Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
by Dr. Jennifer Coates How can you tell whether your dog’s injury or illness calls for an emergency veterinary visit? Dogs seem to get sick or injured at the worst possible times. Of course this is not their fault, but nonetheless, it does often put owners in the position of having to decide whether an after-hours visit to the veterinarian…
Jake is a senior Labrador Retriever, and his story starts with an emergency veterinary visit. Jake was rushed to the clinic blue and suffocating. Jake has laryngeal paralysis–these days recategorized as geriatric onset laryngeal paralysis polyneuropathy (GOLPP). It was thought that laryngeal paralysis was just that–paralysis of the voice box (larynx). The larynx is the organ that controls the airflow…
Our guys got their share of bee stings. While painful and distressing, most bug stings indeed are not an emergency. Because the hornet stung Cookie on the face, we kept the key in the ignition and watched carefully. I gave Benadryl immediately and the swelling started going down in a couple of hours. If it got any worse, we’d gone…
Ok, I concede this sounds quite weird and more like a trick question than something that could be an emergency situation. Surely this sounds harmless enough? Not so fast. Head pressing indicates damage to the nervous system. The potential causes you’re looking at are damage to the forebrain and thalamus, brain inflammation, stroke, brain tumor, an infection of the nervous…
If your dog is choking, they need help right away. There is no doubt about that. The bottom line, however, is that they need help much faster than you can get them to a vet. You need to perform first aid before seeking veterinary assistance. You need to man up (or is it person up now?) and try and help…