Treatments

Canine Hypothyroidism Diagnosis: Cookie is Hypothyroid

The hardest part of dealing with hypothyroidism in your dog is getting the proper diagnosis. Hypothyroidism is both over- and under-diagnosed at the same time. Diagnosing hypothyroidism is not straight-forward. If not tested correctly, there is a high likelihood of misdiagnosis. The main reason why your dog might get wrongly diagnosed with poor thyroid function is when your vet tests…

by Jana Rade

Simitri Stable in Stride: Islay’s Knee Injury and Repair

Islay’s mom, Judith Brown, shares their experience with Simitri Stable in Stride to repair a ruptured cruciate ligament. Islay is a 7-year-old Gordon Setter female, she is the fifth generation of my own breeding program. I have been breeding GordonSetters under the Sassenach Prefix for 35 years. Islay is an extremely active athletic dog, she’s my competition girl. I’ve not…

by Jana Rade

Simitri Stable in Stride Stabilization: A Unique Surgical Option to Treat Cruciate Injuries in Dogs—Interview with Dr. Neil Embleton, Co-Inventor of Simitri Stable in Stride

Not a whole lot has changed in surgical options for the treatment of canine cruciate injuries in quite a while. A few years back, the Triple Tibial Osteotomy (TTO) made its debut in New Zealand. It’s a hybrid between the TPLO and TTA surgeries and I actually quite liked it even though it still quite invasive. However, whether it is…

by Jana Rade

Canine Post-Op Wounds: Taking Care of JD’s Wounds

Some wounds require skin grafts. It is always the goal to make surgery minimally invasive. But when removing a cancerous growth, clean margins might take preference. Boys make horrible patients Is it a guy thing to be horrible about being sick or about their wounds? It’s certainly a guy thing with men and as far as I can tell boy…

by Jana Rade

Veterinary Highlights: Canine Unicompartmental Elbow Resurfacing (CUE)

Osteoarthritis from elbow dysplasia may result in complete loss of cartilage on the medial (inner side) weight-bearing surfaces of the joint, (Medial Compartment Disease (MCD). At this stage, the part of the joint collapses, resulting in the grinding of bone on bone. Canine Unicompartmental Elbow (CUE) is a surgical treatment option to consider where other treatments are no longer effective.…

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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