Vital Animal® § The Natural Path

Unconventional Wisdom For Naturally Healthy Animals

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6 of 10 People See Only Two Choices for Itchy Skin. Are You One of Them?

By 39 Comments

Apoquel and The Danger of Either/Or Thinking

Too many of you seem to be stuck in some variation of this illogic I’m calling “either/or thinking,” from reading your comments in this blog:

I’ve EITHER got to let my dog suffer this horrible itch (skin or ears or both) OR give him these horrible Big Pharma drugs with side effects.

I’m gonna be kind. Itching all the time sucks for both of us. I’m getting him on Apoquel or Cytopoint despite what I’ve read and we’ll just have to see what the outcome is long term. He can’t go on this way!

Part of me screams inside when I read comments like this.

And they are coming a bit too frequently, especially on two popular articles pertaining to itchy skin and the latest, greatest drugs being pushed on you:

Apoquel: Dog Miracle Drug With a Dark Side

Cytopoint: High Tech Answer to Your Itchy Dog?

Here’s just a recent example, from the comments on my Apoquel post, linked above. [Read more…] about 6 of 10 People See Only Two Choices for Itchy Skin. Are You One of Them?

Your Dying Animal: 10 Ways to Help

By 36 Comments

Easing the Death Process

Dying Happens. Dogs, cats, horses, humans, bees and bacteria: all who are born will one day die.

Thems the rules down here on the planet.

The Vedas, the timeless wisdom of India, are even more specific:

When a soul incarnates (enters a body), the time of death is predetermined.

That understanding takes a lot of hubris out of caring for the dying!

It’s ultimately not in our hands to extend life (all the cryo madness aside), but you can do many things to make that final transition out of the current body a lot easier.

Here are ten. [Read more…] about Your Dying Animal: 10 Ways to Help

Stop Vaccinating Your Seniors, Already!

By 26 Comments

One Shot Over the Line, Sweet Jesus

I went through this exact thing with my lab, Chuck, my ❤ dog. He was diagnosed in August 2012 with LP then DM 2 months later. Acupuncture and water therapy gave me 8 months I don’t think I would have had. When he could no longer move his back end without help, I let him go. He was 13. My heart is still broken.  –Cindi, in our comments

What Cindi is speaking of is getting her 13 year old vaccinated (he was “due,” according to her vet).

LP? Laryngeal paralysis. Lost his normal voice, and Chuck’s breathing got noisy.

DM? Degenerative myelitis. Basically, paralyzed from the waist down.

I hear variations of this way more often than I’d like.

They make me cringe.

  • Cringe for your animals getting steamrolled by conventional vets.
  • Cringe for you, following Dr. WhiteCoat’s instructions and seeing your animal fall apart.
  • Cringe for my profession who, if they don’t know better, are causing harm.
  • Cringe even more for my colleagues who DO know better but let the siren song of easy income entice them to vaccine injure your seniors.

[Read more…] about Stop Vaccinating Your Seniors, Already!

Probiotics: Quick Fix for Antibiotic Damage?

By 24 Comments

Sound too easy?

I get quite a spectrum of comments on this blog, from the occasional skeptic to a frustrated pet owner who’s getting disrespected by Dr. WhiteCoat, to a handful of drug-enamored folks who aren’t even waiting for the other shoe to drop as they suppress their dog’s symptoms with the latest, greatest from Big Pharma.

But this one caught my eye and got whisked into Evernote, as it’s from a doctor, and it’s dangerously optimistic in an area I have serious concerns about:

The all too common over use of antibiotics.

See what you think:

My dog had erhlichiosis (sic) confirmed on blood test. We gave her doxycycline and she regained use of paralyzed back leg. Just give probiotics and grain free diet to combat the GI effects of meds.

Beep! Beep! Beep!! (the sound of my B.S. detector going off in my head)…
[Read more…] about Probiotics: Quick Fix for Antibiotic Damage?

Got REAL Milk?

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When Organic Becomes a Sham

You’ve got many food choices in front of you every day, for you, your family, and the animals in your care.

The food industry has long noticed that you’ll spend more for something labeled “organic.”

And, living in the age we do, that term is regularly bent and abused in pursuit of the holy grail of big production everywhere, the “bottom line.”

So it is with organic milk, a term now abused and overused to suck you in.

You’d be wise to go beyond the label before you plunk down your hard-earned cash and head home with what appears to be a lovely product.

Remember: you’re voting for someone and their values every time you open your pocketbook. [Read more…] about Got REAL Milk?