This is a condition in which the esophageal muscles lose their strength and the esophagus dilates to a much larger size. Usually dogs with this condition regurgitate food as well as water but I have seen at least one other dog that started out jus...

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterial organism, Borrelia burgdorferi . It is carried by Ixodes species of ticks and may have other tick or insect carriers. Your vet can tell you whether it is necessary to protect against this disease in your area....

This is a rare disease of the immune system. In this disease, the immune system forms antibodies against the nuclear component of its own cells. This can cause a variety of effects but the most common ones are arthritis, kidney disease, skin disea...

Discoid lupus is an immune mediated skin disease that is probably related to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but instead of affecting the whole body as SLE does, it primarily affects the nose and face. As far as I know, there is no known cause ...

Liver shunts are a congenital problem in some dogs. During gestation the placenta delivers blood with food and oxygen from the mother through the umbilical vein. This means that in the fetus, circulation is the reverse of circulation after birth, ...

This is actually a bacterial disease, so the protective "vaccination" is actually a "bacterin". In many areas of the country, this disease is not common and the leptospirosis portion of the vaccine combinations is thought to be the most common cau...

Lipomas are fatty cell tumours that are quite common in dogs. They usually show up in older dogs but we have seen them in puppies as young as 5 or 6 months on occasion. One of the younger dogs we saw did have the malignant form of this tumour whic...

Leishmaniasis is caused by a protozoan in the Leishmania species. Skin disease, polyarthritis (arthritis in multiple joints), mucosal disorders (lumps on tongue, gums, etc.), damage to internal organs and possibly bleeding disorders. It is diagnos...

(aseptic or avascular necrosis of the femoral head) Avascular necrosis occurs when the bone that makes up the ball portion of the hip is damaged from lack of blood supply. The reasons this occurs are not clear. Since a higher incidence of this dis...

There are times when diabetes occurs secondary to another problem, particularly immune mediated disorders and other hormonal illnesses. Genetic factors, obesity, some medications such as progesterones and chronic pancreatitis have also been associ...