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Your Dog’s Health
We know that your dog's health is important to you. The information here will be helpful whether your dog is healthy or affected by a disease. Please remember that the AKC Canine Health Foundation does not have a veterinarian on staff, and this information cannot substitute for the advice of your veterinarian.
Disease Descriptions: general overviews of canine disease including prevention, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments and care.
Caring for Your Dog: information about dog training, safety, healthy weight, pet loss and much more.
Dog Health Articles: the articles below contain more detailed information on canine health issues. They can be filtered by research area.
A Clean Bill of Health July 13, 2010
Information about the steps you can take to make sure your new dog is healthy.
Bone Cancer in Dogs May 20, 2010
An overview of bone cancer, how it is diagnosed, options for treatment, expected outcomes, and new information that will help us improve strategies for prevention, control, and treatment of primary osteosarcoma in dogs and children alike.
Vaccines and Vaccination Protocols February 11, 2010
The purpose of a vaccine is to mimic an infection so that the immune system is introduced to the pathogens that will cause protective immunity without causing clinical disease. There are several types of vaccines and some are core (recommended) and others are optional.
Healthy Weight for Dogs January 1, 2010
Tips for how to keep your dog the right weight through proper diet and exercise.
Clinical Trials Offer Novel Cancer Therapies October 23, 2009
David Vail, D.V.M., DACVIM-Oncology, professor of oncology and director of the Center for Clinical Trials and Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, advocates to owners whose dogs are diagnosed with aggressive forms of cancer to consider participating in clinical trials whenever possible.
Tailoring Immunonutrition for Individual Dogs October 23, 2009
Immune function plays an important role in a dog’s health and well-being. A key ingredient of healthy immune function is good nutrition, or simply put, what a dog eats.
Collapsing Trachea September 18, 2009
A persistent cough that at times turned into an obnoxious hacking, honking clatter landed a Yorkshire Terrier named “Charlie” at the University of Pennsylvania Ryan Veterinary Hospital. The 6-year-old, 7-pound Yorkie had a collapsing trachea, a potentially life-threatening condition in which the windpipe collapses, cutting off airflow to and from the lungs.
Surgery for Extrahepatic Liver Shunts September 18, 2009
A condition common in toy and small breeds, liver shunts occur when dogs develop an abnormal blood vessel, the shunt, connecting the portal vein to the vena cava, the large vein in the abdomen that carries blood from the back of the legs to the heart.
Treating Bladder and Kidney Stones September 18, 2009
When a 7-year-old, 6-pound Yorkshire Terrier named “Sasha” came to Ryan Veterinary Hospital in 2006 from Florida for treatment of a very large kidney stone, her owners were relieved there was a minimally invasive treatment option.
Canine Lymphoma August 30, 2009
An overview of canine lymphoma, the available treatments and research on the disease.
Help Future Generations of Dogs
Participate in canine health research by providing samples or by enrolling in a clinical trial. Samples are needed from healthy dogs and dogs affected by specific diseases.
Learn How to Help
Browse our Research
Search our research portfolio to see what research we are funding on a particular disease.
Make a Tribute
When you make a memorial donation we will post a photo of your dog to our Celebration Wall gallery.
Tell Us Your Story
Why do you support canine health research? What motivates you in the fight against canine disease? We want to hear from you.
