First Aid

A muscle strain here, a pulled ligament there, a sprain, a bruise pretty soon we're talking about serious problems. Canine sports injuries are increasingly common, but there is much you can do to catch them early, treat them correctly, and reduce the risk of your dog getting badly hurt, needing surgery, or having to retire from competition.

The symptoms of marijuana toxicity will vary based on the dog, but general symptoms in dogs include depression, vomiting, urinary incontinence, ataxia (wobbliness), tremors, stupor, and bradycardia (slow heart rate). However, Dr. Wismer explains about 25% of dogs exposed to cannabis will become stimulated instead of depressed and show agitation and high heart rate. Dogs with severe marijuana toxicity can develop low blood pressure and coma.

meant to help the vestibular apparatus develop properly. This is thought to help prevent vestibular disease and motion sickness later in the puppy's life."

While some essential oils can benefit dogs, others are extremely dangerous - especially when used in their concentrated form. Tea tree oil demands extra caution around dogs, cats and small children. Although exposure to any essential oil is generally most concentrated when it directly contacts skin, tea tree oil diffusers and liquid potpourri present specific health concerns to dogs. These items release essential oils like tea tree continually into the air, risking exposure by inhalation.

Signs of liver disease can include lethargy, decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, bruising of the skin (small patches of bruising are called petechiae; larger patches are called ecchymoses), abdominal distention, weakness, and a yellow tint to the skin and gums (called jaundice or icterus).

The clinical signs of distemper in dogs occur in stages and in three main body systems: the upper respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, and the central nervous system. Initially, a dog may show signs consistent with upper respiratory disease: coughing, sneezing, high fever, lethargy, and nasal and eye discharge.

Hives, wheals, and welts are a moderate reaction to stings. Just like their human counterparts, dogs who have been stung can break out in unsightly hives. These are usually very itchy and uncomfortable. The first sign often noticed is the dog rubbing along furniture or scratching at the face and eyes. The hives may manifest as bright red streaks or lumps all over the body or be confined to a single place.

All I could hear was the buzz of a thousand bees as I parted my way through a deep thicket of Heracleum lanatum, a tall, broad-leaved member of the parsley family commonly known as cow parsnip." The big

A cranial cruciate ligament injury in a young, healthy dog is typically an athletic injury. In older dogs, it is usually an injury of chronic wear and tear. This explains why its so common for a dog who has damaged the CrCL on one side to then tear it on the other side. When you take one back leg out of commission, the work load shifts to the other, increasing the strain on the ligaments of the good leg.

As we learned in our independent research and from meeting with multiple veterinary surgeons, the TPLO surgery has become the gold-standard treatment for this kind of knee injury, especially in very large, strong, young, athletic dogs. While waiting for Sirius growth plates to close, we saw firsthand how conservative management worked - and then didnt. We were looking for a treatment option that gave Sirius the best chance at the kind of fun and normal life she deserved, one that would allow her to return to the activities and sports training that she loved.

If your dog has been diagnosed with a joint disease such as arthritis, then youre probably no stranger to the world of joint supplements for dogs. Just visit your local pet store, and you will see that options abound. The choices can be confusing. There are chews, powders, and even diets that claim to improve canine joint disease. But which of these supplements are legitimate, and how can you tell?

There is absolutely no evidence, not one bit, suggesting that providing comfort and security to a distressed dog causes the dogs anxiety or fear to increase. Why then, does this myth persist among dog owners and even with some trainers? Why are owners still advised to ignore their dog when he is distressed or anxious or fearful, as if providing any attention to the dog will reinforce those emotions?