| Introduction | ix |
| Part 1 | Preventive Health Care | |
| Chapter 1 | Choosing a Healthy Dog or Puppy | 3 |
| Puppy or Adult? | |
| Purebred vs. Mixed Breed | |
| Allergic to Dogs | |
| Children and Dogs | |
| Screening for Health Problems | |
| Temperament Testing | |
| Puppy Lemon Laws | |
| Health Checklist for 130 Popular Breeds | |
| Chapter 2 | Raising a Healthy Puppy | 41 |
| Puppy Vaccines | |
| Puppy Nutrition | |
| Feeding to Prevent Hip Dysplasia | |
| Puppy Health Hazards | |
| Housebreaking | |
| Puppy Warts | |
| Baby Teeth | |
| Spaying and Neutering | |
| Chapter 3 | Keeping Your Adult and Senior Dog Healthy | 55 |
| Choosing a Vet | |
| The Vaccine Controversy | |
| How Old Is That in People Years? | |
| Reading Dog-Food Labels | |
| Bones and Raw Food Diet | |
| Dangerous Foods | |
| Weight Loss | |
| Seasonal Health Hazards | |
| Dental Care | |
| Tennis-Ball Mouth | |
| Travel Tips | |
| Car Sickness | |
| The Healthy, Happy Senior Dog | |
| Part 2 | Common Canine Illnesses | |
| Chapter 4 | Allergies, Itching, and Other Skin Diseases | 85 |
| Paw Licking | |
| Allergies | |
| Hot Spots | |
| Food Allergies | |
| Anal Glands | |
| Skin Infections | |
| Debunking Bathing Myths | |
| Splitting Nails | |
| The Dandruffy Dog | |
| Lumps, Bumps, and Growths | |
| Shedding | |
| Dudley Nose | |
| Chapter 5 | Vomiting, Diarrhea, and Other Digestive Ailments | 107 |
| Why Do Dogs Get Diarrhea? | |
| Flatulence | |
| Home Care for Diarrhea | |
| The Dreaded Parvovirus | |
| Another Bad Bloody-Diarrhea Disease | |
| Irritable Bowel Disease | |
| Digestive Enzyme Deficiencies | |
| Pancreatitis | |
| Why Do Dogs Vomit? | |
| Regurgitating Puppies | |
| Home Care for Vomiting | |
| Bloat | |
| Eating the Inedible | |
| Liver Problems | |
| Chapter 6 | Worms, Fleas, Ticks, and Other Creepy-Crawlers | 137 |
| Roundworms, Hookworms, and Whipworms | |
| Children and Worms | |
| Tapeworms | |
| Other Intestinal Parasites | |
| Heartworms | |
| Picking a Heartworm Preventive | |
| Collie Cautions | |
| Fleas | |
| Sorting Out Spot-ons | |
| Natural Flea Prevention | |
| Demodectic Mange | |
| Scabies | |
| Getting Rid of Ticks | |
| Lyme and Other Diseases Transmitted by Ticks | |
| Chapter 7 | Mental Health and Behavior Problems | 167 |
| Thunderstorms and Fireworks | |
| Unlearning Fears and Phobias | |
| Separation Anxiety | |
| Canine Alzheimer's Disease | |
| Dominance Aggression | |
| Puppies on Prozac | |
| Fear Aggression | |
| Territorial Aggression | |
| Bringing Home Baby | |
| Sibling Rivalry | |
| Dog Smarts | |
| Submissive Peeing | |
| Obsessive Licking | |
| Rescue Remedy and Other Holistic Helps | |
| Chapter 8 | Eye and Ear Diseases | 191 |
| Lash and Lid Problems | |
| Tearstaining | |
| Conjunctivitis | |
| Eye Injuries | |
| Cherry Eye | |
| Dry Eye | |
| Glaucoma | |
| Applying Eye Medications | |
| Blindness | |
| Cataracts | |
| Inherited Eye Problems | |
| Ear Cleaning 101 | |
| Recurring Ear Infections | |
| A Swollen Ear | |
| Deafness | |
| Chapter 9 | Bones, Joints, and Arthritis | 217 |
| Causes of Hip Dysplasia | |
| Treating Hip Dysplasia | |
| Treating Arthritis | |
| Knee Injuries | |
| Wobbly Kneecaps | |
| "Growing Pains" | |
| Wobbly Necks in Little Dogs | |
| Wobbler Syndrome in Big Dogs | |
| Spinal Disk Disease | |
| Foot-Dragging and Paralysis | |
| Chapter 10 | The Heart and Circulation | 243 |
| Holes in the Heart | |
| Other Birth Defects | |
| Making Sense of Murmurs | |
| Arrhythmias | |
| Symptoms of Heart Disease | |
| Valve Disease in Older Dogs | |
| Portosystemic Shunt | |
| A Big-Dog, Big-Heart Disease | |
| Congestive Heart Failure | |
| Heart Tumors | |
| Treating Heart Disease | |
| Supplements for Heart Disease | |
| Chapter 11 | Colds, Coughs, and Other Respiratory Problems | 265 |
| Kennel Cough | |
| Distemper | |
| Snores, Honks, and Snorts | |
| Collapsing Trachea | |
| The Hiccups | |
| The Flat-Nosed, Smushed-Face Blues | |
| Laryngeal Paralysis | |
| Fungal Infections | |
| Panting | |
| Bronchitis | |
| Cold Nose, Healthy Dog? | |
| Secondhand Smoke | |
| Chapter 12 | Diabetes and Other Endocrine Diseases | 279 |
| Diagnosing and Treating Diabetes Mellitus | |
| How to Give an Insulin Injection | |
| Low Blood Sugar in Puppies | |
| Low Blood Sugar in Adult Dogs | |
| Hypothyroidism | |
| Cushing's Disease | |
| Addison's Disease | |
| Chapter 13 | Seizures and Other Neurological Diseases | 297 |
| What Causes Seizures? | |
| Treating Seizures | |
| What to Do When a Dog Has a Seizure | |
| Suddenly Dizzy Old Dogs | |
| Droopy Face | |
| Little White Shakers | |
| The "Down Dog" | |
| Dancing Dobermans | |
| High-Stepping Rottweilers | |
| Rabies | |
| Tick Paralysis | |
| Coonhound Paralysis | |
| Myasthenia Gravis | |
| Meningitis and Encephalitis | |
| Chapter 14 | The Bladder, Kidneys, and Reproductive Tract | 317 |
| Urinating All the Time | |
| Urinary Tract Infections | |
| Crystals and Stones | |
| Kidney Failure | |
| Incontinence | |
| The Heat Cycle | |
| When to Spay | |
| An Infected Uterus | |
| False Pregnancy | |
| Neutering | |
| Giving Birth | |
| The Hunt for a Missing Testicle | |
| Prostate Problems | |
| Chapter 15 | Blood and Lymph Disorders | 339 |
| Causes of Anemia | |
| Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia | |
| Blood Cell Toxins | |
| Low Platelets | |
| Blood Transfusions | |
| Shock | |
| Blood Clotting Problems | |
| Hemophilia | |
| Blood Clots in the Lungs | |
| Chapter 16 | Cancer and Cancer Treatment | 355 |
| Signs of Cancer | |
| Diagnosing Cancer | |
| Treating Cancer | |
| Tumors of the Brain and Spinal Cord | |
| Tumors of the Respiratory Tract | |
| Mouth Tumors | |
| Lymphoma, the "Good Cancer" | |
| Leukemia | |
| Multiple Myeloma | |
| Liver Tumors | |
| Skin Cancer | |
| Bone Cancer | |
| Breast Cancer | |
| Stomach and Intestinal Cancer | |
| Tumors of the Urinary Tract | |
| Deciding When to Treat and When to Let Go | |
| Chapter 17 | When the End Is Near | 381 |
| When Your Dog Is Very Ill--When Is It Time? | |
| Euthanasia | |
| Sudden Death | |
| Children and the Loss of a Pet | |
| Finding Support When You're Grieving | |
| Nine Ways to Remember a Wonderful Dog | |
| Part 3 | Quick Reference | |
| Chapter 18 | First Aid Basics and Poison Control | 393 |
| Taking Your Dog's Temperature, Heart Rate, and Respiratory Rate | |
| The Canine First Aid Kit | |
| Basic Wound Care | |
| How to Pill Your Pup | |
| Making a Muzzle | |
| Moving an Injured Dog | |
| Getting Rid of Goo | |
| Trimming Broken Nails | |
| When and How to Induce Vomiting | |
| 13 Common Household Toxins | |
| Poisonous Plants | |
| Safe Gardening | |
| Chapter 19 | ABC Guide to Injuries and Emergencies | 411 |
| Antifreeze Poisoning | |
| Bandaging a Leg | |
| Bee Sting | |
| Bite Wounds | |
| Bleeding | |
| Bloat | |
| Broken Bone | |
| Broken Tooth | |
| Burns | |
| Choking | |
| CPR | |
| Drooling | |
| Drowning | |
| Electric Shock | |
| Eye Out of the Socket | |
| Fever | |
| Frostbite | |
| Heat Stroke | |
| The Heimlich Maneuver | |
| Hit by a Car | |
| Hives | |
| Nosebleed | |
| Panting | |
| Paralysis | |
| Poisoning | |
| Porcupine Quills | |
| Scorpion Sting | |
| Seizure | |
| Shock | |
| Skunk Spray | |
| Smoke Inhalation | |
| Snakebite | |
| Swallowed Object | |
| Swollen Face | |
| Swollen Joint | |
| Toad Poisoning | |
| Unconsciousness | |
| Vaccine Reaction | |
| Worms in Vomit or Feces | |
| Part 4 | Hound Health Resources | |
| Appendix A | Pet Health Insurance | 428 |
| Appendix B | Alternative and Complementary Medicine | 434 |
| Appendix C | Finding a Veterinary Specialist | 438 |
| Appendix D | Helpful Websites for Dog Owners | 443 |
| Index | 445 |