DOG HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Chances are youre part of the other 94 percent, meaning the 94 percent who dont have health insurance for their dog even though its so highly recommended. So when the veterinary bills start piling up, your credit card balance can get ugly.

My dog has just been diagnosed with a mast cell tumor, which my vet said is cancerous. She also said the cancer is a grade 2, meaning not as good as a grade 1 but still better than a grade 3, which she says does not respond well to treatment. She says the treatment plan should include surgery to remove the mass plus radiation. My question is, should I be taking my dog to a specialist at this point, or can her regular vet handle the treatment?

When it comes to the sense of smell, dogs leave us in the dust. They have nearly 20 times more primary smell receptor cells in their noses than people do. They can detect scents at concentrations at least 100 times less than humans can. In some instances, they can detect scents at concentrations a million times less than we can. And if you ironed out the aroma-detecting membranes covering the scrolled-up, coral like bones in a dogs nose, their surface would be the size of a pocket handkerchief, while ours would be roughly the size of a thumbnail.

I asked a receptionist at my vets office if she knew about the 3-year schedule for vaccines and why they still give annual shots. She told me that there are two different strengths, and they prefer to give the less potent one annually. Have you heard of this - two different strengths for vaccines?

Fish oil, glucosamine/chondroitin combos, and green-lipped mussels are not the only ingredients added to food and dietary supplements to improve your dogs joint pain. Some veterinarians also prescribe polysulfated glycosaminoglycan, a constituent of joint fluid. Like glucosamine/chondroitin combo tablets, it can take several weeks to a couple of months to take effect, so if youre inclined to try it for your dog, dont give up without really giving it a go.

A lot of dogs dont mind having their teeth brushed. They like the sensation, they like the flavors of doggie toothpaste (beef, poultry, seafood, and so on), and, most of all, they like the you aspect of it. The more time you spend focused on your pet, the happier they are.

When I see a patient and take a history from the owner, asking How often do you brush your dogs teeth? I get responses like Oh, you need to brush their teeth? Or My groomer does it when he goes in for grooming, says board-certified veterinary dentist Bonnie Shope, VMD, past chair of the American Veterinary Dental Colleges Examination Committee and Training Support Committee. Sometimes they expect kudos when they respond that they brush their pets teeth once a month."

We all know that diabetes, whether in a person or a dog, can be treated-but what about treated with one injection that lasts for years rather than twice-daily insulin shots? Some exciting research out of Spain suggests it may be true, at least for our canine friends. The promise appears to lie in gene therapy.

Say heart disease when referring to people, and youre usually talking about narrowed arteries that impede blood flow to the heart muscle, which increases the chances for a heart attack. Say heart disease when referring to dogs, and youre usually talking about a faulty valve between heart chambers that keeps blood from flowing forward, as its supposed to. Instead, the heart enlarges from pumping harder than it should have to, and fluid eventually backs up into the lungs. Thats congestive heart failure, and it means the dog keeps gasping for air until he finally reaches a point that he can no longer breathe.

Your dog has been urinating considerably more frequently than usual and also appears to be straining to go. You take her to the vet, who finds bacteria in her urine, very reasonably diagnoses a urinary tract infection, and prescribes a course of antibiotics to kill the unwanted pathogens. His solution seems to have worked. Her symptoms abate and all is well - for a few weeks.

After careful consideration of the pros and cons of spaying, youve decided to have the procedure performed on your dog. Yes, some evidence has been coming to light that spaying could potentially increase the risk for certain cancers, including lymphoma, mast cell tumors, and bone cancer. But a lot of that evidence, while suggestive, remains preliminary at this point.

Although marijuana, or cannabis, is classified as a Schedule 1 substance by the federal government, meaning it has a high potential for abuse, as of last October, 29 states and the District of Columbia had laws legalizing it in some form. It has been studied for its therapeutic effects on chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, irritable bowel syndrome, epileptic seizures, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and a number of other ailments. As more people experience the apparent medical benefits of cannabis, many dog owners are left wondering if the drug might be useful in treating various diseases in veterinary medicine, too.