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Heartworm is a deadly parasite spread by the bite of a mosquito. The symptoms of heartworm becoming increasingly severe as the damage progresses. This damage is not fully reversible making prevention or early treatment critical.

Seven-year-old Annie looks terrific now, but she weighed 20 pounds less when first diagnosed with EPI. Annie's owner enjoys cooking for her dogs now that she has learned how to streamline the shopping, preparation, and storage. Keely is an active agility dog. She requires a low-fat diet to prevent ill effects of hyperlipidemia, which is common in Miniature Schnauzers. Rowdy, a 12-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, needs a low-fat diet that doesn't trigger painful gas attacks." Rocky is finally a good eater!"

The heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) is a nematode or roundworm named for its place of residence, inside the heart. To understand the challenge of controlling this parasite, you have to understand its life cycle, a complex and slightly bizarre process. Living in a dog’s pulmonary arteries, adult heartworms mate. Each female (which can reach sizes of up to 11 inches) produces thousands of eggs, each less than 1/800th of an inch, which are called microfilariae, and circulate in the blood.

Vitamin D deficiencies in dogs can cause health problems over time, but so can an oversupply. Because vitamin D is fat soluble, it accumulates in body fat. Overdoses can be toxic and even fatal, but some vitamin D is necessary to a dog's health. Vitamin D will aid in the absorption of calcium and phosphate, increases bone cell activity, influences the formation and growth of long bones, and speeds the healing of fractures. Adequate D levels may help prevent heart disease, joint inflammation, skin and coat problems, cancer, vision problems, depression, mental illness, infections, inflammatory bowel disease, dental problems, hyperparathyroidism, and kidney disease.

The respiratory system functions rather miraculously. Vital for life, critical for the health of the whole body, it’s one of the major ways the dog’s body unites his external environment with his inner milieu. As a primary site of contact with the outer world, the lungs are susceptible to diseases that can be caused by any airborne germ, irritant, or toxin that happens to be floating around.

if you keep doing that

While a diagnosis of canine cancer is never good, there are few types worse than hemangiosarcoma (HSA). Like all cancer diagnoses, it’s frightening, shocking,...

Since 1985, the International Herb Association has announced its Herb of the Year during National Herb Week, which this year is May 1 through 7. The IHA has just published Capsicum: Herb of the Year 2016, a book that reviews chili peppers and their growing conditions and uses, and the organization helps garden centers and herb farms promote its featured plant.

I confess: I have a hard time fitting in enough exercise for myself and my dog. Nothing earth-shattering about this admission; I think not getting enough exercise is a universal condition. Even though my dog and I walk daily, life and age just keep creeping up, making it harder and harder for me to stay fit. And, my high-energy herding dog seems to always need just a little more in the way of activity than I have time and energy to provide.

The adrenals are small glands located just forward of the kidneys. They are so small, in fact, they were virtually ignored by early anatomists for centuries. Although small in size, they are extremely important in the overall hormonal balance of the body and its ability to maintain homeostasis.

Heartworms are horrible. No arguments there. Anyone who has ever known or had an infected dog knows how slowly but surely the parasites can sap the animal’s strength and vitality. Going through the treatment to kill the heartworm is no walk in the park either. The “cure” is quite capable of killing the dog in the process of trying to save its life. But some people just don’t like the idea of giving the dog the chemical preventatives that can keep the pooch safe from infestation. And some dogs are sensitive to the drugs, reacting to each dose with vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms.

Please note that the FDA's headline did not say anything about grain-free diets" causing heart problems – though almost all the blog posts and articles in other publications have been saying exactly that. If you read the FDA's statement