Evidence-led dog health: our summaries of the published research
Every page here is our summary of the published research, as we understand it. Every claim is sourced, and anything we could not verify is said out loud rather than quietly left in. Always confirm with your vet.
No advertising on any page about the end of a dog’s life. No pop-ups anywhere.
- 10 pages in this section
In crisis right now? Canada and US: call or text 9-8-8.
On the shelf
Everything written so far, by subject. Choose a spine to turn it face-out.
Nutrition
- Homemade Dog Food, Done Right: What the Evidence Actually Says
- Why Most Homemade Dog Food Isn't Complete: And What the Studies Actually Found
- The Calcium Problem: Why Meat-and-Rice Diets Break Bones
- The Seven Nutrients Homemade Diets Miss Most Nutrition
The Seven Nutrients Homemade Diets Miss Most
Zinc, choline, copper, omega-3s, calcium, vitamin E and vitamin D. What two large recipe studies found, how short the recipes fell, and why it matters.
- Why Adding a Multivitamin Doesn't Fix an Unbalanced Recipe Nutrition
Why Adding a Multivitamin Doesn't Fix an Unbalanced Recipe
A multivitamin can't balance a recipe it wasn't designed for. What studies of supplemented homemade diets found, and what to do instead.
- Calcium:Phosphorus Ratio, Explained Without the Maths Nutrition
Calcium:Phosphorus Ratio, Explained Without the Maths
What a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is, why meat pushes it the wrong way, why the published ranges differ, and why a good ratio alone isn't enough.
- How to Get a Properly Formulated Recipe (and What It Costs)
- Balancing Premixes: What They Do, and the Evidence Gap Nutrition
Balancing Premixes
What They Do, and the Evidence Gap
A premix is meant to complete a homemade recipe. What lab tests of these products found, what nobody has tested yet, and how to use one safely.
- How to Follow a Recipe Exactly, and Why Substitutions Aren't Small Nutrition
How to Follow a Recipe Exactly, and Why Substitutions Aren't Small
Most owners given a formulated recipe change it within months. What two owner studies found, which changes matter, and how to cook it as written.
- Homemade Food for Puppies: Why the Risk Is Different Nutrition
Homemade Food for Puppies
Why the Risk Is Different
A puppy can't regulate calcium the way an adult can, and its mistakes set into bone. What the case reports show, and why specialists say wait.
- Elimination Diet Trials at Home: How Long, and What Counts Nutrition
Elimination Diet Trials at Home
How Long, and What Counts
An elimination diet is the way to diagnose food allergy in dogs. What the reviews say about how long it takes, what to test first, and why labels mislead.
- Can an AI Chatbot Write a Balanced Dog Food Recipe? What a 2026 Test Found Nutrition
Can an AI Chatbot Write a Balanced Dog Food Recipe? What a 2026 Test Found
Researchers asked four free AI chatbots for complete homemade dog diets. Ten of the 11 recipes were short on calcium, and most were short on energy.
End of life
- Saying Goodbye: An Evidence-Based Guide to Your Dog's Final Chapter
- How to Know When It's Time to Say Goodbye
- The HHHHHMM Quality-of-Life Scale, Explained
- Reading Pain in an Old or Sick Dog
- What Euthanasia Actually Involves, Step by Step
- In-Home vs. In-Clinic Euthanasia
- Hospice & Palliative Care for Dogs
- Managing Pain in a Terminal Dog
- Burial vs. Cremation for Dogs
- Dog Cremation Explained: Communal vs. Private
Symptoms & emergencies
- Is This an Emergency? A Plain Guide to Your Dog's Symptoms Symptoms & emergencies
Is This an Emergency? A Plain Guide to Your Dog's Symptoms
The signs that mean go to a vet now, what to do if your dog ate something, and where to start for everything that can wait until morning.
- Emergency Signs in Dogs: When to Go Now, Not Tomorrow Symptoms & emergencies
Emergency Signs in Dogs
When to Go Now, Not Tomorrow
The signs that mean your dog needs a vet now, condition by condition, with the source for each one and what to do on the way.
- Bloat (GDV): The Signs, the Odds, and What a Gastropexy Does Symptoms & emergencies
Bloat (GDV)
The Signs, the Odds, and What a Gastropexy Does
Bloat kills quickly, mostly in large deep-chested dogs. The early signs, why survival figures differ, and what a preventive gastropexy can and can't do.
- Sudden Back Pain or Wobbly Legs: IVDD, and When It Is an Emergency Symptoms & emergencies
Sudden Back Pain or Wobbly Legs
IVDD, and When It Is an Emergency
Disc disease can take a dog from sore back to paralysed in hours. The signs, what deep pain means, surgery versus rest, and the 24-hour myth.
- First Seizure: What to Do, and What Counts as an Emergency Symptoms & emergencies
First Seizure
What to Do, and What Counts as an Emergency
What to do during a dog's seizure, the five-minute line, when one seizure becomes an emergency, and why a first seizure is a reason to see a vet.
- Heatstroke: It Isn't Just Hot Cars Symptoms & emergencies
Heatstroke
It Isn't Just Hot Cars
Most UK heatstroke cases followed exercise, often an ordinary walk. Who is at risk, the signs, and the 2026 first-aid advice: cool first, then go.
- Foods That Are Toxic to Dogs, With the Actual Evidence Symptoms & emergencies
Foods That Are Toxic to Dogs, With the Actual Evidence
Chocolate, grapes and raisins, onions and garlic, and xylitol: what each one does, how fast, and why we don't print a safe amount for any of them.
- My Dog Ate Something: Why You Shouldn't Make Them Vomit Without a Vet Symptoms & emergencies
My Dog Ate Something
Why You Shouldn't Make Them Vomit Without a Vet
Home methods to make a dog vomit can do their own harm, and some poisons do more damage coming back up. What to do instead, and why the vet decides.
- Grapes and Raisins: What We Know, and the Tartaric Acid Question Symptoms & emergencies
Grapes and Raisins
What We Know, and the Tartaric Acid Question
Most dogs who eat grapes are fine. Some die of kidney failure, and no one can say which in advance. What the studies show, and why you still phone at once.
- Xylitol: Where It Hides, and Why Minutes Matter Symptoms & emergencies
Xylitol
Where It Hides, and Why Minutes Matter
Xylitol can drop a dog's blood sugar within an hour. Where it turns up, beyond gum, what happens next, and why you phone before your dog looks ill.
- Ibuprofen, Paracetamol and Other Human Painkillers Symptoms & emergencies
Ibuprofen, Paracetamol and Other Human Painkillers
Human painkillers are among the most common dog poisonings, often given by owners trying to help. What each one does, and what to do instead.
- Rat Bait and Slug Bait Symptoms & emergencies
Rat Bait and Slug Bait
If your dog ate rat or slug bait, phone a vet now, even if they seem fine. Why the packet matters, why some poisons take days, and what 'pet friendly' hides.
- Cannabis and Edibles Symptoms & emergencies
Cannabis and Edibles
A wobbly, dribbling, dazed dog may have found cannabis. Most recover, but edibles add chocolate or xylitol, and the signs look like antifreeze. Tell your vet.
- Animal Poison Helplines by Country: Numbers, Fees, and What Works From Where Symptoms & emergencies
Animal Poison Helplines by Country
Numbers, Fees, and What Works From Where
Animal poison helplines in the US, UK and Australia usually charge a fee. Their numbers, what each charges, and what to do if you live in Canada.
- Vomiting and Diarrhoea: When It Can Wait and When It Can't Symptoms & emergencies
Vomiting and Diarrhoea
When It Can Wait and When It Can't
Most stomach upsets in dogs settle on their own. Some are emergencies that look mild at first. The signs that mean phone now, today, or watch.
- Does Diarrhoea Need Antibiotics? What the Evidence Says Symptoms & emergencies
Does Diarrhoea Need Antibiotics? What the Evidence Says
Antibiotics are often given to dogs with sudden diarrhoea. The trials and a 2024 European review say most dogs don't benefit. When they do.
- Blood in the Urine, Infections, and the Dog Who Strains but Can't Pee Symptoms & emergencies
Blood in the Urine, Infections, and the Dog Who Strains but Can't Pee
A dog straining but passing little or no urine may be blocked, and that can kill. When blood in the urine can wait a day, what an infection is, and cranberry.
- The Itchy Dog: Allergies, Atopic Dermatitis, and What Actually Helps Symptoms & emergencies
The Itchy Dog
Allergies, Atopic Dermatitis, and What Actually Helps
Itching has many causes, and allergy is usually managed, not cured. How vets work out the cause, and what the international guidelines say helps.
- Food Allergy or Environmental? Why Blood, Saliva and Hair Tests Don't Tell You Symptoms & emergencies
Food Allergy or Environmental? Why Blood, Saliva and Hair Tests Don't Tell You
A hair and saliva allergy test couldn't tell an allergic dog from a healthy one, or from fake fur. What the evidence says works instead.
- Ear Infections: Why They Keep Coming Back Symptoms & emergencies
Ear Infections
Why They Keep Coming Back
A recurring ear infection is almost always a sign of something else, often allergy. Why drops alone don't stop it, and the signs that can't wait.
- Cruciate Ligament Rupture: Surgery, Conservative Care, and the Evidence Gap Symptoms & emergencies
Cruciate Ligament Rupture
Surgery, Conservative Care, and the Evidence Gap
A torn cruciate is the classic sudden back-leg limp. What the one trial of surgery versus no surgery found, and which operation has the most support.
- When Behaviour Change Is Really Pain Symptoms & emergencies
When Behaviour Change Is Really Pain
Snapping, new fears, or a dog who won't jump in the car can be pain, not temperament. What specialists found, and the signs to tell your vet about.
- Glaucoma: The Red, Painful Eye That Can't Wait Symptoms & emergencies
Glaucoma
The Red, Painful Eye That Can't Wait
Sudden glaucoma can cost a dog the sight in an eye. The signs, which dogs are at risk, why the second eye matters, and what treatment can and can't save.
- Pyometra: The Emergency in Unspayed Females Symptoms & emergencies
Pyometra
The Emergency in Unspayed Females
Pyometra is a womb infection that can kill an unspayed female dog. The signs, who is at risk, how long after a season it strikes, and the treatment options.
- Dog First Aid: Choking, Bleeding, Burns and Collapse Symptoms & emergencies
Dog First Aid
Choking, Bleeding, Burns and Collapse
What the 2026 RECOVER first-aid guidelines advise for a choking, bleeding, burned or collapsed dog, how strong the evidence is, and where it runs out.
- Hives, a Swollen Face, or Anaphylaxis? Allergic Reactions in Dogs Symptoms & emergencies
Hives, a Swollen Face, or Anaphylaxis? Allergic Reactions in Dogs
A swollen face or hives after a sting or vaccine is common in dogs. How the 2026 RECOVER guidelines tell a simple reaction from anaphylaxis, and what helps.
- Swollen Ear Flap: Aural Haematoma, and Which Dogs Get It Symptoms & emergencies
Swollen Ear Flap
Aural Haematoma, and Which Dogs Get It
A blood blister in the ear flap affected 1 in 400 UK dogs in a year. Bull Terriers and heavier, older dogs were most at risk, but not floppy-eared breeds.
- Bitten by Another Dog: Wounds, Antibiotics, and Waiting Too Long Symptoms & emergencies
Bitten by Another Dog
Wounds, Antibiotics, and Waiting Too Long
In Australian vet records of 1,713 dog-on-dog bites, most dogs arrived more than a day after the injury, and nearly half had deep wounds.
- Tail Injuries: Which Dogs Get Them, and How Vets Treat Them Symptoms & emergencies
Tail Injuries
Which Dogs Get Them, and How Vets Treat Them
About 1 in 430 UK dogs had a new tail injury in 2019. Boxers, springer and cocker spaniels, and young dogs had the highest odds.
- Sudden Diarrhoea: How Common It Is, and What UK Vets Actually Do Symptoms & emergencies
Sudden Diarrhoea
How Common It Is, and What UK Vets Actually Do
About 1 in 12 UK dogs saw a vet for sudden diarrhoea in 2019. Most needed one visit, but 38% got antibiotics despite guidance against routine use.
- Swallowed Bones, Socks and Stones: What 261 Stuck Objects Show Symptoms & emergencies
Swallowed Bones, Socks and Stones
What 261 Stuck Objects Show
At a Thai referral hospital, bones and dried chews stuck in small dogs' gullets, while socks and stones ended up in stomachs. Most came out without surgery.
Preventive care
- Preventive Care Without the Upsell: What Your Dog Actually Needs Preventive care
Preventive Care Without the Upsell
What Your Dog Actually Needs
Vaccines, parasite control, teeth and the yearly check-up: what the guidelines recommend, how often, and where the evidence is thinner than the sales pitch.
- Core and Non-Core Vaccines: What the 2024 WSAVA Guidelines Say Preventive care
Core and Non-Core Vaccines
What the 2024 WSAVA Guidelines Say
Which vaccines every dog needs, which depend on where you live, and why the global guidelines say core boosters aren't needed every year.
- Titre Testing Instead of Boosters: What It Can and Can't Replace Preventive care
Titre Testing Instead of Boosters
What It Can and Can't Replace
A blood test can show whether your dog is still protected against three core viruses. What the WSAVA 2024 guidelines say it can and can't replace.
- Vaccine Reactions: How Common, and Which Dogs Are at Higher Risk Preventive care
Vaccine Reactions
How Common, and Which Dogs Are at Higher Risk
Most vaccine reactions in dogs are mild. What two studies of millions of dogs found, which dogs are at higher risk, and the signs that can't wait.
- Heartworm: Year-Round or Seasonal, and Why the US and Canada Disagree Preventive care
Heartworm
Year-Round or Seasonal, and Why the US and Canada Disagree
US experts advise heartworm prevention all year. Canadian experts advise six months. What each says, why they differ, and what to ask your vet.
- Flea and Tick Tablets and Seizures: What the FDA Warning Means Preventive care
Flea and Tick Tablets and Seizures
What the FDA Warning Means
The FDA warns that one class of flea and tick drugs can cause tremors and seizures in some dogs. What the warning says, how rare it seems, and what to ask.
- Deworming: How Often Depends on Your Dog Preventive care
Deworming
How Often Depends on Your Dog
Once a year or every month? Europe's parasite guideline sorts dogs into four risk groups. How the groups work, where faecal tests fit, and why it matters.
- Dental Disease in Dogs: What Brushing Can and Can't Do Preventive care
Dental Disease in Dogs
What Brushing Can and Can't Do
Gum disease is the most common diagnosis in UK vet practices. What causes it, what brushing prevents, and what only a cleaning under anaesthesia can fix.
- Anaesthesia-Free Dental Cleaning: What the Specialists Say Preventive care
Anaesthesia-Free Dental Cleaning
What the Specialists Say
Teeth cleaning without anaesthesia sounds safer and costs less. Veterinary dentists say it misses the disease that matters. Here's what the evidence shows.
- Brushing Your Dog's Teeth: How Often Actually Works Preventive care
Brushing Your Dog's Teeth
How Often Actually Works
In a controlled trial, daily or every-other-day brushing worked and weekly brushing didn't. Why most owners don't keep it up, and what the studies say helps.
- When to Spay or Neuter: What the Breed Studies Show, and What They Don't Preventive care
When to Spay or Neuter
What the Breed Studies Show, and What They Don't
Early neutering is linked to joint problems in some large breeds, not in most small ones. What the studies show, and how weak the mammary-tumour evidence is.
- Microchips: Why Most Failures Are Paperwork Preventive care
Microchips
Why Most Failures Are Paperwork
A microchip only works if the database has your current phone number. Why so many chipped dogs never get home, and the checks that take five minutes.
- The Annual Check-up: What the Evidence Can and Can't Say Preventive care
The Annual Check-up
What the Evidence Can and Can't Say
Expert guidelines recommend a check-up at least yearly, and twice yearly for seniors. We found no trial showing that it helps dogs live longer. What it's for.
- Brachycephalic Airway Disease: Grading, Surgery, and What "Normal Snoring" Hides Preventive care
Brachycephalic Airway Disease
Grading, Surgery, and What "Normal Snoring" Hides
Snoring and snorting in a flat-faced dog aren't normal. How BOAS is graded, which breeds are most at risk, and what surgery does in the long term.
- Mitral Valve Disease in Cavaliers: Screening, and What the EPIC Trial Found Preventive care
Mitral Valve Disease in Cavaliers
Screening, and What the EPIC Trial Found
Most Cavaliers develop a leaky heart valve. What the stages mean, why heart scans matter before symptoms, and what the EPIC trial and breeding schemes showed.
- DCM in Dobermans: Screening From Age Three Preventive care
DCM in Dobermans
Screening From Age Three
More than half of Dobermans in a European study developed heart muscle disease. Why yearly screening is recommended, from what age, and with which tests.
- Hip and Elbow Scores: OFA, the BVA/KC Scheme, and Distraction Testing Preventive care
Hip and Elbow Scores
OFA, the BVA/KC Scheme, and Distraction Testing
Hip and elbow scores help breeders, but each scheme measures something different. What the grades mean, what they miss, and what to ask a breeder.
- Dog DNA Tests: What a Health Result Can and Can't Tell You Preventive care
Dog DNA Tests
What a Health Result Can and Can't Tell You
More than half of dogs carry at least one disease variant. What carrier and at-risk results mean, why at-risk isn't a diagnosis, and when a test helps.
- Breed and Lifespan: What the UK Primary-Care Data Shows Preventive care
Breed and Lifespan
What the UK Primary-Care Data Shows
One UK study gave French Bulldogs a life expectancy of 4.5 years. Another found a median of 9.8. Why breed lifespan figures differ, and how to read them.
- Accidental Mating: What a Vet Can Do, and How Soon Preventive care
Accidental Mating
What a Vet Can Do, and How Soon
An unplanned mating doesn't always mean pregnancy. What reviews say about waiting, spaying and medicines, and why none is FDA-approved in North America.
- Spaying After a Season: Does the Timing Matter? Preventive care
Spaying After a Season
Does the Timing Matter?
Vets usually wait three months after a season to spay. Records from 2,543 assistance-dog bitches suggest an earlier window, with caveats for pet dogs.
- Ticks on UK Dogs: What a 12,000-Dog Check Found Preventive care
Ticks on UK Dogs
What a 12,000-Dog Check Found
In a 2015 UK survey, about 30% of dogs checked at vet practices had a tick, even town dogs. Gundogs and herding breeds had higher odds.
- Flea Spot-Ons and Swimming: What a UK Study Found in the Water Preventive care
Flea Spot-Ons and Swimming
What a UK Study Found in the Water
Four weeks after a flea spot-on, a single swim still washed enough insecticide off a dog to exceed safe levels for a pond, a UK study estimated.
- How US Owners Vaccinate Their Dogs: What 47,444 Owners Reported Preventive care
How US Owners Vaccinate Their Dogs
What 47,444 Owners Reported
Almost all owners in a large US study said they vaccinated as their vet advised. Uptake of non-core vaccines varied widely, and income and education mattered.
- Do Owners Know Their Dog's Breed? What DNA Showed in 5,673 US Dogs Preventive care
Do Owners Know Their Dog's Breed? What DNA Showed in 5,673 US Dogs
Owners of single-breed dogs usually named the breed DNA found. For mixes, owners often got one breed right but not both.
Getting a dog
- Before You Bring a Dog Home: The Decisions That Matter Most Getting a dog
Before You Bring a Dog Home
The Decisions That Matter Most
Which dog, from where, and what the first months need. The choices made before a dog comes home, and what the research says about each one.
- Choosing a Breed or a Mix: The Health Data Breeders Don't Lead With Getting a dog
Choosing a Breed or a Mix
The Health Data Breeders Don't Lead With
UK vet records show some breeds carry far more disease than others, and that a mix isn't automatically healthier. What the data say before you choose.
- Puppy Farms and Pet-Store Puppies: What the Behaviour Studies Found Getting a dog
Puppy Farms and Pet-Store Puppies
What the Behaviour Studies Found
Dogs bought from pet stores scored worse on most behaviour measures in a large owner survey. What the studies show, what they can't, and what to ask a seller.
- Online Puppy Scams: The Warning Signs Getting a dog
Online Puppy Scams
The Warning Signs
Fake puppy sellers take a payment, then ask for more. What US scam reports show, the signs to look for, and what UK government guidance tells buyers.
- Giant Breeds: What the UK Records Show About Health and Lifespan Getting a dog
Giant Breeds
What the UK Records Show About Health and Lifespan
Giant-breed dogs in a UK study lived a median of 8.94 years. What the records show about their common problems and causes of death, and what they don't.
- Adopting a Dog From Abroad: Rabies Rules, Brucella, and What Changed Getting a dog
Adopting a Dog From Abroad
Rabies Rules, Brucella, and What Changed
Canada banned commercial dogs from high-risk rabies countries, the US tightened entry, and Britain now tests some imports for Brucella. What to check first.
- What Age to Bring a Puppy Home Getting a dog
What Age to Bring a Puppy Home
Eight weeks is the accepted age, and in England it's the law for licensed breeders. What the one comparison study found, and what nobody has tested.
- Yorkshire Terrier Health: What the UK Vet Records Show Getting a dog
Yorkshire Terrier Health
What the UK Vet Records Show
UK Yorkshire Terriers lived a median of 13.56 years in one records study. Their common problems were teeth, baby teeth that don't fall out, and kneecaps.
- English Cocker Spaniel Health: Ears, Eyes, and What the Records Show Getting a dog
English Cocker Spaniel Health
Ears, Eyes, and What the Records Show
UK vet records show English Cocker Spaniels have more ear and dry-eye problems than other dogs, and fewer allergies. What two studies found, and their limits.
- Socialisation Before Full Vaccination: The Risk Both Ways Getting a dog
Socialisation Before Full Vaccination
The Risk Both Ways
Keep a puppy home until vaccinated, or get them out early? The behaviour vets' position, the one parvovirus study, and how to lower both risks.
- "Five Minutes Per Month of Age": Where the Puppy Exercise Rule Came From Getting a dog
"Five Minutes Per Month of Age"
Where the Puppy Exercise Rule Came From
The Kennel Club gives the five-minute rule; a vet charity says no science backs it. What the one large puppy study found about stairs and off-lead play.
- Shih Tzu Health: What the UK Vet Records Show Getting a dog
Shih Tzu Health
What the UK Vet Records Show
UK Shih Tzus lived a median of 12.7 years in one records study. Their common problems were teeth, anal sacs and ears, with more eye ulcers than dogs overall.
- Boxer Health: Gum Growths, Eye Ulcers, and the White Boxer Question Getting a dog
Boxer Health
Gum Growths, Eye Ulcers, and the White Boxer Question
UK Boxers lived a median of 10.46 years in one records study. Gum growths and eye ulcers stood out, and white Boxers were about as healthy as the rest.
- Puppy Biting and Teething: What's Normal and When It Ends Getting a dog
Puppy Biting and Teething
What's Normal and When It Ends
Puppies lose their baby teeth from about 4 months, and adult teeth are in by 7. What the studies say about chewing and nipping, and when to see a vet.
- English Bulldog Health: What a Comparison With Other Dogs Found Getting a dog
English Bulldog Health
What a Comparison With Other Dogs Found
English Bulldogs had twice the odds of any diagnosis in a UK records study, with skin folds, cherry eye and breathing problems far more common.
- House Training: A Practical Guide (and Why There's No Study) Getting a dog
House Training
A Practical Guide (and Why There's No Study)
Vet and charity advice on house training agrees on the basics, but we found no trial behind it. What they say, and when accidents need a vet.
- Shar Pei Health: Eyelids, Ears, Fevers and a Short Median Lifespan Getting a dog
Shar Pei Health
Eyelids, Ears, Fevers and a Short Median Lifespan
UK Shar Pei lived a median of 7.28 years in one records study, and almost one in five was treated for entropion each year. What else the records show.
- French Bulldog Health: Strengths, Weaknesses, and What the Records Show Getting a dog
French Bulldog Health
Strengths, Weaknesses, and What the Records Show
French Bulldogs had higher odds of 20 common disorders and lower odds of 11 in a UK records study. Breathing, ears and skin folds led the list of problems.
- German Shepherd Health: Joints, Mobility and What the UK Records Show Getting a dog
German Shepherd Health
Joints, Mobility and What the UK Records Show
UK German Shepherds lived a median of 10.3 years in one records study. Joint problems and being unable to stand were the commonest recorded causes of death.
- West Highland White Terrier Health: Skin, Lungs and a Long Life Getting a dog
West Highland White Terrier Health
Skin, Lungs and a Long Life
UK Westies lived a median of 13.4 years in one records study. Skin and ear inflammation was common, and lung disease tied with cancer as a cause of death.
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Health: Why the Heart Comes First Getting a dog
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Health
Why the Heart Comes First
Almost a third of Cavaliers in an English records study had a heart murmur noted. What else was common, and why the study's heart figures need care.
- Are Cockapoos, Cavapoos and Labradoodles Healthier? What a UK Study Found Getting a dog
Are Cockapoos, Cavapoos and Labradoodles Healthier? What a UK Study Found
A survey of 9,402 UK dogs found designer crossbreeds and their parent breeds were about as healthy as each other in most comparisons, at least before age five.
- Beagle Health: Weight, Teeth, and What UK Vet Records Show Getting a dog
Beagle Health
Weight, Teeth, and What UK Vet Records Show
Obesity was the most common diagnosis in UK Beagles, in about one in four. What else vets recorded, how long Beagles lived, and what owners can act on.
- Pug Health: What Australian Vet Records Show About How Pugs Die Getting a dog
Pug Health
What Australian Vet Records Show About How Pugs Die
In 691 Australian Pugs that died under vet care, airway disease, seizures and spinal cord disease led the causes. What that means for owners.
- Border Terrier Health: Teeth, Seizures, and Spike's Disease Getting a dog
Border Terrier Health
Teeth, Seizures, and Spike's Disease
Border Terriers in English vet records lived a median 12.7 years. Gum disease led the diagnoses, and seizures showed up more than in dogs overall.
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier Health: Skin, Seizures, and the Aggression Question Getting a dog
Staffordshire Bull Terrier Health
Skin, Seizures, and the Aggression Question
UK vet records found Staffies had no higher odds of recorded aggression than other dogs. Their real predispositions were skin disease and seizures.
- Dachshund Back Problems: Why Coat Type May Matter Getting a dog
Dachshund Back Problems
Why Coat Type May Matter
In 4,295 Dachshunds from the UK, Norway and Denmark, smooth-coated dogs had worse spinal health than long- or wire-coated ones. What that means for buyers.
- Miniature Schnauzers and Pancreatitis: What 2,910 UK Owners Reported Getting a dog
Miniature Schnauzers and Pancreatitis
What 2,910 UK Owners Reported
Owners reported pancreatitis in 7.6% of UK Miniature Schnauzers, more than vet-record studies found. Why the figures differ, and the link with diabetes.
- Labrador Health: Ears, Joints, and the Chocolate Lab Question Getting a dog
Labrador Health
Ears, Joints, and the Chocolate Lab Question
In UK vet records, chocolate Labradors died younger and had more ear and skin disease than black or yellow ones. What the study found, and its limits.
- Jugs and Puggles: Are Pug Crosses Healthier Than Pugs? Getting a dog
Jugs and Puggles
Are Pug Crosses Healthier Than Pugs?
In a UK study of 150 dogs, no Pug breathed normally on a standard test, while almost every Pug cross did. What crossing changed, and what it didn't.
- Chihuahua Health: Teeth, Aggression, and a Popularity Boom Getting a dog
Chihuahua Health
Teeth, Aggression, and a Popularity Boom
UK Chihuahua births rose fivefold in a decade. Vet records show gum disease, baby teeth that don't fall out, and aggression among the top problems.
- Greyhound Health: Teeth, Nails, and Life After Racing Getting a dog
Greyhound Health
Teeth, Nails, and Life After Racing
UK vet records from 2016 show 39% of greyhounds had gum disease in a single year. Nails, wounds and arthritis follow. What adopters should know.
- Golden Retrievers and Epilepsy: What a Swedish Study Found Getting a dog
Golden Retrievers and Epilepsy
What a Swedish Study Found
In a Swedish owner survey, 3.9% of Golden Retrievers had epilepsy. Half had cluster seizures, and a third showed aggression after a seizure.
- Rottweiler Health: Cancer, Joints, and the Aggression Records Getting a dog
Rottweiler Health
Cancer, Joints, and the Aggression Records
UK vet records show Rottweilers lived a median of 9 years, and a third of recorded deaths were from cancer. Aggression was the most common diagnosis.
- Dobermann Heart Disease: What the DNA Tests Can and Can't Tell You Getting a dog
Dobermann Heart Disease
What the DNA Tests Can and Can't Tell You
Two of the four DNA tests sold for Dobermann heart disease didn't hold up in a study of over 5,000 dogs. One did, but it misses many cases.
- Slipping Kneecaps in Cavaliers: What Australian Vet Records Found Getting a dog
Slipping Kneecaps in Cavaliers
What Australian Vet Records Found
In Australian vet records, 12.5% of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels had a slipping kneecap over ten years. Heavier dogs and ruby-coloured dogs had higher odds.
- Are Mixed-Breed Dogs Healthier? What 28,812 Korean Vet Records Show Getting a dog
Are Mixed-Breed Dogs Healthier? What 28,812 Korean Vet Records Show
Purebred dogs had higher odds of 9 of the 20 most common diagnoses, but 10 showed no difference. Small breeds dominated, which may explain a lot.
- Swimming Puppy Syndrome: What 115 Cases Show About Recovery Getting a dog
Swimming Puppy Syndrome
What 115 Cases Show About Recovery
In a survey of 115 'swimmer' puppies from 48 breeds, most were walking by about four and a half weeks old. Only three failed to recover.
- The Most Common Health Problems in Popular Breeds: What 27,541 US Owners Reported Getting a dog
The Most Common Health Problems in Popular Breeds
What 27,541 US Owners Reported
In a US survey of 27,541 dogs, tartar and dog bites topped the lists for nearly every breed. Purebreds were no less healthy than mixed breeds overall.
Conditions & cancer
- Living With a Diagnosis: What Your Vet Told You, and What to Ask Next Conditions & cancer
Living With a Diagnosis
What Your Vet Told You, and What to Ask Next
For the owner leaving the clinic with a new word and a decision to make. Where to start for lumps, kidney and heart disease, and what to ask next time.
- Diabetes in Dogs: Insulin, Home Monitoring, and Glucose Sensors Conditions & cancer
Diabetes in Dogs
Insulin, Home Monitoring, and Glucose Sensors
Diabetes in dogs is lifelong but manageable. The signs, the two emergencies every owner should know, and what the studies say about wearable glucose sensors.
- Cushing's Disease: Why Diagnosis Is Hard, and What Treatment Can Do Conditions & cancer
Cushing's Disease
Why Diagnosis Is Hard, and What Treatment Can Do
Drinking more, eating more, panting and a pot belly in an older dog can be Cushing's. Why no test is perfect, and what treatment aims to do.
- Addison's Disease: The Great Pretender Conditions & cancer
Addison's Disease
The Great Pretender
Addison's disease comes and goes as vomiting, tiredness and weight loss, then can cause a sudden collapse. Why it is missed, how it is tested, and the outlook.
- Hypothyroidism: Why So Many Dogs May Be on Pills They Don't Need Conditions & cancer
Hypothyroidism
Why So Many Dogs May Be on Pills They Don't Need
In a 2024 study, specialists judged thyroid pills unnecessary for about half of 102 treated dogs. Why the diagnosis is hard, and what to ask your vet.
- Chronic Kidney Disease: What the IRIS Stage Means Conditions & cancer
Chronic Kidney Disease
What the IRIS Stage Means
Your vet said stage 2 or stage 3. What the IRIS stages measure, what the extra labels for protein and blood pressure mean, and what treatment aims to do.
- Heart Failure at Home: Counting Your Dog's Sleeping Breaths Conditions & cancer
Heart Failure at Home
Counting Your Dog's Sleeping Breaths
For a dog with heart disease, counting breaths during sleep is the most useful thing an owner can do at home. How to count, and when to call the vet.
- Living With Epilepsy: When Treatment Starts, and What Monitoring Involves Conditions & cancer
Living With Epilepsy
When Treatment Starts, and What Monitoring Involves
When vets start long-term seizure medicine for dogs, what treatment can realistically achieve, the blood checks involved, and when a seizure is an emergency.
- Pancreatitis and the Low-Fat Diet Question Conditions & cancer
Pancreatitis and the Low-Fat Diet Question
Vomiting and belly pain after a raid on the bin can be pancreatitis. Why the low-fat diet is standard advice, and why a 2026 review says the evidence is thin.
- Chronic Hepatitis and Copper in Dog Food Conditions & cancer
Chronic Hepatitis and Copper in Dog Food
Liver copper in US dogs has risen since the 1980s, and specialists blame dog food. What copper hepatitis is, who gets it, and where the evidence is disputed.
- Found a Lump? Why Your Vet Should Put a Needle in It Conditions & cancer
Found a Lump? Why Your Vet Should Put a Needle in It
Most lumps on dogs are harmless, but nobody can tell which by touch. Why a needle sample beats waiting, what it can miss, and when to go back.
- Lymphoma: What Chemotherapy Can and Can't Do Conditions & cancer
Lymphoma
What Chemotherapy Can and Can't Do
Most dogs with lymphoma go into remission on chemotherapy, but few are cured. What the published remission and survival figures show, and what they can't.
- Mast Cell Tumours: What the Grade Means Conditions & cancer
Mast Cell Tumours
What the Grade Means
Your dog's lump is a mast cell tumour, and the report gives a grade and margins. What the two grading systems mean, and why the grade isn't the whole story.
- Osteosarcoma: The Amputation Decision Conditions & cancer
Osteosarcoma
The Amputation Decision
Bone cancer in dogs is painful and usually spreads. What the 2025 consensus guidelines say about amputation, chemotherapy, and palliative care.
- A Mass on the Spleen: Why "Two-Thirds Are Cancer" Is Out of Date Conditions & cancer
A Mass on the Spleen
Why "Two-Thirds Are Cancer" Is Out of Date
A splenic mass found by chance is more often benign than cancer. One that has bled is more often cancer. What recent studies show, and what to ask.
- Chemotherapy in Dogs Isn't Chemotherapy in People Conditions & cancer
Chemotherapy in Dogs Isn't Chemotherapy in People
Vets usually give dogs chemotherapy to buy good time, not to cure. What a vet hospital says about side effects, what owners report, and what's unknown.
- Cancer Screening Blood Tests for Dogs: What a Result Means Conditions & cancer
Cancer Screening Blood Tests for Dogs
What a Result Means
The leading dog cancer blood test found about half of cancers in its own validation study. What a positive and a negative mean, and what's still unproven.
- Parvovirus: Survival, Hospital Care, and the Outpatient Option Conditions & cancer
Parvovirus
Survival, Hospital Care, and the Outpatient Option
Most puppies with parvovirus survive with treatment. What hospital care offers, what outpatient care achieved in studies, and the signs that can't wait.
- Kennel Cough: When to Wait, When to Worry, and the 2023 Outbreak Conditions & cancer
Kennel Cough
When to Wait, When to Worry, and the 2023 Outbreak
Most kennel cough clears up in about 10 days without antibiotics. The signs that mean it isn't simple, and what the 2023 'mystery illness' turned out to be.
- Giardia: Does a Healthy Dog Need Treating? Conditions & cancer
Giardia
Does a Healthy Dog Need Treating?
Giardia is common in dogs and often causes no illness. What the 2026 parasite guideline says about treating dogs without symptoms, and the risk to people.
- A Positive Lyme Test in a Healthy Dog Conditions & cancer
A Positive Lyme Test in a Healthy Dog
Most dogs that test positive for Lyme never get ill. What a positive screen means, why specialists split on treating, and the urine test that matters.
- Leptospirosis: The Disease, Not the Vaccine Conditions & cancer
Leptospirosis
The Disease, Not the Vaccine
Leptospirosis can damage a dog's kidneys and liver, and it can spread to people. The signs, who is at risk, and how to protect your household during treatment.
- Ehrlichia and Anaplasma: Tick-Borne Infections, and Why Where You Live Matters Conditions & cancer
Ehrlichia and Anaplasma
Tick-Borne Infections, and Why Where You Live Matters
Ehrlichia and Anaplasma are tick-borne bacteria. Ehrlichia can hide for years and then cause bleeding. Where they're found, the signs, and why ticks are key.
- Brucella canis and Imported Rescue Dogs: The Real Risk to You Conditions & cancer
Brucella canis and Imported Rescue Dogs
The Real Risk to You
UK cases of Brucella canis rose sharply after 2020, mostly in dogs from Eastern Europe. What the risk to people is, what a test can tell you, and what helps.
- Antibiotic-Resistant Skin Infections (MRSP) Conditions & cancer
Antibiotic-Resistant Skin Infections (MRSP)
Your dog's skin swab came back MRSP. What a resistant staph infection means, why it's usually treatable, and what the guidelines say about your household.
- Corneal Ulcers, and Why Flat-Faced Dogs Get Them Conditions & cancer
Corneal Ulcers, and Why Flat-Faced Dogs Get Them
A squinting, watering eye can be a corneal ulcer. Why flat-faced breeds are 11 times as likely to get one, and why a painful eye needs a vet now.
- Cherry Eye: Surgery Options and Recurrence Conditions & cancer
Cherry Eye
Surgery Options and Recurrence
A red lump in the corner of a young dog's eye is usually cherry eye. Why vets put the gland back rather than remove it, and what's known about recurrence.
- Dry Eye (KCS): Why Treatment Is Usually Lifelong Conditions & cancer
Dry Eye (KCS)
Why Treatment Is Usually Lifelong
Thick, sticky eye discharge can be dry eye. Which breeds are most at risk, why the drops usually can't stop, and why a yearly tear test makes sense.
- Entropion: When the Eyelid Rolls In, and Which Breeds Get It Conditions & cancer
Entropion
When the Eyelid Rolls In, and Which Breeds Get It
Entropion is an eyelid that rolls inward and rubs the eye. What a study of 2.25 million UK dogs found about breeds, age, signs and surgery.
- Histiocytoma: The Lump in Young Dogs That Often Goes Away Conditions & cancer
Histiocytoma
The Lump in Young Dogs That Often Goes Away
Histiocytomas are benign skin tumours that often shrink on their own. A Portuguese study shows which dogs get them, at what age, and where on the body.
- Insulinoma: When Seizures or Collapse Are Caused by Low Blood Sugar Conditions & cancer
Insulinoma
When Seizures or Collapse Are Caused by Low Blood Sugar
A UK study of 278 dogs with insulinoma found seizures, weakness and collapse were the usual signs, and dogs that had surgery lived longer. What that means.
- Alabama Rot (CRGV): What the First UK Case Series Found Conditions & cancer
Alabama Rot (CRGV)
What the First UK Case Series Found
In the first UK series of 30 dogs with skin sores and kidney failure from CRGV, all died. What the paper found, and why the data are now old.
- Protein-Losing Enteropathy in Pugs: What UK Vet Records Show Conditions & cancer
Protein-Losing Enteropathy in Pugs
What UK Vet Records Show
Of 51 UK Pugs diagnosed with protein-losing gut disease, 43% died of it, more than half within three months. Diarrhoea was the most common sign.
- Lungworm: Slugs, Coughing, and Bleeding Conditions & cancer
Lungworm
Slugs, Coughing, and Bleeding
Lungworm is spread by slugs and snails and has spread across the UK. Most dogs cough, but some bleed. What a 2026 review says about risk and prevention.
- Bone Cancer in Dogs: Which Breeds and Body Shapes Are at Risk Conditions & cancer
Bone Cancer in Dogs
Which Breeds and Body Shapes Are at Risk
In UK vet records, bone cancer was rare overall but far more common in big, long-legged breeds such as Scottish Deerhounds, Leonbergers and Great Danes.
- Fatty Lumps (Lipomas): Which Dogs Get Them, and Why They Still Need Checking Conditions & cancer
Fatty Lumps (Lipomas)
Which Dogs Get Them, and Why They Still Need Checking
About 2% of UK dogs had a lipoma recorded in a year. Older, heavier dogs and breeds such as Weimaraners and Labradors were most at risk.
- Haemangiosarcoma: What UK Vet Records Show About Survival Conditions & cancer
Haemangiosarcoma
What UK Vet Records Show About Survival
In UK first-opinion practice, nearly half of dogs diagnosed with haemangiosarcoma died on the day of diagnosis. Skin tumours did far better.
- Tick-Borne Brain Infections in UK Dogs: What Six Cases From 2021 Show Conditions & cancer
Tick-Borne Brain Infections in UK Dogs
What Six Cases From 2021 Show
In 2021, six UK dogs that had never travelled developed brain or spinal cord inflammation linked to a tick-borne virus. Three were put to sleep.
- Which Dogs Get Diabetes? What a UK Register of 1,072 Cases Shows Conditions & cancer
Which Dogs Get Diabetes? What a UK Register of 1,072 Cases Shows
Samoyeds had about 23 times the odds of diabetes of crossbreeds in a UK register. One in ten adult cases was an unspayed female.
- Leishmaniosis in UK Dogs: Nearly Every Case Was Imported Conditions & cancer
Leishmaniosis in UK Dogs
Nearly Every Case Was Imported
Of 976 UK dogs with leishmaniosis in 2019, all but 21 came from abroad. Most were diagnosed before they arrived, but some tested negative first.
- MUO, the Brain Inflammation Without a Known Cause: Which Dogs Get It Conditions & cancer
MUO, the Brain Inflammation Without a Known Cause
Which Dogs Get It
In 1,121 English referral cases, MUO peaked at about four years old. Maltese, Papillons and French Bulldogs were among the breeds at highest odds.
At the vet
- Vet Bills, Medicines and Decisions: What You're Paying For, and What You Can Ask At the vet
Vet Bills, Medicines and Decisions
What You're Paying For, and What You Can Ask
Why vet bills rose, how risky anaesthesia is, how pet insurance works, and how to buy medicines safely, with the questions you can ask your vet.
- Why Vet Bills Went Up: What the UK Competition Inquiry Found At the vet
Why Vet Bills Went Up
What the UK Competition Inquiry Found
UK vet prices rose 63% from 2016 to 2023, against 32% inflation. What the competition inquiry found, what it ordered, and when the new rules apply.
- Buying Your Dog's Medicines Online, Safely At the vet
Buying Your Dog's Medicines Online, Safely
Online pharmacies can be far cheaper for ongoing medicines. How prescriptions work, the UK fee cap, and how to check a seller is legitimate.
- How Pet Insurance Works: Policy Types, Excess, Co-Insurance and Waiting Periods At the vet
How Pet Insurance Works
Policy Types, Excess, Co-Insurance and Waiting Periods
What a pet insurance policy will and won't pay for: preexisting conditions, waiting periods, time limits and lifetime cover. No insurance links, ever.
- Free and Low-Cost Vet Care in the UK: Who Qualifies for PDSA At the vet
Free and Low-Cost Vet Care in the UK
Who Qualifies for PDSA
PDSA, a UK vet charity, offers free and low-cost care to owners on certain benefits who live near a clinic. Who qualifies, what it covers, and what it doesn't.
- How Risky Is Anaesthesia for My Dog? At the vet
How Risky Is Anaesthesia for My Dog?
About 1 in 1,000 dogs in UK practice died from anaesthetic causes within 48 hours. What raises the risk, when deaths happen, and what to ask your vet.
- Pre-Anaesthetic Bloodwork: What It Finds, and When It Matters At the vet
Pre-Anaesthetic Bloodwork
What It Finds, and When It Matters
In healthy young dogs, routine blood tests before surgery rarely changed the plan. In older dogs, they often found hidden disease. What the two studies show.
- "Finish the Course": Antibiotics for Dogs At the vet
"Finish the Course"
Antibiotics for Dogs
"Always finish the course" isn't backed by evidence. What the dog guidelines say about course length, and why you still shouldn't stop early alone.
- Compounded Medicines: What They Are and When They're Used At the vet
Compounded Medicines
What They Are and When They're Used
A compounded medicine is mixed to order, often to add flavour or change the strength. In the US, it isn't FDA-approved. What testing has found.
- Steroid Side Effects: What Owners Notice, and What Vet Records Miss At the vet
Steroid Side Effects
What Owners Notice, and What Vet Records Miss
Thirst, peeing and hunger are common on steroid tablets. What a UK records study and a US owner survey found, and why the two numbers differ.
- My Dog Has a Heart Murmur and Needs an Anaesthetic: What Your Vet Checks At the vet
My Dog Has a Heart Murmur and Needs an Anaesthetic
What Your Vet Checks
Mitral valve disease affects about 1 in 10 dogs in general practice. How vets judge anaesthetic risk when a murmur is found, and which questions to ask.
- Asking Your Vet for Options: What UK Vets and Owners Say About Tailored Care At the vet
Asking Your Vet for Options
What UK Vets and Owners Say About Tailored Care
A UK study of 417 vet professionals and 718 owners found most owners want a full range of options, but few want to be asked what they can afford.
- Can an Antibiotic Cause Dry Eye? What 2,243 Australian Dogs Showed At the vet
Can an Antibiotic Cause Dry Eye? What 2,243 Australian Dogs Showed
A sulfonamide antibiotic is known to cause dry eye in some dogs. In Australian records, definite cases were rare, about 1 in 500. What to watch for.
- Would You Know When to Call the Vet? What 1,772 UK Owners Got Wrong At the vet
Would You Know When to Call the Vet? What 1,772 UK Owners Got Wrong
In a UK study, owners judged a vet visit less urgent than vets did in 28.4% of cases. Ear infections, fleas and anal gland problems were often downplayed.
- When Something Goes Wrong at the Vet: What Owners Say They Needed At the vet
When Something Goes Wrong at the Vet
What Owners Say They Needed
In a German survey of owners who reported a vet error, most wanted open talk, an acknowledgement and responsibility. Few got an apology.
- Pain After Surgery at Home: What Owners Noticed, and Where Vets Disagreed At the vet
Pain After Surgery at Home
What Owners Noticed, and Where Vets Disagreed
In a Dutch study, owners most often noticed changes in walking and play after their dog's surgery. Their pain scores barely matched vets' scores.
- Do Owners Remember Their Dog's Diagnoses? What 309 Vet Records Showed At the vet
Do Owners Remember Their Dog's Diagnoses? What 309 Vet Records Showed
Owners and vet records agreed on most diagnosis categories, but owners missed most tartar and many cases of arthritis, cuts and Giardia.
Training & behaviour
- Training That Works, and Why: What the Evidence Says About Methods Training & behaviour
Training That Works, and Why
What the Evidence Says About Methods
What the studies show about reward-based and aversive training, collars, separation anxiety and children, and where the evidence runs out.
- Reward-Based or Aversive Training: What the Studies Found Training & behaviour
Reward-Based or Aversive Training
What the Studies Found
Dogs trained with aversive methods showed more stress in the best study we found. What that study can and can't prove, and what vets advise.
- E-Collars, Prong and Choke Collars: The Evidence and the Law Training & behaviour
E-Collars, Prong and Choke Collars
The Evidence and the Law
In the one controlled trial we found, e-collars didn't beat reward-based training. What vets advise, and where shock collars are banned.
- The "Alpha" Myth: Why Dominance Training Was Dropped Training & behaviour
The "Alpha" Myth
Why Dominance Training Was Dropped
The alpha idea came from studies of captive wolves. What the wolf researcher who studied wild packs found, and why vet behaviourists dropped it.
- Choosing a Trainer or Behaviourist: What the Titles Mean Training & behaviour
Choosing a Trainer or Behaviourist
What the Titles Mean
In the UK, anyone can call themselves a dog trainer or behaviourist. What the titles mean, what a US vet society says to look for, and when to see a vet.
- Leash Pulling: What Works Training & behaviour
Leash Pulling
What Works
Lead pulling is one of the most common complaints about young dogs. What the equipment studies measured, and why no trial has tested how to train it.
- Resource Guarding Training & behaviour
Resource Guarding
Many dogs guard food or toys. What a survey of 3,589 dogs linked to guarding, what shelter studies found after adoption, and what's still unproven.
- When Your Own Dogs Fight Each Other Training & behaviour
When Your Own Dogs Fight Each Other
Fights between dogs in the same home often follow a pattern. What two US behaviour clinic studies found about triggers, risk and outcomes.
- Separation Anxiety: Training, Medication, and What the Trials Show Training & behaviour
Separation Anxiety
Training, Medication, and What the Trials Show
Why a crate or a second dog rarely fixes separation anxiety, what the gradual-absence method involves, and where medication fits. No doses.
- Fireworks and Thunder Fear: What the Medication Trials Found Training & behaviour
Fireworks and Thunder Fear
What the Medication Trials Found
Half the dogs in one large survey feared fireworks. What a placebo-controlled trial of a vet medicine found, and what owners said about training.
- Reading Your Dog's Stress Signals Training & behaviour
Reading Your Dog's Stress Signals
Owners spot trembling and whining, but often miss yawning, lip licking and looking away. What the studies say, and why no signal means one thing.
- Dog Bites and Children: Who Gets Bitten, and What Prevention Can't Yet Promise Training & behaviour
Dog Bites and Children
Who Gets Bitten, and What Prevention Can't Yet Promise
Most bites to young children come from a dog they know, at home. What the research shows, and why no bite-prevention course has proved it works.
- When the Vet Says Walk Your Dog Less: Why Owners Struggle With It Training & behaviour
When the Vet Says Walk Your Dog Less
Why Owners Struggle With It
In a survey of 1,098 owners, 85% would cut walks for arthritis, but only 63% would for a dog's fear or aggression. What the study found, and why.
- How Common Is Fear in Dogs? What Owners of 43,517 Dogs Reported Training & behaviour
How Common Is Fear in Dogs? What Owners of 43,517 Dogs Reported
In a US survey of 43,517 dogs, owners rated 91% as at least mildly fearful in one situation. Nearly half were wary of unfamiliar dogs.
Food & supplements
- What Goes in the Bowl: Commercial Food and Supplements, Without the Marketing Food & supplements
What Goes in the Bowl
Commercial Food and Supplements, Without the Marketing
How to read a dog food label, what 'WSAVA-approved' really means, what the FDA found on grain-free food, and which joint supplements failed.
- How to Read a Dog Food Label Food & supplements
How to Read a Dog Food Label
The one statement that matters most, what the name rules mean, why the ingredient list misleads, and how to compare wet and dry food fairly.
- There Is No "WSAVA-Approved" Food Food & supplements
There Is No "WSAVA-Approved" Food
WSAVA does not approve pet foods. Its guidelines are questions to ask a manufacturer. What they ask, what they can't tell you, and who funds them.
- Grain-Free and DCM: What the FDA Found, and What Is Still Unknown Food & supplements
Grain-Free and DCM
What the FDA Found, and What Is Still Unknown
The FDA investigated grain-free food and heart disease in dogs from 2018. What it found, what two later studies add, and what to ask your vet.
- Raw Feeding: What the Pathogen Studies Found Food & supplements
Raw Feeding
What the Pathogen Studies Found
In a UK study, Salmonella turned up only in raw-fed dogs, and raw-fed dogs were far more likely to carry antibiotic-resistant gut bacteria.
- Glucosamine and Chondroitin: The Meta-Analysis Says No Food & supplements
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
The Meta-Analysis Says No
A 2022 review of 72 trials found glucosamine and chondroitin did not ease arthritis pain in dogs and cats. What did better, and what to ask your vet.
- Fish Oil for Arthritis: What the Trials Show Food & supplements
Fish Oil for Arthritis
What the Trials Show
Fish oil is one of the few joint supplements with good trial evidence in dogs. What two 2010 trials and a 2022 meta-analysis found, and the side effects.
- Probiotics for Dogs: What the Trials and Label Checks Found Food & supplements
Probiotics for Dogs
What the Trials and Label Checks Found
Probiotics are sold for diarrhoea and gut health. What a meta-analysis, a trial in 831 puppies and a check of 25 products found, and what's still unknown.
- CBD for Dogs: The Legal Position, and the Unknowns Food & supplements
CBD for Dogs
The Legal Position, and the Unknowns
In the UK, CBD for animals counts as a medicine, and Canada has authorised none. What the regulators say, and what four arthritis trials found.
- Is My Dog Overweight? Body Condition Scoring Without Guesswork Food & supplements
Is My Dog Overweight? Body Condition Scoring Without Guesswork
Most owners of overweight dogs don't see it, even with a chart. What the body condition score looks for, and what a 2014 UK study and US vet data found.
- What Extra Weight Costs a Dog: The Labrador Lifetime Study Food & supplements
What Extra Weight Costs a Dog
The Labrador Lifetime Study
In a lifelong study of 48 Labradors, the leaner dogs lived longer. What it found, what a study of 50,787 pet dogs added, and who paid for both.
- Safe Weight Loss for Dogs Food & supplements
Safe Weight Loss for Dogs
At a UK obesity clinic, just over half of obese dogs reached their target weight, and about half regained some later. What helped, and what it took.
- The 10% Rule: What Happens When Treats Replace Food Food & supplements
The 10% Rule
What Happens When Treats Replace Food
Vet groups say treats should be no more than 10% of a dog's daily calories. What a 2025 study of food and treat labels found, and what it didn't test.
- Why Dog Weight-Loss Plans Fail: The Barriers Beyond the Food Bowl Food & supplements
Why Dog Weight-Loss Plans Fail
The Barriers Beyond the Food Bowl
A 2026 review argues that treating obesity as only a diet problem misses why plans fail: owner worries, fear of walks, vet bias and hidden treats.
- Half of Dogs Get Supplements: What 40,367 US Owners Reported Food & supplements
Half of Dogs Get Supplements
What 40,367 US Owners Reported
In a US survey of 40,367 dogs, about half got supplements, most often fish oil and glucosamine. Some owners listed prescription medicines as supplements.
- Food-Obsessed Dogs and Weight: What 13,890 US Owners Reported Food & supplements
Food-Obsessed Dogs and Weight
What 13,890 US Owners Reported
Dogs rated more food-motivated were more often overweight, and Labrador-type breeds scored highest. Owners also missed overweight that vets recorded.
Senior dogs
- Is It Old Age, or Something Treatable? A Guide to Your Senior Dog Senior dogs
Is It Old Age, or Something Treatable? A Guide to Your Senior Dog
Many changes owners put down to old age are pain or illness that can be treated. What vets look for in older dogs, and when to book a visit.
- Arthritis Treatment: What Works, From Weight to Medication Senior dogs
Arthritis Treatment
What Works, From Weight to Medication
What the evidence says about treating arthritis in dogs: weight, exercise, rehabilitation, supplements and medicines, and the myths to drop.
- NSAIDs in Older Dogs: Benefits, Risks, and the Monitoring Question Senior dogs
NSAIDs in Older Dogs
Benefits, Risks, and the Monitoring Question
Anti-inflammatories help many arthritic dogs, and carry real risks. What the FDA and the evidence say, the warning signs, and what to ask about blood tests.
- Librela and the Anti-NGF Antibodies: What the Adverse-Event Reports Show Senior dogs
Librela and the Anti-NGF Antibodies
What the Adverse-Event Reports Show
A monthly arthritis injection for dogs has drawn safety warnings. What regulators and researchers found, who funded what, and what to ask your vet.
- Canine Cognitive Dysfunction: Signs, Rating Scales, and What Helps Senior dogs
Canine Cognitive Dysfunction
Signs, Rating Scales, and What Helps
Some older dogs develop a dementia-like condition. The signs, the owner questionnaires vets use, what else it could be, and what the evidence says helps.
- Senior Bloodwork and Screening: What It Finds, and What It Can't Promise Senior dogs
Senior Bloodwork and Screening
What It Finds, and What It Can't Promise
In 100 older dogs their owners thought were healthy, checks found high blood pressure, murmurs and lumps. What screening finds, and what it can't tell you.
- Incontinence in Older Dogs Senior dogs
Incontinence in Older Dogs
Leaking urine is more common in older and spayed female dogs. What a UK study of 2,135 dogs found, and why a vet should check the cause first.
- When Do Vets Start Calling a Dog Old? What UK Records Show Senior dogs
When Do Vets Start Calling a Dog Old? What UK Records Show
In UK vet notes, 95% of dogs described as old were 7.25 or over. Weight, joint, dental, skin and gut problems were the most often recorded.
Daily care
- The Everyday Care Most Dogs Need, and the Rules of Thumb Nobody Can Source Daily care
The Everyday Care Most Dogs Need, and the Rules of Thumb Nobody Can Source
Walks, chews, water and grooming come with confident rules that trace back to nothing. What the evidence says about daily care, and where it runs out.
- Nail Trimming: Which Dogs Need It Most, and Why So Many Hate It Daily care
Nail Trimming
Which Dogs Need It Most, and Why So Many Hate It
About one UK dog in 18 has its nails clipped at the vet each year. Which breeds need it most, why it's stressful, and what the evidence can't tell you.
- Bathing, Ear Cleaning and Coat Care: What Dermatology Actually Says Daily care
Bathing, Ear Cleaning and Coat Care
What Dermatology Actually Says
How often should you bathe a dog, or clean its ears? One small study and some expert advice is most of the evidence. What it says, and where it stops.
- Anal Glands: Which Dogs Have Problems, and Should They Be Expressed? Daily care
Anal Glands
Which Dogs Have Problems, and Should They Be Expressed?
About 1 in 23 dogs at UK vets has an anal gland problem each year, some breeds far more. What the data show, and why routine emptying has no evidence.
- Collar or Harness: What the Pressure Studies Show Daily care
Collar or Harness
What the Pressure Studies Show
Collars raise eye pressure and harnesses change how dogs walk. What the studies show, which claims have no evidence, and how to choose for your dog.
- How Long Can a Dog Be Left Alone? Daily care
How Long Can a Dog Be Left Alone?
Advice online ranges from 4 to 10 hours, with no study behind any of it. What the one small experiment found, and the one government guideline we read.
- Safe Chews: Bones, Antlers, Nylon and Rawhide Daily care
Safe Chews
Bones, Antlers, Nylon and Rawhide
Chewing is good for dogs, but hard chews can break teeth and bone treats have killed dogs. What the fracture study and FDA reports show, and the thumbnail test.
- Winter Hazards: Antifreeze and Ice Melt Daily care
Winter Hazards
Antifreeze and Ice Melt
Antifreeze is an emergency even if your dog seems fine. Ice melt usually isn't. The signs, the timings, and what the poison experts advise.
- Grass Awns (Foxtails): Where They End Up Daily care
Grass Awns (Foxtails)
Where They End Up
Nine in ten UK grass seed cases come between June and September, and spaniels are most at risk. Where seeds lodge, the signs, and why grooming helps.
- Blue-Green Algae: Why a Swim Can Kill Daily care
Blue-Green Algae
Why a Swim Can Kill
Toxic algal blooms kill dogs every year, often within hours. What the US case data show, how to spot risky water, and what to do if your dog swims in it.
- Toad Poisoning: Which Toads Matter, and What to Do Daily care
Toad Poisoning
Which Toads Matter, and What to Do
Most toads only make a dog drool. Cane toads and Colorado river toads can kill. Where they live, the signs, and why vets say not to make your dog vomit.
- Adder Bites (UK and Europe) Daily care
Adder Bites (UK and Europe)
Most UK dogs bitten by an adder recover, but about 1 in 20 in poison-service records died. The signs, what to do on the way to the vet, and what doesn't help.
- Rattlesnake Bites and the Rattlesnake Vaccine Daily care
Rattlesnake Bites and the Rattlesnake Vaccine
A rattlesnake bite is an emergency, vaccinated or not. What a Southern California study found about the vaccine, and what the reviews say about treatment.
- My Dog Ate a Mushroom: What 421 Cases From Norway Show Daily care
My Dog Ate a Mushroom
What 421 Cases From Norway Show
In 421 Norwegian cases checked by a mushroom expert, 45% of mushrooms dogs ate were harmless and 98.6% of dogs survived. Why identification matters.
- Does Classical Music Calm Dogs at the Groomer? A Small Study's Big Claim Daily care
Does Classical Music Calm Dogs at the Groomer? A Small Study's Big Claim
A 15-dog Polish pilot found calmer grooming with piano music. But the music sessions always came last, and the groomer did the scoring.
Travel & the law
- Your Dog, Your Rights, and Other People's Rules Travel & the law
Your Dog, Your Rights, and Other People's Rules
Border forms, banned breeds and no-pets clauses: the rules are written down, but they change and depend on where you are. A guide to the primary sources.
- Car Restraints: What the Crash Tests Do and Don't Show Travel & the law
Car Restraints
What the Crash Tests Do and Don't Show
The UK Highway Code says to restrain dogs in cars. Crash tests by a US non-profit found many harnesses failed. What those tests do and don't show.
- Taking Your Dog From Canada Into the US Travel & the law
Taking Your Dog From Canada Into the US
For a dog that has only been in Canada, the US needs one free CDC form, a microchip, a healthy dog and an age of 6 months. What the CDC says, and the catch.
- Bringing a Dog Into Great Britain Travel & the law
Bringing a Dog Into Great Britain
Microchip first, then rabies vaccine, then a 21-day wait, then tapeworm treatment 1 to 5 days before arrival. The GOV.UK rules in order, and the common traps.
- Renting With a Dog: What Landlords Can and Can't Do Travel & the law
Renting With a Dog
What Landlords Can and Can't Do
In BC a landlord can ban pets. In Ontario a no-pets clause is void. In England you can ask and the landlord must consider it. The rules, from the sources.
- When Your Dog Bites Someone: Who Is Liable Travel & the law
When Your Dog Bites Someone
Who Is Liable
In Ontario, an owner is liable for a bite even without fault. In England and Wales, the test is narrower. What each law says, and what it doesn't cover.
- Breed Bans: What the Laws Say, and Whether They Reduce Bites Travel & the law
Breed Bans
What the Laws Say, and Whether They Reduce Bites
Great Britain bans five dog types and Ontario bans pit bulls. What the laws require, and what studies from Denmark, Manitoba and a 2022 review found.
- Service Dogs, Emotional Support Animals and Therapy Dogs Travel & the law
Service Dogs, Emotional Support Animals and Therapy Dogs
Under US federal rules and in British Columbia, only trained service dogs get public access rights. What the rules say about support and therapy animals.
Tools
- Good Days, Bad Days Tools
Good Days, Bad Days
A daily quality-of-life record built on the HHHHHMM scale. It frames the decision; it does not make it. Entries stay in your browser.
- Questions for Your Vet Tools
Questions for Your Vet
Thirty questions in five groups, printable, for the appointment you will not want to think through on the day.
- Pet Loss Support, Verified Tools
Pet Loss Support, Verified
A directory of support services, each confirmed at source, with the crisis lines first.
How a page is made
We read the studies, guidelines and laws, and summarise what they say as we understand it. No vet reviews the pages. They are a place to start, and your vet is the place to finish.
- Every claimlinked to its source
- What we readfull text or abstract, stated
- Our own judgementlabelled as ours
- What we could not verifysaid out loud
- Before you actconfirm with your vet
Every article ends with a section called “What we could not verify”. How we work
- Articles written
- 236
- Published
- 220
- Waiting on a lawyer
- 16
Pages about the law wait for a lawyer before they publish. These numbers are read from the pages themselves.