Articles with dog care

Dental Health in Dogs: Talking Teeth

Is your dog’s bad breath sabotaging your cuddle time? Is your kitty drooling while nibbling her kibble? If so, your four-legged family member likely has dental disease. Banfield Pet Hospital’s 770-hospital network study identified dental disease as the most common malady among pets. It affects 68% of cats and 78% of dogs over three years of age. What causes dental…

by Dr. Nancy Kay

The Healing Power Of The Outdoors: Can Spending Time Outside Benefit a Dog’s Health?

Can something as simple as spending time outdoors promote your dog’s health and healing? (Of course, by outdoors I don’t mean a little, cramped yard at your city dwelling. Neither I mean tossing your dog out in the yard, regardless of the location, and leaving them out there.) If your dog is healthy and doing well, the difference will be…

by Jana Rade

Getting Pet Health Insurance: Does Being Insured Equal Being Covered?

To get a pet health insurance or not to get pet health insurance, that is the question. It’s been a dilemma for us for a very long time. The main reason? We don’t like insurance companies and we don’t trust them. Insurance companies are not charity organizations Like any other business, insurance companies are in it to make money. And…

by Jana Rade

Anesthesia-Free Dental Cleaning: Does It Work?

It’s natural to have concerns about general anesthesia, whether for ourselves or for our beloved dogs. After all, no matter how young and healthy the patient, there is always some associated risk. For this reason, anesthesia-free dental cleaning for dogs has become more and more popular. As well as the lower cost of cleaning Fido’s or Fluffy’s teeth without anesthesia…

by Dr. Nancy Kay

Should I Choose Surgery for My Senior Dog?

Medical decisions that might include surgery are always difficult. Surgery is invasive and carries risks. Should your decision process change when your dog becomes a senior? While I always lean toward the most natural solutions, I recognize that there are times when surgery is the ideal solution. When we adopted my Rottweiler Cookie, she was a year-and-a-half old. She’s been…

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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