Winter is in full swing, and that means colder temperatures, sometimes in the extreme. It can be fun playing in the cool, crisp air (and even snow for some parts of the country!) with your dog, but the cold weather also has some potential health risks to your pup. Just as you have to take precautions for your dog in the

When your dog or cat visits the veterinarian, the doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to the heart.

Bloat in dogs is an extremely serious and dangerous medical condition that should be treated as a medical emergency. Even mild cases of bloat can turn fatal. Although the causes of bloat are still not clear, the symptoms that occur are fairly consistent and are a sign that you should seek immediate medical attention.

In Eastern medicine, the heart is the organ that controls mental vitality; it is the seat of consciousness. It also governs the blood. Increasing anxiety is often observed with heart disease. In fact, the changes in consciousness can actually be severe enough to cause seizures.

In the Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) model, the kidneys are the spark that fuels metabolism. In a cooking pot analogy, the kidneys represent the fire under the pot. They warm the rest of the body. When kidney function declines, the fire dies down, and as a result, the body becomes slower, weaker, and colder.

If your dog becomes sick, the source of their ailment isn’t always obvious. Maybe your veterinarian suspects there is an internal problem, but the exact source can be tough to pinpoint. Surgery could be an option, but that can require a lengthy recovery period.

Rabies. The word conjures an image of an angry animal frothing at the mouth and running wild ready to sink its teeth into anything that moves. While that’s unpleasant to consider, what’s worse is that such a bite is often fatal.

CNN recently reported on cases of Brucella canis (a bacterial disease) picked up in Marion County, Iowa by the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.