Category — Dog Health

Gallbladder mucocele

Gallbladder mucocele causes obstruction of the gallbladder’s storage capacity due to the formation of a thick, mucoid bile mass inside the gallbladder, impairing its ability to function. The accumulated bile may extend the gallbladder, resulting in necrotizing cholecystitis – tissue death due to inflammation of the gallbladder.

Gallbladder mucocele is common among middle-aged to older dogs, particularly Shetland sheepdogs, cocker spaniels and miniature schnauzers, and is not gender-specific.

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Tooth Root (Apical) Abcess in Dogs

Similar to humans, dogs can experience apical abscesses, or pus formations that form under or in the tissues surrounding the dog’s tooth.

Abscesses occur for a variety of reasons, cause extreme pain, and can be treated with much success. If left untreated, however, bacteria can spead into other areas of the mouth, causing serious medical conditions.

Apical abscesses affect both dogs and cats. If you would like to learn how this condition affects cats, please visit this page in the PetMD health library.

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Woof Wednesday

Dogs are great. Furry, warm, loyal, energetic, sometimes slobbery … It’s hard to find a more wonderful pet. So if you don’t have a furry friend in your life, what are you waiting for? Get on out there and adopt a dog today.

Still not convinced a dog will change your life for the better? Read on! PetMD has the top 5 reasons you should’ve adopted a dog ages ago.

#5 Great Companion

Dogs have been man’s (not to mention woman’s) companion for thousands of years. They are both friend and hard worker. They function as guide dogs, rescue dogs, farm dogs, and even therapy dogs for the old and infirmed. You just can’t go wrong with a dog, especially when you’re feeling down.

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Paramyxovirus Infection

The salivary glands consist of four sets of glands that make up the exocrine glands of the mouth in mammals. The parotid, submandibular, sublingual, and minor salivary glands make up this essential group that controls the production of saliva, which in turn breaks down starches into glucose for use by the body.

The parotid salivary gland is located just underneath each ear in the dog. When a dog is exposed to a person who is infected with a viral infection called the mumps, the dog may develop the same infection. This cross-over is very rare, but is known to occur occasionally. When a dog does acquire an infection, the parotid salivary glands will swell in response.

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Cholecystitis and Choledochitis

The gallbladder rests in the abdomen, firmly affixed to the liver and serving as a storage receptacle for bile, a fluid that is essential for digesting food in the stomach and intestines. The bile duct transports bile from the liver into the gallbladder and into the small intestine, and the liver functions in the secretion of the bile. All of the components of this digestive system work in tandem, and if one fails to function properly, the result is that most of the body will suffer ill effects.

Inflammation of the gallbladder is sometimes associated with gallstones, and is often associated with obstruction and/or inflammation of the common bile duct and/or the liver/bile system. Severe cases can result in rupture of the gallbladder and subsequent severe inflammation of the bile duct (bile peritonitis), necessitating combined surgical and medical treatments.

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Baylisascariasis

Most commonly called “raccoon disease” because of its prevalence in the raccoon population, baylisascariasis comes from contact with raccoon feces, and from ingesting animal tissue that is infected with the Baylisascaris procyonis parasite. This parasite is commonly referred to as roundworm. The B. procyonis larvae is found in a large part of the animal population, including humans – making this a zoonotic disease, meaning that it can be spread from an infected animal to other animal species, as well as to humans. Raccoons are the optimal carriers of this worm, since the health of the raccoon is not adversely affected, making it the ideal host and disseminator of the parasite. The B. procyonis larvae is typically spread through the fecal material into the environment. Any contact with the feces, or with soil that has been used by an infected raccoon, may lead to systemic infection. Therefore, it is essential to practice methods of avoidance and caution in areas where raccoons are prevalent.

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Alopecia in Dogs

Hair loss (alopecia) is a common disorder in dogs which causes the animal to have partial or complete hair loss. It can affect a dog’s skin, its endocrine system, its lymphatic system, and its immune systems. Alopecia can affect dogs and cats of all ages, breed and gender, and is either gradual or acute.

If you would like to learn more how alopecia affects cats, please visit this page in the PetMD healthy library.

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I know it’s only Wednesday, but I happen to know that most of you are gearing up for a weekend love fest with your pets. I also happen to know that one of your agenda items includes washing your pets. I know this not only from my own pets’ rituals, but also from the smell of moist dog that pervades my waiting room on Saturday mornings.

While many of you go out of your way to wash Fido before his annual trek to the vet, we veterinarians (and our staff, especially, who must cradle your damp dogs in their arms as I examine them) kindly ask that you refrain from doing so at this exact moment. Not only for the aroma they impart; it’s really more for your pet’s benefit that I implore your restraint in this matter.

Why, you ask? Because a recent bath makes searching for signs of skin disease that much more challenging. A wet coat and damp skin will obscure signs of skin dryness, dullness of coat, and general clues to your pet’s overall well-being.

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Rabies is a severe, and often fatal, viral polioencephalitis that specifically affects the gray matter of the dog’s brain and its central nervous system (CNS). The primary way the rabies virus is transmitted to dogs in the United States is through a bite from a disease carrier: foxes, raccoons, skunks, and bats. Infectious virus particles are retained in a rabid animal’s salivary glands to better disseminate the virus through their saliva.

Once the virus enters the dog’s body, it replicates in the cells of the muscles, and then spreads to the closest nerve fibers, including all peripheral, sensory and motor nerves, traveling from there to the CNS via fluid within the nerves. The virus can take up to a month to develop, but once the symptoms have begun, the virus progresses rapidly.

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Jessica Simpson Watches in Horror As Her Dog is Taken By a Coyote

Jessica Simpson took to Twitter Monday night, devastated after she witnessed a coyote snatch her 5-year-old maltipoo, Daisy, from her home in Los Angeles. “My heart is broken because a coyote took my precious Daisy right in front of our eyes. HORROR!” she tweeted “We are searching. Hoping. Please help!”

After four days, there are still no signs of Daisy, but Jessica hasn’t given up hope. She has offered a reward for anyone who can reunite her with her dog and is working with professional pet finders FindToto.org, which helped Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio find her Maltese last year.

FindToto is a sort of amber alert for pets. They take the address of the missing pet and send out pre-recorded messages via telephone to surrounding homes, with details about the disappearance and how to get in touch with the owner.

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