Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
Why is my dog panting so much? Dogs pant. They pant when they exercise, when they are hot, they pant when they are excited. Panting is your dog’s way to cool their body. Because dogs don’t sweat, the only effective way they can cool themselves is by panting. All dogs do that, and it is perfectly normal. So if panting…
What would you do if your dog kept vomiting and couldn’t hold down water? Flossy was an intact, young, energetic Border Collie with no health issues to speak of. She would always get the odd people food treat and was handling them fine. That morning, however, when she got a small piece of her dad’s toast, it immediately came back…
Jake is a senior Labrador Retriever, and his story starts with an emergency veterinary visit. The poor boy 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…
What would you do if your dog started losing muscle mass without an obvious reason? Allie was as sweet as a Maltese can be. A beautiful, loving little girl. On the surface, Allie seemed perfectly fine. Her appetite was good, she wasn’t losing weight. While her weight remained stable, Allie kept wasting before her mom’s eyes. Allie was losing muscle…
A symptom n. an abnormality caused by a disease that is observable in a sick animal. Dictionary of Veterinary Terms: Vet-speak Deciphered for the Non-veterinarian The above definition points out two important things. A symptom is an abnormality, and it can be observed. Note: Technically–as it was pointed out to me by my book editor–the more accurate term is signs,…