DOG HEALTH AND MEDICINE

If you go strictly by the numbers, geriatric is the point at which 75 percent of ones anticipated lifespan has passed. So for a dog expected to live to age 14, that would be 10.5 years. But thanks to advances in veterinary care, old does not have to mean feeble or frail. Just as white-haired people in their 70s and 80s now go on hiking treks all around the globe and lead full, active lives (something…

Decreased bone mass isnt as problematic for dogs as for people. Yes, as they age dogs lose bone. But because they have a shorter lifespan, they dont tend to develop osteoporosis. Their loss of bone mass, in fact, is rarely great enough to cause a problem like a fracture upon falling. If a dog does break a bone, it usually signifies a localized disease of the bone - such as cancer - rather than decreased…

Female dogs never lose their ability to bear puppies; there is no menopause in the canine world. But fertility does decrease with age, resulting...

The vet wont treat my dog for Lyme disease Q At my five-year-old Malteses last checkup, I was told somewhat casually that her blood test came back positive for Lyme disease. Having lost a dog years ago to kidney disease resulting from Lyme disease, I was quite distressed. However, I was advised that if the urine test did not show any protein in the urine, no treatment would be required and that I should just continue…

Listen up; this story concerns you and a pet you love because one out of two dogs older than 10 gets cancer - and many die from it. But theres a promising outlook for canine cancer treatment in the form of vaccines. The notion of a vaccine to protect against cancer isnt new. Theres actually a vaccine that keeps people immune from cancer, and youve probably heard of it.

Three other therapeutic cancer vaccines are under development for dogs. One is for canine lymphoma, a second for osteosarcoma, and yet another for hemangiosarcoma. All are among the most common types of cancer that befall dogs. Lymphoma is cancer of the lymph nodes, little nests in the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system carries immune cells called lymphocytes throughout the body to fight off disease-causing organisms like viruses and bacteria, which is how the cancer spreads to…

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A common scenario we encounter is that an owner notices a bump on his dog, lives in fear that the dog has cancer, assumes cancer equals death, and doesnt bring the dog in because hes afraid to get the bad news. By the time the dog is brought to us, the bump is so big that its difficult, if not impossible, to remove successfully.

People who own dogs into the middle years of their lives should be checking for bumps on a somewhat regular basis, says John Berg, DVM, a soft tissue surgeon at Tufts - every three or four months. Just sort of systematically feel all around the dog. Youre not looking for things the size of a grain of sand. But head to toe, all around the flank and up and down the legs, any bump thats at least pea-sized and that wasnt there before is something to be concerned about and reason enough to take your dog to the vet for a professional evaluation. Usually, it will be nothing, Dr. Berg says. And if its something, youve insured that treatment will be as little of an ordeal as possible.

Letters to Tufts Veterinarians - Ebola transmission from dog to person; Cat fight? Dog fight? Cat-dog fight?; The dog wont play with toys; The dogs nose changes color with the seasons

Guys, Im not sure I ever told you that Rosies on Proin for life. When she first came to live with us at 6 months of age, she kept urinating right where she sat or lay, often ending up in a small puddle of her own making. Shed look back there unhappily, and for our part, we were afraid shed get urine burn.