Veterinary Highlights: Dog First Aid Buddy iPhone App

The Happy Pet Vet has developed a great little iPhone app, Dog First Aid Buddy.

Handy little reference when your dog gets sick or injured.

The app was developed by Dr. Tawnia Shaw and it's available for free.

Time and time again a dog owner would call and describe a situation that would have been simple to solve... if only they had called sooner, but now it was an emergency with limited options and needless expenses.

Dog First Aid Buddy was built so that you will know what is a serious emergency and when you don't need to worry. Read on below to learn how we can help you and your dog!

The application includes all of the most common dog emergencies.

Compiled from the problems dog owners face in real life, you will have to answer to what to do at your fingertips.

Knowing what to do for a certain emergency is only part of the problem, first you need to know how to look at the situation, how to keep yourself (and your dog) safe, and how to figure out what’s really wrong.

That way you can safely and confidently take care of the problem yourself or know just what to say when you call your veterinarian.

Check out this cool tool to assist you when your dog is facing an emergency.

Further reading:
Dog First Aid Buddy

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Primer On Coccidia Infection

Written and reviewed by John A. Bukowski, DVM, MPH, PhD
and Susan E. Aiello, DVM, ELS 

Coccidiosis is an infection of the intestinal tract in dogs and cats that's caused by coccidia, which are single-celled parasites.  

The immature forms of coccidia are called oocysts, and they are passed in the feces of infected dogs or cats. The oocysts then develop through a process called sporulation and become infectious after they have matured. 

Coccidia. Image Utah State University

How are coccidia different from other intestinal parasites?

Intestinal parasites such as worms are complex organisms that live largely within the open tube of the digestive tract.  Coccidia are single-celled organisms that live and reproduce within the walls of the digestive tract.

Dogs and cats become infected directly by swallowing oocysts that have sporulated and matured, or by eating the feces or intestines of infected wildlife such as rodents.  

Pet stores, boarding kennels, and other areas that may have large amounts of fecal contamination are common areas for coccidiosis.

Most dogs and cats infected with coccidia do not show any signs.  

However, puppies, kittens, and older pets can become sick from infection because of weak immune systems.  Diarrhea is the most common sign.  Vomiting is rare.

Coccidiosis is diagnosed by identifying the oocysts on a microscopic examination of a fecal sample.  

Infected pets are treated with a sulfa-type antibiotic.  Re-infection is common, and disinfection of the environment is important for control.

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Tackling The Veterinary Terminology: Prefixes (myo-)

Remember the Spelling Bee? Big words are easier to tackle when you understand how they're put together. Veterinary terms are composed in the same way. Just like with other words, the main parts of a veterinary term are a prefix, a root, and a suffix. The difference is that they typically come more directly from Greek or Latin.

A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify its meaning by providing additional information. It usually indicates number, location, time, or status.

myo- [mī′ō]/my- (before a vowel) from Greek - muscle, having to do with muscles

The medical prefixes have less elusive meanings than suffixes. What you see is what you get.

When you see this prefix, it means it has to do with muscles.

Simple. For some examples, the one you probably hear about most often is dilated cardiomyopathy, enlarged heart, a disease of the heart muscle. Myopathy by itself means a disease of the muscle(s).

Myocarditis, then, if you remember from the suffixes, mean inflammation of the heart muscular wall, myocardium. Myosarcoma is a cancer of muscle tissue.  Myoparesis is a weakness or slight muscular paralysis. Myoplasty stands for a surgery where typically part of one muscle is used to repair tissue somewhere else, while myotomy means cutting of a muscle. Myositis is inflammation of a muscle(s).

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Related articles:
Veterinary Suffixes (-itis)
Veterinary Suffixes (-oma) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-pathy)  
Veterinary Suffixes (-osis) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-iasis) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-tomy) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-ectomy)  
Veterinary Suffixes (-scopy) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-emia)
Veterinary Suffixes (-penia)
Veterinary Suffixes (-rrhea) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-cyte) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-blast) 
Veterinary Suffixes (-opsy)
Veterinary Suffixes (-ac/-al)

Veterinary Prefixes (hyper-) 
Veterinary Prefixes (hypo-)
Veterinary Prefixes (pyo-)

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Diagnostic Tests Are Only As Good As Their Interpretation: R.G.'s Hind End Lameness

This case is quite close to my heart, as we just recently dealt with spinal issues as well.

R.G., a German Shepherd, suddenly became lame on her rear end.

She got an MRI done and her parents were told that she had a herniated discs of the lower spine.

A second opinion orthopedic surgeon confirmed the diagnosis and recommended surgery.

Because this kind of surgery is quite invasive and risky, R.G.'s parents decided to try conservative management first. 

R.G. was treated with acupuncture, chiropractic, physical therapy and hydrotherapy for three months. Unfortunately, she continued to get worse and ended up in a doggy wheelchair.

Her parents decided to get a consultation with a neurology specialist.

When the neurologist reviewed the MRI, it turned out that R.G. did not have a disc problem at all, but a cyst on her spinal cord instead!

Without surgery, the cyst would put increasing pressure on the spinal cord and R.G. would continue to deteriorate. With a surgery to drain the cyst, R.G. should not get any worse and fifty percent chance of improvement.

In hopes to keep R.G. from getting worse, her parents agreed to the surgery. Perhaps, R.G. could get some mobility back too.

The surgery went well and R.G. regained some mobility!

She still needs a lot of physical therapy but she started to walk without her cart! Hopefully, over time, she will keep improving.

How much shorter her recovery might have been was the MRI read correctly the first time? How much time and resources were lost and how much suffering could have been avoided?

What would have happened if R.G.'s parents did not seek a third opinion?

Original story:
Misdiagnosis…Listen to Your Gut Instincts!

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Adoption Monday: Huck, Hound/Labrador Retriever Mix: Deerfield, NH

Check out this adorable boy at Mary's Dogs Rescue & Adoption!

Hi there. My name is Huck. 

My brothers and sisters and I are looking for homes. We are happy, houndy labby sorts of pups who will grow to be medium to large sized dogs.

We are very social and friendly, friendly, friendly. 

I would like a home where there are people ready and willing to give me attention and with people who will take the time to teach me how to be the best, most well behaved family pet I can be.

I will learn fast with lots of positive reinforcement. 

I like treats a lot and hope you will have yummy ones to reward me for sitting, paying attention to you and just being a good boy. String cheese is nice...if you don't mind my sayin' so.

Huck xx is house trained, neutered and up-to-date with routine shots.

Want more info on Huck? Call Mary's Dogs: 603.370.7750 or send along an email: marysdogsrescue@gmail.com

Ready to bring Huck home? Tell us about yourself and your interest in Huck in the adoption questionnaire. Check out all the wonderful dogs on Mary's Dogs Facebook Fan Page.


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Mary’s Dogs rescues and re-homes dogs and puppies from Aiken County Animal Shelter, a high-kill shelter in South Carolina, USA. They also serve as a resource to communities in Southern New Hampshire and pet owners nationwide by providing education and information on responsible pet ownership, including the importance of spay/neuter, positive behavior training, and good nutrition.

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Dog Gait In Slow Motion

Great video showing dog walk, amble and trot.



Video by Care Animal Clinic.

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Trupanion Upgrades Their Coverage

After a long evaluation of pet health insurance options, we have decided to insure JD with Trupanion.

It was the most no-nonsense policy we found. 

The one dilemma we had was whether or not to add the Additional Care Package, because while the Core policy covered pretty much everything, hip dysplasia would be covered by the additional package only.

Frankly, with all the ongoing medical expenses we have with Jasmine, we felt we could not afford the additional care package.

What were the odds that JD would need hip dysplasia treatment at one point or another? Hip dysplasia is not a bug which your dog could catch later in life. As the puppy is growing, the hips either develop properly or they don't. JD is five years old, you'd think by now we'd know whether or not he has it.

Here is the catch, though. While severe dysplasia will become apparent quite quickly, what if the joint was just a little bit off? Something like that would not become apparent until later in life, with progressive degenerative damage to the hip joints. Short of taking x-rays, there is no way of knowing for sure.

It was a big relief to us to see that hip dysplasia is now covered in the core package.

Their Additional Care Package got quite extensive too. It now covers just about anything you can think of, such as acupuncture, behavioral modification, bone marrow transplants, chiropractic care, colloidal silver treatments, gold seed therapy, herbal therapy, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, kidney transplants, naturopathy, physical therapy, platelet rich plasma injections, stem cell therapy, shockwave therapy and polyethylene glycol medication.

Now I just wish we could afford to include that as well.

Further reading:
Trupanion Coverage is Now Even Better
Coverage for Additional Care Package

Related articles:
Getting On The Pet Health Insurance Wagon: Does Being Insured Equal Being Covered?

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