Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
Do you know what questions to ask your veterinarian? In the past, when I was going to a vet, whether it was for a scheduled exam or with a medical problem, I just went. What else would one need, right? Show up, bring the dog–that’s it, isn’t it? Then I came home and realized how many things I forgot to…
Do you take your dog for regular wellness exams? Or do you wait until something is wrong? Wellness exams are often an underappreciated part of preventive health care. But why go to a vet when there is nothing obviously wrong? By the time there is something obviously wrong–except for trauma or infection–it’s been going on quietly for quite some time.…
What do you do when a veterinarian diagnoses a lump that doesn’t exist and misses one that is actually there? Veterinary cock-ups happen. There are poor outcomes due to things one cannot predict, there are mistakes, and then there is just not paying attention. When I wrote the article about Cookie’s lumpectomy, I left out some stuff because it was…
Has your dog’s physical therapist taken dog training classes? Or, even more importantly, should they? If your dog is going for physical therapy and you’d have to guess, would you figure they did? In hubby’s field, there is mandatory education for truck drivers in Ontario. Mandatory classes come at a stiff price. Should that become a thing? Here is another…
Symptomatic treatment is not an uncommon approach. Treating based on symptoms can offer two benefits. sometimes the body just needs a little help to heal itself how your dog responds to treatment might offer helpful insight into finding a diagnosis don’t underestimate the benefit of removing your dog’s immediate pain or discomfort On the other hand, long-term symptomatic treatment isn’t…