|
Browsing articles in health care
Wellness: Health Care
Orthodontics—braces—are actually the most gentle way of dealing with a malocclusion.
Wilbur, a four-month-old Dachshund with a dash of Papillon or Chihuahua in the mix, was to be my first foster pup. A standout at the shelter, his irresistible face and personality sealed the deal. Once I got him home, I noticed that his lower jaw was considerably shorter than the upper one. Although he appeared to be almost chinless, it made his smile more pronounced. No big deal, I thought— he’s...
Blog: Shea Cox
What can be done?
As our pets age, you may begin to notice subtle changes in their movement, such as having a little difficulty going up or down the stairs, or seemingly slow to rise from a comfortable laying position. These can be early signs of arthritis, and early intervention is critical to slowing progression of the disease. I am currently experiencing this “slow down” with my 11 year old Dobie, and I...
Wellness: Healthy Living
Tips on keeping your dogs safe
It’s the season, in California and in other states, when foxtails are starting to rear their “ugly” and dangerous seed-heads. These days after our morning walk, and before I load the dogs into the car, I do a complete check-up on them. I need to comb Lola, because she has a shaggy, wired coat, and her high-leaping, coursing style of recreation, attracts burrs, seeds, and unfortunately the worst...
Blog: Shea Cox
In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it planned to restrict sales of certain rodenticides containing second-generation anticoagulants (such as brodifacoum and bromadiolone) to pest control professionals and agricultural supply stores only. Rodenticide manufacturers came up to speed with compliance in 2011, and in doing so, began using bromethalin more and more instead of...
Blog: Shea Cox
Home-brewing is a trend that is becoming more and more popular, and unfortunately, so is the occurrence of hops toxicity in dogs. Hops is the plant used in the process of brewing beer, and both the 'raw' or spent hops are toxic. True flowers or dried hops plugs tend to be more toxic than hops pellets (pellets have less residue), while wild hops have been found to be non-toxic. The diagnosis is...
Wellness: Healthy Living
When it comes to remedying diseases and disorders, dogs and people are in it together
Call it a movement, a philosophy, a revelation or a revolution.
Call it “one medicine,” “one health” or “zoobiquity.”
Call it something new, or—given that the “aha” moment on which the concept is based came in the 19th century—call it something old that’s been remembered and repackaged amidst the growing awareness that solving the mysteries of animal diseases and disorders, from injured spinal...
Blog: Shea Cox
Home Treatments
A recent request by a Bark reader was, “how can I treat a hot spot at home without seeing a vet?” Hopefully I can begin to answer this, but first, one must be able to “spot” a hot spot.
A hot spot is a superficial skin infection that happens when normal skin bacteria overrun the skin’s defenses as a result of damage to its surface. This damage is most often started by the dog chewing, scratching...
Blog: Editors
A story from the New York Times brings up a different twist to a quandary that many might have to face. If a senior dog needs surgery how much is too much to extend a pet’s life? The twist is that the dog didn’t belong to writer Roz Warren. It was Max, her son and his wife’s 13-year-old dog, who needed the gall bladder surgery costing $6,000—and it was Roz who offered to pay a third of it.
We...
Wellness: Health Care
A Vet’s Perspective
Like so many of life’s firsts, first dogs have a special place in our hearts. Patch, the handsome and powerful German Shepherd of my youth, was no exception. I was a teenager when Patch’s healthy body began to deteriorate. At the time, I resigned myself to our family vet’s opinion that my 13-year-old dog was suffering from the chronic effects of hip dysplasia. However, with hindsight (and a...
Wellness: Health Care
Brush Up!
February is national Pet Dental Health month— do you know where your dog’s toothbrush is? If not, put one on your list of things to pick up the next time you’re out, along with a tube of made-for-dogs toothpaste (human brands can upset a dog’s stomach, among other things). Daily brushing is one of the easiest things you can do to protect your dog’s overall health. Granted, few dogs will step up...
Pages
For gift subscriptions, 
Copyright © 1997-2014 The Bark, Inc. Dog Is My Co-Pilot® is a registered trademark of The Bark, Inc