DOG HEALTH AND MEDICINE

It looks like a nasty red bump between two toes. You’ll tend to see one on larger breed dogs — Labrador or golden retrievers, English bulldogs, pit bull terriers. But cocker spaniels and pugs get them, too, and in fact no breed is immune. Medically, they’re called interdigital cysts — interdigital meaning that they’re between […]

Q. My 7-year-old terrier licks his paws constantly, as if they are itching. My groomer said it is just a dog’s habit, but I’m wondering if there’s something more going on. It’s pretty incessant. Henry Killings Carson, California Dear Mr. Killings, A. Take your terrier to the veterinarian. Occasional paw licking is plain old dog […]

All of a sudden your dog’s head seems like it’s in a permanent tilt. And his eyes are darting to and fro, making him look as though he is literally in a wild-eyed frenzy. He may also be having trouble balancing himself. Is he having a stroke? A seizure? Some other dangerous brain-related episode? Chances […]

There was once a time that dogs did not even get pain medicine for procedures like spaying or neutering, says Tufts veterinary pain specialist Alicia Karas, DVM, who currently serves as hospital director of Tufts Veterinary Emergency Treatment & Specialties. But the veterinary community has made great leaps during the last several decades both in […]

People who are diagnosed with diabetes are automatically advised to limit and carefully count their carbohydrates — not just those from the sugar in sweets and fruits but also from starchy foods. That helps keep the sugar in their blood on an even keel. It’s different for diabetic dogs. Diabetes presents the same problems for […]

In dogs, just like in people, cancer doesn’t tend to markedly affect life out of the blue. More frequently, signs of the disease progress gradually. As we discussed in the April issue, there’s good news in that researchers are working on being able to detect cancer in the blood as early as possible to initiate […]

Q. I enjoyed your article in the April issue about new cancer treatments on the horizon. I’ve also heard there is something called a cancer vaccine. Can dogs really be inoculated against cancer? John Pippin Anniston, Alabama Dear Mr. Pippin, A. There are currently no vaccines that protect against the formation of cancer in dogs. […]

Q. Usually the letters after a veterinarian’s name are DVM. But sometimes I see VMD. Is that a typo? Julie DeVito Levittown, Pennsylvania Dear Ms. DeVito, A. Nope, not a typo. For 29 of the 30 veterinary schools in the United States, the designation is DVM, which stands for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. But for […]

Q. Both of my 11-year-old dog’s eyes have gone cloudy. He has cataracts, doesn’t he? Will he need cataract surgery? Oliver Pryor Grapeland, Texas Dear Mr. Pryor, A. A cloudy lens does not automatically mean there’s a cataract. In fact, there’s a normal age-related change in the eyes that also leads to cloudy lenses. It’s […]

We recently ran across this post on social media: “We’re thinking of getting a bichon frise, a cavalier King Charles spaniel, or a miniature poodle and need recommendations on how hypoallergenic each kind is. Our family is very allergic to almost all breeds of dogs.” In fact, there’s no way to rate how likely any […]

Most dogs start going for yearly teeth cleanings around the age of five or six. It’s at that point that enough hardened plaque (calculus) has accumulated to get in the way of good oral hygiene, and brushing can’t remove that. It takes a veterinarian’s professional instruments. A professional cleaning also allows a veterinarian to put […]

Urinary stones in dogs not only cause pain. In severe enough cases, they can lead to a complete blockage of urine flow — a life-or-death emergency. The good news: often, dietary measures can dissolve a stone in your dog’s urinary tract and help prevent future stone recurrence. Here’s a rundown of the three major types […]