A chip or break that exposes a tooth’s pulp – the sensitive tissue that contains the tooth’s nerves and blood supply – will cause obvious discomfort. This calls for urgent care – not necessarily a trip to the after-hours emergency veterinary hospital, but not something that can be put off for weeks, either.

Your dog might exhibit one or more of the following signs of a broken tooth with exposed pulp:

• Reacting to hot or cold temperatures (including drinking cold water) with pain
• Avoiding chew toys
• Declining to eat treats like hard biscuits
• Refusing food altogether
• Chewing on only one side or more carefully than usual
• Drooling an abnormal amount for that dog
• Pawing at their mouth
• Shying away when the face is petted

These symptoms require a dental checkup, because left untreated, broken teeth with exposed pulp can become infected and lead to degeneration of the jawbone. A tooth with exposed nerves will usually be treated with extraction or a root canal. Vital pulp therapy may keep a recently fractured tooth alive if the patient is under 18 months of age.

Chipped teeth without symptoms

Not all chipped teeth crack or expose the pulp. Dogs might chip a tooth when catching a flying disc, running into something during high-speed play, or smacking into a dashboard when riding unsecured in a car that had to stop suddenly. Even if the chip is small, and your dog doesn’t display any signs of pain or discomfort, it’s a good idea to make a non-urgent appointment with your vet to take a look at the chip. The chip might need to be smoothed to keep from irritating your dog’s lips or tongue– and your vet stands the best chance at getting a good look to make sure the chip isn’t going to lead to a cracked tooth.

Your dog’s age, overall health, and breed define her exercise sweet spot. Puppies and young adults need more exercise while older, ill, or injured dogs need extra down time for rest and recovery. Start gradually when beginning any exercise program with your dog.

Sporting, working, and herding breeds need the most exercise, 1 to 2 hours a day. Terriers, scent hounds, and breeds known for speed thrive on 60 to 90 minutes of movement.

Both toy breeds and giant breeds tend to be less active – they benefit from up to an hour of relaxed walks or gentle games of fetch. Twenty to 30 minutes of slow movement is recommended for brachycephalic breeds like Pugs, French Bulldogs, and Shih Tzus, whose smaller airways interfere with physical activity.

Don’t neglect mental exercise

Physical activity helps dogs relax, but so do find-it games, food-dispensing puzzles, and trick training. Include whatever your dog most enjoys in your daily schedule.

How can I tell if my dog needs more exercise?

If your dog is over-excited on walks, restless around the house, barking and whining indoors, play-bowing or trying to initiate play while you’re trying to relax, and unable to relax at night, he’ll probably benefit from longer walks or runs.

What helps older dogs with exercise?

If arthritis slows your older dog, especially if she’s overweight, a weight-loss diet can help. Two or three exercise sessions per day are more comfortable for older dogs than long single sessions. Your veterinarian may prescribe medication or pain-reducing supplements. Low-impact activities, such as swimming or the use of an underwater treadmill, can help older dogs stay in shape without discomfort.

So your dog ate a mushroom in the grass before you could stop them. What now? Thousands of mushrooms grow in the United States, and only a few are toxic to dogs – but those that are can be fatal. Here’s what to do if your dog eats a wild mushroom.

Can you identify the mushroom?

Most wild mushrooms are harmless to dogs, and if your dog swallows a “safe” one, he should be fine. But if your neighborhood hosts toxic mushrooms, protect your dog – especially your curious, omnivorous puppy – from the dangers of unsupervised exploration.

Not sure if the mushrooms in your backyard are “safe”? There are numerous apps available to help you; just search for “mushroom identification” in your app store so you can identify the wild mushrooms in your area.

The most important factors in treating your dog will be:

• What is the mushroom species your dog ate?
• How much did your dog consume, and when?

Experts recommend treating your dog’s consumption of any wild mushroom as a medical emergency unless you can positively identify it as harmless. Otherwise, call your vet or a 24/7 poison control center immediately.

• ASPCA Poison Control Center, (888) 426-4435, $65 consultation fee (this is discounted if you have ASPCA pet health insurance).
• Pet Poison Help Line, (855) 764-7661, $85 consultation fee.

What are the symptoms of mushroom poisoning?

Poisonous mushrooms can be life-threatening even in small amounts because their toxins damage the kidneys, liver, and neurological systems, producing symptoms such as:

• Excessive drooling
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Increased thirst, drinking, and urination
• Weakness or lethargy
• Trouble breathing
• Loss of coordination
• Seizures
• Loss of consciousness

How is mushroom poisoning treated?

Slowing the absorption of mushroom toxins is crucial, so if less than two hours have passed since your dog swallowed a mushroom, your veterinarian may induce vomiting or use activated charcoal to bind with and remove toxins from the stomach. Hospitalization, IV fluids, and other supportive care may help prevent the progression of symptoms.

Prevention is your best strategy

Check your back yard and areas where your dog enjoys walking or playing for wild mushrooms and remove any that you find. Keep dogs on leash where mushrooms grow and train your dog to drop items like sticks and mushrooms on cue.

Watching your dog have a seizure or an episode of syncope can be a scary experience, and these events can look very similar. We discussed seizures and their causes here. But the causes and treatment of syncope episodes are different, so it is important to know how to tell them apart.

Syncope:

• Syncope episodes are often preceded by excitement, exercise, or coughing.
• Dogs who have a syncope episode will lose consciousness and fall to one side.
• Their limbs may become stiff and rigid and they may briefly cry out.
• Sometimes their limbs may convulse once or twice.
• They may urinate or defecate during the episode.
• Syncopal episodes typically last only a few seconds, after which the dog will regain consciousness and act like nothing happened (extremely short recovery).

Seizures:

• Seizures are typically not preceded by excitement or exercise.
• Seizures may be preceded by a pre-ictal phase, also known as an aura.
• During a tonic-clonic seizure, a dog’s limbs will repetitively convulse (not just once or twice, as with syncope).
• Their jaws will rapidly clench and relax and they may foam at the mouth.
• They may involuntarily urinate and defecate.
• After the seizure has occurred, dogs will experience a post-ictal phase. During this phase, dogs may be confused or disoriented and they may either be restless or extremely sleepy (slow and prolonged recovery).

Any dog who is having seizures or syncope should be evaluated by their veterinarian as soon as possible. Taking a video of the event with your smartphone and sharing it with your dog’s veterinarian can help to differentiate if your dog is having seizures or syncope.

Causes of syncope in dogs

The most common cause of syncope is a sudden and temporary interruption of blood flow to the brain. Both structural and electrical abnormalities of the heart can cause a sudden reduction in the amount of blood the brain receives.

Syncope is more common in senior dogs than younger dogs, because the problems that cause syncope become more common as dogs age.

Structural abnormalities of the heart inhibit the heart’s ability to contract and move blood forward through the body. These problems can be congenital, such as heart valve defects of the pulmonic or aortic valves. Some structural abnormalities – including dilated cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) – are not present at birth but are more likely to develop in certain breeds of dogs. Genetically inherited dilated cardiomyopathy affects primarily Doberman Pinschers, Great Danes, and Boxers. Both Boxers and Bulldogs can be affected by ARVC.

Structural cardiac abnormalities can also be acquired as a result of heartworm disease, mitral and tricuspid valve disease, or pulmonary hypertension. A condition called pericardial effusion, an accumulation of fluid between the outside of the heart and the inside of the sac that surrounds the heart, can also syncope, by increasing the pressure on the heart muscle and impairing its ability to contract.

Electrical abnormalities of the heart impair the movement of electrical impulses that originate in a cluster of cells in the right atrium and travel through the atria and ventricles. Without proper electrical impulses, the heart may not completely contract with each beat. This is called an arrhythmia. Arrhythmias can cause a temporary impairment of blood flow to the brain.

Diagnosing the cause of syncope

If your veterinarian suspects that a heart condition is causing your dog’s episodes of syncope, she may order diagnostic tests that examine your dog’s heart structure and electrical function. These may include thoracic radiographs (chest x-rays), an electrocardiogram (ECG), and an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart).

Some arrhythmias are intermittent and may not be seen on an ECG in the veterinarian’s office. If your dog’s veterinarian suspects that your dog has an intermittent arrhythmia, she may order a Holter monitor for your dog. This device records the electrical activity of your dog’s heart over a 24-hour period.

A Holter monitor for dogs is similar to a Holter monitor for people. Small areas on your dog’s chest are shaved and ECG patches are applied. The ECG patches are connected to the Holter monitor via a set of wires. Your dog will wear a special shirt to cover and protect the ECG patches. The shirt includes a velcroed pouch that contains the Holter monitor, which is no bigger than a deck of playing cards.

You will be asked to complete a log of your dog’s activities over the 24 hours that your dog wears the recording device. At the end of this period, the Holter monitor and your dog’s activity log are submitted to a veterinary cardiologist for interpretation.

There are several medications that can help your dog’s heart work more efficiently when there is an abnormality. The key is finding the correct diagnosis so that the appropriate medications can be prescribed.

Other causes of syncope in dogs

Low blood sugar, acute blood loss, and severe dehydration can also cause syncope. Hypoxemia (low levels of oxygen in the blood) caused by severe lung disease, acute onset of profound anemia, or a congenital defect of the heart called a shunt may result in syncopal episodes. These conditions can also lead to seizures if left untreated.

There is a condition called neurocardiogenic syncope (also known as vasovagal syncope) in dogs. The condition is not well understood as of this writing. Dogs with this condition have a syncopal episode following a bout of coughing, gagging or vomiting or during a period of exercise or excitement. The current theory is that pre-syncopal activity causes an abrupt drop in heart rate and blood pressure, resulting in an interruption of blood flow to the brain. As with certain cardiac arrhythmias, a Holter monitor may be necessary to diagnose the underlying cause of neurocardiogenic syncope.

There are many causes of syncope in dogs. But the frequency of syncopal episodes can be reduced or even eliminated once the underlying cause is properly diagnosed and treated.

	Syncope	Seizure
Collapsing onto their side
Stiffness of the limbs
Arching of the neck and back
Crying out
Paddling of the limbs
Involuntary urination or defecation
Frothing at the mouth
Rapid clenching and unclenching the jaw
Disorientation after the event
Coughing, gagging, vomiting, excitement, or exercise immediately before event

Blue-green algae is deadly to dogs. You can identify it through “foam, scum, mats, or streaks” on the water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The algae produce one of the most powerful natural poisons known.

How Much Blue-Green Algae Is Toxic

A tiny amount of the toxin – literally a few drops – can kill a dog. Dogs who ingest water containing blue-green algae while swimming, lick the water the water off themselves, or just take a quick lap of water can be poisoned. The algae can even be in water sources around your home.

Symptoms Appear Quickly

Blue-green algae begin to affect the dog almost immediately. Symptoms develop quickly, usually within 30 to 60 minutes. Many people report their dogs started getting sick on the drive home, usually with vomiting and diarrhea.

Symptoms of blue-green algae poisoning in dogs include:

• Black, tarry stools
• Diarrhea
• Difficulty breathing
• Disorientation
• Drooling
• Elevated heart rate
• Hives or rash
• Jaundice
• Muscle tremors
• Pale mucous membranes
• Seizures
• Shock
• Stumbling
• Vomiting
• Weakness

If you suspect poisoning, go to a veterinarian immediately. Fatal liver failure occurs quickly. Aggressive veterinary therapy includes IV fluids and plasma to help replenish electrolytes, regulate blood glucose, support organ function, and to prevent shock. Muscle relaxers and anti-seizure drugs are sometimes necessary, too. Sadly, the prognosis related to blue-green algae toxicity is poor.

Blue-green algae contain two types of toxins: microcystins and neurotoxins. Neither has an antidote. The microcystins attack the liver. The neurotoxins begin to paralyze the dog’s respiratory muscles so he can no longer breathe. Immediate treatment with anti-seizure medications and oxygen may help avoid death.

How Can You Protect Your Dog?

Keep him out of any water that you are not familiar with or that looks funky. If you’re going to a park, check for blue-green algae warnings in the area at the Environmental Protection Agency before going. The EPA lists state resources for HABs (harmful algal blooms). Be especially suspicious if the temperatures have been warm and the water is not moving/flowing, as both conditions help the poisonous blooms grow.

If you have any concern that the water your dog was in may be toxic, immediately rinse or hose him with clean water and towel dry him. Wear gloves when you do this because the algae are poisonous to humans, too. Wash your hands when you finish. Follow up with a bath. As stated, any symptom should prompt an immediate trip to the veterinarian.

What Is Blue-Green Algae?

Blue-green algae is cyanobacteria, but not all cyanobacteria are toxins. The problem is that you can’t tell the difference by just looking at the blooms.

Blue-green algae can appear like different colors on the water: green, blue, red, or brown. Some people say it looks like paint streaks. The body of water may look like thick green soup or be cloudy or swampy. The blooms may appear white, if at the end of the life cycle, although the toxins remain in the water for three weeks after the blooms are gone. Even more scary, the algae can be in water that looks clear.

Blue-green algae can’t be seen by the naked eye until the algae clump together. The bacteria thrive in warm, nutrient-rich water. When conditions are right, the algae can grow quickly. It is most common in non-flowing water like lakes and ponds, especially during times of hot weather and little rainfall. However, it can occur at other times of the year, especially as our planet continues to warm.

Cyanobacteria is most common in standing water, versus quickly moving streams and rivers. That’s why the microscopic bacteria can also grow in backyard fountains, garden pots, birdbaths, livestock troughs, and anywhere water is allowed to become stagnant. As a result, it’s important to consider where your pets might be drinking from on your property. Regular emptying and cleaning with a stiff brush is a smart idea if you have vessels on your property that are used to hold water for thirsty animals. Note: Boiling infected water or using chlorine or ultraviolet disinfection will not get rid of cyanobacteria toxins.

Sadly, blue-green algae blooms have killed deer, elk, livestock, cats, horses, and more soon after drinking the water.