My Dog's Symptoms : Page 163 of 176 : Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.

Negative Lyme Test in a Dog: Gus’ Missed Diagnosis

A common medical dilemma is a positive Lyme test in a healthy dog. What if a sick dog tests negative, though? What if your dog has all the symptoms of suffering from active Lyme disease but the test does not reflect that? Gus’ story Every dog can pick up an unwelcome deer tick here and there. Gus caught a number…

by Jana Rade

Veterinary Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: HBOT Goes To The Dogs

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used in human medicine to treat conditions such as non-healing wounds, traumatic injuries, and serious infections. Now, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is going to the dogs. Hyperbaric capsules help to treat animals bitten by rattlesnakes, hit by cars and those with infected wounds or wounds that won’t heal. How it works? This treatment increases the oxygenation…

by Jana Rade

Canine Splenic Tumors: Walks Like A Splenic Tumor, Quacks Like A Splenic Tumor … It Must Be A UTI?

Mandy was about nine and a half years old, about the same age as Jasmine. She was showing some signs of aging but overall seemed to have been doing well enough. Mandy had fallen very ill during the Christmas holiday She was very lethargic; didn’t want to get up, didn’t want to eat. She was drinking and urinating a lot…

by Jana Rade

Root Signature Pain in Dogs: Elbow Problem Or Root Signature?

When your dog becomes lame, the first suspects are muscle or joint issues. Did you know, however, that lameness can have a neurologic cause? Figuring out whether the problem is orthopedic or neurologic can be challenging. Jasmine’s story As soon as Jasmine improved after her neck issues, without any break to speak of, we were dealing with sudden severe front…

by Jana Rade

Veterinary Cryosurgery: Can My Dog Benefit?

Surgery doesn’t always have to involve a scalpel. Cryosurgery is one of such techniques. During traditional surgery, the surgeon cuts out abnormal or diseased tissue. Cryosurgery achieves this by the use of extreme cold. The extreme cold causes the death of the target cells while at the same time of numbs surrounding nerves, which reduces pain. Further information: Cryosurgery in…

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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