Learn about weaning, feeding, supplements and natural approach to vaccination

While one could think that puppies are born with a clean slate, the reality is that they often carry “a baggage full of problems” from previous generations.  These problems are not just genetic. It appears that puppies are also burdened by the imbalances and health issues  of their parents that were exposed to excessive vaccination, poor nutrition, stress and the use of immune-suppressive drugs such as anti-inflammatory and corticosteroids .

I am saying this because many people who get a new dog question what they have done wrong while they really have done everything right.

STEP 1 – BEWARE OF PUPPY MILLS

If you are planning to get a puppy, the most generous way is to choose one from a rescue shelter.   Not only will you feel great about your decision but you will also give a home to a dog that would otherwise continue to suffer or be euthanized if a suitable home is not found.

If you would rather get a puppy from a breeder, just promise that you will stay away from puppy mills, suspicious ads and pet store bought puppies.

Puppy mill owners (ab)use dogs as breeding machines. They lock them in cages, rarely walk them and most of them suffer tremendously.  Beside the endless suffering, puppies of these dogs often end up with serious irreversible health issues that even a miracle healer or a vet will not be able to solve.  I am warning you right here that treating these problems will suck your pocket dry and break your heart.

If you feel the urge to “rescue” a puppy mill puppy, buying one creates more demand which is exactly what the puppy broker or puppy mill owner wants.  Not buying one will make them go bankrupt and hopefully they will surrender the dogs to authorities.

I suggest that if you can’t find the dog of your liking in your area, there are many homeless dogs in “kill shelters” all over the US or in third world countries.

STEP 2 NURSING AND FOOD

Feeding dogs is another fiery topic and writing about it is like poking in a wasp nest.  I am planning to right on food more in the next issue and will only mention that good puppy nutrition starts with a well fed mother.

After more than a decade of feeding and recommending a raw, species appropriate diet, my clients and I have witnessed a huge difference between dogs fed processed and raw food.  Because I have repeatedly seen longer lives, less medical issues, shinier and healthier coats, better mobility, less chronic disease and cancer there is no way I would switch back to kibble.

Do you too wonder why processed pet food companies making kibble offer retailes and vet a wholesome fresh food at their lectures?

STEP 3 SUPPLEMENTS

Most people understand the role of vitamins and perhaps omega oils are in health.  However, many are unaware that the most common causes of disease and premature aging are mineral deficiencies.

Not one single mineral can be manufactured by the body and minerals are severely depleted in even in organic foods.  The main reason is intensive agriculture and excessive soil exploitation and fatigue.

That is why any pregnant or lactating mother should be getting these basic supplements:

Essential minerals and heavy metal detox,for example GreenMin

Multi-vitamins (Whole food probiotic based supplement)

High quality Omega Oils.

Non-dairy based live Probiotics to promote good digestion and proper immune system function.

The most well known issue of mineral deficiency in pregnant and nursing bitches is lack of blood calcium in pregnant or nursing bitches – eclampsia. One of the causes of postpartum eclampsia is under functioning parathyroid gland which leads to slower release of calcium.  However, proper function of the pituitary gland also depends on the presence of other minerals and nutrients.

Feeding lactating bitches balanced diet and supplements is equally essential for the well being of puppies and their development.  If you are tempted to purchase cheap synthetic vitamins, just remember that because there is a difference between a plastic orange, orange juice and a wholesome orange, there is also a difference between synthetically made vitamins, natural extracts or whole food based vitamins.  Because we can’t make food in a chemical lab, synthetic supplements are always going to be “the plastic” orange of nutrition.

STEP 4 WEANING PUPPIES

Just recently, I saw a mother at Wholefoods feeding her baby by squeezing baby food from a tube. I watched her and wondered if she knew that this “baby food” ha a fraction of the nutritional value of fresh food that she could blend and prepare fresh at home.

It is an example of how blinded we have been by marketing and advertising. Many people are convinced that feeding sterilized, pasteurized food is somehow better.  Nature doesn’t make baby or puppy food and that is why I recommend feeding puppies the same high quality raw food as you would feed an adult.

Starting 3 – 4 weeks of age, you can introduce high quality raw food by  feeding the mothers in the pen with puppies that will gradually start eating it.  By the time puppies are 8 weeks old and ready to come home, they should be eating a variety of meats, veggies, eggs and  chewing on raw bones to massage their gums and promote healthy teeth and bone development.

I am not a big fan of giving milk products mainly because in nature, milk is not a part of the canine diet as soon as puppies are weaned.

Just don’t forget to give your puppy vitamins, omega oils, minerals and probiotics to keep it strong and healthy.

STEP 5 VACCINES

I am relieved that there are now research studies available that confirm that the practice of yearly dog vaccination has absolutely no scientific basis and that most dogs immunity lasts at least 8 years and possibly even a lifetime.

Vaccines are another fiery topic. All I can do is to give you my humble opinion and suggestions.

• Natural immunity obtain from the milk of mothers persist in most puppies until 12 – 16 weeks of age.
• Vaccinating puppies before 12 weeks will “wipe” out the maternal antibodies which leaves puppies more vulnerable to infections.
• Vaccines contain serious carcinogens such as “thimerosal” (that contains mercury),  formaldehyde and other chemicals.
• Most people are unaware that vaccines are often produced by infecting and sacrificing healthy animals.   To me, the notion of killing one to save another is insane and I feel obligated to inform you about this practice.
• Vaccines can also cause chronic often life long disease that resembles the disease that they are supposed to prevent.  Some good examples are digestive problems, skin issue or mental and behavioral changes that disappear after neutralizing the effects vaccines have with homeopathic remedies.
• Most vaccines bypass the natural entry gates of infection such as mouth or the airways and this is a severe shock to the immune system.  How would you feel if a person entered your house through breaking the windows (the analogy for an injection) as opposed to ringing the bell?
• The administration of multiple antigen vaccines is also a very unnatural way of creating immunity. In nature, usually only one serious disease pathogen would be present at the time allowing the body to fully focus on one pathogen.  Giving combination vaccines makes the immune system overwhelmed the same way you would if you are working on several major projects at the same time.

Here is an immunity protocol that I have been using in my practice for years.

• Never vaccinate your puppy before 12 weeks of age if you have the choice
• If your puppy has been vaccinated early, any medical condition may or may not be a vaccine side effect. I recommend consulting an open minded holistic practitioner who knows how to recognize vaccine related issues.
• If you suspect vaccination side-effects you can safely administer a homeopathic  remedy Thuja 30 C or Thuja 200 C – 1 dose to neutralize vaccination side effects.
• Maternal antibodies protect puppies fully until 12 – 16 weeks. When your puppy is 12 weeks old get a parvovirus and distemper “antibody titer test” done.
• If any antibody level is present, retest at the age of 5 months and socialize your puppy on a moderate basis with other dogs. Your puppy will learn the “ropes” by being in the company of other canines and its exposure to pathogens while it is protected will stimulate the production of their own antibodies. This is in fact natures “way of vaccination” and this is exactly what vaccine companies don’t want you to know.
• To me, any level of antibodies suggests protection despite some labs reporting low titers as insufficient. In fact, no one can say what levels are or aren’t low.  I have never seen parvo or distemper in dogs that have had even a low positive titer.
• If your puppy tested negative for antibodies consider vaccination with one antigen of parvovirus (not a combination) at 12  weeks and distemper 4 weeks later.
• Retest for antibodies 1 month and then 2-3 months after the vaccine and then 2 – 3 months later.
• If your puppy’s titer continues to be negative, you will have to make a decision about   which risk is higher – boosters or the incidence of an infectious disease.
• Never use vaccines for Kennel Cough, Lymes disease and Giardia as they have the highest side-effect causing properties.
• If you live in an area with rabies, the vaccine may need to be given, however, give it at least 4 weeks from other vaccination and talk to your veterinarian about the rabies incidence in your area.

It may be shock to you but many healthy puppies maintain lifetime antibodies with zero vaccination except for rabies.

To summarize, no one can give you 100% guarantee that your puppy will not get infected with or without vaccines.  In my practice, I always try to avoid them whenever possible.

With gratitude,

If you have been in our community for some time, you most likely know about my efforts to provide you with knowledge about natural disease prevention.

 Good health is like the spring that feeds the river of a good and fun life.

What is your picture of a good life? What are your dreams? What makes your heart sing?

To me, a good life is to be able to care well for those I love, to have a lifes purpose and to have enough time to spend with my family and friends. In my world, a good life is taking Skai to Europe and showing him the places I grew up or making the wild dream of taking him to Hawaii real.

Skai is very lucky but making his life good is not a frivolous indulgence. Caring for him helps me to make a clear statement that every two or four legged soul deserves good food, safety, protection and love.

It is sometimes depressing that there are so many helpless animals and children who suffer unnecessarily. They are hungry, mistreated or suffer from the consequences of lack of food, resources or proper medical knowledge.

In my eyes, Skai represents a symbol of change and hope for a better world.

We have a lot to learn from our animal friends, because they have no problem living in harmony with nature and their history is not lined with war, greed and destruction.

People often complain about the evil corporations as the symbol of greed and destruction of our planet. However, we need to be reminded that these companies would not exist if we, as a collective, didn’t use their products, for example drugs.

This is not to say that drugs are not useful especially in an emergency or a life threatening situation. However, 90% of healthcare problems can be solved better without the use of toxic drugs.

We all should do more and speak louder to our governments to make sure that doctors, who are often caught between a rock and a hard place, have access to knowledge about natural principles of healing.

In the ideal world, doctors should not need to be afraid of being ostracized, marginalized and even legally prosecuted, when they use natural treatments in place of toxic and often damaging drugs. The continuous lobbying of drug companies to push natural products out of the marketplace under the cover to make us safe is ridiculous because pharmaceutical drugs kill more people than any natural treatment ever will.  

Many people tell me that they have been feeling down about the state of the world or the health of their loved ones; not knowing what to do.

I feel that the “feeling down” is just a wake up call from the Universe to start searching for a solution. Sometimes things have to get bad before they get better. The good news is that most of the current health issues can be easily solved by using natural methods before they get serious.

Every week, I read about some of your concerns about the state of veterinary care or the health problems your animal friends have been faced with.

While I will always do my best to be there for you no matter what the health problem is, I hope you will take the opportunity to learn how to prevent these in the future by attending my webinars.

You can also make a huge difference in the lives of others by telling them that there is a natural choice.

With much gratitude,

PS:

Make sure to bookmark 0ur webinar information page to stay informed about our  upcoming webinars.

http://www.peterdobias.com/community/webinars/

Hi everyone,

many of you have been following the story of Indiana, the dog of our client Karen from Toronto.  Several weeks back, Karen was told by her local vet to put Indiana down. Even a panel of 5 veterinary specialists thought that Indy must had had cancer metastases since he was diagnosed with organ lymphoma 18 months ago. To their surprise they found nothing and  Karen kindly shared her story with us.  If she didn’t go with the voice of her heart, Indy would not be alive.

If  you have not read the original article,  click here first before you go on reading the lines below.  Otherwise, here is the update:

When I was a veterinary student,  I didn’t  even question the possibility that vaccines  could cause harm. I was taught that they are the cornerstone of health and must be given. However, as I went on to practice, I  realized that vaccines are not that safe.

In the first few years of practice, I not only saw severe acute vaccine  reactions, but also clear onset of a variety of health problems soon after vaccination.  I  also saw several cats with feline fibro sarcoma, a type of tumor that has been confirmed to appear in the vaccination site of  1 out of 1000 cats.

I naturally started to ask the question “if you and I would be willing to get vaccinated if there was a 1: 1000 chance of getting cancer,  why were vets not  obligated to tell their clients that this risk was there?”

From my perspective, injection of any artificial substance, especially mercury and formaldehyde containing substance cannot create a greater state of health.

Under the natural conditions, pathogens mainly affect the individuals who’s immune system is weakened.  Most bacteria or viruses enter through the mouth, respiratory tract  with the exception of rabies.

The immune system has time to prepare for the unwelcome visitors and in most cases respond by eradicating the pathogen before it gets a chance to grow and spread.  It would also be rare to have more then one serious pathogen  attacking the body at the same time.

In contrast, vaccines introduce multiplex pathogens by an injection that bypasses natural gateways.  This  situation can be compared to someone entering your bedroom window in the middle of the night instead of ringing the bell. How would you feel?

Over  the years, I have heard both sides. The one of the drug and vaccine  companies telling me that ‘vaccines are safe’ and the one of anti-vaccine proponents  saying  that ‘they are damaging to health.’

First, I was unsure about who to trust.  However, after more than 20 years in practice, I can see that the pets with  fewer or  no vaccines  do much better than those who get  vaccinated. 

Here is some important information:

1. Vaccines contain dangerous carcinogens and disease causing chemicals such as mercury and formaldehyde.
2. Vaccines are sometimes made by infecting healthy laboratory animals, including dogs, cats and horses, which causes endless unnecessary suffering. To me it doesn’t make sense to kill an animal to save another.  When I was a student, I  saw these poor souls locked in isolation for a lifetime, most  often loosing their lives under torturous conditions.
3. I have observed time and again that early vaccination can neutralize natural maternal antibodies and leave your puppy unprotected.
 In reality, puppies and kittens vaccinated at 8 – 12 weeks end up more vulnerable to the diseases.
4. Vaccines have the ability to cause symptoms similar to the disease they are trying to prevent.
5. Combination vaccines often overwhelm the body and cause immune system problems.
6. Repeated exposure to vaccines can create toxic build up and serious chronic disease or even cancer.

 What  can you do to keep your dog disease free?

1. Maternal antibodies protect puppies fully until around the age of 10 – 16 weeks.
2. When your puppy is 12 weeks old get an “antibody titer test” done that is available in most veterinary clinics.
3. The most concerning diseases are distemper, parvovirus and leptospirosis. Most clinics run just the first two tests.
4. If any antibody level is present, retest at the age of 5 months and socialize your puppy on a moderate basis with other dogs.
 Your puppy will learn to communicate and interact with other dogs by being in their presence and contact with other dogs will stimulate the  production of antibodies by being exposed while being protected by maternal antibodies. This is in fact natures “way of vaccination.”
5. From my perspective,  any antibody presence is sufficient despite some labs claiming that  there is a low (insufficient) antibody levels. I have not  seen any dogs with antibody presence getting sick.
6. While no method can provide you with 100% guarantee, I have not seen any dogs who have got parvo or distemper since starting to use this protocol in the late 90’s.

What to do if your dog has been tested for no antibodies

1. Early vaccination before 12 weeks of age often neutralizes or blocks the maternal immunity. Vaccines simply destroy maternal antibodies by binding to them.
2. If a titer test confirms presence of no antibodies, you may consider vaccination with one antigen of parvovirus ( not a combination ) at 12  weeks
 and distemper 4 weeks later
.
3. Avoid boosters and unnecessary vaccine exposure by getting a “titer test “done 1 month after the last vaccine and then 2 – 3 months later
4. Do not use vaccines for Kennel Cough, Lyme disease and Giardia – they have the highest side-effect causing properties. I have seen many dogs vaccinated for Lyme disease having symptoms of arthritis at the age of 2 – 3 years old. This vaccine has not been approved for people because of safety issues. 
Kennel cough is a self-limiting disease similar to a cold. Vaccine causes very frequent side effects – kennel cough itself.
5. If you live in an area with rabies, the vaccine may need to be given, however, give it at least 4 – 8 weeks from other vaccination.
6. Never give more than 1 antigen at a time.

How to reduce the chance of vaccination  side effects

1. Never vaccinate your dog before 12 weeks of age if you have the choice
2. If your puppy has been vaccinated early, any medical condition may or may not be a vaccine side effect.
  Some of these side effects may persist for a year or a life time.
3. Consult an open minded holistic practitioner who knows how to recognize vaccine related issues.
4. If you see problems appearing within 1 – 2 months after vaccination, it is safe to administer 2 doses of homeopathic remedy Thuja 200 C 2 weeks apart

Conclusion

Based on my experience, healthy puppies may not need any vaccination and maintain their antibodies (protection) for a life time. This is the safest way.

It is evident that none or minimal vaccine protocol is safer that regular vaccination.

Vaccines can cause serious side-effects that are often not noticed or recognized by conventional medicine.

No one can give you 100% guarantee that your puppy will not get infected with or without vaccines.

Healthy food, fresh water, the right amount of exercise and low stress level is the best disease prevention.

Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM

NOTE: If you currently work with a practitioner, day care or boarding facility that demands vaccines, remember that it is you who makes the final decision. Be polite, state your request clearly and notice how much you can stand your ground. If you find them not respecting your wishes, choose another service care provider.

If there is one condition that people ask  about the most, it is allergies. I hope that the upcoming Allergy series will bring you more clarity and  relief to your dog if he or she too is   trapped in the world of allergies or conditions that resemble them.

Our own experiences shape our perception about our healthcare

My grandfather was a herbalist and my father was a conventional veterinarian and by the time I was six years old, I was the Quinea pig for both. I was given herbal teas and medicine and my father used to think that there was no difference between prescribing medication for people and animals. Because he had the access to prescription drugs and considered the visits to the family doctor a waste of time, he gave us antibiotics for every cold, anti-histamines for allergies and corticosteroids for every pimple on his own.

Trapped in the cage of old beliefs

When I got to vet school, it was because I felt I wanted to figure out healing with more than a cook book approach to medicine. We were taught how to prescribe drugs or perform a surgery but seldom, if ever, we were taught approaching each patient as an individual. Our teachers simply were not aware that the disease symptoms are only the signals of the body that it is out of balance and all they could do was to teach us what they were taught. It  also applied to allergies.

I am sure the teachers  meant well. None of them were taught that drugs that are sometimes life saving often  degrade and erodes the  health health we want to restore.

I compare the situation of prescribing drugs to using a credit card. We use it knowing that eventually the statement will come and we will have to pay the balance. If we don’t, we will have to pay the balance plus interest. In the case of drugs, the interest equals the drug side-effect.

A post graduation wake up call

When I graduated from vet school, I started to realize that conventional medicine was not the answer for many health problems. I saw the damage caused by overused drugs and feeding junky processed food. In the mean time, my allergies to animal hair were getting out of control and I knew that if I wanted to continue practicing, I had to heal my allergies and anti-histamins were not working. I also wanted to figure out why so many so called “allergic” dogs and cats didn’t  respond to the conventional treatments and their health continues to deteriorate.

I started to explore more holistic approaches to healing, examined, observed and studied thousands of patients and gradually  realized that more than 80% of all conditions diagnosed as allergies are not true allergies.

In the mean time,  I was also able to cure my allergies with a combination of better diet, cleansing my body and working with several different practitioners from homeopaths, energy healers, chiropractors, osteopaths and physiotherapist.  Thanks to the “misfortune” of having allergies, I   understand them better.  The good news is that  most allergic people and pets could be allergy free with applying a few relatively simple steps and this is what I want to share with you in my upcoming allergy series.

Humility vs. arrogance

I am very grateful to all my patients, clients, teachers for the wisdom they brought to me. It would be easy to  overlook some amazing solutions to a problem, just because they often appear to be “too simple.” The treatment of allergies may be one good example.

I am saying this with humility of knowing that I don’t always succeed. It is simply because there is still so much to learn about medicine.  In fact I believe that the biggest threat to good medicine is the arrogance of thinking that “we know.” 

In the following chapters of the Allergy series, I would like to share with you what I have learned about allergies and how you can make a difference in the life of your dog if he or she is suffering from allergies.

I also hope that the information will make you give  your own health a thought and  increase the chances of healthy, happy and long life.

Stay tuned, I will do my best to post one articles a week about Allergies.

With gratitude,

To subscribe for articles about allergies and more news, click here

If your  dog has cut his paw,  here is a simple natural  approach.

If you are  out an  about and the wound  is bleeding, rinse it if you can with the water  from a tap or water bottle vigorously and bandage it or use a piece  of cloth to apply a pressure bandage.  From here , you have 2 options.

Options A: Wounds that superficial and not  gaping more than 2 mm.

1. Rinse  it  with  water  or saline solution vigorously –  not too hot , otherwise  you would burn the cells that  are supposed to heal.
2. Dry wound  with gauze or  clean towel.
3. Apply Healing Solution on a piece of gauze  liberally and bandage it to the foot using Vetrap or another self sticking bandage material.  You can use a light bandage.
4. Change bandage ideally 2x  daily  for 3  - 7 days depending on how deep and severe the injury is.
5. If you  live in a wet  area, you can put a plastic bootie or thick plastic bag  on when walking outside.

Option B:  In wounds that are deeper (more than 5 mm or gaping more than 2 mm)  stitches may be needed.

I usually  go for light sedation  and local anesthetic as opposed to local anesthetic  only.  Local  anesthetic stings and dogs can get really traumatized by being held down for a long period of time.  Ask your vet if you could be present during the procedure or at least until your dog is  sedated.

If your vet is  open minded, ask him not to use any chemical soaps as they slow down healing and are toxic.

Use the same approach as in  option A before and after surgery. I recommend using Calendula 200 C  homeopathic  remedy once a day for 5 days  in addition to applying healing solution to speed up  recovery.

This approach to wound  care will speed up the rate of healing about 40%.  Usually no antibiotics are needed with this approach that is  proven by years of clinical use.

Good  Luck!

TO PURCHASE HEALING SOLUTION – CLICK HERE

Have you ever happened  to be without internet?

It has happened to me today and I think that the “dog gods” are responsible.  I may not  have a TV but  I  am  definitely guilty of spending more time in front of the computer  than my dog,  Skai, would wish. He often  gives me “The Look” when I am working.

I  am often conflicted because I know that at least the main  purpose of my life is to spend time with my two and fourlegged family, friends and others interesting people. How do I decide that I divide the time fairly and do not loose the sight of what matters?

So here I am, sitting  in an internet  café in Tofino, BC, learning that  there is no internet today at this end of th world today.  “You are in the middle of nowhere… so don’t be  surprised that  the internet doesn’t  work!”, the café employee laughed.” She appeared to be entertained over my obvious symptoms of internet withdrawal. Me, no internet…! Neverthless, I have succeeded  not to  throw myself on the floor and I didn’t have a temper tantrum.  However, I am still feeling like if my internet umbilical cord was ripped right out.

My   plan  was  that  I would come out  here with my 2 sisters and their kids only if I could finish some of my work that was “urgent.”   “Yeah,  urgent!, ” I hear the dog gods speaking,  “Living your life is the only urgent thing, take a break and spend more time with Skai. You have been glued to you Mac for days and what is  wrong with you…?”

“But  I am spending a lot of time in front of the computer giving people tips on how to keep the animal friends healthy.  Imagine, they could be spending time in the park or on the beach instead of  the vet office.   It is my way to say  thank you for having such a blast with Skai and other dogs and people.” I  argued.   “I hope that you will make the internet running again, because I need to post a post about our Allergy lecture and Skai’s 10^th birthday fundraiser.” I begged.

“Ok, ok,  you dog gods,  I will  promise that  I will spend much less time on the computer this weekend and more time  with on the beach.  Just make sure  that you will keep Skai “dispatched” as my assistant in life for many more years, will you?” I also hope we will be able to negotiate “a deal”  for other  canines around, they have so much to teach us! No I don’t mean peeing at the corners. I mean how to love and be good.”  Are you hearing me?

“Oh, by the way,  thanks for giving me all  those tips on healing and nutrition, my readers say that they  seem to be making a difference  and the natural supplement formulas that you planted in my head work great.”

I will  also post our conversation  on my  blog to pass on the message:  Computerize only after  the members of  your canine “good life squad” sleeps after a a good walk twice a day. Is that  a  deal?

Thanks for listening!

PS: Taking your dog for a walk or a run at least 45  minutes  2 x a day is essential for his or her health. The backyard is  for veggies or flowers but your dog needs to get o to see the world. If you see the pleading eyes, they are real.  Just make sure you get  of  the office chair or the couch before the dog gods disconnect your internet.  Aren’t dogs great in reminding us what really matters in life?

Did you too notice that many pet food companies and food industry giants are suddenly going all natural?  Many  people appear to have been  lured by the promise of top  quality ingredients and also by packaging and advertising that likely costs more than the food itself.

“But what if they have really changed?”  You may ask.

I wondered about the same so I did a little “market research.” We  all know what it costs to purchase  “quality ingredients” that these companies claim are in the bag.

Here are some examples:

Science Diet makes 30 lbs of all natural dog food that costs 57 dollars at an online store. This means that it is sold for a believable $1.90/lb.  However, if you consider that dried food may be around 60 – 75%   lighter than fresh food, you would be paying $0.47/lb.  If you consider the cost of drying,  packaging, storage and transportation and a 20- 25% distributor mark up and  30 to 40% store mark up, it is impossible to make high quality food for such a price unless the company sources from 3^rd world countries or uses inferior quality ingredients.

It is a paradox that so many people believe what is written on pet food packaging. It is an industry that is not regulated by any independent quality assurance organization.

If my assumptions are correct here are a few other examples considering 1:4 fresh : dry ratio

IAMS sensitive naturals 25 lb bag  would approximately cost  $0.38 /lb of fresh food

Royal Canine 30 lbs bag  would cost $0.40/lb of fresh ingredients.

To summarize,  it appears that an old dog doesn’t seem to be learning new tricks here. The old ones are just packaged differently.

Whenever  you are unsure about what decision to make, I suggest you look back to nature.  As far as I know natural means natural and kibble doesn’t grow on trees.

Thank you very much pet food giants. I will pass on your offer of “innovated” natural pet food and choose food as nature intended.  I also wonder, Mr. Giant Pet  Food Co,  why you serve wholesome delicious foods to vets at conferences and lectures?  Isn’t kibble the best nutrition out there?

]]> http://www.peterdobias.com/community/2011/07/natural-diet-is-the-best/feed/ 0 http://www.peterdobias.com/community/2011/07/processed-food-causes-diabetes-in-pets/ http://www.peterdobias.com/community/2011/07/processed-food-causes-diabetes-in-pets/#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2011 15:05:13 +0000 Dr. Peter Dobias http://www.peterdobias.com/community/?p=2254

I write my articles either on the basis of inspiration or a request. The later is definitely true for diabetes.

Recently, I have had the pleasure to interview one of the Vancouver’s most talented healers, Ryan Carnahan on a very interesting topic of detox.  Heavy metals are one of the most serious pollutant and disease causing factors out  there.  Learning how to detox naturally may ad months and years to your best friends life.  I hope you will enjoy this interview.

With gratitude,

Dr. PD:

Hi  Everyone,  I have the pleasure to  introduce you to Ryan Carnahan  who has  been  very  kind and  agreed for me to interview him. He is a person who has a deep knowledge on the level of nutrition, supplements and  energy healing and I would like you to hear  a little about   minerals and their function and foremost,  how they  contribute to getting rid of  heavy metals in the body.

Ryan,  what  is  your background?

RC: I have been  in  practice 17 years,  in my practice, I combine homeopathy, osteopathy, herbal medicine, energy healing and of course  nutrition. I integrate all these in my practice to provide  people with a  well rounded  approach to maximize  health and longevity.

I have also heard that you’re a new owner of a dog?

RC: Yes, Reina,  we have had her for 8 months, she is a rescue dog from Mexico.  We are  very  blessed to have her in  our life and she has really taught me a lot and I have learned a lot from you in our discussions in how to take care of her.

What has she taught you?

RC:She is an ongoing reflection of what is going on  in my life.  I have always known that  pets are  very similar to children but  experiencing this is very different.  In my  practice,   I see the dynamics between  children  and parents and see how directly children and pets are  influenced by the things that  happen in the families and may be outside of the awareness of the parents. I can  look at  Reina and  I can see what is going on with me. It is apparent that they pick up the energy in the household and they adapt to the household and other relationships.  It is a constant reflection of ourselves and it takes away some self-centeredness of ourselves  because  we devote our life to taking care of someone else and it is an honor to do so.

I would like to go back to the topic of minerals and what  function in the body they  have and what  happens  when  we  provide a whole food source of minerals.This is quite important and I know you have picked up on it  when  you created GreenMin by seeing that  the best  quality raw diet  can be  still deficient in minerals. We can be feeding the highest quality diet from the most  pristine  environments but the plants are growing in soil that  is lower in minerals than it once was. The body needs to  use these nutrients for detoxification and maintaining health.

The liver is the most  important detoxification  organ  and it  requires a huge selection of nutrients in order to detox the  body from a  wide  range of toxins – including those produced during metabolism and from microbes such as bacteria, yeast, as parasites as well as environmental toxins.

The liver is  constantly working to metabolize these toxins and if the body is not receiving the full  spectrum of nutrients such as  minerals  and vitamins, the liver’s enzymes will not be able to process these toxins efficiently and they will start to create health problems.

So when  we  talked about GreenMin,  I  was  thinking especially about minerals and how the animals  may be benefiting from that. Animals  eat  food with  bones  and organs and  these contain  heavy metals.   Particularly the kidneys and brain  can contain  high  levels of  mercury and other metals like cadmium. Lead is often stored in the bones. If our  animals  eat  bones and organs which is  a part of their natural  diet, their liver, kidneys, bowels and lungs – all of the detoxification routes – need to metabolize and process toxins in the best possible way.  In  order to  do this, they need a full spectrum of nutrients to handle this.

Coming back to  some of these minerals like  sulphur, selenium, zinc, magnesium etc – these are crucial in  the production of detoxification enzymes in the body and the liver.

Mercury is a real  problem and  it comes  from the environment, vaccinations that the farm animals and our pets  get and these compound into the pets bodies and hopefully,  if your pet is healthy, it will be  able to excrete as much of the heavy metals as possible.  Sulphur, selenium, zinc, manganese, magnesium and others are all required for these enzymes, especially in the liver for detoxifying these metals.

Now coming back to mercury in specific, sulphur and selenium bind to mercury in the body so what happens is that mercury attaches to these minerals and can create a depletion of these minerals in the body.

Zinc will compete with cadmium, lead can compete with calcium and become deposited in bones, so these toxic metals have a way of sneaking in and using our metabolism and nutrients that we are ingesting to wreak a little bit of havoc.  So it is important that we have a really healthy supply of the good minerals so that our detoxification enzymes can be in the best form possible and so that they can help shovel these metals out of the body.

So if we are in a nutrient deficient state, like many of our pets are who may be on a very poor diet to begin with, you compound that nutrient deficiency with the environmental toxicity with the toxicity of the vaccinations and all of these things and they are really not in the best place possible to be able to recover and rebound.

Now, it can sound kind of doom and gloom but ultimately we don’t have to be afraid of environmental toxins.  We need to be wise, we need to be prudent and we need to be informed.  We just have to do the right thing so that we are in the best place possible so our bodies can be the natural detoxifiers that they are.

Our bodies will eliminate toxins through our bowels, our hair, our sweat, our urine but they need the proper nutrients in order to do that and that is where I products like GreenMin can come in and really put the animals in the best place possible for the toxicities that may be in the food that they are eating.

Dr. PD So if I understand well, the minerals are basically the soldiers of the body for the detox system and they work really hard to eliminate any heavy metals or any toxins that are in the system through being part of the liver and the enzymatic system and just helping to eliminate.  That makes a lot of sense because we have seen this especially in middle aged and older animals that are probably much more burdened by heavy metals and different toxins, they suddenly can look renewed and that is most likely what is happening.

Now some of our listeners and clients and customers have been wondering whether they have to put vitamins and essential oils in the food on top of minerals and some of them also believe that if they put vitamins and maybe essential oils that they do not need to put minerals in.

What is your opinion about that?

RC: Well, you know minerals, vitamins and oils are all very different categories of nutrients. You can try and just put eggs and flour in a cake and see how that tastes but really you are going to need a little sugar, a little baking powder and whatever you need to make the cake that tastes its best! In my book I talk about the three top supplements.

For me it is a good quality multivitamin, a high quality fish oil- and I say high quality because there is a lot more popular fish oils coming out there now that are not high quality. So yeah, fish oils are important.  They don’t have to be fish oils, Omega III’s can come from a plant based form but they are not as potent and bioavailable as the fish oils. And the third is a probiotic supplement. So we have these top three things that I think are very important.

Ryan, I have always believed that the health of people and their animals come along together.  It sounds like you may be a perfect person for some of our listeners and clients to be in touch with.  Where do you work and what do you do?  I know that you work in the human field and I would like to know a little bit more about your practice.

RC: Sure, I practice in Port Moody, BC ( Vancouver Lower Mainland region) and work with a wide range of people dealing with conditions ranging from back pain to digestive problems, immune system problems, etc.  I specialize in chronic pain but I do treat a wide range of ailments.  As we spoke about earlier, my approach is quite holistic and I use different modalities to approach the body to try and look at it from as many angles as possible to really see what is going on.

The goal of the treatment is really about balancing the body so it can heal itself, it is as simple as that. So we identify imbalances on a physical, mental, emotional and energetic level and then use herbs, homeopathy, osteopathy and energy balancing to restore balance to the body.  It is all about balance and once the body is balanced it will heal itself.  And I say the same thing about animals.  If we are providing the nutrients that they require, the body will tend to go back into balance and that will in turn create much better health.  So this is what I aim for with my clients.

Dr.PD: I love the simple approach to healing because I usually say that we need to eliminate toxins and what doesn’t belong in the body and then provide the body with nutrients that it needs then rebalance and realign the energy and that is all that needs to be done because the body does the rest.  I think we will have a lot of opportunity to talk in the future and I believe that you are still open to new clients although I know you are very busy.  What is your website address?

My practice site is www.RyanCarnahan.com and I have another website which is healerathome.com where I offer a series of ebooks covering the most important natural first aid remedies and there is a free ebook on treating colds naturally, which I am really excited about because it is just packed with good information that can be used on a regular basis.

It has been great talking to you Peter – what we really focused on today is the physical aspects of health but the other important aspect of health is the mental and emotional aspect of ourselves and our animals. This is also very important for detoxification as well – perhaps we can talk about another time.

Dr. PD: Thank you Ryan,  those  are definitely topics that I would like to have the future discussion on.

Take Care

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