Today,  I would like to share with you a few thoughts on a topic that is serious and not many of my colleagues dare to talk about. It is also very close to my heart because, whether I like it or not, I am a doctor too.

For many years, one of my main goals in practice has been to reduce the use of pharmaceutical drugs and replace them with healing techniques that natural and less toxic. I embarked on this path more than 15 years ago and  I can see more clearly what exactly is happening in veterinary and human medicine.  What I write here as just an opinion. My intention is to provoke a discussion about how we handle the gift of health and what we can do better.

There is nothing in nature that doesn’t have a purpose or that is not a closed cycle. We come from the land and we go back in the land and so do animals, plants, trees and all that is living.  We have a general sense of understanding that “natural” is good and artificial or synthetic is not optimal. However, the human civilization has never been further away from nature as it is today.  The majority of our population lives in cities surrounded with  artificial structures and materials that are toxic us and the environment.

In veterinary or human medicine, we have reached a point where we are starting to question how  anyone can become healthier by taking prescription drugs – complex artificial substances that interact with each other on a level that nobody, even doctors, understand.

 Yes, some drugs are necessary for an immediate survival in an immediate emergency or when, the body loses the ability to produce some hormones and life essential substances such as insulin.  However, I  would like to pay attention to the other side of the spectrum where many patients are gradually poisoned due to side effects of drugs that often could be replaced by less harmful, yet effective natural alternatives.  

It is not unusual to see a senior person or a dog  taking anywhere between 5 to 10 different prescription drugs. Dogs are commonly put on drugs for arthritis and mobility that cause liver disease or kidney failure and I am convinced that most dogs could live a better and live longer without these drugs and  using holistic and natural approaches instead.

 I do not question that most doctors spend years at school because they want  to help and make a difference and it is not my intention today to blame MD’s and DVM’s. I am just asking honestly why is it that doctors are the 3rd cause of death.

You may now expect that I am going to blame drug companies that we know care primarily about their bottom line and shareholders. The truth is that  if our  society didn’t use  their drug based medicine, they would cease to exist.   The reality is that you and I can change the landscape of our medical system, you and I can put irresponsible drug companies out of business and you and I can make sure that our medical research focuses on  what is good for our health and not what is the most profitable treatment.

Until we change our mindset about medicine, start taking health and functional healthcare system as “the most important and valuable asset of our society” and make our governments listen, our overburdened and well meaning doctors will continue unintentionally cause harm and sometimes death. Western drug based approach to medicine is  the only way they have been taught and that is what they are expected to do. If they don’t, they can easily  loose  their license.

For more than 20 years now, I have rarely needed any care from my conventional family doctor.   I use my chiropractor, homeopath, physiotherapist, osteopath, naturopath and massage therapist, coach and yoga to keep myself  healthy.  I pay for all this myself while the Canadian public medical insurance system would happily pay for me being sick. “Unfortunately,” I am healthy and so I have to pay for disease prevention from my own pocket.

I do believe that many doctors know what is happening but they are not equipped with knowledge of natural treatments. They usually do not confess about this but  many of them are afraid not to do what the books say.

 This is a very hard topic for me to talk about because in the course of the last 7 years,  I lost  my brother and my brother in law to a brain tumor.  When their lives were coming to an end, I saw  their medicine cabinets exploding prescription drugs that made them suffer from countless side effects  which possibly caused  more suffering than the disease  itself.

 These effects are often impossible to distinguish for the disease  symptoms and so it happens that doctors prescribe one drug on top of another in a sincere effort to help and things get worse.

 So what is the solution? I encourage you to learn as much about disease prevention as possible. and perhaps attend one of our free educational online seminars – webinars.  If your dog ends up in a critical and emergency situation, ask what medication is the  doctor  planning to use, do  your own research about drug side effects, always ask, if the treatment, procedure or drug is truly needed and what the alternatives are.   I also suggest you to have the opportunity ans  make a connection with a holistically minded vet who is  not  afraid to think outside of the box.

 Currently, we are in the process of creating a network of holistic vets and  holistic animal health care practitioners.  If you are one or if you know one, please follow this link to give us your information, so we can let our community know. And don’t forget that voting the right politicians who will understand that investing into government funded unbiased research, disease prevention and holistic health care is the best they can do to improve our health, save our healthcare and our economy. THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS.

With gratitude,

One of the biggest dilemmas in holistic natural care are vaccines. Over the years, a variety of different studies have confirmed that what we were taught and told by vaccine companies is not true. There have even been some spoofs created that touch on the topic of vaccine production.

Recently, I attended a very serious medical emergency of a person, who had diabetes, renal insufficiency and a brain tumor and when the nurse suggested that a flu vaccine should be considered. I had to pinch myself to make sure that I was awake and that I was hearing correctly.

In reality, this should  be  considered malpractice because the vaccine labels say clearly that ill animals and people should not be vaccinated.  Despite all this, many dogs and cats are still getting vaccinated even with serious medical problems or even cancer.

In veterinary medicine, the original recommendation that vaccines have to be given yearly has been adjusted even by some of the conventional organizations such as American Veterinary Medical Association.  In my practice,  I made the decision to recommend  minimal vaccines and created alternative immunity protocols that are safe and effective. In my mind it doesn’t  make sense to inject our beloved dogs with mercury and formaldehyde beyond what is necessary because there is no such thing as “a little bit of poison.”

When it  comes to rabies, only a few countries and islands are lucky to be rabies free. For the rest of the world, rabies does continue to be threat that is less or more real depending on where you live.

The rabies vaccine has been a big dilemma for me because while it needs to be given in some cases such as traveling,  I have seen it cause strange and unusual behavior and side effects in some animals. I remember a dog that was absolutely fine and well adjusted until I gave him a rabies vaccine for import to New Zealand, a rabies free country.  Within  a few days, this dog was terrified to come  out of the house, feared people, shiny objects and water reflections.  If you look up the signs of rabies,  these symptoms strongly resemble the disease itself. While there is “no conventional explanation” for this, homeopaths suggest that a substance such as vaccine can carry the energetic imprint of the original disease. While vaccines don’t cause the actual disease, they are known to cause symptoms that resemble it.

So what  can you do about rabies vaccine?  How can you reduce the side-effects and decrease the chances that formaldehyde, mercury will cause serious problems?

7 step approach  to safer rabies protection:

1.     Evaluate the risks in your region.  For example, in North America,  the incidence of rabies is much greater on the  East  side of Rocky Mountains .  If your local statistic show that rabies has been found in local wildlife, it may  be safer to vaccinate your dog or cat. All I can say is that no one can make the final decision for you and that indoor cats do not need to be vaccinated).

2.     Give only 1 rabies vaccine and measure antibodies from then on. Repeat the vaccine only if the antibodies are absent or very low.  Most veterinarians recommend the first year rabies vaccine around or before 6 mos of your puppy’s age and then repeating it in 1 year. However,  what I have seen is that the level of antibodies  after 1 vaccine creates sufficient protection.

3.     Rabies titer  blood test is a way of determining your dogs level of protection.  If you live in a “rabies prone” area, yearly testing is advised.  The test can be only done by a few government monitored labs around the world that also issue import and export certificates  for travel.   These titer level certificates are suitable for many countries,  however, others still require a rabies vaccine and titer together if you decide to travel.

4.     Reduce the volume of vaccine given.  In the past,  I was not sure if giving a lesser volume of Rabies vaccine  created good immunity but over the years,  I learned  that the same level of immunity can be induced by using only ¼ of the vaccine recommended volume. However,  if you decide to give smaller amount of vaccine than recommended, I would always follow it by titer testing to ensure that the immunity is sufficient.

5.     As a precaution to any possible rabies vaccine  side-effect that I mentioned above, I  recommend that every dog and cat receives rabies vaccine is also given Lyssin 200 C  a homeopathic remedy that is able to neutralize the vaccine side effects.  Note that not every homeopathic pharmacy produces remedies under the same quality standards and getting a remedy from a reputable source is important.

6.     If you live in an area  where  rabies is a real threat and your dog gets bitten,  I  suggest that  you request that the owner of the other animal provides you with the contact of a veterinary clinic where their pet was vaccinated. If that is not possible,  you may attempt to get a rabies titer done quickly by sending the sample to the official lab to ensure that the level of antibodies is sufficient.   I have not  seen  any official protocol of using intra-abdominal rabies antibody injections to dog in a similar way it is done in people exposed to an animal with rabies but I do not see  a reason why it would not be possible.  The idea of needing to euthanize an exposed dog free of rabies antibodies is a medieval approach to medicine and alternative approach must be ensured.

7.     It is possible that your veterinarian may not be open to giving a smaller volume of vaccine. In such case, suggest that you are willing to prepay for titer testing a month from the day of vaccination to see if your dog has sufficient antibodies.  In contrary to the popular belief,  I have seen some dogs that were vaccinated with the whole dose of rabies vaccines and their antibodies came back negative. There is always a chance that a dog will not respond to a vaccine no matter what dose you give.  That is why using the reduced volume of  vaccine and testing one month after is what I recommend.

With Gratitude,

Some time ago,  I  said that  love is when you get  up in the middle of the night and clean diarrhea after your dog without being mad.  Over the years, my dog Skai gave me a few opportunities to express my love  for him.  Dogs are scavengers by nature and they have a tendency to cleanse when what they ate doesn’t fit.

To speed up the recovery process and soothe  the irritated digestive tract I have prepared the following 7 step diarrhea plan.  While this doesn’t sound exactly appealing, I reassure you that if you have a dog in your house,  sooner or later the following info will be handy.

The purpose of this article is not to diagnose or treat dogs that have suffered with diarrhea for longer than 48 hours and appear to be listless and otherwise unwell.  However if your dog seems to be otherwise as usual here is what you can do.

1. Fast your dog for 12  to 24 hours before feeding the next meal, feed the following meal for 48 hours, then transition to lean meat and veggie blend (poultry, fish or rabbit is ideal) and continue on with regular food.
2. Boil or steam a butternut squash until soft and peel when it cools down ( yams or pumpkin is also ok). Add chicken broth or vegetable broth to make a mashed potato consistency.
3. If your dog is picky, you can add some “flavour agents” such as small amount of salmon, sardines or meat but  only a small amount because it is only to entice your dog to eat squash.
4. Add a good quality non-dairy probiotic. 2 capsules for small dogs, 3 capsules for medium and 4 capsules for large dogs for 3 – 5 days to replenish the intestinal flora.
5. Use 1 – 2 capsule of Chlorophyll complex twice daily for 3 – 5 days to soothe, cleanse and calm down the digestive tract.  Pathogenic bacteria doesn’t like chlorophyll which is an effective natural intestinal sanitizers.  In fact most dogs know it by often eating grass to cleanse their digestive tract which is normal.
6. Beware of using any anti-diarrheal medication or antibiotics which are unnecessary in most cases of brief episode of diarrhea.  Adding chemical toxins when the body needs to cleanse is like purifying drinking water by adding sewage in it.  Plus, I have seen drugs such as Metronidazole or Flagyl  often being overused, causing side-effects and even leaving a long term imprint or digestive in the body that can last for months or years.
7. If diarrhea  continues for longer than 48 hours or your dog is lethargic, see your veterinarian immediately.

Diarrhea can be caused by many factors but it is also a sign that the body needs to cleanse or is in a state of deeper inbalance. Parasites or bacterial pathogens like to settle in the weakened body and the underlying causes should be addressed. One of the main for digestive disturbances is feeding heavily processed, dried or canned food of poor quality. The best food for your dog is as nature intended. Sign up here for webinars and recordings on how to feed raw and natural diet.

If you dog has been diagnosed with “allergies” you may want to view our Allergies PART 1 webinar recording  and read a blog on why many dogs suffer from diarrhea because of back injuries and too much exercise.

PS: Many other recipes call for rice and chicken broth but  I do not recommend it.  Based on my clinical experience, rice is not as soothing as squash, pumpkin or yams. These appear to be ideal to get your dog back to normal.

I must have heard  this a million times: “My dog licks his paws and feet and he was put  on hypoallergenic diet.”  This brings me back more than 15  years, when I too thought that paw licking was one of the signs of  allergies because this is what I was taught.

The problem is that when paw-lickers are treated as such, the issue usually doesn’t improve and many dogs start showing serious signs of deficiencies because they are put on hypoallergenic mono-diet of highly processed and denatured food.

For example here are the ingredients in Hill’s Hypoallergenic diet.

Starch, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Lactic Acid, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract, Beta-Carotene.

Doesn’t it make you wonder, why starch is the first ingredient and hydrolyzed chicken liver is second?  Anyone with basic knowledge of nutrition knows that starch is one of the major factor in obesity, diabetes and research also shows  the connection of high carbohydrate diet with cancer occurrence.  When it comes to liver, it is common knowledge that chicken is fed large amounts of  antibiotics and hormones and chicken livers are the  last thing I would like to feed my dog because liver is a detox  organ that accumulates toxins in the highest concentration.

BHA is another ingredient that gives me “heebie jeebies.”  It is a known carcinogen that should have been banned from pet food a long time ago and when it comes to soybean oil 91% of all soybeans produced are  GMO. I could go through the ingredient list for a little longer but that would be too depressing.  Obviously, there is enough  wrong with the formula to stay away from it unless you would like to fall for the rosemary extract and beta-carotene at the end of the list which is obviously  supposed to make you  feel good about feeding this toxic  concoction called “hypoallergenic diet.”

The biggest paradox is that a majority of dogs that are put on this food do not even have allergies and this is what I  would like to share with you today.

There is a small percentage of dogs that would lick their paws  as a result  of obsessive nervous licking, long nails, contact with a chemical agent  and secondary bacterial infection because of the skin trauma caused by licking. However, what I have found out over the years is that the majority of dogs lick their paws because they have an abnormal sensation in their feet.   If you have ever had a neck injury or pain in the neck ( the physical one) , you may have also experienced tingling or pin and needle  sensation in your hands.  Dogs suffer frequent neck injuries caused by collars because they pull on the leash and people use damaging choke chains, prong or shock collars. It may be a surprise to you but even the regular extension leash that winds up can cause serious neck injuries especially when a dog runs and hits the end of a leash.

Neck and back injuries cause muscle tightness which affects the  nerves supply a particular area of the body. Here are a few examples.

• front feet licking is frequently caused by a neck injury

• forearm licking is caused by tightness in between the shoulder blades ( often caused by a fall, neck trauma,  excessive digging  or swimming )

• hind feet licking can be caused by tightness in the region of lumbar spine

Here are a few steps to follow if you dog licks his feet:

1. If your dog licks front feet, attach your leash to  front attachment harnesses  such as Freedom or Sensation or Walk In Sync  and do not connect a leash to a collar especially when your dog pulls.

2. If your dog  licks hind feet, stop him/her from  sprinting, jumping up, leaping in the water  or intense ball retrieving for at  least  a month and reduce this activity on an ongoing basis.

3. Chiropractor,  physio or osteopathic examination is highly recommended to assess and treat your dog’s neck injury and muscle inflammation.

4. Ideally do not play tug-of-war or if you do,  let the rope or leash gently slide through your hand and definitely do not lift your dog while tugging

5. Feed species appropriate diet and nourish your dog with whole food all natural supplements for better cellular,muscle function and detox.

6. If your dog  has suffered more serious neck injury, see your veterinarian for further evaluation, however, remember  that most vets have not been trained muscular skeletal assessment as  well as chiro’s, physio’s or osteopaths.

7. Never use harmful anti-inflammatory drugs such as Metacam which causes serious side-effects unless you think that stomach ulceration, blood clotting disorders and kidney damage are a good idea. I recommend Zyflamend as a healthy alternative that I have used for three years in many dogs with great results and no evidence of side effects.

If you would like to learn more about holistic approach to other medical problem, sign up for my regular newsletter and check out our webinar schedule.

With gratitude,

Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM

A few days ago,  one of my friends living in Vermont called me. She was wondering what I thought about heartworm prevention and if I could help her determine, if the monthly administration of heartworm preventive medication is really necessary.

The question threw me back in the 90’s, when the manufacturers of heartworm preventive drugs decided to take North America by storm. I remembered he drug reps visiting vet clinics on a regular basis telling us that it was only a matter of time and heartworm would widely spread in Canada.  These visits were also accompanied by a subtle suggestion that selling the heartworm tests and preventive drugs could be a significant source of income for the practice.

As time progressed,  the heartworm doom and gloom case scenario didn’t happen and that the risks of heartworm infection in my areas were clearly exaggerated.  On the basis of my findings, I made a decision not to recommend Heartworm preventive drugs in the area practice because the risk was practically zero and administering of any drugs is never optimal.  In reality no one can be absolutely certain if down the road preventive medication doesn’t  increase the tendency to chronic disease, organ failure or even cancer.

On the other hand, my friend’s situation is quite different because she lives in the Eastern US where heartworm is a real possibility.  I saw her question as a great opportunity for me to review the lifecycle of heartworm once again to  see if drug companies were honest about their recommendations of monthly prevention.  To me, the monthly administration frequency  seemed to be kind of peculiar because as far as I know, parasites do not carry an iPhone with a calendar and schedule.

I decided to bring clarity in the current situation to see what  the frequency of  heartworm preventive drugs really needed to be and also tell you more about the heartworm prevention alternatives that I use with my dog Skai. In order to do so, I need to give you answers to the following questions:

1. What is the risk of heartworm disease in the area?

2. What is the minimal frequency of administering preventive drugs?

3. Are there any alternatives?

Here are the answers:

1. Heartworm incidence:

Heartworm life cycle is dependent on temperature that must remain above 57 degrees F  (14 C ) for at least 45 days straight and at least 2 weeks of temperatures over 80 F ( If these conditions are not fulfilled, the parasite cycle cannot be completed and your dog is safe.

Based on the recommendations of Dr. David Knight and Dr. James Lok from the American Heartworm society, even with the most cautious conventional medical protocols, all year around heartworm preventive schedule is exaggerated with the exception of Florida, some parts of Texas and Hawaii.  According to their conventional opinion, preventive treatment is unnecessary in the winter months and definitely doesn’t  need to be started before or after the months noted on the map in their paper.

2. Heartworm life cycle

Before you sucumb to the marketing pressure and fear to administer heartworm medicine monthly,  I  urge you to learn more about the heartworm life cycle. The heartworm development goes through several stages before reaching maturity and it takes 2.5 to 4 months before the tiny stage of microfilaria leaves the muscles and starts settling in the pulmonary artery. When heartworm reaches its final destination of pulmonary artery near the heart, it takes about 3 – 4 months to reach maturity.

One doesn’t need to have a degree in math to figure that it takes somewhere between 5.5 to 8 months for microfilaria to mature into an adult worm and that your dog  should be safe if you administer heartworm meds only once every every 3 to 4 months if your live in the area where heartworm occurs.

So why would the drug companies recommend monthly heartworm prevention? The reason is clearly identified  clearly in the study of Drs. Knight and Lok’s study on page 80 :

“…given what is presently known, continued adherence to a policy of superfluous chemoprophylaxis is disquieting because financial expediency for the veterinarian conflicts with clinical objectivity and client consent is predicated on unrealistic expectations. Clients mistakenly believe that they are purchasing additional protection for their pets, but in reality they are not. If the truth was known to them, few clients would agree to unnecessarily double their expense for heartworm prevention.”

In real language  and life translation most vets are too busy to question the recommendations that drug companies give them about heartworm prevention.  I strongly believe that the main  reason for over recommending heartworm prevention ( chemoprophylaxis ) is that drug companies can double or triple their revenues.

3. Safe alternative to heartworm preventive drugs

My dog  Skai and I travel to Hawaii approximately twice a year for 2  months and I had to face  the dilemma what  to do about  heartworm.   I  never felt totally comfortable about giving him any  drugs because in my mind, there is no such thing as a little bit of poison.

Luckily, advances  in heartworm testing offers DNA testing on the basis of PCR technology which allows me to test 3 times a year for any presence of heartworm.  This test has virtually no false negatives which is great news for your dog.

I can see that these tests are  a serious threat to the heft profits of  manufacturers of heartworm meds. They are simply not needed if you follow this formula  considering the duration of the heartworm seasons you can find out from the map  on page 79

Consider the facts above, in order to prevent heartworm and keep your dog safe, all you need to do is test your dog if you live in an affected area. If the results are positive (heartworm DNA is present) make sure that you consult your veterinarian before administering any heartworm meds. Heartworm preventive medication can be used only if adult heartworms are NOT present because using preventive drugs on adult heartworm can cause serious problems and  a different treatment protocol must be used.

Conclusion

I regret to say that similar to the vaccination scam,  monthly heartworm prevention is yet another dishonest marketing plot.   What I am confused about is why drug companies continuously try to trick us and frighten us instead making a living the honest way.  No matter what they are planning to try next, I believe that eventually they will have to become more honest in order to survive because it is much more difficult  to hide the truth in the age of world wide web.

Wishing you a happy, more informed heartworm season.

With gratitude,

Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM

Some time ago, I wrote that one of the clearest expressions of love is to clean diarrhea after your poor dogs explode in the middle of the night on your brand new carpet and be fine with it.  Love simply makes you put on the gloves, take the bucket and do what is needed. However, who would not want these incidents to be infrequent or never happen?

When Skai was a puppy, he had a few month long episodes of diarrhea and taught me much of what I am going to share in this blog.

The origin of the word diarrhea comes from the Greek word diarrho~ which means ‘to flow through.’   The conventional view of diarrhea is that such process has to be stopped at any costs because it is not good.  From the holistic point of view, a brief episode of infrequent diarrhea is usually the body’s protective and cleansing reaction,  especially if your dog ate something “funky.”

Diarrhea is the body’s way of getting rid of something that is potentially harmful, toxic, or foreign.

Speaking of funky, the other day, I saw a six month old labrador puppy prancing at the beach with a long and lanky “toy” in his mouth. It only took a few seconds for me to realize that the toy was a dead sea snake that I saw on the beach a few days before. The next thought was that the dead snake was still better than a toxic toy from China, however dead snake is definitely “mid night explosion” material.

Unless diarrhea it lasts for more than one to two days and your dog is unhappy, it can be compared to you taking the garbage bin out when it is full and just not a big deal.  Using anti-diarrheal drugs can be compared to packing your garbage bin even more instead of taking it out. The drugs are simply contraindicated against what nature is trying to do.

There have been many articles written on dogs and diarrhea and I do not want to discount the fact that in some cases, diarrhea can be very serious. However, one needs  to be reminded that dogs are not humans nor horses and that they have evolved to be impressive scavengers that are mostly unphased by eating everything from A to S.   My original intention to write a brief blog made me realize that I was foolish and that if I am to describe all the causes and different types of ‘fast flow throughs’ I may be un-intentionally throwing myself into writing weeks long ‘Diarrhea Diaries.’    Millennia of their evolution allowed dogs to become masters in cleansing and most dogs ready to have fun and play the next morning, unphased by what happened.  Most veterinarians and dog lovers see diarrhea in a very physical sense. They usually try to determined localized causes  such as bacteria or parasites or look for pancreatic inflammation, allergies, intolerance,  enzyme deficiencies or hormonal problems.  However, Skai taught me something that I was not aware of. As a new “dog parent” I quickly realized that being a vet may be a bonus in the case of raising a puppy but there was still much to learn.  I was lucky because Skai  came pre-programmed with his sweet demeanor, love for making new friends and enticing everyone to play and on the behavior level, he has always been a breeze.

When it came to exercise, I believed that more was better and because I wanted to be a good “dad”, I went  to a store and bought a “Chuck It” ball thrower. Border collies are infamous for their ball obsession and I soon learned that Skai did not know when to stop.   In a week or two,  he started having diarrhea and I tried all the tricks up my sleeve.  The diarrhea seemed to come and go on for months, all tests were inconclusive and the treatments I chose worked only temporarily. I started to worry because Skai was losing weight and at one point,  I even had to put him on iv fluids during a more severe bout to prevent further dehydration.  I started to really worry and was determined to figure this out. From the conventional point of view,  Skai’s diagnosis would be IBD ( Inflammatory Bowel Disease) or possibly diet intolerance or allergies but my gut was telling me that this was not it.  I went back in time to see what changes I had made and found a strange coincidence. The diarrhea started around the time Skai started to retrieve a ball!  I carefully examined his body discovered that his lumbar muscles were tight and sensitive to touch suggesting an injury.  Then I  recalled him slipping and sliding several times when trying to catch the ball and I started to feel that I was on the right track in my search for the diarrhea cause.

I did more research and  confirmed that the lumbar spine supplies the energy flow to the intestines which made me believe that tightness of lumbar muscles may result in intestinal problems.  I imagined that the body is like a garden and the organs are the garden patches.  The spine is the “watering system” that supplies energy to the different organs and when a certain segment gets injured and becomes tight, the underlying organ doesn’t get proper energy flow and becomes dysfunctional. “It doesn’t get watered.”   I decided to stop all the ball retrieving and asked an animal chiropractor for help. The results were amazing,  Skai’s diarrhea was gone, his body weight was back to normal and that was it.

This happened ten years ago and thanks to Skai,  I have been now able to solve the problem of diarrhea in many dogs. It almost seems too simple but my estimate is that  more than 70% dogs suffering from diarrhea have a lumbar injury.  Ball retrieving, leaping in the water while at a beach, jumping up to play frisbee or an accidental slip or slide are some of the most common reasons of recurrent diarrhea.  I have confirmed this by seeing how reliable the treatment is.

This is not to discount the importance of species appropriate natural and raw diet or the right natural supplements.  There are also other causes such as bacteria, parasites, vaccine  side effects,  hormonal issues and allergies that sometimes play a role.  However,  I find diarrhea being one of the most commonly misdiagnosed problems in veterinary medicine.

The paradox is that the answer is sometimes very simple but not where one expects it to be.

I gather that now you would like to know what to do about your dog’s diarrhea.   As I said, there are many reasons for diarrhea and this blog is not to discuss them all in one session.  However,  if you strongly suspect that your dog is having digestive problems for the reasons above, here are my suggestions for you to try:

1. Limit or ideally stop any injurious exercise such as ball retrieving, jumping up or over, sprinting, leaping in the water from the shore and excessive swimming.

2. Ideally see a Chiropractor, Physiotherapist or Osteopath to examine your dog’s back

3. Add essential supplements to your dog’s food

4. Stop feeding kibble if you do and feed a premium raw or cooked diet.

5. Remember that bones must not be cooked

6. Variety of food is important

7. Limit beef, buffalo or bison meat to once to twice a week maximum or eliminate it completely if your dog appears to be sensitive.

8. When diarrhea happens,  fast for 24 hours, give two meals of pumpkin and chicken broth and go back to regular food after.

If there is no improvement, there may be other factors playing a role which you may need to explore and you may need to book a consultation.

With gratitude,

Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM

Dear Animal Lovers,

Some time ago,  I have heard someone saying that no matter if you are self-employed or employed you are ultimately in business for yourself. That is why  I am turning to you with aunique opportunity to help you grow your business  or score “brownie points” with your employers company and make it more visible to current and potential customers.

Recently, I came up with the idea that we could offer businesses like yours great exposure and advertising at minimal cost. If you are wondering how it can be, just read on.

In the future months, we will be launching a campaign called “Win with GreenMin.”

*”Win with GreenMin” will give people who purchase our products or register on our website the opportunity to win prizes from various sponsors  like you or businesses like yours.

*A sponsor should be a business or an individual that contributes positively to our society on any level, for example an ethical natural pet food company, pet store, healthcare practitioner, restaurant, professional services provider or an animal product manufacturer to name a few.

*Jars of GreenMin will have lid and jar stickers attached with a link and a QR code directing the buyer to a dedicated page with GreenMin Sponsors and their prizes.

*Each sponsor will have their logo, link to their website and description, plus the prize listing. The order of the sponsors will be determined by the value of the donated prize with the highest valued prizes being listed at the top.

*There will be 2 ways to enter for customers enter the contest:
1. Purchasing GreenMin where the winning GreenMin jars will a sticker with a number hidden under the lid that will determine the prize.
2. Customers will visit the Win with GreenMin Page, where they will check the prizes and registered by providing their contact information.

I hope that you and your company will accept my invitation and join us for this fun event to promote your business and create a win situation for your customers and your business. We plan to initiate the first 3 month period of the project as soon as we have 50 prizes. Application will be received on first come first serve basis.

With gratitude,
Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM

Click here to complete the registration form

More info on GreenMin

A letter from Indiana’s mom Karen Brady

We have all heard the question asked before, “what do you wish for most for your animal friend?”.  I think we can all agree that we all want a healthy and happy long life for them.  I hadn’t really thought of this until now, but if we ask our animal friends the same question, “what do you wish for most for your human friend?”, they would say the same thing.  They want a healthy and happy long life for US. 

That is the legacy that I think Indiana would want me to continue, a healthy and happy long life.

You may remember Indiana’s story last year.  Indiana was diagnosed with epitheliotropic malignant lymphoma about 2 years ago.  At the time my local vet told me that Indiana would have “maybe a few weeks or a few months left”, and recommended steroids right away.  Instead, with the guidance of Dr. Dobias (a few provinces away), I chose to treat Indiana with various homoeopathic remedies and whole food based supplements.  Indiana thrived.  He continued on his daily hikes and lived each day to the fullest.

This past autumn Indiana had a serious fall on one of our hikes.  The assumption by our local vet was that lymphoma had spread throughout Indiana’s body and that he should be euthanized.  Since we suspected that it was Horner’s Syndrome, I sought the opinion of our provincial veterinary college.  After xrays, ultra-sounds, biopsies and blood work, Indiana’s diagnosis confirmed Horner’s Syndrome, and no cancer was found.

Throughout the next few months we focused our treatment on Indiana’s mobility.  Indiana had Chiropractic, IMS and Hydrotherapy treatments and within a month Indiana’s mobility had improved.

I had a wonderful holiday season with Indiana.  He was strong, healthy and oh so happy.  During his swim session he did double laps and even out swam me during one of the laps in the pool.  He greeted each guest that came to the house, and on Christmas day he tried to chase some bunnies in the field.  We visited the light display in “his” park and Indiana picked out which park goers would most like to be greeted by him.  Indiana would run into the house when he knew it was dinner, and he even ran across the parking lot at our hiking spot when we arrived for our walk.  He was almost puppy like again.

In January things changed and Indiana began slowing down.  He had difficulty to get up and later had difficulty to stand.  I tried to be optimistic thinking that Indiana only had another injury, but I knew in my heart that it was different this time, and so did Indiana.  I know Indiana tried for me, to get better, but his body quickly deteriorated.  Knowing when it was our final night together, I curled up on a bed on the floor with Indiana.  We reminisced about all of the wonderful adventures we had over the last 12 years, and how blessed I was that he came into my life.  I told him how brave he was and that everything was going to be ok, and that I would be ok.

The next day I brought Indiana back to the veterinary college for our last hope at a possible recovery.  I knew driving there that Indiana would not be coming home with me, but I had to try one last hope.  After examination and much discussion, I made the decision to let Indiana go.

Although I was immersed in the pain of letting Indiana go, I knew that I had to make one more decision for the future.  I made the decision to have a necropsy done on Indiana’s body.  I felt that if we knew more about this disease, than it could possibly help other animals and possibly humans.  I knew Indiana still had more gifts to give.   This gift would be the gift of knowledge.

I received the results of Indiana’s necropsy this week.  The lymphoma that Indiana was diagnosed with almost two years ago, was gone.  They looked and looked again, but the lymphoma was gone.  Unfortunately, multiple myeloma had crept in and had quickly spread throughout Indiana’s body, possibly due to a genetic predisposition.  As many of us do, my mind quickly started processing the “what ifs”.  “What if” we hadn’t treated Indiana with homeopathic remedies and alternative therapies, would Indiana have made it this long?  “What if” we hadn’t introduced the whole food supplements to Indiana’s diet, would he have made it to his 11th and even 12th birthday?  “What if” I had given the steroids to him and his last years of life were shorten and poor because of it.  In my heart I know that I made the right decisions for us both, and that I gave Indiana the healthiest and happiest long life that I could.

I was blessed with the time that I had with Indiana.  Although I miss Indiana every day and I still feel lost without him, I have 12 years of wonderful memories, and I know that I must continue Indiana’s legacy to have a healthy and happy long life.

In our Dr. Dobias Healing Solutions community, we have experienced the loss of some very special animals in recent months.  Although their physical beings are greatly missed, they each have legacies that they want us to continue.  They want all of us to have HAPPY and HEALTHY LONG LIVES.

I feel so fortunate to have the webinars, newsletters and blogs available to help us all to learn more, and with our continued support of Healing Foundation, research and trials can be funded so that disease can be treated and even prevented in the future.

With gratitude,

Karen Brady

When I was growing up, my teachers often loved to describe the future. They told us vivid stories of fast trains, space travel, aircraft hovering over streets, and buildings looking nothing like what we knew in the real world.

It is now year 2012 and the future that my teachers described is now the past. We use iPhones, computers and Skype as a matter of routine, and instead of being grateful for the miracles of technology, we complain that they are not fast enough. However, in contrast of this space age technology we still drive fume-spewing vehicles like 100 years ago and also rely on an ailing  medical system that is chronically stuck in the past and provides no or little solution in treatment of cancer and chronic disease prevention.

Some people may object that we did make a progress because we are able to transplant organs, replace joints and perform a triple bypass, however, most doctors and patients operate within a deeply ingrained dogma that ingesting toxic chemicals called prescription drugs for months and years , they would keep us healthy. It is as if someone was trying to purify drinking water by pouring in sewage.

 Interesting statistics

The most recent reports show that the number of veterinary visits in North America is dropping while the number of pets is rising. The same decline has been registered in the processed pet food industry. To me, this is great news because more people are feeding non-processed, species  appropriate food and very likely,  our pets are healthier. The less favorable explanation could be  that people do not go to the vet  as often  because they no more believe that processed food, vaccines and drugs.If you were an owner a veterinary clinic or a processed pet food company, you would be rather alarmed by seeing such trend. However if you were a dog lover, the same situation would make you happy.

One may ask, how  it happened that most vets still heavily promote processed food, vaccines  and drugs and know so little about natural principles of healing?  One of the reasons is that drug and pet food  companies are the main sponsors at professional conferences, they finance continuing education and provide grants to universities and professors who conduct research. While  the consumers have long seen through this clever strategy, most veterinarians simply are not aware that they have become the blinded soldiers of the pharmaceutical and processed food industry.

The processed food situation is only one example of how stagnant the waters of veterinary education are. Many vets are afraid of being sued and that their veterinary association would not defend them or even punish them, if they don’t use conventional treatment and processed food. They are also exposed to peer pressure to following “the science” of processed pet food companies that is in my opinion completely out of line with  the basic principles of species appropriate diet. The consumer on the other hands, doesn’t have a license to loose and the  practical results of natural diet feeding are so clear that people no more hesitate to feed their dogs as nature intended.

 I believe that many vets would love to learn more about natural and holistic therapies, however they not have the option to get away from their practices, take long and extensive courses because they have to support their practice high overhead and even if they could, this change would mean to learn a new “medical languages” all over again. Also, there are not enough teachers with the knowledge natural therapies and veterinary colleges are lagging behind.

New age of education

At first sight, the situation may seem to be daunting but it is not. Until recently, education was available only through universities to people who paid tuition.   Today, the internet is here to serve as the ultimate tool of “peer to peer” education and Apple recently announced  that  anyone who  writes a textbook will be able to sell it as an iBook on their store.  They also recently opened  iU – Apple University,  an  online university where  courses from major universities are offered online for free. In the 21^st century, everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher and sharing new knowledge, experiences, research findings and can be done cheaply and  fast.

While it may take some time for the dust to settle in a new order of education in medicine, I am sure about one thing; Pet food and drug companies will only change if we stop buying their products and learn how to create a better health with natural nutrition and without drugs. That is where you and others can chip in.

 I urge you never stop learning, keep your mind open and question the status quo often. Sometimes it may mean that only 1 person out of 100 will be  correct with their recommendation. Recently,  I had an interesting experience.  My computer had been seriously malfunctioning since I  got it year and a half ago.  I had it tested at least five times, spent  at least 25 plus calls with technical support and everyone was saying it tested fine except it was freezing constantly when I worked on it. One person even changed the whole motherboard of the computer and nothing changed.  After hours spent to figure it out, Apple finally agreed to give me a free replacement!  While the new computer was on its way, I asked my friend, a computer genius to look at the current one  and he discovered that one contact in the address book was somehow causing the computer drain 100% of its memory. One file was deleted it and now the computer is fine!  Imagine, all the other people did not find this error.

Going back to medical knowledge, I urge you never rely on 1 person that says something is not possible. Sometimes it means ask many people for their insight, read and lern, be persistent and remain connected with the natural laws of healing.

With gratitude,

Dr. Peter  Dobias, DVM

_________________________

Dr. Peter Dobias has been in veterinary practice since 1988. In 2008, he decided to sell his thriving holistic veterinary practice in Vancouver, BC, Canada to dedicate his future years to disease prevention and transforming the face of veterinary care.  He believes that we can create a healthy and long life, naturally.

For more information, questions and articles visit www.peterdobias.com or http://www.facebook.com/drpeterdobias  or check out his free webinar schedule at www.peterdobias.com/community/webinars

I have a question for you? Would you vaccinate a 16-year-old dog, with heart disease and recent diagnosis of a malignant lump?

Just until few days ago, I thought that no veterinarian would do so. However, my bubble was bursted during a phone call with my friend from London. She asked me if I could help with her 16 year old Jack Russell Rocky, because he was recently diagnosed with a mast cell tumor.  As I was collecting the medical history, we started talking about vaccines. I only asked casually because I assumed that no vet would vaccinate a senior dog. I was wrong. 

The news that Rocky has been vaccinated yearly hit me like a ton of bricks.  Doesn’t the vaccine label say that animals that are ill should not be vaccinated because it can have a negative effect on already compromised immune system? After few seconds of disbelief I decided to write this article because obviously, the discussion must go on.

 Over the years, I have witnessed many people having a very unreasonable fear of Kennel cough mainly due to fear based advertising that kennel cough is some sort of horrible disease while even the Merck Veterinary manual says that

“Infectious tracheobronchitis is a mild self-limiting disease that results in inflammation of the upper airways transmitted by air and caused possibly but not surely by several different viruses, mainly Parainfluenza virus and also by a bacteria – Bordetella Bronchiseptica, however, the exact cause may vary.”

The Merck Veterinary Manual also states that:

“This condition would rarely lead to complications or death only in animals with a weakened immune system.  In summary, Kennel cough is not much different than a cold that most of us catch from time to time and cure by rest and tea.”

In contrary to this clear statement that kennel cough is nothing more than a dog version of cold, most boarding facilities, daycares, training centers and grooming facilities request kennel cough vaccine as a condition of admittance no matter what their age is.  The business owners often mean well but they are mainly frightened of being held liable for a dog getting kennel cough.  Imagine that it is as if a “human” daycare was held liable if a child in their care got a cold.

Books are theory but what about practice? In more than 20 years in clinical practice, I have not seen one single dog succumbing to kennel cough and as the Merck manual says, most dogs recover on their own without they use of any antibiotics.  The risk of dog of dying of kennel cough would be similar to that of a person dying of a common cold or flu.

More than 15 years back, I too used to use Kennel Cough vaccine because I didn’t know any better.  I remember seeing absolutely healthy dogs getting kennel cough vaccine and coming back a few days later with actual symptoms of the disease.  When I called the vaccine rep, he told me that these dogs must had been exposed prior to vaccination but later realized that the live modified vaccine was likely the reason.  For your interest, this is what the British medical safety data sheet for Nobivac KC vaccine states:

“Contra-indications, warnings:  Particularly in very young susceptible puppies, mild discharges from the eyes and nose can occur from the day after vaccination, sometimes accompanied by sneezing and coughing. Signs are generally transient, but in occasional cases may persist for up to four weeks. In animals, which show more severe signs, appropriate antibiotic treatment may be indicated.

Only healthy dogs should be vaccinated. Cats, pigs and unvaccinated dogs may react to the vaccine strains with mild and transient respiratory signs. Other animals, like rabbits and small rodents have not been tested.” 

To me, this statement clearly says that the vaccine can cause the disease that it is supposed to prevent and I can only imagine that you would like to know what to do.

Here are a few practical suggestions:

FOR AN OWNER OF DAY CARE, DOG WALKING, GROOMING, BOARDING AND TRAINING FACILITY

1. If you are an owner of a boarding, grooming or daycare facility you are likely concerned about liability.

2. I suggest you creating an alliance of likeminded business to share legal fees and ask a good lawyer to formulate a reasonably simple waiver that your clients can sign. This waiver should say that you are not responsible for infectious disease transmission because neither “human” daycares, schools nor hospitals are.

3. Stop requesting kennel cough vaccine because in reality, by doing so, you may be spreading kennel cough itself.

4. Ensure good hygiene and air quality in your facility

5. Avoid overcrowding and strive to create a happy and relaxed atmosphere in your facility

6. Download and print a copy of this article for your clients to read to educate them here

FOR DOG GUARDIANS

1. Remember that the Merck Veterinary Manual says that Kennel Cough is a mild self-limiting disease.

2. Avoid Kennel Cough vaccination if possible no matter what age your dog is.

3. If a service provider you use requests a Kennel Cough vaccine, share with them this information and say that you are willing to sign a waiver

4. Make sure that your dog’s immune system is in top-notch condition.  Because a large portion of the immune system function is depending on healthy intestinal tract, I recommend that you ideally feed high quality all natural raw food and adding essential supplements to make your dogs diet complete.

5. Carbohydrate based and processed foods, milk products, and wheat increase the propensity to respiratory infections should ideally be avoided including treats containing these food groups.

6. When you are choosing your service provider, look for those who have well aired clean facilities that are not overcrowded and your dog likes to visit.  If the service care provider continues to demand your dog to be vaccinated despite your wishes, choose a different facility.

7. When it comes to decision making, go with your gut

Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM

PS:  If you are looking for my general recommendation about vaccination, click here