Recently I conducted a survey on the incidence of GDV in dogs. What I have learned is that dogs that are fed processed food are about five times as likely to suffer from a bloat than dogs that are fed raw or cooked food.
Most veterinary textbooks state that gastric dilation volvulus is a serious life threatening condition which is caused by general breed predilection, fermentation and gas formation in the stomach and is often caused by (more…)
NATURAL APPROACH TO TREATMENT OF EYE DISCHARGES
Eye discharges are one of the most common problems in dogs. Whenever I see my clients with concerns about their dogs eyes, the first question I ask is what they’re concerned about the most. Most people reply that they’re concerned about infection and that their dog would loose eyesight which is very unlikely in most cases. This is why I decided to write a blog to clarify some of these misconceptions.
I’m not planning to rediscover the universe here, neither am I eager to make things more complex. What I would like to do today is to bring more clarity into what you may call conjunctivitis, eye discharges, redness or an eye infection.
Most of the problem conditions that are seen in daily practice relate to the conjunctiva, eyelids and the cornea. A conjunctiva is the layer of tissue on the inside of the eyelids that connects directly to the cornea, the clear layer covering the eye itself.
The inner structures of the eye are a little more complex. The sequence of the parts of the eye are as follows: cornea, anterior chamber (the space in front of the lens), the iris ( the coloured and constricting part) , the lens that is attached to the eye by a very sophisticated focusing system, called a irido-corneal muscle, then there is the posterior chamber filled with the clear translucent mass called vitreous body and beyond is the retina, the canvas of the eye that is connected to the optic nerve conducting the visual images to the brain’s visual center and the cortex.
Most people see the eye as an organ of vision but there is another important function – cleansing. In fact many openings of the body including the eye serve as cleansing and detoxification areas. If the body needs to get rid of impurities it does it really well through the eyes, ears, feces, urine, lungs and the saliva.
This cleansing process is usually manifested by increased local inflammation and redness that is often misperceived as an infection. In fact most of the cases that my clients consider an eye infection would in fact be cleansing reactions of the body and nothing to do with bacteria and infections.
This fact is often ignored and the most common conventional prescription for eye redness are, yes, you guessed right, antibiotics and steroids. It may also surprise you that for majority of cases this medication is unnecessary or even contraindicated. (more…)
One of my friends recently called me asking for help. Their dog wasn’t eating for three days, was vomiting and his tummy was sensitive and a little firmer than normal. As I was asking for more details to help the husband and wife they confessed that years back they lost another dog to pancreatitis and they feared the worst again.
It didn’t take me long to make a decision to write a blog on pancreatitis as I realize it’s one of the most commonly misunderstood conditions. Out of curiosity I decided to do a little survey on Facebook to see what your opinion was and it confirmed that after the topic of general puppy care, pancreatitis is the second most questioned topic.
From my point of view, pancreatitis in other words, the inflammation of the pancreas, is a result of multiple (more…)
Today, I have decided to write on the topic of the big C word – Cancer. If you have ever attended a cancer fundraiser, the common suggestion is that we have to “fight cancer” or “wipe out cancer.” I wonder if you too find it strange that the words of warfare are used in healing and medicine.
In my opinion the results of “fighting cancer” are similar to the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. The more we fight it, the more damage is done, in other words the higher the cancer rates are.
After years of treating cancer in my practice and also witnessing it when my brother and father died of cancer under conventional medical care, I have reached the conclusion that *cancer cannot be fought but it has to be understood*. (more…)
Quite a few people have asked me what to do to protect your pets from RADIOACTIVE FALL OUT and if they should use Potassium Iodide for their pets. While the risks of increased radiation in North America are low, it never hurts to learn the important facts.
Following a radiological or nuclear event, radioactive iodine may be released into the air and then be breathed into the lungs. Radioactive iodine may also contaminate the local food supply and get into the body through food or through drink. When radioactive materials get into the body through breathing, eating, or drinking, we say that “internal contamination” has occurred.
In the case of internal contamination with radioactive iodine, the thyroid gland quickly absorbs this chemical. Radioactive iodine absorbed by the thyroid can then injure the gland. Because non-radioactive Iodine acts to block radioactive iodine from being taken into the thyroid gland, it can help protect this gland from injury.
Knowing what a good source of Iodine cannot do is also important. It cannot prevent radioactive iodine from entering the body. It can protect only the thyroid from radioactive iodine, not other parts of the body. It cannot reverse the
I am shocked and deeply touched by the magnitude of the misfortune in Japan.
If you are wondering what you can do for the Japanese animal friends, World Vets is an international veterinary aid organization that provides “free veterinary aid, resources and support during times of disaster all over the world”. Their non-profit efforts spans 25 countries and 6 continents.
World Vets is already working to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami, and desperately needs donations. To learn more, click here for their website.
The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation is a non-profit, FEMA-certified agency that searches for survivors in the wreckage of catastrophic events such as the one is Japan. NDSDF has already deployed six Canine Disaster Search Teams to respond to the current crisis; each task force is made up of approximately 72 members (including both humans and Urban Search and Rescue dogs) and some 75 tons of rescue equipment. To learn more and to donate, click here for their website.
One of our readers, Lisa Snyders, has shared her experience with raw food and I thought it would be nice to share it:
“I started feeding raw to my 2 dogs 10 years ago. One a 7 year old basset had just quit eating. We could find nothing wrong with her other than she would not eat. At the same time our then 8 year old blue heeler/shepard cross had become extremely aggressive and we were thinking we would be putting both dogs down. Thankfully a friend of a friend suggested we try a raw diet.
At that point we were willing to try anything. Our basset immediately started eating again and slowly put weight back on. Our other dog took to the food right away, though her transformation was a little slower. After only 2 months, there were huge differences in both dogs. The basset was eating,energetic and just happy, The heelerX had calmed down considerably and was no longer acting in an aggressive manner, as she was no longer being poisoned by her food. In the end we had another 7 years with both dogs.
At the ages of 14 (basset) and 15 (heelerX) we said goodbye. Never an easy thing to do, but it was easier knowing we had been able to double the years they spent with us, and they were good years. We now have 4 other mixed breed dogs, and we feed all of them a raw, natural diet!
Lisa Snyders
If you have a raw dog food story to share, send it to us at contact@peterdobias.com . We would love to hear from you.
I have always loved the cleverness of the “Magic School Bus” – one of the most ingenious educational programs to date. Today, I would like to invite you on a journey through the digestive tract of two very different groups; herbivores and carnivores to see why nature, unlike processed food junk companies, believes that raw food is the way to go. If you yourself unsure about raw food or have a friend who you try to educate. This blog post may be helpful.
Lets look at the cow – a herbivore. It has three fore stomachs and one stomach to digest and ferment plant material, grain and fiber. A horse represents a slight variation of this design. For a horse it would be very hard to run fast with a big fore stomach full of food. Instead, horses have a large colon that also digests and ferments plant material and fiber.
The digestive tract of carnivores is very different. It is shorter, equipped with a smaller but stronger stomach and relatively short intestines. The digestive glands of the stomach and especially pancreas are larger and produce large amounts of protein digestive enzymes. Carnivores do not have the ability to process fiber through fermentation as well as herbivores. (more…)