Articles with dog health advocacy

Medication Overdose in Dogs: Trusting Your Instincts May Save Your Dog’s Life—Brandy’s Story

Thank you, Carol Bryant, for sharing Brandy’s story of serious medication overdose. I feel a connection to Jana Rade and her dog, Jasmine, although we’re yet formally meet. Dogs often bring people together, and that is certainly the case for me: Most of my friends and connections are “dog people.” A fan of Jana’s Facebook group and her blog, I…

by Jana Rade

Signs of Pain in Dogs: Veterinarians Answer Whether They Often Have Difficulties Getting Clients To Believe Their Dog Is In Pain

Would you know if your dog was in pain? Would you believe if your veterinarian told you? Many people are still denial about their dog’s pain. I asked my veterinary friends how commonly they deal with denial regarding signs of pain in dogs. Question: Do you often have difficulties getting clients to believe that their dog is in pain? How…

by Jana Rade

Hind Leg Limping In A Dog: You Say Hip Dysplasia, I Say Knee Injury … Forrest Gumbo’s Story

Diagnosing CCL tears is easy and straightforward, right? This is a story from Dog Knee Injury website. Having gone through cruciate tears with Jasmine twice, this topic is of special interest to me. Having your dog go through that is frustrating enough. But what if you couldn’t even get it properly diagnosed and treated? Don’t ever hesitate to get a…

by Jana Rade

Lost Mobility in a Dog: Diagnostic Tests Are Only As Good As Their Interpretation—R.G.’s Hind End Lameness

How often do you think veterinarians misdiagnose their patients? Diagnosis is a process, and sometimes it is not easy to peel the onion. However, sometimes a bad diagnosis is just that—a bad diagnosis due to a cock-up. The most common veterinary mistakes involve: surgical mistakes drug-related mistakes diagnostic errors Both graduate vets and experienced practitioners can cock-up the diagnosis, whether…

by Jana Rade

Olfaction for Dog Diagnosis: Smellognostics—More On What The Nose Knows

Do veterinarians use their nose when evaluating our dogs? As I recently wrote about how the nose can detect medical problems, I got curious, and I asked some of my veterinary friends whether they use their sense of smell as part of their diagnostic process. But seriously now. TCVM olfaction In Traditional Chinese Veterinary medicine, olfaction (smellognostics) is an integral…

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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