Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
Gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV) is a life-threatening emergency condition that affects predominantly deep-chested large breed dogs. Gastric dila-what? You’re probably more familiar with the term bloat. And if you don’t know that one either, and own a large, deep-chested breed, you better do your homework quick. Introduction Gastric dilatation and volvulus is as deadly as cancer, except it kills…
As is true for all healthcare professionals, veterinarians sometimes develop tunnel vision. Now and then, they become so focused on test results that they fail to consider whether or not these results actually make sense in relation to the animal sitting atop their exam room table. When the patient’s appearance says one thing and test results indicate something different, astute…
Except for emergencies, what is your preferred way of communicating with your veterinarian between appointments? What is theirs? A phone call seems most convenient, and you can discuss things in greater detail. But your veterinarian has other things to do during their day than sit at the desk and wait for the phone to ring. Sometimes you do need to…
Stories of veterinary ER horrors are close to home—we had our own emergency vet horror. In fact, if we went with their conclusions, Jasmine’s life was nearly cut short. If we took the ER vet’s word for it, we would have put Jasmine down because that was their recommendation. But that was only a small part of the whole ordeal.…
Are the criteria for picking an animal vet clinic identical to choosing a veterinarian? Are those one and the same? And which is more important to quality veterinary care? When looking for the highest quality veterinary care for your dog, it is important to consider both things—the animal hospital and the veterinarian. There are overlaps but you cannot substitute one…