Dogs Medical Procedures Articles

Some dog medical procedures are standard and commonly done by your vet. Other medical procedures are not as common, such as acupuncture or detecting disease through DNA, and are often done by specialists. Learn more about the medical procedures that might be done to your dog to aid in diagnosis or treatment. Get a better understanding of what each procedure entails and what is done to your pet. If you can't find what you're looking for here, try our Surgery section.

• Using Acupuncture for Canine Pain Relief

  Acupuncture has long been used to relieve pain in humans; now, acupuncture is also used for canine pain relief.

• Treating Dogs’ Thyroid Cancer With Radioiodine

  In dogs thyroid cancer is not very common. However, there are very few symptoms so if your dog does develop this kind of cancer then it could be hard to spot.

• Treating Common Dog Injuries

  It's important that every dog owner has some knowledge of dog injuries, which are common. Being active animals, dogs can sometimes injure themselves...

• The Pet Owner’s Guide to Veterinary Ultrasound

  Some diagnoses of certain pet health conditions need the use of a veterinary ultrasound machine. Veterinary ultrasound is painless, non-invasive and does...

• The Cost Dog X-Ray Procedures Examined

  Injuries and other health issues may require a dog x-ray to inspect internal damage or to look at what might be causing a health problem. X-rays are important tools for returning your dog to good health and the cost for an x-ray can vary greatly depending on several factors.

• Tests for Liver Disease in Dogs

  This is done after at least a twelve hour fast. Blood is then drawn for a baseline value for bile acids. A small meal is fed right away and then blood is drawn again in two hours. If the bile acids are elevated significantly on either test, or if there is a significant rise in bile acids between the first and second blood samples

• Surgical Risk

  The veterinarians who claim that older animals are at an increased risk of anesthetic complications believe that as a pet ages it is more likely to accumulate problems such as heart valve insufficiencies, kidney damage or liver damage which make anesthesia a greater risk.

• Soft and Cleft Palate Problems

  Cleft palates do occur in dogs. They are more common in the short nosed breeds of dogs than in other breeds. Cleft palates are considered to be an inherited trait. If both parents of a dog have cleft palates, the odds of it having a cleft palate are about 40%.

• Radiograph or X-ray use in Dogs

  Some infections show up really well on X-rays if they are severe and can sometimes be detected early in the infectious process or show up when contrast dyes are used. I don't know that I can write a complete list, but these are some of the ones that are visible:

• Pyometra or Uterine infection in Dogs

  Pyometra is fatal if it can not be eliminated by medical or surgical treatment. It is unusual for antibiotics alone to work effectively for a uterine infection. In most cases, either surgical removal of the uterus, or treatment with prostaglandins and antibiotics in combination is necessary in order to resolve uterine infections. Prostaglandins stimulate muscular contractions of the uterus and help it to clear infections by expelling infectious material.

• Placing tubes, catheters and other medical procedures

  For best results the urine should be less than 2 to 4 hours old or else refrigerated after collection and tested within 24 hours. The fresher the sample is the better but results are usually reliable within these time frames. Samples taken in this manner can be used for culture (to check for bacteria in the urinary tract) and are usually better for determining if there is blood in the urine

• PCR Testing for Canine Herpes

  Canine herpes, also known as CHV, is a dog virus that can affect both puppies and adults. The canine herpes infection is transmitted from the reproductive organs...

• Medical Error, Malpractice - Unexpected Pet Death

  Sucralfate is not absorbed well from the digestive tract, so most of its actions occur at the local level in the GI tract. It can decrease the absorption of several medications (including Baytril) so it is usually used several hours before or after administration of these medications.

• Is Tail Docking Medically Necessary or Cosmetic?

  Docking or bobbing is the practice of removing a portion of a dog's tail. In recent times, this practice of voluntary amputation has gained controversy with those who view the procedure as medically necessary and those who consider it cosmetic.

• How to Apply Dog Leg Braces

  If your dog has been injured or suffers from a debilitating joint disease such as Lyme disease, your veterinarian may recommend that you use one of the many types of dog leg braces that are available. Depending on the condition of your dog, and the type of injury your dog has sustained, there are different designs and styles of leg braces that you may choose from.

• Facts and Myths About Canine Acupuncture

  Although there are many misconceptions about canine acupuncture, its acceptance as a valid treatment for dogs is growing. Veterinary acupuncture practitioners use dog acupuncture to treat a wide variety of problems, especially arthritis.

• Dog Infection Diagnosis Explained

  A dog infection can make a canine feel ill or be in pain.

• DNA-Based Canine Disease Detection Services

  Diagnosing canine disease can be complicated. Fortunately, detection methods have come a long way over the years. DNA-based canine disease detection services are not only effective at assessing the possibility of future disease in certain dogs, they are also effective at determining parentage and more. Just a few types of DNA-based detection services include: inherited disease screening, DNA genotyping, and parentage verification.

• Distichiasis

  Distichiasis is the abnormal growth of an eyelash from the meibomian glands along the eyelid margin. 

• Diagnostic Procedures - MRI

  It usually is helpful to have an MRI examination in these cases because it does help to identify which discs are affected and if it is possible to operate on all of them at the same time because dogs that have a recurrence of disc disease after the first disc problem are likely to have multiple episodes of disc disease.

• Canine Yeast Infection Diagnosis

  A canine yeast infection is caused by candida albicans, a fungus that is present in healthy dogs in a balanced combination with beneficial bacteria...

• Bloodwork and other Labwork

  It is not too unusual to have rises in ALT levels that are found in a blood sample taken for reasons other than suspicion of liver disease and then for these levels to resolve over several weeks to several months. ALT rises when liver cells are damaged and lots of things can lead to enough damage to liver cells to increase the ALT levels.

• Biopsy in Dogs

  A needle biopsy is a very simple test to perform and it doesn't hurt any more than an injection. We do needle biopsy of lymph nodes pretty frequently. We read the slides in our office and send a slide to a veterinary pathologist who does cytologic exams, as well.

• Anesthesia Death

  The anesthetic death rate in pets is higher than in humans, almost certainly because we do not have dedicated anesthetists in the surgery room during veterinary surgeries, in most cases. It is more difficult to accurately monitor blood pressure in pets than it is in humans and blood pressure is probably the earliest indicator of problems with anesthesia in many patients.

• Anesthesia

  Stage 1 anesthesia is the period between administration of an anesthetic and loss of consciousness. In people there is reported to be some disorientation prior to the loss of consciousness but in pets this is rarely obvious.

• A Guide to Preventing Canine Worms

  Canine worms are a range of species of parasitic worms that infest the body of a living dog. The most common varieties of canine worms infest a dog's digestive system, especially the intestines.

• A Guide to Dog Yeast Infection Treatment

  The dog yeast infection is a skin infection that may become chronic if not properly treated. The infection is caused by a fungus called candida albicans...

• A Guide to Canine Osteosarcoma Treatment

  Canine osteosarcoma is also known as dog bone cancer. Bone cancer cannot be treated, however there are methods to help your dog feel better and prolong his life expectancy.

• A Guide to Canine Heartworm Treatments

  Seeking early heartworm treatments for your dog can make the difference between life and death. Heartworm is a parasitic disease which primarily affects the heart and lungs of the dog.

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