A Coomb's test is a test for antibodies or complement (another protein/enzyme that works with antibodies) attached to the surface of red blood cells. It is possible to do a general test for these without knowing the specific antibody due to simila...

The cerebellum is the portion of the brain responsible for the control of motion. When a puppy or kitten is born with an underdeveloped cerebellum, the condition is known as congenital cerebellar hypoplasia. There are infectious causes of this con...

Chocolate contains a xanthine compound, theobromine, that is toxic in sufficient quantities. Examples of other xanthine compounds are caffeine and theophylline. The toxicity from all of these compounds is similar. It takes a fairly large amount of...

In the past, veterinarians waited for near blindness in both eyes before attempting cataract surgery. I am not sure of the reasoning behind this, but feel that it had a lot to do with the success rate of the surgery. In the past (prior to 1969), t...

Dogs generally become sick in the car because they are frightened, not because they have real motion sickness. It is necessary to reassure your dog that these fears are groundless (which might be hard depending on how you drive). You need to get y...

For many years canine distemper virus was the most feared of the viral diseases affecting dogs. Parvovirus may have surpassed it in this regard but it is still a deadly virus that kills dogs and other members of the canine family. It is also infec...

Brucellosis is a disease caused by a bacteria, Brucella canis. It is found throughout the world. It is spread through contact with aborted foetuses and discharges from the uterus of infected bitches, during mating, through maternal milk and possib...

Cute Faces, Major Health Problems If you own a Brussels Griffon, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Japanese Chin, Pekingese, Pug, Shih Tzu, or Yorkshire Terrier, you should understand the term brachycephalic.It comes the from the Greek "brachy" meani...

Anaemia is the condition in which there are fewer red blood cells than normal. Hemolytic anaemia describes the condition in which this loss of red blood cells occurs because the red cells break up (lyse). This can happen inside the blood vessels (...

Bordetella is the most common cause of tracheobronchitis (kennel cough) in dogs. It is a bacterial illness that is most common among dogs that congregate at things like shows, kennels or other places frequented by large numbers of dogs at once. It...