Home dental care for your cat or dog has the same goal as home dental care for yourself, to remove dental plaque. Plaque is the sticky, whitish film with the bad taste and offensive odor that accumulates inside the mouth. Plaque is about 85% bacteria and will mineralize to form tartar. Plaque accumulation

Each year fifteen million Americans engage in the practice of yoga. Many of the same Americans own some of the over seventy-three million dogs owned in the United States. If you put yoga and dogs together, you get doga (pronounced DOH-gah). Doga is sweeping the nation including large American cities

Dog parks: they are great for socialization, exercise, and mental stimulation for many dogs. But certain dogs may feel threatened or anxious. Whether you and your dog have a good dog park experience or a bad one depends largely on your understanding of your dog, advanced preparation, proper training,

If there's still any doubt whether the pampering of pets is getting out of hand, the debate should be settled once and for all by Neuticles, a patented testicular implant that sells for up to $919 a pair. The idea, says inventor Gregg A. Miller, is to "let people restore their pets to anatomical preciseness"

Traveling with your pet can be rewarding but challenging if not enough preparation has been made. Planning will help your trip go smoother and should include acquiring any paperwork that is needed, consideration of the temperatures to be experienced and how to deal with them, and obtaining equipment

Fleas are not only a source of irritation and frustration, but they also pose a serious health threat to animals. These tiny external parasites can carry a variety of diseases, including bubonic plague, and severe infestations may cause deadly levels of blood loss in very small or young pets, according

Consider the following scenario: You arrive home from a long flight from a wonderful, two-week vacation. As you drive home, you remind yourself the boarding kennel is already closed and you have to wait until tomorrow to pick up your dog, Max. You finally walk in the front door, happy to be home. As

If you have a friend who camps or fishes, you may have heard that they had been infected with Giardia. Or your veterinarian may have told you that your cat or dog had Giardia. In either case, you probably wondered, can I catch it as well? Giardia is a protozoan parasite (one-celled organism) that can

Stress isn't just a problem for humans; your pet can experience the negative effects too. Illness, changes in the usual routine or the death of another pet can lead to an increase in your pet's anxiety level. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to help your furry friend relax. Signs of Stress Your

Vetopedia is a glossary of terms used by vets in treating animals. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z AAFCO Association of American Feed Control Officials; an organization which sets standards for pet food ingredients and minimum daily requirements. Abdomen A region of the body between

Hip dysplasia is a congenital disease that, in its more severe form, can eventually cause lameness and painful arthritis of the joints. It is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. It can be found in many animals and, rarely, humans, but is common in many dog breeds, particularly

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a life long disorder of dogs and cats that results when the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin to meet the animal's needs. Insulin is a hormone needed to transport glucose (blood sugar) into the body's cells. When there is a lack of insulin in the body, blood glucose rises

The use of acupuncture is growing in popularity among veterinarians and the practitioners say they are impressed with the results. Only a few decades ago, the use of acupuncture in veterinary medicine was virtually unheard of. In recent years, the use of acupuncture in veterinary medicine has been steadily

It's doubtful that anyone would picture their family veterinarian swinging a light saber on the bridge of some galactic cruiser, but he or she may just have a similar technology available to help keep your pets comfortable during surgery. For more than 30 years, human doctors have used various

Advances in human medicine seem to occur on a daily basis as research and new technology bring new possibilities and hope of healing. And veterinary medicine and surgery continues to follow closely behind. Within the past twenty years, new technologies in diagnostics and surgical techniques have made

Surgery is a scary thought for anyone, but advances in human medicine are helping to make patients more comfortable and shortening stays in the hospital. Even our pets are now benefiting from these improvements as cutting edge innovations are making their way into veterinary offices, providing a higher