DOG HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Imagine if the time came that your dog needed an operation, and her recovery took a few hours instead of a few days in the hospital. It would result in her going through a lot less pain and could also mean less cost, since a stay in a veterinary hospital can easily run hundreds of dollars a day.

Just like people, dogs can get lupus. Its an autoimmune disease, meaning that the immune system mistakes the bodys own tissues for foreign invaders and starts attacking and destroying them. Two types of lupus strike our canine pets: systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE). The first is much more devastating, with worse symptoms that can have life-threatening implications. The second is not as dangerous but needs to be brought under control to avoid serious complications down the line.

Sometimes a dogs itchiness becomes so relentless that the incessant scratching, biting, licking, and rubbing in an effort to relieve the problem leads to hair loss, wearing away of the skin, nasty bumps, scaly red spots, crusty areas forming over scabs, and the skins thickening and hardening. In addition, as part of the itch-scratch cycle, the dog will often develop secondary bacterial or yeast infections.

My 9-year old Maltese, Maggie, has had a droopy tail for a few months. She is also very protective of her rear and tail area and yipes occasionally when touched there, or even sometimes when I pick her up. She also suffers from low-grade kidney disease, for which she has been taking benazepril and aluminum hydroxide. Aside from the droopy tail and yiping, her activity level is normal. She still jumps, runs, eats, poops, and urinates fine. Her anal glands were cleared, and she had a rectal exam. My vet felt it may be a nerve issue and prescribed gabapentin. So far, no change. Any thoughts?

I appreciated your June 2019 article on how to surgically fix the labored breathing that comes with laryngeal paralysis, which affects a significant number of older, larger dogs. But I also heard about a drug to treat the disease and make breathing easier. Can a drug really take the place of an operation?

If you bring your dog to the veterinarians office because he has started urinating in the house, does the doctor simply perform a clinical exam followed by x-rays and blood work, or does she add in some questions that help her learn the story of the dogs life? For instance, a vet might ask, Has anything changed lately? Have you moved, or has someone moved into or out of your household? Has there been a divorce or some other difficult event? That way, the doctor may find out that the dog is stressed, perhaps because he is sensing your own stress, and that is what is making him urinate indoors.

Ive been giving a joint supplement to my 2-year-old Yellow Lab since I brought her home at the age of 8 weeks in order to help prevent problems from hip dysplasia.

Your dogs nose has gone from black to pink - or from pink to black. Whats that about?

My dog was limping something awful, to the point that I thought he had torn a ligament and was going to need an operation. But when I took him to the vet, it turned out the problem was that he was very overweight and needed to lose some excess pounds.

Diseases that can be transmitted between animals and people are termed zoonotic, and their danger is ever-present. By some estimates, six out of every 10 infectious diseases in people are caused by exposure to animals who themselves were exposed to parasites, fungi, bacteria, and viruses. And some parts of the world, including the northeastern United States, have been called areas of emerging zoonoses, that is, areas where more diseases are being transmitted between species, according to the journal Nature. But adhering to various simple sanitation measures can keep both you and your pet protected. Check out the zoonotic diseases below - and what you can do to make sure they dont spread among your family members.

It is always something of a financial challenge having a diabetic pet, says Orla Mahony, DVM, a veterinarian at Tuftss Foster Hospital for Small Animals.

Were supposed to be engaging in at least 150 minutes (2 hours) of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week. And guess what? If you have a dog, youre much more likely to reach that target without even trying.