The field guide / Browse
Senior dog care guides: joint support, cognitive health, diet adjustments, and how to give your older dog the best years yet.
Find a useful next question, a change to record, or a topic to bring to your veterinarian.
Browse by category
All articles
I’ve been asked this question at least once a week for 15 years: how often should you bathe your dog? My answer is always: it depends. Let me break down exactly what…
Read the guide: How Often Should You Bathe Your Dog? A Vet Tech Answers
In my 15 years as a vet tech, dog ear infections are one of the most common reasons clients come in — and one of the most preventable conditions I see. Understanding…
Read the guide: Dog Ear Infections: Signs, Causes and Home Treatment Options
As a vet tech with 15 years of experience, I can tell you that the number one health issue I see in dogs isn’t what most people expect. It’s obesity. And the…
Read the guide: How to Tell If Your Dog Is Overweight (And What to Do About It)
Dental Health / Senior Dog Health
A compassionate guide from a 15-year vet tech on recognizing when a dog with cancer is suffering and how to make the most humane decision.
Read the guide: Signs It Is Time to Say Goodbye: When to Euthanize a Dog with Cancer
Dental Health / Senior Dog Health
A 15-year vet tech compares the three most popular dog joint supplements and explains exactly when to use each one.
Read the guide: Cosequin vs Dasuquin vs Zesty Paws (2026): Which Actually Works?
There’s a condition in dogs that veterinarians have nicknamed “the great pretender.” It mimics dozens of other diseases. Its symptoms — lethargy, vomiting, weakness, weight loss,...
Read the guide: Addison’s Disease in Dogs: The Diagnosis That Comes After Every Other Test Fails
In October of his last year, Cooper’s oncologist used the phrase “comfort-focused care.” It was her gentle way of saying we’d moved past treatment and into something...
Read the guide: Dog Hospice Care: What I Learned in Cooper’s Last 3 Months
I want to tell you about the eighteen months I spent explaining away Cooper’s symptoms. He started drinking more water around age nine. “He’s always been a drinker,” I told...
Read the guide: Cushing’s Disease in Dogs: The Signs I Missed in Cooper for 18 Months
Dog Nutrition / Senior Dog Health
For nine years, Cooper ate the same food. A well-regarded adult dry kibble, a reputable brand, the kind that comes in a 35-pound bag and feels like you’re doing right by your…
Read the guide: Best Dog Food for Senior Dogs: What I Changed After Cooper’s Diagnosis
Cooper wasn’t anxious about most things. But thunderstorms — and to a lesser extent, fireworks — turned him into a different dog. He’d start pacing about twenty minutes before I could...
Read the guide: Dog Anxiety: What Actually Works (I Tried CBD, Thunder Shirts, and Medication)