Other Diseases

Dogs can get a bump that looks like a person’s cold sore—that small crater-like ulcer on the inside of your lip. But, cold sores in humans are caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1, which cannot be transferred to or from your dog.

It may seem like dogs are immune to food poisoning, as they often eat things that would land us in the hospital. They are susceptible to many of the same pathogens that impact humans. In a healthy adult dog, a larger pathogen load is required to induce illness.

Prevention of mastitis involves keeping the nursing environment as clean as possible. It’s wise to try to prevent trauma to the mammary glands by eliminating sharp objects in the whelping box and trimming the puppies’ toenails. Make sure the puppies are nursing from all the teats to keep the glands drained (in small litters, rotate through each of the teats).

Diagnosing your dog’s hypoglycemia and its root cause will be imperative for proper treatment and management, as well as having a complete understanding of their prognosis. A glucometer is an easy and quick way to evaluate your pup’s blood glucose levels and diagnose hypoglycemia.

Canine pneumonia is a respiratory infection that has moved into the dog’s lower respiratory tract, the bronchioles and lungs themselves. The location of the infection alone makes it harder for your dog to get relief by coughing.

Internal parasites or worms are of great concern to both canines and their people. In some cases, the parasites are zoonotic (meaning humans can get them, too).

The first signs of heat exhaustion in dogs are easy to miss. If your dog is panting heavily, he needs to cool down. Your dog’s tongue can be key to detecting increasing heat stress.

Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE) in dogs is caused by the Clostridium perfringens bacteria, a normal part of a dog's gut flora. When it reproduces out of control it can cause a potentially lethal condition.

As with so many health problems in our dogs, the prognosis is better if kidney failure is detected early. While kidney disease can’t be reversed, the progress of the disease can be slowed, giving your dog extra lifetime with good quality.

While inner-ear infections occur more in dogs with drop ears, like Cocker Spaniels, any dog can experience an ear infection. Infections can be in one or in both ears. A proper diagnosis of ear discomfort will usually require ear cytology.

While there are hundreds of reasons for not eating in dogs, if your dog is not eating, pancreatitis is a possibility, especially if your dog has symptoms of pancreatitis like not eating, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever.

Anal glands in dogs are two small sacks that sit on either side of the anus. They can become full which causes discomfort, and they can leak which causes foul odors.