Articles with surgery recovery

Canine Post-Op Physical Therapy: Best Practices After Your Dog’s Surgery

Many hours of my work week are spent caring for dogs after surgery and guiding their owners through the recovery process. I am often amazed by the lack of adherence to post-op instructions. Some owners neglect to read them at all. Even worse, some veterinarians don’t provide written documentation about post-op care. The first few days and weeks after surgery…

by Susan E. Davis PT

Dog Injury or Surgery Recovery: Mishaps versus Setbacks

What is the difference between a mishap and a setback? And are they unavoidable during your dog’s recovery from surgery or injury? A mishap is an unfortunate event or accident that might happen while your dog is healing from a surgery or injury. Your dog’s activity level, mobility challenges, and their environment can be contributing factors that can end up…

by Jana Rade

Canine Post-Op Wounds: Taking Care of JD’s Wounds

Some wounds require skin grafts. It is always the goal to make surgery minimally invasive. But when removing a cancerous growth, clean margins might take preference. Boys make horrible patients Is it a guy thing to be horrible about being sick or about their wounds? It’s certainly a guy thing with men and as far as I can tell boy…

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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