Articles with poisoning

Two Dogs Sick at the Same Time: Rosie and Ruby’s Story

When two dogs in the same household get sick at the same time, what is the first thing you suspect? Did they get into something they shouldn’t? Did they catch an infection? Rosie and Ruby are housemates. Rosie is 5-years-old and Ruby is 7 months. They are happy, healthy Labrador Retrievers. One night, right after supper Rosie started drooling excessively and stagger…

by Jana Rade

Cyanotoxin Poisoning in Dogs: What Happens in a Dog’s Body with Cyanotoxin?

How does the toxin from blue-green algae affect your dog’s body? When it’s hot, very few dogs can resist taking a dip and probably a sip from whatever water is nearby. Usually, that’s not a problem. But if the water is home to large numbers of blue-green algae (also called cyanobacteria), you should do everything in your power to keep…

by Dr. Jennifer Coates, DVM

Sago Palm Poisoning in Dogs: Piper’s Brush with Death

They are so pretty, aren’t they? Sago palms. Don’t let their looks deceive you–these things are severely toxic. What is even worse, there is no easy way to diagnose Sago palm poisoning–there is no test for the toxin it contains. And there is no antidote for it either. Unless you caught your dog munching on one of these things or…

by Jana Rade

Is Ingestion of Grapes an Emergency?

Grape toxicity for dogs is poorly understood in a way that nobody knows why they are toxic to them. There are stories out there of people who insist that they give their dog the odd grape and their dogs are fine. Some dogs seem to handle that with no problems indeed. There are people who jumped or fell from great…

by Jana Rade

Is Xylitol Ingestion an Emergency?

If your dog ingests xylitol it is an emergency. It takes substantially less xylitol than chocolate to be deadly. There is enough xylitol in just three pieces of sugar-free gum to kill a small dog. What is Xylitol? Xylitol is a sugar replacement, a sweetener, used more broadly every day because of low caloric density and lesser impact on tooth health. It…

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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