VETERINARY SECRETS

For the last few months I've been receiving informative e-mails and articles from Dr. Andrew Jones about a book that he has written called "Veterinary Secrets." I've been so impressed with all the material that he has sent to me that I will be reporting over the next few weeks about some of the information that he has shared with me. For instance, I knew a day or two before I seen someone else post it to a list about a cat that had contacted the "swine flu." So his material that he sends to me is up to date information.

Some of the information that I receive from Dr. Jones is stuff that we already talk about on several German Shepherd Dog lists, but I'm going to report what I've learned from him anyway for those readers who don't belong to any e-mail lists. Today I will be talking about two topics, vaccinations and quality of dog food. The first topic is about how we may be over vaccinating our dogs. As some of us already know, our dogs are being over vaccinated. There is growing evidence against vaccinating our dogs on a yearly basis. Vaccinations work by stimulating the immune system. The positive effect is to protect against infectious diseases. On the other side, the negative effect can be a host of immune related diseases. These can include: immune mediated hemolytic anemia, immune mediated skin disease, vaccine induced skin cancer in cats, skin allergies, arthritis, leukemia, inflammatory bowel disease and neurological conditions.

Autoimmune diseases are on the rise as well. More and more dogs are being treated for cancer that are not even five years old yet!

Our dogs are suffering from over vaccination, which combined with inadequate nutrition, poor breeding practices and environmental stresses are leaving each generation more susceptible to congenital disorders and chronic disease.

Newer research is showing that vaccine immunity lasts much longer than previously thought. Many vets are now using and recommending alternative vaccine protocols.

In some cases a vaccine given at one year of age may provide a lifetime immunity. How often we vaccinate our dogs is a matter of personal choice. We all must consider the risks of vaccinating our dogs. The more informed that we are,the better we are able to make educated decisions concerning the health and care of our animals.

The next subject Dr. Jones sent to me was about changing our dog's food and the use of alternative treatments to help protect them against some diseases and therefore, live a longer and healthier life. He talks about one of his first clients that he had after he graduated from vet school. The dog was diagnosed with liver disease that was incurable. Because traditional methods of treatment proved useless, he looked for other ways to treat the ailing dog. So, he talked to an herbalist. She suggested trying an herb called Milk Thistle. The other vet that he worked with thought it was useless. But it worked. The dog recovered from the liver disease and her blood tests showed normal liver function 3 months later after taking it. So now Dr. Jones uses alternative treatment along with traditional methods to treat his patients.

As for the dogs diet, commercial pet food does not always provide all of the nutrients that some dogs and cats need to be healthy at different times in their lives. This food also contains things that your pet doesn't need, such as chemical additives and preservatives. Some symptoms of less than natural diets include: bad breath, itchy skin, dull dry coats, and intestinal gas. An example of a preservative that is commonly found is propylene glycol. It is used to keep moist pet foods fresh. It has been linked to anemia and bloat.

One of the single most important things you can do for your pet's health is to feed a more natural diet. I have seen natural diets improve allergies, arthritis, diabetes, chronic vomiting and diarrhea.

If you use a commercial dog food like many of us do, these are the things you should check for the quality of the food. 1. Ingredients are listed in descending order. The first ingredient should be an animal based protein. 2. The entire protein should be listed first. Avoid foods that list by-products. Avoid those that list the food fractions - i.e. wheat middlings or corn gluten instead of the whole grain. These ingredients are leftovers from the human food processing and don't provide the best nutrition. 3. Look for natural preservatives. These include Vitamin C( ascorbic acid) Vitamin E and mixed tocopherols. Avoid ethoxyquin, BHA, BHT and propylene glycol. 4. Avoid foods with artificial flavor enhancers, such as phosphoric acid.
5. Avoid artificial colors. These include azo, azo dyes, and sodium nitrite.
6. Essential fatty acids must be added - of utmost importance for allergies, arthritis and cancer prevention. 7. Additional antioxidants, such as Vit E, Vit C and flavanoids. Dr. Jones also recommends the use of a good supplement if you feel that your dog is not getting everything he needs from his food.

If you want to read more about Dr. Jones work, check it out here. Click Here!

My rating: Veterinary Secrets: (4)