The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook

The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook is a superb, reassuring, and comprehensive work. "Dr. Spock for dogs."—Elle magazine wrote of its first edition, originally published as The Hound Health Handbook, and now completely revised and updated.

Today's dog owners are more attuned to their pets' health and well-being than ever before. And with good reason: Americans spend upward of $10 billion annually on their canine companions. The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook is the one essential and truly readable book for these devoted dog owners. Surpassingly clear and complete, with more than 100 illustrations and diagrams, it covers everything from choosing the best dog to puppy care, nutrition, vaccines, behavior, first aid, and senior care, plus thorough discussions of more than 100 canine illnesses. Reflecting the latest advances in veterinary medicine, this edition offers up-to-the-minute advice on "design dog" breeds, pet food safety, homemade diets, changing vaccine protocols, new medications for allergies, car sickness, obesity, and heart disease, developments in surgery and cancer treatment, pet insurance, and more.

With The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook, the vet is always in.

Betsy Brevitz, D.V.M., had a ten-year career as a magazine writer and editor before becoming a veterinarian. A 1998 graduate of the highly regarded Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, she now lives and practices in northern New Jersey. This book originated with her “Ask the Vet” column for the acclaimed website Urbanhound.com.

Foreword to the New Edition
Introduction

Part 1: Preventative Health Care

Chapter 1: Choosing a Healthy Dog or Puppy 
Chapter 2:  Raising a Healthy Puppy
Chapter 3:  Keeping Your Adult and Senior Dog Healthy

Part 2:  Common Canine Illnesses

Chapter 4:  Allergies, Itching, and Other Skin Diseases
Chapter 5:  Vomiting, Diarrhea, and Other Digestive Ailments
Chapter 6:  Worms, Fleas, Ticks, and Other Creepy-Crawlers
Chapter 7:  Mental Health and Behavior Problems
Chapter 8:  Eye and Ear Diseases
Chapter 9:  Bones, Joints, and Arthritis
Chapter 10:  The Heart and Circulation
Chapter 11:  Colds, Coughs, and Other Respiratory Problems 
Chapter 12:  Diabetes and Other Endocrine Diseases
Chapter 13:  Seizures and Other Neurological Diseases
Chapter 14:  The Bladder, Kidneys, and Reproductive Tract
Chapter 15:  Blood and Lymph Disorders
Chapter 16:  Cancer and Cancer Treatment
Chapter 17:  When the End Is Near

Part 3: Quick Reference

Chapter 18:  First Aid Basics and Poison Control
Chapter 19:  ABC Guide to Injuries and Emergencies

Part 4: Healthy Dog Resources

Appendix A: Pet Health Insurance
Appendix B: Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Appendix C: Finding a Veterinary Specialist
Appendix D: Helpful Websites for Dog Owners
Index
Veterinary Emergency Numbers

The indispensable medical reference for every dog-owning household. Written by a veterinarian with a gift for presenting complex information in a lively, accessible way, this book covers everything from choosing the right puppy (or adopting the perfect adult) to caring for the senior dog. It thoroughly discusses more than 100 canine illnesses, and includes the most up-to-date information on pet food safety, “designer” dog breeds, homemade diets, vaccine protocols, obesity and heart disease, pet insurance, and more.

No subject is too small, complicated or embarrassing:

• My puppy’s teeth are falling out. What is wrong?
• Do dogs with heart disease need a special diet or exercise restrictions?
• Should I soak my dog’s cracked footpads?
• What can be done for a dog with hip dysplasia?
• Is a vegetarian diet healthy for dogs?
• My dog has terrible breath. Is there a treatment?
• I don’t like using pesticides. Is there a less toxic approach to flea control?
• My dog licks his paws constantly—why, and how can we get him to stop?
• Do some dogs get senile as they get older? What are the symptoms?