Health

Hookworm in dogs is a nasty parasite that can coexist with an adult dog for quite sometime, and spread. Recognizing the signs of hookworm infection is the best way to protect your dog, and other dogs too.

What is digestibility and why does it matter? Digestibility reflects a food's ability to deliver essential nutrients to the dog who eats it. This ultimately affects not only defecation quantity and quality (how much your dog poops and how the poop looks and smells), and a dog's propensity for flatulence (no explanation needed), but more importantly, a dog's long-term health and wellness. The graphic on this page summarizes how digestibility is measured using feeding trials with dogs.

If your puppy has an umbilical hernia it looks a lot like an “outie” puppy belly button. When the hole where the umbilical chord attached doesn't close properly it allows fat to poke out and create a bulge.

When itching starts, consider what might have caused that reaction. Home remedies for itchy dogs might help, but only if they address the cause of itching.

There are many possible ways in a which a dog's eyes can look clouded. Often, you are seeing the cloudiness in the lens of the eye – an elastic, transparent structure that lies behind the iris (the pigmented part of the eye) and the pupil (the opening in the center of the eye). Tiny muscle fibers inside the eye contract and relax to makes the lens change thickness and shape; these movements help the dog change focus. As dogs age, certain changes cause the lens to turn white and become visible. When this ordinarily transparent structure develops a cloudy spot or section, the dog's vision is compromised.

A wagging tail is often seen as a sign of a happy dog. But your dog’s tail is far more than a barometer of emotion: It’s a complex and highly functional extension of its spine that serves a variety of purposes.

A dry mouth, dry nose, and excessive panting with thick saliva instead of liquid drool are mild signs of dehydration but a huge warning that your dog has gone too long without water and needs immediate access to clean, fresh water.

They are among the words you least want to hear: Your dog has cancer. But the odds are you will hear them someday, especially if you have more than one dog in your lifetime. One in four dogs get cancer; half of the dogs over 10 years of age die from or with it. Much of what is known about canine cancer closely parallels what is known about cancer in humans. Dogs are at risk of the same types of cancer afflicting humans, and treating canine cancer successfully is dependent upon the same variables found in human cancer treatment.

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol used as a low-calorie sweetener and humectant in human and pet products. While sorbitol is generally recognized as safe for people and not considered toxic to dogs, excessive amounts can still cause issues for dogs.

Your nagging feeling was right – there really is something wrong with your dog. And it’s not just a pulled muscle or a torn toenail. It’s cancer. As you struggle to wrap your mind around that diagnosis, the veterinarian describes your options: surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, alone or in combination. Or your dog might be eligible to participate in a clinical trial testing a new drug, or you may want to consult an oncology specialist or consider a promising new state-of-the-art treatment. There are no guarantees that any of these treatments will work, and if the prognosis is especially grim, you may want to say goodbye now. Please decide within 24 hours. This is a medical emergency.

While treatment of Addison's disease focuses on prescription drugs and electrolyte tests, holistic veterinarians add various support therapies to help their patients. Nutrition is the cornerstone of every holistic therapy, and while diet cannot cure Addison's disease, foods made of poor-quality ingredients or diets that lead to nutritional deficiencies are a significant source of stress, and additional stress is just what Addison's dogs don't need. Because wheat, corn, and soy are problem ingredients for some dogs, many holistic veterinarians recommend avoiding them. Some tell their clients to avoid grains altogether.

Irritation in your dog’s airways can cause her to cough, which may be due to a temporary illness or a more chronic issue.