Pet owners make all kinds of excuses for their fat pets. This especially popular Dolittler entry from a few months back exposes them. Today’s post offers yet another I should have detailed. It's one that gets cited most every time I discuss a canine exercise regimen in any detail: “But she hurts whenever I try to exercise her.”

It’s a conundrum, really. And it's not just to do with overweight...

In recent history, few viruses have led to the widespread fear that attends the H1N1 epidemic.

HIV? It’s not fast-moving enough and the can’t-hit-me-ism that attends it makes it not-so-scary to “common folk.” Ebola? Puh-lease. It may be gruesome but that’s one for Africans, we conjecture. But the swine flu? Nasty stuff. And it targets wholesome pregnant women, to boot. It’s a definite...

Everyone knows fleas suck. But is your vet doing everything he or she can to inform you of the dangers of parasitic infections to your pets and other household inhabitants? Maybe. Maybe not.

Though diseases spread by fleas are relatively uncommon in the US’s people population, they’re out there. The spread of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes Plague happens via fleas that jump from...

This is not a “testimonial” intended for the commercial betterment of any one brand. It juts so happens that the only version of polysulfated glycosaminoglycans (PSGAG) in the veterinary marketplace is Adequan®. And it works.

Poly what?? OK, so it doesn’t really matter to me that you can’t pronounce this alphabet-soupy injectable drug. It’s enough for me that you know what it does so you can...

Testimonials and positive reviews abound on the web when it comes to the product reserved for the eyes of our “little angels.” Owners of white pets everywhere swear by Angel Eyes. Those whose pets suffer marked tear stains caused by ruddy pigments called porphyrins are “amazed” by its results. All in all, it’s the end of the unsightly ocular dreeblies in a bottle. And it REALLY works. 

A...

I just finished up a round of research on the “mother of all emergencies”: bloat (AKA, gastric dilatation volvulus or “GDV” for short). I spent hours collecting all the papers and tallying up the stats as I prepared for an article that’ll appear in the next issue or two of The Bark (which is, incidentally, the best newsstand glossy to be had on the subject of all things dog). 

In my...

If Gatorade is for adults and Pedialyte is for kids, what works for pets in the dog days of summer?...during illness?...or all year round?

For most pets, the answer is “just plain H2O.” But did you know that enhanced waters are available for pets, too? 

Some people use them to tempt pets to drink more. Think: heavily exercised pets, dogs with certain kinds of bladder stones, cats with upper...

Dr. Nancy Kay is a busy veterinary specialist, an internist who practices in Northern California. She writes books, lectures, sends out a regular email newsletter and keeps me updated on great topics I sometimes miss. That’s why I’m taking today’s post to play off her most recent thoughts on sourcing safe and effective supplements for your pets. 

This has been a big topic for us veterinary...

It’s summertime and that means flying bugs. Unless you live in the most arid climate imaginable...you’ve got ‘em too. 

The bites and their bumps are disturbing enough, but we all know that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The real predators to fear are usually not the insects themselves...but the even smaller bugs they carry with them. The West Niles and the heartworms of this world are far...

“Irregularity” is a politely inadequate euphemism for what you know as diarrhea, constipation and flatulence. In all cases, these symptoms are accompanied by changes in the animal’s gastrointestinal bacteria. That’s why “probiotics” are often recommended for these pets by way of boosting “good” gut bacteria and counteracting the bad. 

But what are these probiotics anyway? And how do they...