Articles with emergencies

Is Severe Lethargy an Emergency?

Lethargy is a state in which your dog is uninterested in or unable to go about their normal activities. Your dog will act tired, weak, and lacking energy. Lethargy, particularly severe, most definitely, absolutely is an emergency. Your dog is either very ill, poisoned, in extreme pain or having an adverse reaction to a drug or medication. Non-specific but important…

by Jana Rade

Is Loss of Appetite an Emergency?

There are many physiological as well as psychological reasons a dog can lose interest in food. The reasons for your dog’s anorexia might be well-known, such as with Jasmine’s IBD, or any chronic disease. Your dog’s stomach might be upset from a prior adventure in the garbage can or otherwise getting their paws on something they should not have eaten. Stress…

by Jana Rade

Are Convulsions or Seizures an Emergency?

Every first-time seizure should be treated as an emergency. If you have a dog diagnosed and medicated for epilepsy, they might still get a seizure from time to time. If the seizure passes quickly, given you already know what is going on, such an event might not be an emergency. That is a different situation if your dog starts convulsing…

by Jana Rade

Is Profuse Vomiting an Emergency?

Profuse vomiting is most definitely an emergency, particularly when associated with the inability to keep down water, blood in the vomit, depression or pain This is very dangerous for any dog but especially when it comes to puppies or small dogs. What makes it an emergency With profuse vomiting, both the underlying cause and the vomiting itself can be a…

by Jana Rade

Is Vomiting Bile in the Morning an Emergency?

Persistent, projectile or bloody vomiting is an emergency. Unproductive retching is an emergency. If a dog vomits bile in the morning every now and then, it is not an emergency. However, it’s not something I’d ignore if it happened to my dog more often than once in a blue moon. What is bile? Bile is a fluid which is secreted…

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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