Dog care, explained

Short reads about living with a dog, written from published research. Every article lists the papers it came from.

• Dog Health by Life Stage: A Preventive Care Guide from Puppy to Senior — The 2019 AAHA Canine Life Stage Guidelines, translated for owners: five stages, how often to visit, and what changes at each one.
• Canine Lymphoma: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prognosis — Lymphoma is the most common cancer in dogs, but it is not one disease. What swollen lymph nodes mean, how it is diagnosed, and what treatment can really do.
• The Canine Microbiome: How Gut Health Affects Your Dog's Whole Body — Diet shapes your dog's gut bacteria more than any supplement does. What the evidence actually supports on probiotics, faecal transplants and gut health.
• Healthy Aging in Dogs: Helping Senior Dogs Live Longer and Better — Old age is not a diagnosis. What the research says about arthritis, weight and the age-related conditions in senior dogs that are genuinely manageable.
• Hemangiosarcoma in Dogs: The Silent Cancer Owners Need to Understand — An aggressive blood-vessel cancer that usually turns up as an emergency: what a Morris Animal Foundation white paper says about risk, breeds and real odds.
• Mast Cell Tumors in Dogs: Warning Signs, Diagnosis, and Treatment — Mast cell tumours are one of the most common skin lumps in dogs, and they have no single look. Why an early needle test changes the outlook so much.
• Osteosarcoma in Dogs: Recognising and Treating Canine Bone Cancer — Bone cancer in dogs usually starts as a limp. What the research says about which dogs are at risk, why an X-ray should not wait, and what treatment can buy.
• Shelter Medicine for Dogs: How Shelters Fight Disease, Stress and Behaviour Problems — A Morris Animal Foundation white paper on why shelter dogs get sick, why stress is a medical problem, and what it means if you are adopting.
• Tick-Borne Diseases in Dogs: Symptoms, Testing, Treatment, and Prevention — Ticks are moving into new regions. The seven tick-borne diseases dogs get, why they are hard to diagnose, and the daily habit that prevents most of them.
• Waterborne Diseases in Dogs: What Owners Should Know About Unsafe Water — Leptospirosis, Giardia and blue-green algae explained: how to judge whether water is safe for your dog, and which signs mean go to the vet right now.
• Zoonotic Diseases from Dogs: What Really Passes Between Pets and People — Spillover, zoonoses and reverse zoonosis explained for dog owners, using a Morris Animal Foundation white paper, plus the prevention that actually matters.