Monday, September 8, 2014

Anti-Raw Veterinarians Using Scare Tactics On Pet Owners

An interesting article about Veterinarians using scare tactics to push owners away from feeding their pets a healthy raw diet.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/09/08/5-anti-raw-food-tactics.aspx?e_cid=20140908Z1_PetsNL_art_1&utm_source=petnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20140908Z1&et_cid=DM56986&et_rid=652178346


Thursday, August 14, 2014

Guide To Feeding Wild Meats:


Picture Taken from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hiepes-bodegon_aves_y_liebre.jpg
Commercially raised meats found in grocery stores undergo strict regulations that make fresh meat edible. This is why we, and our carnivores, can eat the meat without having to freeze it first and not fear getting an unwanted parasite.

However, wild meat cannot be eaten safely without freezing it solid for the appropriate amount of time to kill off all harmful parasites.


Wild game:
 
Wild game must be frozen solid for 3-4 weeks. There will be a link under Resources with a list of different meat you can feed.

* It’s not advised to feed a carnivore to other carnivores.


Fish:

Wild-caught salmonids and Pacific Northwest Fish should be frozen for 3-4 weeks to kill off parasites and also eliminate Salmon Poisoning.

Other Fish should be frozen solid for 1-2 weeks.

* Fish should be frozen as fresh as possible and fed frozen. Unlike meat, fish does not age well and can make your pet sick when it begins to get old. Scombroid Fish Poisoning is caused by inappropriate refrigeration. After you pet is finished with its meal but has not eaten all the fish, put it back into the freezer (not the fridge) to eliminate this problem.


Healthy Fish to Feed:

Picture taken from http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/Graphics/MercuryFoodChain.html
Not all fish are the best to fed as some are lower in omega 3’s and have higher mercury levels. The link below shows you a chart that will help identify the healthiest fish to feed your pet. 



* Eliminate the option of cod liver oil. For humans, it’s okay, but for our pets, it is high in vitamin A and raw fed dogs get the correct amount from the liver they consume. They do not need more of it because of the risk of vitamin A toxicity.

 Remember, feeding fish is not the most important part of your carnivore’s diet. For variety and omega 3’s it is fine, but red meat should be your main focus.


Resources:

Friday, August 8, 2014

Declawing: The Consequences And Why You Should Never Declaw your Cat



Picture property of www.all-creatures.org.


Decalwing is a common practise in North America and one that is unnecessary, painful,  and damaging to your cat physically and emotionally.
 
Declawing is the procedure of amputating the first joint of each toe on the cat’s paw; this includes claw, bones, nerves, joint capsule, collateral ligaments and the extensor/flexor tendons (Becker, 2011). This is a huge problem for cats because not only is it painful for the cat, but also because claws are extremely important for cats. Cats are digitigrades which means they walk on their toes not the soles of their feet (Becker, 2011). Most mammals use the soles of feet, walking from heel to toe (Becker, 2011). In addition, they use their claws to engage in natural behaviour that positively stimulated them mentally.

Decalwing is not harmless, it is very detrimental to the cat and many countries have banned the procedure. The link below is a list of those countries.


Cats have claws for multiple reasons:

-          Marking territory
-          Stretching their muscles
-          Balance
-          Protection against predators
-          Nail trimming
-          Exercise
-          Hunting

Declawing cats is an inhumane procedure that leads to a whole host of problems physically and in the cat’s personality.


Physical Consequences that can be caused by declawing:

-          Chronic small bone arthritis (Becker, 2011)
-          Lameness (Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure, 2014)
-          Back pain (Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure, 2014)
-          Tissue necrosis (Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure, 2014)
-          Degenerative joint disease (Becker, 2011): imagine walking on in high heels without ever being able to take them off. The pressure on the middle phalanx is not designed to solely support the weight of the cat when walking or running.
-          Neuralgia (Becker, 2011)

Picture property of www.all-creatures.org.


Emotional Consequences that can be caused by declawing:

-          Aggression
-          Feelings of stress and anxiety
-          Biting behaviour cause by the insecurity of lacking their primary form of defence
-          Urinating outside of the litter box to mark their territory on things they can no longer scratch; this behaviour is serious and difficult to break once it becomes habitual for the cat. Cat urine is extremely potent and nearly impossible to remove completely from furniture and floors.


Alternatives to Declawing:

-          Start training the kitten at a young age where they are allowed and not allowed to scratch. In addition, train them at a young age to accept their nails being trimmed. Always use positive reinforcement when doing this!
-          Different materials and types of posts or pads can make a difference. Find a cat scratcher that appeals to your cat and place multiple in different areas of the house. The more scratching posts, the more likely they with not seek out your furniture. (My cat ignores tall scratching posts; he loves and engages frequently in the flat, cardboard, scratching posts.) *Some cats may lose interest in old, tattered, scratching posts; replace them when this happens or they will search for other things to scratch.*
-          Cut the cat’s nail regularly so it does not need to seek something else to trim them.
-           There are commercially available nail caps for cats. I’m not familiar with anyone ever using these, nor do I know if they are effective. If scratching is a problem that is not being solved by any of the solutions above, it may be a consideration for extreme cases.


Resources:



Bibliography:

Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure. (2014, May 12). Retrieved July 24, 2014, from Humane Society: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/declawing.html
Becker, K. (2011, November 15). Declawing: Why You Should Never Subject Your Cat to This Torturous Procedure. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from Healthy Pets: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/11/15/declawing-torture-cats.aspx

Monday, July 14, 2014

Before and After Raw Feeding



Wow, this is incredible! Only 11 weeks difference from the first picture and the second on a Prey Model Raw Diet. Amazing, isn’t it? Thank you Jessica, for allowing me to share such wonderful success with your raw fed dog. Beautiful teeth to match a beautiful dog.



Saturday, July 5, 2014

Over Vaccinations: Why You Don’t Need Boosters


Picture taken from http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine#mediaviewer/File:Smallpox_vaccine.jpg

Today is not a topic between core or non-core vaccines. I will write about the difference and importance of those in another post.
 
In my personal opinion, I truly believe there is a place for vaccines. They are important for the safety of our pets as they help in the attempt to minimize and eradicate the threat of lethal viruses. Without them, the cases of sick or dying pets’ would be much greater, just as the cases of sick or dying humans would be greater around the world. Vaccines are effective; it is why we use them. They are the reason smallpox has been eradicated worldwide.

 However, over vaccination (administering booster vaccines) is an issue that is occurring in vet offices needlessly. When your pet is young, they undergo a series of vaccine shots, this series is important to complete. Young animals have not had the time to develop their immune system and this leaves them vulnerable to lethal viruses which is why introducing microbes of the dead viruses in a way they cannot actually contract it, is a smart and effective way to protect your pet. 

As said above, it is important to complete these series of shots; giving one shot of each vaccine is not enough to guarantee immunity against the virus you wish to protect against. Because the body’s immune system is young and not developed, it must learn and match the appropriate T cell with the virus to build immunity within the body. This is why completing the series of shots is needed,; after one shot, the body does not always ‘take’ fully to the vaccine leaving your pet still vulnerable to potentially contract the virus.

After the puppy or kitten series are complete, your pet is immunized. Many of these have an average immunity duration of 5 to 7 years or more. Within those years, if your pet’s body is challenged with the any of the virus’s you immunized against, then the antibodies in the blood will increase again which allows your pet to have more years of immunization against the viruses. In many cases, your pets will be immunized for life without ever having to give “booster” vaccines. If the average duration of vaccinations are 5-7+ years, than it makes absolutely no sense to vaccinate (boost) the animal every year. 

Some people like to titer their pets every year or every other year after the completing their series of puppy or kitten vaccinations. Titers tests the level of antibodies in the blood at that given time. It does not test for T memory cells that help the B cells create antibodies. 

*I would like to note that just because a pet’s titer count is low, it does not mean the pet has low immunity. That just means the animal’s body has not been challenged recently causing the antibody count in the blood to reduce over time. 

If the pet were to be challenged recently before you did the titer, that same low titer would no longer be low anymore because the memory T cells have recognized the virus and alerted the B cells to start producing more antibodies in the blood to kill the virus before you even knew you dog or cat was ever sick with the virus again. That increase in antibodies in the blood will give you a higher titer count. This same process goes for humans.

This is why I truly feel boosters are not needed and can be more harmful than beneficial for you pets.  I've listed resources below that help explain immunology, titers, vaccine protocols, and even the risk of over vaccinations.

Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwMYpTYsNZM (series of videos that explain immunology)