Dog health advocacy

Canine Lumps and Bumps: It’s That Time of the Year Again—Annual Wellness Exam and JD’s Bumps

Many health issues can be brewing under surface long before they show up outwardly. Wellness exams are a way to peek inside for what problems might be hiding from plain sight. We take our guys at least for one wellness exam a year; usually two. There is no particular rule when during the year this should be done but we typically choose…

by Jana Rade

Elevated Calcium Levels in a Dog: Too Much Calcium in the Blood Is a Diagnosis?

Describing a problem is not an explanation of a problem. When interpreting your dog’s blood work, don’t hesitate to insist on an explanation of anything out of normal range and what can be the potential reasons for it. Juno’s story Last week, a friend contacted me, concerned about her dog drinking like there was no tomorrow. Of course, a dog…

by Jana Rade

Canine Iliopsoas Injuries Symptoms: Sometimes You Don’t Even Know What You’re Looking At—Cookie’s Hind Legs Transiently Fail To Work

Canine iliopsoas injuries symptoms can be anything from subtle signs that you can easily miss to profound lameness. These injuries often go undiagnosed in dogs. Things you might notice in your dog include difficulty or stiffness when getting up reluctance to jump gait changes/ outward rotation of the affected leg stance changes intermittent lameness not lifting a leg to pee…

by Jana Rade

Interpreting Lab Results in Context: Cookie’s Elevated Kidney Values

When your dog’s lab results show irregularities, don’t panic but don’t ignore them either. Figure out what is going on. It has been my experience that often one value or another can be off on blood panel. With Jasmine, every other panel had something out of range. The question is what to do when that happens? Investigate. Immediate values and…

by Jana Rade

Fear-Free Veterinary Visits: The Stench of Fear—Is There Good and Bad Timing for Vet Visits?

There is no good reason why your dog’s veterinary visit should be a terrifying experience. It’s hard on the dog, and it is counter-productive. Fear-free veterinary visits have since become a movement that even comes with a certification. There are many ways of taking the fear out of visiting the vet. But would you think that the time of the…

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.

View Full Profile →