Pet Wellness - Veterinary Medicine Loses to Big Pharma

Well it's confirmed.  The takeover of veterinary medicine in the US and other first world nations is confirmed.  Big Pharma has finally made it to the finish line.  Should pet owners and their pets be happy about this take over?  Well, I wouldn't start planning the party just yet because according to many vets out there this is not something to be happy about.  What does this mean for pet wellness and natural pet health care?

Because of the massive profits that can be generated through pets, these drug companies for decades have spent much time and effort in an aggressive campaign to rewrite vet school curricula, influencing veterinarians and brainwashing pet owners into thinking their pets need drugs in order to thrive and be healthy.  Thanks to advertising funded by greedy uncaring drug companies, most consumers already show a cult like belief in pharmaceutical medicine.  So, for Big Pharma it was easy to convince pet owners that their animals need the same.

It is common practice nowadays for vets in the US to practice chemical based medicine on pets.  Immediately upon diagnosis, the pet owner is given a prescription of an expensive patented pharmaceutical - a so called instant fix to be given to their pet.  If this is not enough, the FDA has given approval for Prozac, a super mind altering drug prescribed to dogs, as well as many common drugs for people are now being used on pets.  This includes chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment. Alongside this, common pet ailments such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and depression are also being treated with harmful medications without even the mention of natural pet health care as a healing property.

Needless to say, pet wellness is now in rapid decline and pet owners really need to be vigilant in their pet wellness practices, and look for a better option to heal their pet's illness.  Any vet practicing for more than ten years will tell you that the result of the Big Pharma take over is that dogs and cats and other animals are sicker than ever.  These vets have seen an increase in the rate of liver disease, nervous system disorders, cancers and diabetes. This is because pets are being regularly poisoned by bad pet food and medicines.  Even popular flea and tick medication on their own are highly toxic to your pet's liver.

Big Pharma influence has turned veterinary medicine into a joke, right alongside the conventional medicine system for humans.  No longer is the goal of medicine to heal anyone.  The goal now is to profit by treating managing diseases without actually curing or preventing them.  Why would they do this? Connect the dots.  To benefit from repeat business and a lucrative one at that!  Let me not even touch on the rates veterinarians are charging these days particularly in emergency care.  The fees are outrageous!  And the audacity of pet clinics who are taking advantage of people's kindness when they rescue a pet charging $500. for saline solution!  These pet clinics are exploiting human kindness for high profit.  How many people do you think will now have no choice but to think twice before they rescue a wounded or helpless animal?

So what do pet owners do when faced with a situation where their precious pet needs medical help? Thankfully there is another route for pet wellness with holistic practitioners in veterinary medicine.  These practitioners are more plentiful in veterinary medicine than in human medicine.

Why the pet wellness route of pet natural health care is the direction to go.

1.  Holistic veterinarians understand nutrition, herbs, homeopathy and other natural modalities.

2.  Holistic veterinarians prescribe solutions and treat animals in ways that are outlawed in human medicine - because these solutions have a silver lining - they work!

3.  Holistic vets are more often in their line of business for the love of animals and the belief in a natural system of medications for ailments.  This makes them human as opposed to donkeys that are always trying to pave their financial future by exploiting sick animals and the love pet owners have for their pets.

My dog's holistic vet, Dr. Andrew Jones once made a statement that I have never forgotten.  "Any vet who thinks a dog is depressed and needs antidepressants should frankly have their license revoked and banished to a distant island over populated with sexually aggressive baboons!"  I wish I could somehow show you the expression on his face when he said this and how although I laughed from his choice of words I also thought - this guy is seriously angry about the situation.  Not surprising as he is one those vets who do what he does for the love of animals and his belief in natural medicine. 

When we look at the horrifying toxicity in pet foods in combination with pharmaceutical medicine, the future of mainstream pet wellness is quite dim.  Many brands of pet food claiming to be "scientific" brands are really just crap.  Only specialty pet food companies offer genuinely healthy, toxic free pet food.

Although I regularly give my dog pet wellness raw diet homemade meals, when I travel or am short on time I will only use these two companies for store bought pet food. www.Azmira.com  www.TheHonestKitchen.com

Mainstream veterinary practices amount to nothing more than chemical abuse of dogs, cats and other animals.  Sadly, this industry has swiped ethics for profit and no longer has any interest in helping to improve the quality of life of our pets.  Nutrition has been dismissed and replaced with a system of chemical invasion leading to worsening long term health.  The same has been taking place in human health care for years now, which is why holistic practitioners in human and pet health care are speaking out and giving us another avenue of hope for ourselves and our pets.

The proper use of pharmaceuticals

Pet wellness practices tell us it is important to understand the other side of the coin for just a minute.  Some chemical medications do have a role in quality veterinary care.  For example:

1.  Pain killers - have a useful but limited role.
2.  Antibiotics - can be helpful in certain situations. 

Be careful because antibiotics, even in human medicine are massively abused around the world.  

Be wary that treating dogs and cats with antidepressants, chemotherapy, diabetes drugs, statin drugs, osteoporosis drugs and other such chemical agents is absurd.

Make no mistake that most pet health conditions can be prevented and cured with good nutrition.  More problematic health ailments can be economically and safely solved with herbal therapies and naturopathic modalities best known as natural pet health care.

Pet Wellness Things to Do - Right Now!

1.  Switch to a healthy, natural, holistic pet diet.  Make fresh meals from scratch whenever possible.  Dr. Jones told me that pets should not be raised to live regularly on processed foods. Read the report: Pet Food Ingredients Revealed

2. Take an appointment with a holistic vet to investigate how he is a more suitable practitioner for your pet. Because state authorities are trying to de-license naturopathic vets, holistic or naturopathic animal care experts often do not have the same licensing credentials as regular vets.  This is happening because Big Pharma owns state licensing boards and naturopathic animal care experts pose a threat to their newly found gold mine.  You will most likely have to seek out naturopathic animal care experts on your own and ignore the state licensing boards.  Dr. Jones explained to me that in his experience he has found that licensing credentials are essentially useless.  Often times the more credentials a vet has the more deeply he is brainwashed  into a pharmaceutical approach to veterinary medicine.  Please consider replacing your regular vet with a holistic or naturopathic animal care expert once you have completed your investigations.

3.  Go back to basics.  Nutrition, exercise, disease preventing and natural pet health care.

Just like in the dieting world, don't be suckered in by the "miracle pill."  What animals need, just like people, is strong nutrition and natural medicine from nature. Pet wellness means utilizing natural pet health care solutions, raw food diets, and naturopathic animal health care.

Mike Adams makes some interesting points.

The main thrust of his article is to get YOU to think about what is happening CONVENTIONALLY.

And question WHY.

1. Take matters into your OWN hands. Whether or not you use a holistic Vet- QUESTION their advice..then be AWARE of ALL of the treatment options.

2. Get yourself educated on Natural Pet Health Care.You can go to school or take a home study course.

3. Vary your pet's diet- some Raw, some Home-Made and Kibble. Add a QUALITY supplement.

4. SPEND time being WITH your Dog and Cat. We all to often forget the more important mental aspect of health..

5. The Vaccine thing again..as LITTLE as INFREQUENTLY as possible!!

Pet Wellness: Cat Pancreatitis Awareness

Pet wellness advice today takes a look at cat pancreatitis, the lack of awareness by cat owners, causes, care and preventative measures.  

The job of the pancreas is to produce digestive enzymes and secrete hormones used in the metabolic process.  Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, and when inflamed, the digestive enzymes break away causing damage to the pancreas and the liver.

When a dog has pancreatitis he will show signs of illness that make it obvious to his owner that something is wrong - usually vomiting and abdominal pain.  The symptoms in cats however are more mild, easy to miss or be mistaken for something else.

Symptoms of Pancreatitis in Cats

The most common signs in a cat are lethargy and lack of appetite. However if you are a cat owner you know that cats often sleep and lounge all day and are picky eaters and it is for this reason that cat owners don't sense that something is wrong until it's too late.

Causes of the Disease

Although high in debate, traditional veterinarians tend to believe there is nothing specific that causes this disease in most pets.  However, recent studies have shown that in a small percentage of pets pancreatitis has been linked to trauma of the pancreas, viral or parasitic infection, and exposure to organophosphates, which is a toxin commonly found in pesticides. Some medications are also considered to be the culprit of pancreatitis such as; Phenobarbital, Prednisone, other catabolic steroids, and Diuretic drugs.

Dr. Karen Becker tells me that in her experience the majority of cats with pancreatic illness first develop inflammation in their GI tract.  You may be familiar with some of these conditions such as gastritis, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.  Dr. Becker goes further into detail by saying that the underlying reason for a vast majority of GI tract inflammation in pets is food allergies.

Processed Pet Food and Pancreatitis

A majority of commercial cat food contains allergenic ingredients that a cat's GI tract objects to over time. If you're feeding him the same food 365 days a year, it is possible the cat can developed an allergy to the protein source in the food. Once again, we hear and read about the many evils of processed pet food, which is why pet wellness practices steer pet owners away from processed foods and closer to raw food diets and natural pet health care.

Another problem with processed pet food is it's lack of natural enzymes, which are biologically appropriate for your pet. Biologically appropriate food supplements the enzymes produced by the pet's body which reduces pancreatic stress.  When a cat is fed only processed food, over time the cat's pancreas can develop chronic inflammation and stress from over working to produce the enzymes needed to digest it's meals.

The carbohydrate-dense ingredients in most commercial pet foods require high levels of insulin to process. This is also extremely taxing to the pancreas because the other job of the pancreas is to secrete insulin. When a cat's pancreas is over worked and can no longer do its job well, the result is pancreatitis.

Pet Wellness Advice: If Your Cat Has Been diagnosed with Pancreatitis

If your cat is vomiting, sluggish and shows loss of appetite or fever, it is imperative that you seek veterinary attention for your cat. Do not just assume this is a cat's normal behavior.  Dr. Becker suggests the cat owner seek the professionalism of an integrative or holistic vet in order to best manage your cat's condition and get him back to good health.

Cat owners should also seriously consider their cat's diet and type of food intake.  Turning their meals into natural / raw food is something many pet owners are taking on these days, and with the information we have on store bought pet food and pancreatitis, amongst many other various issues, utilizing the impact of natural pet health care is highly advised.

When your cat's pancreatic situation is stabilized, one of the best things you can do to reduce the risk of another flare up is to supplement his diet with digestive enzymes. You can do this by providing the cat a constant supply of enough digestive enzymes to help him process the food he consumes in order to reduce the workload on the pancreas and reduce organ stress.

a. The pet owner can feed him pancreatic tissue, an option that is quite unappealing to most pet owners.
b.  The pet owner can add a digestive enzyme supplement to his cats' meals.

When it comes to domesticated companion animals the best pet wellness practice is to feed a raw diet and practice natural pet health care. There is no way however to provide these pets with the same level of naturally occurring enzymes they would find if they were feeding in the wild, so any domesticated pet can be enzyme deficient and requires a supplement in their daily meals. 

Unfortunately, pancreatitis often reoccurs. It's a serious disease that can result in complications like diabetes, hepatic lipidosis, bleeding and clotting disorders, and even brain damage. For these reasons Dr. Becker suggests pet wellness practices be put into action by working with a holistic vet and use natural pet health care to keep your cat strong and healthy and to prevent reoccurring pancreatitis. She also recommends you give your cat a high quality probiotic and transition him to a carb and grain free protein diet to reduce the risk of future episodes of cat pancreatitis.

Pet Wellness - Second Hand Smoke and Your Dog

In this day and age we are well aware of the health hazards of smoking, as well as those from continuous second hand smoke.  A pet wellness area new on the horizon these days is second hand smoke, which has come about due to several studies showing  chronic exposure to second hand smoke also increases the incidence of lung disease and eye irritation in pets.  These studies show that pets living in poorly ventilated areas and exposed to second hand smoke, have a high incidence of nasal and lung cancer.

Short nosed breeds such as Shih tzu's, Bulldogs and Pugs are at a higher risk of lung cancer due to the area in which the cancer particles attach themselves. The cancer particles are able to pass into the lungs before attaching themselves. In long nosed breeds the cancer particles attach within the lining of the nasal passages.

The primary culprit of the above diseases is chronic exposure to second hand smoke in poorly ventilated areas - not second hand smoke alone.  With the harmful products found in smoke to be in the form of gas, it can take many hours for the smoke of a single cigarette to clear entirely.  Ventilation systems cannot entirely filter out tobacco smoke. 

Obviously for their own health all non smokers hope that smokers can find away to stomp out their habit of smoking - not an easy task we know, and many of us have friends and family that smoke and we watch them struggle as they desperately try to break their habit.  And yes, now there is another good reason to quit - it is hazardous to your pets. 

If you are a smoker and whether you are trying to quit or not, here are some pet wellness tips to help minimize your pets risk of nasal and lung cancer.  

1.  Help yourself and your pet even more by limiting your smoking to outdoors. I actually have friends that have found this tip to be an extra help to quitting.  When you can't smoke in your own personal comfort zone, while carrying on with tasks at hand, it can reduce the amount of cigarettes you smoke per day.

2.  Have a smoke free home, except for one room in which you smoke.  The room needs to be keep ventilated, because smoke travels, so in order for this to work the room needs to consistently ventilated, and the door of the room kept closed to help keep the smoke contained as much as possible.  If you own a dog such as a Saluki, or your pet has allergies, they can be extremely sensitive to second hand smoke, causing ear infections or ear agitation, itchiness and sneezing.

3. Consistent grooming will help to remove the smoke residue from your pets hair or fur. This is especially important in cats who lick and ingest the residue on their coats. Some veterinarians suggest vitamin C and other anti-oxidants to minimize the risk of cancer. 

A Couple of Facts about Nicotine

1.  The fact that nicotine alone is an extremely toxic poison often goes unmentioned. Nicotine is a poisonous alkaloid derived from the tobacco plant and used in medicine and as an insecticide. Not many people realize that nicotine is sold commercially in the form of a pesticide.

2.  Ironically, the dizziness and nausea that a person experiences after smoking their first cigarette is actually a very mild case of nicotine poisoning.

Nicotine Toxicity in Pets

It is important that you protect your pet from nicotine toxicity by ensuring you do not leave around anything that has nicotine in it, including cigarettes, buds, ash trays, patches, etc.  Even small amounts can induce toxicity symptoms.  In large amounts - and just how large an amount can depend of the breed, weight and health condition of your pet - can be fatal causing paralysis of the breathing muscles in as little as a few hours. Puppies who are curious and get into everything are at a higher risk of ingesting nicotine within a smokers home, whether it be cigarettes, or anything else nicotine related.  Make sure your trash is out of reach, especially when you leave your home.

If your pet ever exhibits any of the following symptoms, call your veterinarian.

Tremors

Weakness

Stumbling and/or in coordination

Depression

Hyperactivity

Lethargy (in high doses)

Fast breathing or difficulty breathing

Drooling

Dilated pupils

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Possible seizures

Collapse

Either bradycardia (slow heart rate), tachycardia (high heart rate) and/or cardiac arrhythmias

Pet Wellness is Preventative Care

The best prevention is to eliminate the source of nicotine. Keep cigarettes,  cigars, and all nicotine products out of the reach of your pets. This includes ashtrays, chewed nicotine gum and used nicotine patches. Remember, even ash and used products still have residual nicotine. The amount of ingestion required for toxicity is a lot higher than with the unused product, but the potential for toxicity is still there. Practice these pet wellness tips to protect against smoke dangers and keep your pet well protected against nasal and lung cancer - at the same time, you will be contributing to better health, longer life and cleaner air for yourself and the world around you.

See what Dr. Karen Becker and Dr. Mercola share with pet owners for the best strategy in holistic pet care.

Pet Wellness - New Seizure Remedy

Our pet wellness topic today is an important one for dogs and cats that suffer with seizures.  Seizures are common in dogs, less in cats and according to Dr. Andrew Jones, DVM, there is now an inexpensive amino acid that even has a scientific basis for being extremely helpful to dogs and cats that suffer from seizures. 

Taurine For Dogs Complimentary therapy for seizures may help decrease seizure activity for dogs and cats. Dr Jones says to discuss this option with your vet but he would certainly give it to his dog or cat suffering with seizures, as it is safe and has few side effects. 

Dosage


Dog: 400mg per 40lbs of body weight, PO twice daily.  
Cat: 500mg, PO twice daily.

For a more comprehensive look at pet natural health care / home remedies for  pet illnesses visit pet natural health care.