vaccination, heartworm, and diet

Sue (MyPetTherapyDog) asked me to elaborate on a comment I made about these things in another thread, so here goes.

I do not vaccinate yearly. People do not receive annual vaccinations because it is not necessary! Most vaccinations will protect for the life of the dog and repeatedly introducing these toxins directly into the bloodstream - not to mention in mega-quantities of 5-7 viruses at the same time - is very unhealthy for the immune system. The practice started as a way for vets to get people to bring their dogs in for yearly exams. They thought the vaccines were harmless, so it was an easy ploy to make people bring their dogs in. A yearly exam IS important, but as it turns out, over-vaccinating is NOT harmless! Also, the way puppy shots are currently given is also dangerous. If I had complete control over the vaccination of a new puppy, I would give them ONE parvo shot and ONE distemper shot, several weeks apart, rather than the huge cocktails they are now given. Then one rabies shot after 16 weeks and they are done! I would also follow up with homeopathy to reduce any side effects of these shots. My vet says that she has used titer tests on many dogs who have been vaccinated either once or not at all and she has yet to see ANY of the previously vaccinated dogs come back without a titer and that almost all of the totally unvaccianted dogs also have an active titer because they have picked up natural immunity through contact with the diseases.

Heartworm preventive and flea medications are poisons. I do not believe in poisoning my dog as a preventive measure. Dogs with healthy immune systems should be able to fight off most infestations without their owners ever knowing about it. If a dog does get heartworms, early detection and homeopathic treatment can help them clear the worms gently, without the horrible side effects and crate rest required for the regular treatments. I feed garlic tablets and spray my yard with Garlic Barrier to reduce contact with mosquitoes, ticks and fleas. I regularly check my dogs for ticks, especially after walks in the woods. I vaccuum their areas thoroughly and wash their bedding weekly to control fleas. And I get them tested for heartworms every six months for early detection of any problems.

Diet is the most important aspect of this program. An appropriate diet is what enables the immune system to be healthy and function as intended. Dogs are carnivores. They are meant to eat prey animals. I provide my dogs with food as close to that as possible. They eat raw, MEATY bones, meaning bones that are about 75% meat and 25% bones. They also eat organs meats, raw whole fish, and occasional raw eggs. As a result, their stool is very small and mostly odorless, their teeth are clean, they do not have doggie breath or a stong doggie odor, and their musculature is aided by the actions of ripping, tearing and chewing. And they love it!

A healthy immune system is the key to a healthy animal (or person). A proper diet and the reduction of chemicals - including drugs, medications, preventives, cleaning compounds, etc - all aid in keeping the immune system healthy. Many of the "common" diseases that older dogs and cats get now and are considered a "normal part of aging" are not normal at all! Dogs and cats used to rarely get the "common" human diseases like kidney failure, liver disease, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, thyroid problems, food allergies, arthritis, etc, until we started feeding them kibble and over-vaccinating them. They used to live longer, healthier lives and just not wake up one morning, rather than suffering through years of declining health.

People are in the same boat. There are so many diseases running rampant now - diabetes, asthma, severe allergies, Parkinson's, and all sorts of other auto-immune problems that I think is due to poor diet and too many chemicals and drugs.

One of the ladies at the rescue I was trying to work with said she used to take 17 different medications for her migraines and felt awful! She changed her diet and now does not need ANY of those drugs and feels much better.

Here is a Toller kennel that has a limited vaccination protocol: http://www.tollwest.com/vaccine.html

Check out recent issues of the Whole Dog Journal for an article about vaccinations. It talks about choosing only the vaccinations important for the area you live in, asking for single virus shots, and how to keep your dog safe if you choose not to vaccinate at all.

These people are rebuilding their site, so it is a little unorganized right now, but here is some info on heartworms: http://www.bullovedbulldogs.com/gpage.html and vaccination: http://www.bullovedbulldogs.com/gpage.html1.html. They used to have some good info on appropriate diets as well, which hopefully they will get posted again. Their main page is here: http://www.bullovedbulldogs.com/index.html.

 

I have a question that I cant seem to find any info on the web about (maybe Im not looking in the right place). You feed your dogs raw, Ive read quite a bit (although not recently) about drugs, steroids for example, that are pumped into livestock, how does that effect the dogs? apparantly its enough to effect humans when they dont eat it on a daily basis, do you know of any effects on dogs, also I was wondering about risks of ingesting parasites/eggs (I know a couple of people who have got roundworm from undercooked meat).
Ive mostly fed Pedigree and /or Purina, although depending on funds available have used APD (Breeders Choice) for a few years, the main ingredient is meat meal (beef, lamb), I had excellent results with it. Im not into the 'vegetarian' diet for dogs at all, as you say they are carnivores, and I have been reading your posts over the last few months....with continuing interest. So....one more question, expense, who much does it differ from what I would normally spend....in CA with 3 dogs it was about $50 a month. I am thinking it would be more than that but could you give a rough estimate of a basic raw diet for one dog?
Im due to bring Krissie home (the dog from the shelter) next Monday, Im already looking more into the garlic for the fleas (tics are horrendous here also), she also has an ongoing slightl loose stool....but so do most of the dogs there, I think its the food, its a mix of Iams and a German brand that I know nothing about....and cant read the ingredients yet. :shock:

Thanks.

 

Loose stool could be from stress, too. A little bit of pumpkin (like you buy in the cans to make pie) can help with this.

I don't worry about parasites or bacteria in the raw food, except for myself! Of course, I use proper meat handling techniques to protect myself and my family. The dogs also eat outside to protect my carpet. Dogs have a shorter and more acidic digestive tract than humans which makes them more able to eat raw meat safely. I do not feed Pacific Northwest salmon, however, due to the parasite they are known to carry.

I do worry about the crap they pump into food animals. The best thing is to feed meat from naturally raised, grass-fed animals but of course I can't afford that! However, I believe the risks in feeding raw meat are greatly outweighed by the benefits. It is not a cure-all by any means, but there are enough stories of terribly arthritic or epileptic dogs being switched to a raw diet and suddenly having no more problems!

My husband recently said that while he agrees with what I am doing, he didn't really think it would make all that much difference. But he is convinced now just by looking at the dogs' teeth! Bonnie came to us with tartar along the base of all her molars. After a month on raw, they were totally clean. Nala, having been on raw since she was 9 months old, has never had any tartar build-up at all.

I like to illustrate the way dogs can use the raw food better than kibble by Nala's experience. When we got her as a pup, we fed her Science Diet. We thought that was the "best" food out there. She was about 15 pounds and having a good 5 stools a day - huge, squishy, stinky messes! So then I began to get educated (on this board, actually) and switched her to Healthwise, which is made by the Innova people. Her stools were smaller, less stinky, and she only went 3-4 times a day. Then we switched to raw, and now she goes 1-2 times a day and it is small (cat-sized) and almost odorless. It is obvious that her body is using almost all the food that goes into it. Also, the stool is better formed and harder so small dog with anal gland problems are often helped a LOT by this.

As for cost....well, I could do better! If you have a raw food co-op nearby you can feed quite cheaply. There are also many sources you can look into - such as butchers, especially ones that butcher for local small farms or hunters. There is one here that I really need to call to see if he can set me up with some stuff. Sams down in Texas gets a lot of free organ meats and such. I buy mostly at Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market because I am lazy. I try not to spend much over $1.00/pound and my 50-pound dogs eat about 1 pound of food a day, on average. Some things, like chicken leg quarters, are only 37 cents a pound so I feed them a couple times a week and can therefore spend a little more on some of the other items I buy.

It is best to feed the greatest possible variety that you can. I feed pork and chicken twice a week each and raw whole fish once. The other two days I try to feed something different - beef, lamb, turkey, game hen, rabbit, etc. Sometimes you can get meat past the expiration date a lot cheaper, and I stock up when this happens. Dogs don't mind their meat slightly on the ripe side. Remember, in the wild they would bury what they don't want and dig it up and eat it later!

I feed organ meats in the morning. Liver almost every day (in small quantities - dangerous to overdose on Vit A), and whatever else I can find - beef heart, chicken heart, and things that aren't exactly organs but provide variety like chicken gizzards, beef cheekmeat, beef tongue (yuk!), etc.

Green tripe is supposed to be excellent (yet smelly) but I have yet to find an affordable source for it.

I'm sure you know to be careful to not overdose on the garlic. Black walnut is also supposed to help with heartworms, but I have never used it. The only supplement I use besides garlic is wild fish oil, for the omega-3's.

I got most of my info when I started out at the rawfeeding Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/?yguid=146152191. There is also a group that helps you locate cheaper sources of meat in your area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier/?yguid=146152191.

 

Here are Nala's teeth:




And these are the teeth of one of my 14-year-old kibble-fed cats, who refuses to eat anything else:

 

Thank you Jamiya, a lot of interesting info there. Im definitely leaning towards giving this a go with the raw diet. I'll try and find out if there are any places around here that I can get some good deals on although by the sound of it the cost seems reasonably comparable to a large bag of dog food, Krissie weighs about 35#.....

How old did you say Nala is now? Her teeth look as though shes just had a good dental :shock: Thats amazing....Do you brush her teeth or no....its all down to the diet.?

 

This is a very very good thread.

This is a very very good thread.
I am interested in learning holisitc methods of caring for animals as well.
Thank you sooooo much for posting this info!
Sue

 

Jake now eats raw after everything I have been reading and researching here for the last 2 years. He has been on it now for a little over a year. he is doing much better, his energy level is a lot higher, I still have been struggling with hot spots and his ick, but lately he mouth ick has ben doing better. I have a total avversion to doing the raw thing like Jimiya does, so I buy premade raw that is made here in Ca. Its frozen and comes in 1 1/2 # logs, consists of ground beef heart, chicken, and bones. it contains no hormones. It costs $3.30 this last 1 day and a half and he is #100

Wylie wont do the raw so she eats purina pro plan and ZI supplement her with enzymes.

Jake is full of fatty tumors and he is only 8 years old, he is a pure lab so I dont know if they is a breeding thing and his past diet.

I still do heartworm. our mosquitos are soo bad here. as for ticks we have ticks too, but I now just pickl them off, they only get them we they are out of our yard.

 

Pre-made raw is better than kibble, but still not as good as real raw food. It doesn't do anything for cleaning the teeth or improving the musculature and doesn't require any thought to eat it. But hey, if it works for you it IS better than kibble! Everyone has to find their own path.

I couldn't afford the pre-made raw. I started to use it before we went totally raw, but it was just too expensive. Yours sounds like a better deal. But it probably still has veggies and other things they don't need in it, doesn't it?

I have also heard that it takes as many months to "heal" a dog as the number of years the dogs was fed an inferior diet. So, a dog fed kibble for 10 years may need 10 months on raw to start seeing the benefits.

We have quite a lot of mosquitoes here, too. The garlic seems to help. And I get the dogs tested every 6 months. I am confident that if they get infected, I can clear it up with homeopathic and other natural treatments. Once the dogs get it once, they will never get it again. But so far, they have always tested negative. Dr. Martain Goldstein in his book says that heartworm isn't the terrible disease that it once was, especially with early detection. He just couldn't see why he should continue to tell his clients to poison their dogs on a monthly basis for something he could cure if they happened to get it.

I also gave Bonnie the heartworm nosode the first summer we had her because I was not confident enough in her immune system to be able to fight it off, since we had just got her and she had a big batch of vaccinations when they spayed her. My homeopath says there is no need for the nosode if the dogs are fed an appropriate diet and kept off vaccinations and medications, but I also think there aren't any side effects to it. She told me that she has never seen a dog get heartworms that has had the nosode. She used to live in Florida, by the way, and had unvaccinated dogs and NO heartworm preventive (not even garlic) and has never had a problem. And she raises great danes.

DeLaUK, Nala is only 2 years old so her teeth wouldn't be THAT horrible by now anyway, would they? But no, we have never brushed her teeth. We used to give her greenies and put OxyFresh (or something like that) in her water when she was a pup, until we decided to go raw at 9 months.

Bonnie's teeth have just a touch of tartar on them in places, but that is left over from before we got her. I'm not sure why it isn't all going away, but there's really just a couple spots of it. Bonnie is 3 years old. When we got her, she had tartar all along the base of all of her molars and was estimated to be about 1.5 years old. My vet saw her after she had been on raw for a while and said she was younger than we thought until I explained about the teeth and the diet. Now there's probably no way to guess her age until she is much older and her teeth show some wear or something.

 

Hey DeLaUK - is the black on Nala's gums just a pigment thing? She also has one black spot on her tongue near the back, which of course everyone has to tell us means she has chow in her. :roll:

 

Dont you love that...if theres black on the tongue its got to have Chow in it :roll:

Ive seen many different breeds with black on the tongue, more commonly Akitas, Golden Retreivers, Cocker Spaniels, Australian Shpeherds, German Shepherds....I wont go on Any dog that has black pigment on its body can have it on the tongue...and gums....

Sometimes if there is a tooth problem you will see discolouration along the gum line at that tooth, more commonly it'll be a deeper red but it can be black. And from what Ive seen it looks nothing like on the pic of Nala, thats pigment.

 

I figured it must be just pigment, judging by the health of her teeth. And I know the skin on baby mice turns the color of the fur that will grow over it, so I figured it must be the same sort of thing.

Our shelter has signs up all over about how black on the tongue does NOT mean chow, LOL.

 

Jimiya, the raw I buy does not contain anything except organ meat , meat and bones, the vet just start to carry another brand that has everything but the kitchen sink in it. The indgredient list had like 20 things in at. and it is over double the price, If I wantt to to feed my dogs veggies and supplements I wll do it seperately.

I didnt know a dog only got heartworm once, why is that?

Even though Jake doest get the chew bones, his teeth have improved a lot.

 

What's your brand of raw again? It sounds like a nice compromise!

Hmmm. I can't find where I read that you can't get heartworms again. My impression was that they build up an antibody against it. But I'm not finding it now and the one page I just read said after your dog has heartworms they continue the preventive after the treatment, although that doesn't mean it is necessary. I'll keep looking. Maybe one of our vet techs can verify?

Here's some more info from Bulloved Bulldogs:

 

Interesting Jimiya, I wll have to look into that and next time if I remember, I will ask the holistic vets office I get Jakes food about it

 

I switched Luther to raw while I was in Germany, because i could never find a decent kibble. Before I came here I never would have imagined feeding my dog raw food. You know all the myths, like once a dog eats bleed it will want to kill stuff and all that jazz. But he couldn't make it through the night without pooping 2-3 times. The quality of kibble in Germany I think is even lower than here (I think) He has always had disgusting looking teeth, when i first got him one vet said that judging from Luthers teeth he was 7 yrs old! But now after eating raw his teeth are sooo much better. He used to have terrible breath, GONE! I also believe that the change in diet has helped keep the fleas and ticks down (the first summer I was in Germany, the ticks were disgusting like I have never seen them before) but after he switched to Raw, he just doesn't seem to get ticks or fleas anymore.
But as for German meat vs american meat, I think the German meat is healthier. Almost all the German people I met, who had dogs, fed their dogs meat (not just raw) and not kibble. My mother in laws neighbor had a 17 GSD that she had only ever fed cooked hamburger and rice, with occasional quark (I don't know what that is in English, bc in the translator it says quark, but I have never seen quark in a store here, but it is sort of like cottage cheese)
I definitely suggest oing raw it is very healthy!! Luther is doing great, everyone always telling me how soft he is and how he doesn't have a "dog smell".

 

jIMIYA, here are a fe good siste on heartworm, the 2nd one says a dog can get heartwom again
http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/hw.html

http://www.pethealthcare.net/html/body_ ... sease.html

 

I have read about successful natural or homeopathic treatments that are more gentle than the traditional treatments. With the traditional treatment, all the worms are killed at once and then there is a danger of them clogging an artery which is why the dog has to be on crate rest for a month. The natural treatments are a slower process so this is not a danger.

 

jamiya, how much garlic per day would you suggest for a 70 lbs dog to keep away fleas?

 

Probably about a clove a day (or the equivalent thereof) would be helpful. It's really hard to find dosages for garlic. I found it once by accident and I can't find it now!

Bonnie will only eat Kyolic garlic and it is more concentrated (and expensive). I think the tablets I give her say 800mg of the active ingredient. Nala is eating less pricey "odorless garlic" (LMAO - it is NOT odorless!) and I am giving her two a day because the bugs like her more. The active ingredient is 600mg per tablet for hers. I believe it says two tablets is like a clove of garlic.

Both dogs weigh around 50 pounds or so.

If I am really worried about fleas, or like last summer when I saw ONE on Bonnie (and it took a long time of looking to ever see it) - I rub diatomaceous earth into their fur. If you do this, you should get the food grade stuff. It is bad to inhale, so keep it away from their noses (and yours). I usually put it on outside on the deck and then hose the deck down. I have only done it twice ever, though.

Inside, vacuum once a week or more especially in the areas the dogs are in. Wash their beds frequently. Washing them in Borax is even better.

From everything I have read, garlic and black walnut and all those other "natural" preventives for fleas and heartworm are totally unnecessary if your dogs have healthy immune systems. If your dog is fed kibble and vaccinated every year, though, I would go with some sort of preventive.