Symptoms

Persistent Vomiting in a Dog: Is It An Emergency When Your Dog Keeps Vomiting? Pirate’s Story

Everything was going great for Pirate until one day he kept vomiting brown liquid with bits of grass. It’s not like never threw up before, of course, he did every now and then. By early afternoon, Pirate vomited six times already. That in itself is a big red flag. Projectile vomiting, vomiting repeatedly, vomiting blood (fresh or digested), unproductive wretching,…

by Jana Rade

Is Inability to Stand an Emergency?

There is a difference between acute inability to stand and an ongoing condition where the dog might have already diagnosed issues such as spinal injury or any other problem causing paralysis, extreme weakness or loss of balance. A chronic, established condition isn’t an emergency unless something abruptly changes. For example, after her hyperthermia horror, Jasmine was unable to get up…

by Jana Rade

Is Severe Lethargy an Emergency?

Lethargy is a state in which your dog is uninterested in or unable to go about their normal activities. Your dog will act tired, weak, and lacking energy. Lethargy, particularly severe, most definitely, absolutely is an emergency. Your dog is either very ill, poisoned, in extreme pain or having an adverse reaction to a drug or medication. Non-specific but important…

by Jana Rade

Is Loss of Appetite an Emergency?

There are many physiological as well as psychological reasons a dog can lose interest in food. The reasons for your dog’s anorexia might be well-known, such as with Jasmine’s IBD, or any chronic disease. Your dog’s stomach might be upset from a prior adventure in the garbage can or otherwise getting their paws on something they should not have eaten. Stress…

by Jana Rade

Are Convulsions or Seizures an Emergency?

Every first-time seizure should be treated as an emergency. If you have a dog diagnosed and medicated for epilepsy, they might still get a seizure from time to time. If the seizure passes quickly, given you already know what is going on, such an event might not be an emergency. That is a different situation if your dog starts convulsing…

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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