Search Results
695 results for “liver disease”
Canine Infectious Hepatitis: Can It Be Treated
Canine infectious hepatitis is an acute, often severe viral disease of dogs caused by canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1). It spreads through urine, saliva, and nasal discharge and hits weaned puppies hardest, sometimes with no warning signs. Typical signs include a fever that rises then falls, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and a characteristic cloudy "blue eye" in about a quarter of recovering dogs. While there is no direct cure that eliminates the virus, most dogs recover with prompt supportive care such as fluids, liver protection, and antibiotics to control secondary infection. The good news is that the disease is highly preventable through routine vaccination, with puppy shots given at 8-9 and 10-12 weeks and annual boosters for adults.
What Is Canine Herpesvirus Infection
Canine herpesvirus type 1 causes an acute, often fatal disease in young puppies. Adult dogs usually carry the virus without signs, but newborns can die within a day of infection. Because treatment is poor once signs appear, warmth and supportive care, plus prevention, are what matter most.
Why Your Dog’s Urine Is Dark
Normal dog urine is pale yellow. Dark urine is a sign that something is mixing into it, usually bile pigments, blood, or other material, and it often points to a real problem. The causes range from liver and kidney disease to infection and certain toxins, though a few are harmless.
Does Your Dog Have Bad Breath?
Picture never brushing your teeth - that is a dog's mouth. Oral disease is 70-80% of pet health issues, built slowly from food, saliva and bacteria forming plaque that mineralizes into tartar; the warm mouth breeds infection, gums recede and teeth break down, then bacteria enter the blood to reach the heart, liver and kidneys, even sepsis. If disease is already there, a pro must scale and clean under the gumline, then polish - unpolished teeth erode faster. Many clinics now offer anesthesia-free cleaning for mild tartar using imported devices. Daily prevention is cheapest: a grooming-visit dental cleanup, store-bought dental gel and water additive (a few dollars a month, well reviewed and safe), and dental chews or antler chews. Do not wait until treatment is costly.
What to Do When Your Dog Is Too Thin
A thin dog can fall into two patterns: one that eats little and wastes away, and one that eats plenty yet still loses weight. The second is often more telling, because calories are going somewhere other than the body. Matching the pattern to the likely cause is the first step toward fixing it.
Why Is Your Dog Having Diarrhea
A healthy dog passes formed stool three to four times a day. More frequent, soft, watery, mucus-laced, or bloody stool is diarrhea, a sign of illness rather than a normal variation. Clinically it is split into acute (sudden) and chronic (long-lasting) forms, each with its own common causes.
Canine Ehrlichiosis: What Owners Should Know
Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne rickettsial disease with acute, subclinical, and chronic stages, and chronic cases can linger for years with vague signs like lethargy, fever, and low platelets that risk bleeding. Because many illnesses look similar, diagnosis leans on bloodwork, urine, imaging, and antibody or PCR tests. This guide walks through the stages and workup.
How to Change Your Cat’s Diet
Cats under four months rarely refuse meat and need no transition, but older cats can be stubborn, so patience wins. The biggest trap is the dry-food-only cat, at high risk of kidney and urinary disease. This guide covers moving to cans, then to raw, with toppers that tempt, and why soaking kibble is risky.
What to Know Before Getting Your Pet’s Teeth Cleaned
Like people, pets benefit from dental cleaning, which removes tartar and curbs bacterial growth, but they cannot understand the process, and cleaning is not as simple as it is for humans. Tartar speeds gum and bone loss and can loosen teeth early, and mouth bacteria can travel down the gut and stir up digestive trouble. Anesthesia-free cleaning cannot reach below the gum line and risks injury, while proper cleaning under general anesthesia, preceded by blood and organ checks, is safe and thorough. Daily care at home with a pet toothbrush or textured finger sleeve matters most, and human toothpaste must never be used.
Four Winter Diet Points to Keep Cats Healthy
Cold weather means cats burn more energy and need smarter feeding to stay well. Beyond cat food, add freeze-dried meat snacks like chicken, quail, or herring to keep energy up, top up vitamins and trace elements, supplement calcium in moderation, and make sure your cat drinks enough warm water. These four adjustments help fend off the minor illnesses winter tends to bring.