Health

Sometimes life-threatening illnesses develop so slowly that no one pays much attention. An older dog who's always thirsty drinks huge quantities of water. He's hungrier than usual and has developed a thin coat and pot belly. He pants all the time, and now his hind legs are losing muscle tone and getting weak. Many owners dismiss these as normal signs of aging, but they are classic symptoms of Cushing's disease, which affects an estimated 100,000 dogs in the U.S. every year.

Does your dog have a favorite toy? He plays with it daily, sleeps with it nightly, and when guests come over, he excitedly parades...

Your dog has a weeping, oozing wound on her leg or a yucky red blob on the top of her head, and at first you wonder how she injured herself. But if you've been around the dog-care block, you realize that it isn't a cut or scrape. That gooey mess might be diagnosed as pyotraumatic dermatitis, wet eczema, or a Staphylococcus intermedius infection, but it's what everyone calls a hot spot.

Enzymes given with food are used for digestion, but certain enzymes (proteases, which break down proteins) can also help with inflammation, pain, recovery from injury, and more when given apart from food. Systemic enzyme therapy, also called metabolic or proteolytic enzyme therapy, allows enzymes to enter the body where they can be used for healing rather than digestion. Examples of proteolytic enzymes include pancreatin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin (from the pancreas); bromelain (from pineapple); and papain (from papaya).

We’re always looking for ways to save money and with rising veterinary costs, saving money on your dog’s healthcare has never been more important. Pet insurance and dog wellness plans are growing in popularity as ways to lessen the sting of veterinary bills.

Apoquel and Cytopoint, both manufactured by Zoetis, have been around for some time now – eight years and five years, respectively. They represent the...

Pet pills are big business, raking in an estimated $3 billion last year and growing by 20 percent each year. Pharmaceutical companies have found they can modify human drugs for pets without much additional research expense. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 15 new behavior-altering drugs for veterinary use in the last year and a half. The two new canine drugs receiving the biggest ad blitz and the most mainstream media coverage, Clomicalm and Anipryl, both were adapted from human drugs.

Parasites in dogs affect both the dogs internal organs like the heart and digestive system, their skin, and orifices like the nose and ears.

If these companies are devoted to the health of our dogs as they claim, they should use the highest quality ingredients, which to me means human-grade. In addition, why would I pay $1.79 a can (in my area) for food with organic beef in it if the other ingredients are not human-grade? By the way, that particular company used to advertise human-grade ingredients and when I called the company to ask why they stopped I got no comment" as my answer. Most dog food manufacturers are tight-lipped about their ingredients – a red flag if I ever saw one and not exactly a sign of product pride."

Dog owners nationwide are concerned about a severe canine respiratory virus that doesn’t respond to traditional medications and is killing some dogs.

Anorexia, bulimia, and weird pregnancy cravings are common in humans, but did you know dogs have eating disorders, too?

A urine sample is like liquid gold to your veterinarian. It contains so much information about your dog’s health, including whether there is a urinary tract infection or crystals, kidney disease, liver disease, or diabetes.