No one wants his/her pet to become ill, and certainly no one wants to have his/her pet hospitalized for medical care. Yet the truth of the matter is most fur babies will need to spend at least one night away from home in a hospital at some point in their…
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Emergency Room Etiquette
Bringing your pet to the emergency is always stressful. Your animal is sick. You are scared and your stress level skyrockets. A trip to the emergency room with a distressed fur baby is simply never fun. Just as parents must always be prepared with children, so too must pet parents…
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Second Opinion – Don’t Feel Guilty!
It never hurts to get a second opinion! Veterinarians are human, and we can all make mistakes or be presented with challenging patients. There is nothing lost by visiting another veterinarian just to make sure your family veterinarian’s opinion is correct, and I would argue seeking a second opinion with…
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Prostate Disease in Dogs
An essential component of a complete physical examination for every male dog is an evaluation of the prostate, a walnut-sized gland located between the urinary bladder and the penis. The prostate is a secondary sex gland of male dogs that adds fluid that makes up semen to help transport sperm…
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Veterinary Specialists Bring Knowledge & Know-How
The vast majority of pet parents in the United States have no idea board-certified veterinary specialists are available to partner with them and their pets’ primary care doctor. In this regard, board-certified veterinary specialists have failed. We have failed to educate pet parents that we exist. On an almost daily…
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Recommendations vs. Options – An Important Difference
One of the best pieces of medical advice I ever received was from a board-certified veterinary surgeon at the hospital where I completed my internship after graduating from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. The hospital was/is located in one of the most litigious parts of the country (Long Island,…
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Veterinary Specialists’ Pet Peeves
I’m writing this blog as I travel to Frankfurt, Germany to speak with colleagues at the Congress of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine about marketing veterinary specialty medicine. I was concerned about the timing of my voyage, as I was not confident I would be able to publish…
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Chronic Diarrhea in Pets – A Messy Matter
Diarrhea or should I say chronic diarrhea is one of the more common reasons dogs and cats are referred to board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialists. By definition chronic diarrhea has been present for more than three weeks. Certainly the majority of pet parents are profoundly frustrated by the time they…
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Excessive Urination and Thirst in Dogs & Cats
A common reason for pet parents to bring their dogs and cats to the family veterinarian is an observable increase in thirst (called polydipsia or PD) and/or increased volume of urination (called polyuria or PU). A pet parent can’t keep a pet’s water bowl filled enough and/or the pet seems to “pee a…
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Cushing’s Disease in Dogs & Cats Explained
Picture an adrenal gland as a peanut M&M™. Cushing’s disease (or hyperadrenocorticism) is a problem with the chocolate coating, and it is much more common in dogs than in cats. As part of this condition the adrenal glands overproduce certain hormones, particularly the body’s own steroid called cortisol. An elevated…