My Dog's Symptoms : Page 2 of 164 : Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.

Physical Therapy for Hip Dysplasia: Tips and Techniques

Can physical therapy help your dog with hip dysplasia? What is hip dysplasia? Lots of people think hip dysplasia is a tight, sore, arthritic hip. However, it is really a hip that is too loose and lacks stability. The hip consists of a ball-and-socket joint formed by the head of the femur (ball) and the acetabulum of the pelvis (socket)…

by Susan E. Davis PT

Canine Unicompartmental Elbow Resurfacing: Surgery for Amber’s Elbow Dysplasia

Elbow dysplasia refers to malformations in the elbow joint of the dog. It is a common cause of front leg lameness in dogs. It is a broad umbrella term that covers different problems in the dog’s elbow. Three bones meet to form the elbow joint, and they all need to develop perfectly. The different abnormalities are classified as the following…

by Jana Rade

Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Dogs: Why I Dislike IBD

Diseases that require surgery to reach a definitive diagnosis are frustrating to deal with. No matter how persuasive I try to be, owners are understandably reluctant to think that biopsying some internal bit of their sick dog is a great idea. Now the shoe’s on the other foot, so to speak. I recently adopted a pup with just such a…

by Dr. Jennifer Coates, DVM

Canine Myofascial Trigger Points: Unraveling The Mystery Of Fascia and Treatment of Myofascial Trigger Points

Ah, what a tangled web they weave, those fascia bundles! Fascia is a network of connective tissue that surrounds body organs, muscles, groups of muscles, nerves, etc. It is a dense maze of collagen fibers that provide structure and support for these internal body parts. My first semester of PT training involved literally tearing through the fascia layers to get…

by Susan E. Davis PT

Front Leg Lameness in a Rottweiler: Cookie’s Sore Front Legs

Hind leg lameness has been my biggest fear. Yet, a sore front leg can be way more complicated. The most common causes of hind limb lameness in dogs include: cruciate ligament injuries hip dysplasia arthritis (often secondary to one of the above) Front leg lameness can have various causes, the most common ones being elbow dysplasia and shoulder injuries. Neck…

by Jana Rade

Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer by day, dog health advocate, dog writer, member of the Dog Writers Association of American and an award-winning author. 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 in 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 how to 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 save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners . What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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