Health

If your dog strains to urinate but nothing comes out or if he urinates and you see fresh blood, your dog may be suffering from bladder stones.

Researchers at Cornell University's Animal Health Diagnostic Center have developed a new test for Lyme disease in dogs. Available as of June 15, the Lyme multiplex assay is capable of distinguishing between infection and vaccination when vaccination history is available, and between early and chronic disease stages, from a single blood sample. Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, migrate by way of the tissues to the joints, nervous system, and organs, causing fever, pain, lameness, and sometimes kidney failure (Lyme nephropathy). By the time these clinical signs show up, the infection may have been present 6 to 8 weeks or longer.

Traditionally dispensed solely from the veterinarian’s office, prescription drugs for companion dogs represent a ripe peach – ready for picking by retail chain pharmacies and emerging Internet-based pharmacies that have sniffed out a promising new niche in the lucrative pharmaceutical market. These drug retailers have discovered the more than 35 million dog owners in the United States who anticipate the same access to sophisticated medicines for their dogs as they have come to expect for themselves.

As we reported in Whole Dog Journal in March 2011, there is now ample evidence that at least one strain of heartworms has developed resistance to some of the market's best-known preventives. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that one of the most popular heartworm preventives, Heartgard, has an efficacy rate of less than 100 percent. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine has sent at least one warning letter to Merial, the maker of Heartgard, asking the company to stop claiming 100 percent effectiveness for heartworm prevention. Given these developments, what should responsible dog owners do differently to better protect their dogs? The answer depends a bit on where you live and what you've already been doing to prevent heartworm infection.

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Lyme disease is becoming more prevalent in certain parts of the country with each passing year. Learn more about Lyme disease symptoms, treatment, and prevention in our dogs.

There are over 400 lymph nodes in your dog but only a few are close enough to the skin’s surface to be observed. Though few, these key nodes are important indicators of illness.

He’s fearless. Reckless. Senseless? Or perhaps my Australian Cattle Dog, Cedar, is just accident-prone. Yesterday he slammed head first into a door jam during rough play with my Shepherd-mix, Willow. Today he did a nose dive off a five-foot embankment in pursuit of his favorite all-natural dog toy: a pine cone. As always, he retrieved the cone, chewed it into a slobbery clump of fibrous goo, and dropped it at my feet. On his trot back I noticed he was limping, holding his front leg off the ground.

MiraLAX can be used for dogs. It is available as an over-the-counter unflavored powder, which makes it perfect for mixing into your dog’s food or a little bit of water to relieve their constipation.

In a nutshell, if your dog is squinting, blinking, pawing or rubbing at the eyes, or if you see an excessive or bloody discharge, or if just one eye is affected with symptoms like these, your dog may have an eye injury, infection, or damage that needs a veterinarian’s expertise.

If your dog frequently licks his itchy paws, he’s liable to trigger a yeast infection, which can take on a life of its own and cause even more itching and discomfort.

There are several manifestations of allergies in dogs, including atopic and flea allergy dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and bronchitis, hives, and insect bite hypersensitivity. Symptoms...