Working with Veterinarians

Does Your Vet Listen to You? Cookie’s Post-Sedation Complications

Being able to work with your veterinarian to work out an individual treatment plan tailored to your dog’s needs is essential. It is no possible to achieve if your veterinarian is not listening to you. They might be able to use an identical process for a thousand dogs with great results. But that doesn’t mean that the same will work…

by Jana Rade

Canine Partial Cruciate Tear: Theory and Actual Decisions for an Actual Dog—Cookie’s Knee Injury

As it turned out, Cookie has a partially torn cruciate in her left knee. We’ve been through this already with Jasmine. Bad ligaments in both knees. Decisions to be made. Back then, when Jasmine got her diagnosis, I had no idea what a cruciate ligament was, why it would get injured and what were our options. I had to learn…

by Jana Rade

Before Getting a Second Opinion: Something Not Right? Speak Up

How should you work out your dog’s treatment problems with your veterinarian before seeking a second opinion? Don’t leave until satisfied When I come back from the vet I like to feel reasonably confident both about the [working] diagnosis and the treatment. This can be easier said than done. Not every diagnosis can be achieved by one listen with a…

by Jana Rade

Should Diagnostics Hurt? Invasive Diagnostics and Painful Examinations—When What You Should Do Might Not Be What You Should Do for Your Dog

Is pain a fair price to pay to obtain a diagnosis? I like when things are clear and simple. I wish there was a book that contained the best way to make difficult decisions. You follow the advice. All is well. Unfortunately, very few things are that simple. And it’s not just about medical procedures alone. Sometimes it’s just as…

by Jana Rade

Working with Veterinarians: A Reflection on a Year of Working with Our New Vet

Every time you make a choice it bears evaluation down the road. It might have been the best decision at the time but does it still hold up? It’s been over a year since we moved to Jasmine’s ranch and started working with our new vet. One thing life taught me is that there are awesome vets out there but…

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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