Wednesday, June 25, 2014

The Benefits of Milk Thistle For Heartworm Medication



Milk thistle is a flower that has been used as medication for thousands of years as a way to help detoxify the liver (Naturally, 2014). This is beneficial today because it reduced the stress load on the liver when harmful chemicals, and the like, enter the body. Since the liver is what is taking the brunt of filtering out all the negative toxins in the body, it is a good idea to make the liver’s job a little easier. Milk thistle not only helps detoxify, but it also helps repair the liver by protecting the liver cells from damage caused by toxins (Taylor and Becker, 2011).

I use the brand Now. 


Milk Thistle for Heartworm Medication

As stated in my previous post, Heartworm: What You Need To Know, heartworm medication is a poison meant to kill microfilaria and parasites which is toxic to our pets bodies. Because of this, it can be damaging and taxing on the liver to filter out the toxins from the medication. If you have decided to administer heartworm medication after reading and learning about the lifecycle of heartworm, then it is a very good idea to give milk thistle for one full week after administering heartworm medication. Dosing milk thistle varies by body weight.

Dr. Karen Backer’s dose recommendations are very vague:

-          ½ capsule a day for small dogs and cats (Taylor and Becker, 2011)
-          1 capsule a day for medium dogs (Taylor and Becker, 2011)
-          1 capsule twice a day for large/giant dogs (Taylor and Becker, 2011)

Other's have a more accurate dosage recommendation:

-          <5lbs: 10% of adult daily dosage (Hofve, 2002; Mastiff, 2005-2009; Petz, 2011)
-          5-10lbs: 15% of adult daily dosage (Hofve, 2002; Mastiff, 2005-2009; Petz, 2011)
-          11-2lbs: 20% of adult daily dosage (Hofve, 2002; Mastiff, 2005-2009; Petz, 2011)
-          21-4lbs: 30% of adult daily dosage (Hofve, 2002; Mastiff, 2005-2009; Petz, 2011)
-          41-7lbs: 50% of adult daily dosage (Hofve, 2002; Mastiff, 2005-2009; Petz, 2011)
-          71-100lbs75% of adult daily dosage (Hofve, 2002; Mastiff, 2005-2009; Petz, 2011)
-          >100lbs 100% of adult daily dosage (Hofve, 2002; Mastiff, 2005-2009; Petz, 2011)


Resources for further information on milk thistle for heartworm medication and more:

Bibliography

Hofve, J. (2002, July). Milk Thistle. Retrieved June 25, 2014, from Canine Epilepsy Guardian Angels: http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/milk_thistle.htm
Mastiff, T. (2005-2009). Timing Heartworm Preventative. Retrieved June 25, 201$, from Tubetan Mastiff: http://www.tibetanmastiff.net/Heartworm.html
Naturally, D. (2014). Milk Thistle For Your Dog! Retrieved June 25, 2014, from Dogs Naturally: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/milk-thistle-for-your-dog/
Petz, J. (2011, December 13). Milk Thistle (Silymarin). Retrieved June 25, 2014, from Canine Epilepsy Resources: http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/MilkThistle.html
Taylor, B., & Becker, K. S. (2011). Dr. Becker's Real Food For Healthy Dogs and Cats: Simple Homemade Food. Natural Pet Productions.

Friday, June 20, 2014

Handsome Boy

Baxter, a 7 month Rottweiler x German Shepherd mix. He loves to cuddle and chase sticks. What a sweet boy!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Recreational Bones

Part of feeding our pets a healthy diet is also feeding our pets safely. I hear the phrase, recreation bones, thrown around a lot when talking about raw. For those of you who do not know what those are, recreational bones are, non-edible, raw bones from weight bearing animals that have been stripped of most, if not all, meat. Non-edible means they cannot be crushed into smaller pieces to swallow safely for nutritional purposes.

Examples of Recreational Bones:
Photo courtesy of US Wellness Meats

Photo courtesy of US Wellness Meats

Photo courtesy of US Wellness Meats


Even though recreational bones are raw, they are not okay to feed for several reasons:

- They are dense bones from weight bearing animals such as cow or elk and can chip, crack or fracture teeth which is painful for the dog and expensive to fix.
- They are a choking hazard.
- They do not clean teeth; they wear down the teeth by destroying the enamel. The gnawing on hard bone files down teeth over time. Cleaning teeth is more than just crushing up bones but also the flossing and rubbing action when eating meat.
- They do not provide any more mental stimulation that feeding whole pieces of raw meat cannot provide.
- Wolves have been documented leaving these types of bones at the kill site; stripped of meat and then left untouched.

When I first started feeding raw, I paid no attention to the warnings of those more experienced than me about the dangers of recreational bones, such as beef shanks, femurs, marrow bones, and knuckles. I ignored them because I felt I was doing everything right and Balto was not an aggressive gnawer. Well, a month into feeding them, after one particular session, I noticed Balto had chipped two of his back molars. Thankfully they were only superficial chips and no real damage was done for the vet to fix. I was lucky in that sense, but I put Balto at risk simply because I felt I knew better. It was then I swore off of recreational bones. I believe that the costs outweigh any benefits people may feel recreational bones might provide.

However, weight bearing bones with lots of meat still attached is fine to feed. Feeding big pieces of bone-in beef, elk, venison, buffalo, moose, etc. with plenty of meat attached is okay because by the time they get down to the bone, their excitement for the food has dwindled and they are much calmer to gently tear at any remainders of meat without damaging their teeth or chocking. When the bone is bare of meat, it should be discarded.

*I would consider antlers to be an unsafe recreational bone to feed as well.

Safe Recreational Treats to Feed:

I feed Balto bully sticks which are dried out bull pizzle (penis). It is a healthy and safe alternative to recreational bones. He loves them, they help clean teeth, massage the gums, and they exercise the jaw. In addition, they are not too hard that they will crack, chip, or fracture any teeth. You can’t ask for a better treat! 

Pictures of Balto eating a bullystick.



If you are interested in a particular topic, leave it in the comments below.

Friday, June 13, 2014

An Easy Way To Check For Ticks


Dogs with hair are typically easier to check for ticks as many pet owner in the hot, summer months shave their pets down. But what about the dogs that do not get shaved down in summer?

Balto has a double coat which means he has A LOT of fur to get through and a lot of fur ticks can hide in.


Solution:

Hair dryer. Putting the dryer on the highest speed possible parts the fur allowing you to easily check the skin for any unwanted visitors. It also cuts the time in it takes to check your dog in half. My hair dryer has a cool setting on it which I use to check him since he gets hot pretty quickly on the normal setting. Balto loves it; he falls asleep with the cool air while I’m racking my fingers through his fur.

You can use this method on cats and ferrets too. However, keeping your cat still during the whole process may prove to be a bit tricky. Good luck.

Tick Identification Chart:
http://www.doverlyme.com/information/ecology/tick-identification-chart/

How do you check your pets for ticks?


Can You Spot Shakespeare?

Shakespeare, trying the blend in with his furry buddies.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Brazil Won

Gatinha, watching the FIFA games.

Heartworm: What You Need To Know


Summer is here and a hot topic during these months is whether or not to administer heartworm medication. This topic is extremely personal and I’d rather not give a definitive ‘yes or no’ answer to. There are multiple factors that can affect how much risk our dogs, ferrets, and cats are to developing heartworm. Rather, I will discuss how heartworm develops and provide you with alternatives to heartworm medications and allow you, as a responsible owner, to make a decision. When you understand the enemy you’re up against, it makes the battle much easier.

Picture taken from http://www.martindaleanimalclinic.com/heartworm-disease/
Firstly, I would like to start by saying that by blindly administering heartworm medication simply because it is warm outside or because the calendar says it’s May, is the wrong reason to give Heartworm drugs. Let me explain to you why. Heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis, cannot develop if appropriate environmental conditions are not present. Like all living organisms on planet Earth, heartworm, too, must follow biology to become a risk to our pets. They simply do not magically appear out of thin air. In case you were wondering, heartworm is not limited to cats and dogs; ferrets can also become infected with the heartworm parasite. However, cats and ferrets do not typically cycle the parasite back to the mosquito (Brooks, 2012).

What is heartworm?
Heartworm is a parasitic roundworm that lives in the heart and pulmonary arteries of dogs, cats, and ferrets. It is spread to the animal by being bitten by an infected mosquito and releasing immature worms or larvae called microfilaria onto the skin, which then penetrated the bite wound and enters into the animal’s blood stream (Brooks, 2012). Once in the blood stream, it takes approximately 6 months for the microfilaria to leave the skin, circulate the body, and reach the heart where they can develop into adult heartworm (Fudens, 2014).

How does it develop?
The key note about heartworm is that it is not as simple as being bitten by a mosquito. Only females carrying stage 3 microfilaria can transmit the parasite. If the microfilaria is not a stage 3 larva, infection cannot occur. There are five stages of development.

Picture taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirofilaria_immitis

Stage One: L1
-          When adult male and female worms are present in the heart of the host, they breed and give birth to microfilaria which circulate the body and can do so for up to 2 years before they die of old age (Brooks, 2012).
-          When bitten by a mosquito, it sucks up the L1 larvae in its body to start the development into the L2 stage (Brooks, 2012).
Stage Two: L2
-          The L2 development into L3’s depends on temperate conditions (Brooks, 2012).
-          For temperatures of 14 degrees Celsius, 57 degrees Fahrenheit, 45 days of consecutive, day and night, temperatures must occur (Brooks, 2012).
-          The warmer the temperature, the faster the L2’s will develop into L3’s (Brooks, 2012).
-          For temperatures of 26 degree Celsius or higher, 80+ degrees Fahrenheit, at least 2 weeks of night and day temperatures must occur (Brooks, 2012).
Stage Three: L3
-          When the mosquito bites the host, the L3 larvae are deposited onto the skin of the host in a droplet of saliva (Brooks, 2012).
-          For infection to occur, it must be humid enough for the larvae to swim into the bite wound and into the host before the saliva evaporates (Brooks, 2012).
-          Inside the host the L3 develop into an L4 over a time span of 1-2 weeks (Brooks, 2012).
Stage Four: L4
-          L4’s live in the skin of the host for approximately 3 months until it develops into the L5’s and ready to enter the circulatory system (Brooks, 2012).
Stage Five: L5
-          L5’s are young adult worms that travel to the heart and pulmonary arteries to mate and breed (Brooks, 2012). Approximately 5-7 months after infection (Brooks, 2012).

Is heartworm medication a preventative?
No. Heartworm medication is not a preventative. The medications are poisons that kill parasites and microfilaria after the animal has become infected, it does not prevent the mosquito from biting and infecting the animal. 

*It is important to understand that heartworm medication does not protect the dog from future infection. It only treats after potential infection has occurred.

Are there natural preventatives?
First and foremost, a healthy immune system is always the best defence against anything. Feeding a raw diet and minimal vaccinations are the best ways to keep the body working at its optimal level. Having said that, although a healthy immune system is best, it will not guarantee 100% that your dog will not contract heartworm. The notion that a healthy, raw fed, dog with minimal vaccines cannot contract heartworm is not true. Even healthy dogs have the potential to become infected with heartworm. 

Second, avoid the time of the day where mosquitoes are most active. Between dusk and dawn is typically when mosquitoes are most active due to the cooler temperatures. They avoid direct sunlight. In addition, avoid letting your dog sit in the shade surrounding wooded, forestry areas as humid, moist, spots are where mosquitoes love to hang out around. Having said that, after a rainfall when the air is moist and humid and there is not much direct sunlight, mosquitoes are very active so avoid spending much time outside wooded, forestry areas.

- Black walnut is a common treatment I hear to naturally treat heartworm. I personally have not used this as a preventative but many do. It works by cleansing the intestinal tract and passing into the blood stream to kill parasites. Dr. Dobias has reported success in curing a heartworm positive dog with it. http://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/11016121-heartworm-dilemma-drugs-or-no-drugs-natural-treatment-protocol

- Garlic is a great tool to repel parasites such as fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes from approaching the animal. It also has cleansing properties within the body. I administer fresh crushed garlic as a natural preventative myself, but do not solely rely on this method.

- Keeping the pests away that transmit heartworm is key. Natural pest repellents are a great preventative for mosquitoes, as well as ticks and fleas. Make sure if you are using one on your cat, it is manufactured for the use on cats. They are very sensitive to certain essential oils and chemicals. Remember with natural pet sprays, frequent application is recommended. Natural products simply do not have the duration of effectiveness as chemical spray products do. 

* I pair up a natural pest repellent with fresh crushed garlic. 

- Food grade Diatomaceous Earth is another way to keep pests off of our pets. It cuts into the pests bodies and dries them out so they dehydrate and die. However is MUST be food grade, others have nasty chemicals that are harmful to us and our pets. Rubbing some into the pet's coat keeps bugs off.

Should I give Heartworm medication to my pet?
The decision to give heartworm medication should be weighed by the risks of infection. Ask yourself this:
1)      Are temperatures appropriate for the development of heartworm in my area and for how long? In all areas of Canada, when temperatures reach appropriate levels it’s less than 4 months of the year and that is including the time it takes for the microfilaria to develop into L3’s. Yet I would still get 6 doses for heartworm medication from my vet. That means I would be dosing my pets during months when it is biologically impossible for our pets to become infected.
2)      What are my pet’s lifestyles like? Majority of pets I know do not sleep outside and since between dusk and dawn is when they are most vulnerable of being bitten by a mosquito, the risk is reduced.
3)      Do my pets spend majority of their time near moist, damp, environments like wooded areas and forests? If you live in the city, there is not as many moist, cozy area’s mosquitoes like to hang out in which reduces the risk of infection.

*The link below shows you a chart of the risk of infection in all US states.

Is there a healthier program for administering Heartworm Medication?
For those of you that feel the risk is too high to not give Heartworm medication, the link below gives great information on the timing and dosing of different heartworm medications. Most drugs can be dosed safety, with 100% effectiveness, 6 weeks after threat of L3’s development has occurred.

Other Resources:

Bibliography:
Brooks, W. C. (2012, July 5). Heartworm: The Parasite. Retrieved June 12, 2014, from VeterinaryPartner.com: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=615
Fudens, J. (2014). Heartworm. Retrieved June 12, 2014, from Dogs Naturally Magazine: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/heartworm/

Tuesday, June 10, 2014