR1 mutations or sighthounds with slow anesthetic metabolism. Understanding Rottweiler anesthesia sensitivity starts with looking at what we already know about drug‐sensitive breeds. The most common culprit is the MDR1 gene mutation, affecting herding breeds and mixed breeds including: Further reading: Dog breeds commonly affected by MDR1…

by Jana Rade

Dog Splenic Tumors: From a Broken Toenail to Splenectomy

Splenic tumors in dogs are one of the trickier issues to catch early. Cookie’s story illustrates how a complicated health saga saved her life. This was the second time that horrible things seemed to have to happen to save our dog’s life. If the story played out any other way, would we have discovered Cookie’s splenic tumor on time? Why…

by Jana Rade

Seeking a Second Opinion for Your Dog

Choosing the right veterinarian and knowing when to seek a second opinion can be the difference between sickness and health, and sometimes the life and death of your dog. If there is a single take-home point of my blog, it is this—your dog’s health is ultimately in your hands. Making the right decisions for your dog is your responsibility, and…

by Jana Rade

New Release! Decoding Dog Health Speak

Practical. Accessible. Story-driven. From the award-winning author of Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog—recipient of the Maxwell Award from the Dog Writers Association of America and the Morris Animal Foundation Canine Health Award—comes the second volume in the Owner-to-Owner Dog Health Care series: Decoding Dog Health Speak: How to See and Think About Your Dog’s Symptoms—Illustrated by Real-Life Stories…

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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