Health

Given the potential duration and magnitude of a Lyme disease infection in your dog, we think it's pretty important to do something to protect your dog from ticks, especially in areas where cases of Lyme are common. This is one of the instances where you have to weigh all the factors against each other – in this case, your dog's health and vulnerability, the risk of his exposure to ticks, the prevalence of Lyme in your area, and the tick-repelling and tick-killing products available to you – to decide what you are going to do to protect your dog. It's not an easy equation; it's more of a complicated algorithm. Let's look at each of these areas and how they interact.

Letters from the 07/05 issue: WDJ readers confirm the veracity of our reporting.

This has become a nation of fat people – and fat dogs. Once again our dogs are mirroring us, no matter how bad that picture looks. It has been estimated that (depending on the survey and the way “obese” and “overweight” are defined) from about 25 percent to more than half of dogs seen by veterinarians are overweight or obese, and many practitioners feel that even these numbers grossly underestimate the true extent of the problem.

Nobody thinks fleas are good for dogs. But do you know why they are bad? And that they are bad for you and your...

It’s a beautiful day and your dog is running, jumping, chasing, playing, and having so much fun that you feel happy all over. What...

At this time last year I didn’t know stem cell therapy for animals was a thing. While searching for a job where I could...

A dog who appears to be swallowing repeatedly may have something stuck in his throat or, worse, deeper in the throat.

Some dog breeds need regular shaving, like Poodles. Other breeds—especially double-coated breeds—should not be shaved. Here’s when shaving your dog is necessary.

A few years ago, I was at my vet’s office when an older couple brought in a Chihuahua puppy who was very ill. Despite the staff’s best efforts, less than an hour later the pup was dead. The cause? A drug overdose, due to a prescription error made by a human pharmacy.

Gabapentin is a medication that veterinarians are prescribing with increasing frequency, sometimes alone but more commonly in combination with other medications, for the management...

If not for their dinner bowls, dogs would still be wolves. In many ways our devoted, domesticated dogs are still wolves, especially when it comes to their digestion. In the past 10 years, holistically oriented guardians and healthcare practitioners have become proponents of fresh food diets plus supplements for dogs. There are many authoritative books, journals, and magazines that are doing their best to raise the consciousness of the general public about the health issues associated with manufactured dog foods.

If your dog hasn’t had a bowel movement in three days, he is constipated - get to the veterinarian.