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CANINE RABIES CHALLENGE STUDIES BEGIN
Submitted by Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee / The Rabies Challenge Fund
One of the most important vaccine research studies in veterinary medicine is underway at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison. Dr. Ronald Schultz, a leading authority on veterinary vaccines and Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, has begun concurrent 5 and 7 year challenge studies to determine the long-term duration of immunity of the canine rabies vaccine, with the goal of extending the state-mandated interval for boosters. These will be the first long-term challenge studies on the canine rabies vaccine to be published in the United States.
Dr. Schultz comments that: "We are all very excited to start this study that will hopefully demonstrate that rabies vaccines can provide a minimum of 7 years of immunity."
This research is being financed by The Rabies Challenge Fund, a charitable trust founded by pet vaccine disclosure advocate Kris L. Christine of Maine, who serves as Co-Trustee with world-renowned veterinary research scientist and practicing clinician, Dr. W. Jean Dodds of Hemopet in California. The Rabies Challenge Fund recently met its goal of $177,000 to fund the studies' first year budget with contributions from dog owners, canine groups, trainers, veterinarians, and small businesses. Annual budget goals of $150,000 for the studies must be met in the future.
Dr. Jean Dodds, DVM states: "This is the first time in my 43 years of involvement in veterinary issues that what started as a grass-roots effort to change an outmoded regulation affecting animals will be addressed scientifically by an acknowledged expert to benefit all canines in the future."
Scientific data published in 1992 by Michel Aubert and his research team demonstrated that dogs were immune to a rabies challenge 5 years after vaccination, while Dr. Schultz's serological studies documented antibody titer counts at levels known to confer immunity to rabies 7 years post-vaccination. This data strongly suggests that state laws requiring annual or triennial rabies boosters for dogs are redundant. Because the rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adverse reactions, it should not be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity. Adverse reactions such autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are linked to rabies vaccinations.
Study co-trustee Kris Christine adds: "Because the USDA does not require vaccine manufacturers to provide long-term duration of immunity studies documenting maximum effectiveness when licensing their products, concerned dog owners have contributed the money to fund this research themselves. We want to ensure that rabies immunization laws are based upon independent, long-term scientific data."
More information and regular updates on The Rabies Challenge Fund and the concurrent 5 and 7 year challenge studies it is financing can be found at the fund's website designed by volunteer Andrea Brin at:
www.RabiesChallengeFund.org.
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Vaccination NEWSFLASH
From CarolOnPets.com
| Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM
September 28 2007
"I would like to make you aware that all 27 veterinary schools in North America are in the process of changing their protocols for vaccinating dogs and cats. Some of this information will present an ethical & economic challenge to vets, and there will be skeptics.
Some organizations have come up with a political compromise suggesting vaccinations every 3 years to appease those who fear loss of income vs. those concerned about potential side effects. Politics, traditions, or the doctor's economic well being should not be a factor in medical decision.
NEW PRINCIPLES OF IMMUNOLOGY
"Dogs and cats immune systems mature fully at 6 months.
Not only are annual boosters for parvo and distemper unnecessary, they subject the pet to potential risks of allergic reactions and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. "There is no scientific documentation to back up label claims for annual administration of MLV vaccines."
If a modified live virus vaccine is given after 6 months of age, it produces an immunity which is good for the life of the pet (ie: canine distemper, parvo, feline distemper). If another MLV vaccine is given a year later, the antibodies from the first vaccine neutralize the antigens of the second vaccine and there is little or no effect. The titer is not "boosted" nor are more memory cells induced."
Not only are annual boosters for parvo and distemper unnecessary, they subject the pet to potential risks of allergic reactions and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. "There is no scientific documentation to back up label claims for annual administration of MLV vaccines."
Puppies receive antibodies through their mother's milk. This natural protection can last 8-14 weeks. Puppies & kittens should NOT be vaccinated at LESS than 8 weeks. Maternal immunity will neutralize the vaccine and little protection (0-38%) will be produced.
Vaccination at 6 weeks will, however, delay the timing of the first highly effective vaccine. Vaccinations given 2 weeks apart suppress rather than stimulate the immune system. A series of vaccinations is given starting at 8 weeks and given 3-4 weeks apart up to 16 weeks of age. Another vaccination given sometime after 6 months of age (usually at 1 year 4 mo) will provide lifetime immunity.
CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DOGS:
Read More:
more
Vaccination NEWSFLASH
And a link to the Dr. Jean Dodds Vaccination Protocol:
http://www.doglogic.com/vaccination.htm
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U.S. Free of Canine Rabies Virus
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
- WASHINGTON (Reuters)
Federal health experts declared a small victory against a fatal and untreatable virus on Friday, saying canine rabies has disappeared from the United States.
While dogs may still become infected from raccoons, skunks or bats, they will not catch dog-specific rabies from another dog, the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
"We don't want to misconstrue that rabies has been eliminated -- dog rabies virus has been," CDC rabies expert Dr. Charles Rupprecht told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Rabies evolves to match the animals it infects, and the strain most specific to dogs has not been seen anywhere in the United States since 2004, Rupprecht said.
While the incubation period for rabies is as long as six years in humans, it is only six months in a dog.
"Even though we still live in a sea of rabies and even though we have rabies viruses circulating among raccoons and foxes and bats, the dog rabies virus, which is the most responsible for dog-to-dog transmission and which is still the greatest burden to humans ... it is that virus that has been eliminated."
Rabies kills 55,000 people a year globally, according to the World Health Organization. It is easily prevented with a vaccine, but many people do not realize they have been infected and once symptoms begin to show, it is almost impossible to treat.
Only one person -- a Wisconsin girl who was put into an intentional coma in 2004 -- has ever been known to have survived rabies infection.
Rupprecht said attempts to treat three victims in the United States and one in Canada have failed. The victims all died.
The virus can infect virtually all mammals, but like most viruses it evolves and can be "typed" genetically. Species-specific strains are well characterized for bats, raccoons and skunks for instance, as well as for dogs.
"A dog rabies is very different from a skunk rabies virus," Rupprecht said.
While cats are susceptible, Rupprecht said there is not a known rabies strain specific to domestic cats.
Mandatory vaccination has created what is known as herd immunity in U.S. dogs, Rupprecht said, and it will be vital to continue this to protect dogs -- and people -- from the virus.
"The elimination of canine rabies in the United States represents one of the major public health success stories in the last 50 years," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said in a statement.
"However, there is still much work to be done to prevent and control rabies globally."
Canine rabies is still very common in many countries, including much of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, the Philippines and elsewhere.
Some island nations such as Japan, New Zealand, Barbados, Fiji, Maldives, and Seychelles are rabies-free.
Greece, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Uruguay and Chile are also free of rabies.
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How Often Does
He REALLY Need a Rabies Shot?
by Ann Brightman
- Featured in Animal Wellness Magazine
Morgan is doing all she can to protect her two dogs from
overvaccination. “I have a vet who does titer testing instead of giving shots every year,” she says. “My dogs are five years old now, and the tests show they’re still being protected by the vaccines they had when they were pups.” But it’s a different story when it comes to rabies. Morgan lives in a state where rabies shots are required annually, so her vet is obligated to vaccinate her dogs every year, regardless of whether or not they might still be protected by earlier inoculations.
Teresa, meanwhile, is an apartment-dweller whose cat died after suffering an adverse reaction from a rabies vaccine. “I don’t know why I had to get him vaccinated so often when we’re seven floors up and he never went out,” she says. “The chances of him ever coming into contact with a rabid animal were pretty small.”
Serious side effects
It’s a dilemma common to animal lovers across the U.S. and Canada. Some regions still require annual rabies vaccines, while many others now allow the three-year variety, but even that’s too frequent when you consider the negative side effects of
over vaccination. “Rabies is the vaccine most associated with adverse reactions because it’s so potent,” says renowned veterinarian Dr. Jean
Dodds. “We have a lot of bad reactions, including fatal ones. They usually occur within two to three weeks after vaccination, although they can appear up to 45 days later. Because the rabies vaccine is a neurogenic protein, meaning it affects the nervous system, what you will often see is seizures or seizure-like disorders like stumbling, ataxia, dementia, and some
demyelination, where the animals become wobbly and don’t have proper motor skills. You can also have an autoimmune-like destruction of tissues, skin, blood, joints, the liver or kidneys.” Dr. Dodds adds that animals already ill with immune-related diseases such as cancer can be even more negatively affected. “Often, this is the last thing that causes the animal’s demise.”
Despite all this, federal law still demands that companion animals be regularly vaccinated against rabies, even if you keep your animals indoors or live in an area where rabies is unlikely to be a major problem. The main reason is that rabies can afflict humans as well as dogs and cats. “Rabies is fatal to all mammals,” says Dr.
Dodds. “This is an issue to protect the public health, not the animals. The primary goal of the law is to protect people from rabies.”
While there’s no denying that rabies is a serious disease, and that both humans and animals need protection from it, the question remains: why subject dogs and cats to the potentially serious side effects of the vaccination on an annual or even a triennial basis, when the duration of immunity
(DOI) is probably much longer?
The need for new legislation
It’s a question that Dr. Dodds and several other professionals asked themselves when they started The Rabies Challenge Fund in the fall of 2005. “From challenge trials, we know the DOI for regular vaccines is seven to nine years, if not longer. So why would the rabies vaccines, being so potent, not have an even longer
DOI? We decided the thing to do would be to design a study to federal government standards that would determine if the DOI is longer than three years.” Challenge studies in France have demonstrated that the rabies vaccine has a DOI of at least five years, but this information is not accepted by federal and state legislatures in the U.S., hence the need for a domestic study.
The Rabies Challenge Fund is a nation-wide effort. Along with Dr.
Dodds, who is based in California, the study involves Dr. Ron Schultz of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, and vaccine disclosure activist Kris Christine, who lives in the northeast and has already worked with Dr. Dodds on other vaccine-related issues in that region. “We asked Dr. Schultz to do the study and he was delighted,” says Dr.
Dodds. The group was even more delighted when the University of Wisconsin agreed to cover almost half the cost of overhead for the study. “It shows they believe very strongly that this is information we need.”
How will the study work?
Dr. Dodds and her colleagues officially registered The Rabies Challenge Fund in December of last year. Since then, they have been working diligently to raise the money needed to fund the actual study, which will involve two separate groups of 20 dogs each, one to be studied for five years’
DOI, and the other for seven. “We’ll do the two groups in parallel, and continue 20 of the five-year dogs to seven years.” By monitoring the animals’ antibodies and other benchmarks, Dr. Schultz will be able to determine the DOI for the rabies vaccine over these periods, thereby showing that the initial vaccines given to puppies and kittens before they’re a year old remain fully effective for many years, perhaps even for life. The fund will also finance a study of the adjuvants used in rabies vaccines and establish an adverse reaction reporting system.
But more money is needed before work can start. “We require $177,000 in the first year,” says Dr.
Dodds. “So far, we have $65,000, so we’re still short of our goal. We also have some pledges that will become active once we achieve 60% of the amount we need. And we’ve had some substantial donations from Canada, even though what we do might not be accepted there. People still felt compelled to donate.”
One of the unique things about The Rabies Challenge Fund is that it’s being funded by animal guardians and others who feel passionate about this issue. “Kris and Ron and I want this to be a grassroots program,” says Dr.
Dodds. “We know a company could come in and give us a whole bunch of money to do the study, but it’s nice to know that the project started and evolved from people in the grassroots."
Donations may be sent to The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust,
c/o Hemopet, 11330 Markon Drive, Garden Grove, CA 92841. Or contact Dr. Jean Dodds at
Hemopet@hotmail.com or Kris Christine at
LedgeSpring@Lincoln.midcoast.com. All donations are tax deductible in the U.S.
www.rabieschallengefund.org
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The
Importance of Canine Massage
By Jonathan Rudinger
RN, LMT
- Submitted by Jory and Miss Bailey
Everybody loves a good back rub. When shoulders, knees or wrists feel tight and sore, applying pressure and rubbing them, always helps us feel better. When we experience trauma or emotional hurt, it helps to just to be held. Most babies need to be held and rocked to relax enough to fall asleep. Massage is one person using touch and the intention to help comfort and nurture another. Accepted as an integral part of our culture, massage is one of the bases of our humanness.
Several studies compared infants who have received touch with those who haven't. These comparisons clearly show that those who have not had the benefit of nurturing and gentle touch imprinted on their early developing psyches, had smaller statures, reduced socialization skills and depressed immune systems. There is even a term that is used to describe the condition: stress dwarfism.
Long ago, we accepted the power of massage for helping us humans deal with stress and imbalances. We have been massaging each other for hundreds of thousands of years. Now, we are using massage to comfort and help our pet animals. It is about time.
The benefits that dogs, in particular, get from massage are many. You've read about or heard them all before; otherwise, you wouldn't be interested enough to be reading this article. (It is always easier to preach to believers.) To review, first of all, massage, increases and balances the circulation of all body fluids. This includes blood, lymph, cerebral spinal fluid, interstitial fluids, cellular fluid, saliva, urine, synovial fluid, the fluid lubricating the eyeballs and even the oily wetness on your dog's nose. That's a lot of fluids! Dogs are water cooled and water heated. It is the function of the appropriate movement of water that controls the temperatures throughout their bodies, including core temperatures, organ temperatures, and a range of skin and superficial muscle temperatures. Hot spots, for example, are areas under the skin where the temperature is warmer that the surrounding tissues.
When a dog gets sprains or strains, his body sends additional fluids to the traumatized area to help. Once there, the swelling from the extra fluid increases pressure, and creates heat. Any movement in the area puts pressure on the nerves and is painful; so the body naturally immobilizes itself for a while so that it can heal.
Dogs, like humans, have the innate ability to heal themselves for most conditions. The normal wear and tear of muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin and fascia that dogs have from romping and playing and napping, keep their bodies in a constant state of self maintenance. Dogs, like humans, are social animals. They thrive with touch and atrophy without it.
Difference between petting and massage:
Petting is scratching and rubbing your dog's body and, of course it feels good to him. It may appear similar to massage, however, the impact is substantially - profoundly -- different. The best illustration of the difference is the way your body feels after a professional hour long massage session and a casual shoulder squeeze by a coworker. The shoulder squeeze gives some relief; the full body massage can change your life. PetMassageTM accesses and supports the actual energy within the tissues and helps initiate subtle changes to get the body to function more optimally. It is used to support the intuitive self healing, abilities of animals. Massage is the use of knowledgeable, compassionate touch, fascia releases, understanding and the use of open body-language communication.
Cheryl Schwartz DVM, author of Four Paws Five Directions, the best book I've read that teaches about the uses of Traditional Chinese Medicine for dogs and cats, writes, "Massage is the touch of the physical and energetic body with a healing purpose." The energy body that massage affects is this energy within the tissues. It is the invisible god-stuff called "Ch'i" that emanates from acupressure points and flows subcutaneously throughout the body via the meridian pathways. The Ch'i is also in the blood as it flows through the body supplying to every cell its necessary nourishment and removing waste products. It is the autoimmune system. It is in the air that the body breathes. The quality of the air, the depth and rate of respiration, the other influences in the air, all affects your dog's immune system and the way he lives and operates within his body.
The energetic body is really what we access with massage. It is within and around the dog. The energetic body retains the memory of everything that has been experienced or thought or even mistakenly projected, such as fears and phobias. The energetic body retains muscle memory. It defines the way dogs hold their bodies and move their bodies. It also determines the way dogs respond to other dogs, how well they can digest their foods, and how they relate to people and to their environments. In other words, it is the substrate or matrix from which dogs experience their lives. The energetic body includes the genetic -- or cultural memories that would, for instance, cause a 9 month-old Newfoundland puppy who had never been swimming before to break away from his owners to plunge into a cold river and swim and rescue a child that had fallen through the ice several hundred yards away. Massage connects with this substrate. It has the capacity to support what is functioning well and release hidden, restraining energy-memories that could be the root causes of diseases and inappropriate behaviors.
Dogs understand what your intentions are by interpreting your body language and the way you touch them. Dogs use your touch to enhance their awareness' of their relationships with the spaces around them by internally palpating their own bodies. They evaluate you and their spontaneous and potential relationships with you. PetMassageT works with the dog's body, not on the dog's body. The difference between massage and rubbing/petting is intention with technique.
We care deeply about the quality of the food our dogs eat. We groom them ourselves, or pay someone else to groom them for us. We make sure they get the best health care available and lots of exercise. Dr. Michael W. Fox, DVM in his book, Healing Touch describes how important touch and massage are for dog's well being and quality of life. He states that ".you could almost call it an essential of health care, like grooming, feeding, and exercise." This perception accurately projects the importance of massage. Now we understand that for them to experience their optimal quality of life possible, they NEED massage.
Pet MassageT is not only important, then. It is crucial for the well being of your dog. Let's elaborate on the benefits. Consider your connection -- your relationship with your dog. Special? Right. Unique? Right. Right? Right.
Our relationship was built on trust, shared experiences, support, and unconditional connected ness. And that is just on the physical level that we can see, hear, feel, smell and feel. Our intuitive selves are busy chatting away; sharing wisdom, love, even images through dreams and psychic experiences. Just as a wave is the entire ocean manifesting itself as a wave, there is a larger, deeper, wider, multifaceted universe that is the substrate for the one we know through experience and limited perception. This is the universe of the intuitive. It is beyond time and space. Yet, you and your dog are standing in it, you, with your two feet, him, with his four. Your inner voice, your unconscious is in perpetual communication with your dog's inner voice. Because of your relationship, your bodies not only talk to themselves they help each other as guides and mentors. As part of its main function, the specialized touch of massage is an effective enhancer of deeper levels of connectiveness.
With massage, your dog becomes more comfortable in his body. He becomes more flexible and more sociable. He metabolizes his food and water better. He metabolizes his experiences and social interactions more optimally. He enhances his trust and loving relationship with you. I know that the following phrase has been used so many times that it has lost its meaning. The mass media has a way of trivializing important concepts with inane repetition. I will write it anyway: With massage, your dog becomes healthier in his mind, body and spirit. That's important.
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Canine Vaccine Survey
by Canine Health Concern, England
Submitted by Jory and Miss Bailey
www.baileysskinrescue.com
It is well known that there are risks associated with vaccination of dogs,
just as there are risks for humans. The trouble is, no one has adequately
quantified the risks. Is it true that only a tiny minority of dogs suffer
adverse reactions to vaccines, or is the problem more common? And what is a
vaccine reaction? Is it something that happens immediately after the jab, or
can you expect a reaction to manifest weeks or months later?
Christopher Day, Honorary Secretary of the British Homoeopathic Veterinary
Association, told us that, in his experience, where the start date of a dogs illness is known, a high percentage (around 80%) begin within three months
of vaccination.
Canine Health Concern tested this observation and has analyzed the histories
of over 3,800 dogs post vaccination. This critical mass, by any standards,
is a very high number from which to draw valid statistical conclusions. Most
commercial scientific research involves significantly fewer dogs (tending to
base their conclusions on data involving a couple of litters of puppies, if
that). We have been able to show a definite statistical correlation between
a vaccine event and the onset of a number of specific illnesses. Our
published conclusions have satisfied mathematical or inferential statistical
tests at a level of confidence of 99% or better.
Overall, we found that 66% per cent of all sick dogs start being sick within
three months of vaccination, which is considerably more than double the
expected rate of illness. Worse, 49% of all illnesses reported in the survey
occurred within 30 days of vaccination. This is over five times the expected
percentage if vaccination had no bearing on subsequent illness. More damning
still, 29% of sick dogs first became sick within seven days of their vaccine
jab. This means that a dog is 13 times more likely to become ill within
seven days of vaccination than at any other time.
In the study, 69.2% of allergic dogs first became allergic within three
months of being vaccinated - more than double the expected number. 55.8% of
dogs with autoimmune disease developed the condition within three months of
being vaccinated - again, more than twice the expected figure. Of dogs with
colitis, 65.9% developed the complaint within three months of being
vaccinated and, of dogs with dry eye/conjunctivitis, 70.2% developed their
conditions within three months - both nearly three times higher than
expected. 73.1% of dogs with epilepsy first became epileptic within three
months of vaccination. As 2% of all dogs in the UK are epileptic, vaccines
are clearly causing horrendous damage. For statisticians, our Chi score for
epilepsy is 96: any Chi test statistic higher than twelve gives a 95%
confidence about the conclusions. Without doubt, then, the majority of
epileptic dogs in our survey are vaccine damaged.
But perhaps most astonishing is the fact that a majority of dogs (64.9%)
with behavioral problems appear to have developed their difficulties within
three months of vaccination. Similarly, 72.5% per cent of dogs with nervous
or worrying dispositions became nervous within three months of their jabs
(with a Chi score of 112), and 73.1% per cent of dogs with short attention
spans lost their attentiveness within three months of vaccination.
All of our evidence ties in with research in the human field, and a growing
body of veterinary research, which says that vaccines cause allergies,
hypersensitivity reactions, autoimmune disease, encephalitis, epilepsy,
personality changes and brain damage.
The CHC results are statistically very significant, and carry with them very
high statistical certainty. This means that the evidence is strong that the
above diseases can be triggered or caused by vaccination.
Other diseases that were highly represented within three months post
vaccination included cancer (35.1%) , chorea (81%), encephalitis (78.6%),
heart conditions (39.2%), kidney damage (53.7%), liver damage/failure (61.5%), paralysis of the rear end (69.2%), and pancreas problems (54.2%).
Research conducted at Purdue University shows routinely vaccinated dogs
developing auto antibodies to a vast range of normal canine biochemical's
- which corroborates our findings.
Interestingly, our study showed that arthritis and Chronic Destructive
Reticulo Myelopathy (CDRM - a degenerative disease affecting myelin in the
spinal cord) occur in clusters nine months after vaccination, suggesting
that the damage from vaccines resulting in these two diseases takes longer
to develop or to show their symptoms.
Many contend that vaccines are a necessary evil; that we need them to
protect our dogs against certain deadly canine diseases. However, our survey
found that high percentages of dogs are developing the diseases we vaccinate
against, soon after vaccination.
Of dogs with hepatitis, 64% contracted it within three months of being
vaccinated and, of those with parainfluenza, 50% developed it within three
months of their shots. Also, 69% of dogs with parvovirus, 56% of dogs with
distemper, and every single dog with leptospirosis in the survey contracted
the diseases within three months of vaccination.
Our figures support the view that vaccines don't confer guaranteed immunity
and may actually cause the diseases they're designed to prevent. Our figures
appear to demonstrate that vaccines cause illness in one in every hundred
dogs - and this is a conservative estimate. For human beings, the World Health Organization considers a reaction of one
in 10,000 unacceptable. Surely the same statistics apply to dogs. Worse -
and bordering on corporate dog slaughter - is the fact that we are urged to
vaccinate companion animals every year. There is no scientific justification
for this; it is a crime.
This research is ongoing. For further details or to participate, contact
Canine Health Concern @ Box 6943, Forfar, Angus DD8 3WG, Scotland
Thank you.
Catherine O¹Driscoll / Canine Health Concern
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Weaning and Raising Puppies On a Raw Diet
By
Lew
Olson,
PhD
Natural Health, LMSW-ACP
Weaning
and Raising Puppies on a Raw Diet
The best food in the world to feed puppies less than four weeks
of age is their own mother
'
s milk. It is "complete and balanced" and is the most
nutritious food for puppies. The milk from a nursing female
canine is higher in fat and protein than both cow and goat
'
s milk. It contains all the nutrients puppies need and in the
proper balance. A young puppy
'
s digestive tract is designed to digest this whole food
perfectly. Until a
puppy is four weeks of age, their digestive system is not
properly equipped to digest any other whole food. Occasionally
it becomes necessary to feed puppies food other than mother
'
s milk before they are four weeks of age. This can happen
because of a lack of milk production, a large litter, or an
illness in or the death of the mother. Although it is impossible
to reproduce mother
'
s milk exactly, in these instances where it isn
'
t possible to feed mother
'
s milk, the food substituted should be as close to it as
possible.
Mother's
Milk Replacement Formula for Puppies up to Four Weeks
- One
pint of goat’s milk, either fresh, in cartons from the
store, or evaporated. (If
evaporated, be sure to dilute as directed with water)
- Two
egg yolks
- Two
EPA Fish Oil capsules
- 1/2
teaspoon Berte
'
s Ultra Probiotic Powder
- Four
to six tablespoons whole milk plain yogurt
The egg yolks offer the extra needed protein. The EPA Fish Oil
offers the extra fat and Omega-3 fatty acids, and the Ultra
Probiotic Powder and yogurt provide the beneficial bacteria
needed for proper digestion. Be sure to mix the mixture well and
serve it to the puppies at room temperature.
Weaning
Diet After Four Weeks
Once the puppies reach four weeks of age, other foods can be
introduced and added to their diet. Start with the above mixture
and begin adding a bit of meat such as ground beef, cottage
cheese or yogurt. As the week progresses, you can add in tiny
bits of beef kidney, beef heart, canned mackerel, a small bit of
liver, and egg (both yolk and egg white).
Chicken necks can be introduced at this time. I remove
the skin, and cut the necks into smaller pieces. The size of the
pieces depends on the size of the puppies.
For toy breeds, necks can be ground. You can leave some
of the necks whole for recreational chewing. Pork neck bones are
also good for chewing and entertainment. Later in the week, I
introduce chicken wings. For larger puppies I cut these in two
pieces. Medium sized breeds may need these cut into four pieces,
while smaller dogs can be cut into smaller pieces.
Once
you have begun to add in other foods, if the mother is still
willing to nurse, please allow her to continue. Her milk is
still the perfect food and is a wonderful addition to the
weaning diet.
Trimming
the puppies nails helps to encourage the mother to continue
nursing the puppies. However, the mother may refuse to clean
stools after other foods have been added to the puppy's diet.
This is normal. I generally offer the puppies four or five meals
per day. I give one meal of raw meaty bones, consisting of
chicken necks, wings or backs, pork bones, and pork, beef and
lamb ribs.
The
other main meal is red meat (beef, pork or lamb). You may
substitute mackerel, salmon or sardines once or twice a week. I
also add organ meat to make up about 10% of the meat meal.
I use mostly kidney (beef, pork or lamb), with some
slivers of liver. While not necessary, you may add ground or
pureed vegetables if you prefer. Good choices include dark leafy
greens, zucchini, broccoli and cabbage. Make sure these are less
than 1/6th of the total diet.
The
other meals are "snack" meals of goat's milk, yogurt,
eggs and cottage cheese.
Supplements
In addition to the foods, I also add in to the puppy's diet the
following supplements:
Berte's
Daily Blend for the B
complex vitamins, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Vitamin D
which helps metabolize calcium. Berte
'
s Daily Blend is very palatable and comes in a convenient powder
form for easy measuring and mixing with food. Small and medium
breed puppies get 1/4 teaspoon twice a day and large breed
puppies get 1/2 teaspoon twice a day.
Berte's
Green Blend for the
additional minerals and phytonutrients that are needed. Small
and medium breed puppies get 1/8 teaspoon twice a day and large
breed puppies get 1/4 teaspoon twice a day.
Berte's
Ultra Probiotic Powder to
maintain a good supply of beneficial bacteria in the digestive
system which aids in proper digestion. Give 1/4 teaspoon twice a
day for small to medium breed puppies and 1/2 teaspoon twice a
day for large breed puppies.
EPA
Fish Oil is given at one
capsule per ten to twenty pounds of body weight daily.
Changing
a Puppy Raised on Commercial Feed to Home Made
Many of us don't get a chance to whelp and rear our own puppies,
so here are some tips for when you bring your new puppy home.
Start
your new puppy on small, frequent meals to ease the diet change.
Most puppies do fine with a complete switch to a home made diet,
but you can mix the kibble with the meat meal. It is important
to work with what you are most comfortable doing and what seems
to work best for the puppy. Make mealtimes as stress free as
possible and try to keep the feeding times consistent. Some
puppies may not know what to do with fresh food, so you can mix
the meat, yogurt and eggs with their kibble to start. However,
do not feed raw meaty bones with their kibble meal. They should
be fed as a separate meal.
Some dogs will react to texture and temperature, so try
to keep their food close to room temperature. Some puppies may
be delighted to get raw meaty bones, while others may need to
start on ground or cut up pieces. The use of a good meat
scissors will help with this, as well as meat cleavers or even
pounding the raw meaty bone with a hammer to help break it up in
the beginning.
Always
remember that puppies need to eliminate after eating, and often
like to take a nap after their meal and potty break.
Berte's
Zyme is a blend of digestive enzymes which can be helpful
transitioning a puppy that has been raised on kibble to a home
made diet. These help break down and assimilate the food. Give
small and medium breed puppies 1/4 tablet with the two main
meals, large breed puppies give 1/2 tablet for these two meals.
How
Much To Feed
I recommend starting with four meals a day. Begin with
introducing chicken backs or necks skinned and cut into pieces
(or pound them with a hammer) for one meal. Another meal can be
meat (beef, pork, lamb for example) and this can be ground or in
small chunks or pieces. The other two meals can be the snack
meals of goat's milk, yogurt and egg.
Puppies
need to be fed about 10% of their body weight, until the fast
growth stages have passed. This is a longer period for large to
giant breeds (up to 12 to 18 months) and as short as six months
for toy breeds. After that, they will require 2% to 3% of their
body weight daily in food. While most dogs do fine on two meals
a day, toy breeds have a higher metabolism and do better on
three to four meals a day.
For
example, a ten pound puppy would be eating about a pound of food
a day. The two main meals would be about six ounces each, with
the two snack meals being two ounces each. (16 oz per pound,
with one cup being approximately 8 oz)
Below
is a sample diet, both for puppies raised on raw, and also
puppies just starting on raw:
Meal
One
- Goat
'
s milk (fresh or canned)
- One
whole egg (yolk and white, no shell)
- Two
tablespoons of whole milk yogurt
Mix well and serve at room temperature
Meal
Two
- Two
or three ounces of either hamburger, liver, sliced beef
heart, kidney or gizzards
- One
tablespoon of whole milk yogurt
Optional:
One to two tablespoons of pulped vegetables, which should be
mostly dark leafy greens such as collards, spinach, turnip
greens or mustard greens. You can also use some carrots, cabbage
or broccoli, squash, cauliflower or canned pumpkin in a pinch.
Mix the meat and vegetables well.
Add
in the following supplements:
- Berte's
Daily Blend (1/4
teaspoon for small to medium breeds, 1/2 teaspoon for large
breed puppies)
- Berte's
Green Blend (1/8
teaspoon for small to medium breeds, 1/4 teaspoon for large
breed puppies)
- Berte's
Ultra Probiotic Powder
(1/4 teaspoon for small to medium breeds, 1/2 teaspoon for
large breed puppies)
- EPA
Fish Oil (one capsule
per 10-20 lbs of body weight daily)
- Berte's
Zyme for puppies
switching to a home made diet (1/4 tablet for small or
medium breed puppies, 1/2 tablet for large breed puppies)
Meal
Three
- Goat
'
s milk (fresh or canned)
- One
whole egg (yolk and white, no shell)
- Two
tablespoons of whole milk yogurt
Mix well and serve at room
temperature
Meal
Four
- Three
to five chicken necks or two to three chicken wings
Add
in the following supplements
- Berte's
Daily Blend (1/4
teaspoon for small to medium breeds, 1/2 teaspoon for large
breed puppies)
- Berte's
Green Blend (1/8
teaspoon for small to medium breeds, 1/4 teaspoon for large
breed puppies)
- Berte's
Ultra Probiotic Powder
(1/4 teaspoon for small to medium breeds, 1/2 teaspoon for
large breed puppies)
- EPA
Fish Oil (one capsule
per 10-20 lbs of body weight daily)
- Berte's
Zyme for puppies
switching to a home made diet (1/4 tablet for small or
medium breed puppies, 1/2 tablet for large breed puppies)
Meal
Five (Bedtime or Play)
- Pork
neck bones. These bones are soft a good choice for
recreational chewing. Other good choices are pork, beef or
lamb ribs. Eventually you will begin to phase out the milk
and egg meals. The puppies will usually phase down to three
meals per day by about 3 to 4 months of age. When you phase
the first milk meal out, add the egg into the meat and
vegetable meal. The second milk meal can be phased out
around the time the puppy reaches five to six months of age.
I have found it important and
necessary to be flexible with the puppy's meals and the
different food ingredients because each puppy is different. The
amount of food they eat may vary depending on the growth stage
they are in, teething time, etc. Their personal preferences will
also vary. Some puppies may like vegetables while others will
turn their noses up at them. Watch the puppies closely. They
will let you know what they need.
Percentage
of Raw Meaty Bones for Calcium and Variety
The
two most important balancing factors in the diet is raw meaty
bones, which provide the proper calcium to phosphorus balance,
and a variety of food items, which include a variety of meats
(red meat, poultry, fish and organ meat), eggs, vegetables, and
dairy. Organ meat should be about 10% of the meals, using more
kidney and just a few slivers of liver.
Finally,
a primary concern with changing a puppy's or a dog's diet is
gastric upset. Should this occur, fast the puppy for a few hours
and then introduce the meals in smaller portions. Be sure to
reduce the fat for a day or so. The two most common reasons for
upset tummies is overfeeding, or too much fat in the diet.
Should this continue, always check with your veterinarian on the
puppy's health and have a fecal check done to rule out
parasites.
If
your puppy experiences gastric upset, here are two simple home
remedies to help with tummy problems:
Diarrhea
The primary cause for diarrhea is over eating. Use plain canned
pumpkin to help firm stools. Give dogs weighing up to 30 pound
1/2 teaspoon, dogs 30 - 60 pounds one teaspoon and dogs over
this weight about two teaspoons to a tablespoon.
Vomiting
Boil cabbage for about 15 - 20 minutes and let cool. It can
quickly help to settle the stomach. Give at two 2 cc
'
s (one teaspoon equals 5 cc
'
s) per 10 pounds of body weight as needed.
Bean
and Lew would like to wish everyone a Happy Saint Patrick's Day,
and let's all enjoy the fact that spring is around the corner!
If
you would like to ask me any questions about my products, I
would love to hear from you. Please check your return address
when you send me email from my web site and try to write me
again if you have not heard back from me.
You can email me at lew@b-naturals.com
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Bailey’s Skin Rescue -- Mother Nature knows best
Dog trainer comes up with
her own cure
By Larry Powell/Spectator
Necessity became the
mother of invention recently when a local dog
owner’s ‘best friend’ developed a skin staph
infection that was getting worse despite
recommendations of various topical medications by
her veterinarian.
Jory and Alex Smith’s four-year-old, female
Rottweiler, Steinplatz Callisto Bailey, developed
the skin infection as a result of bites from insects
and the infection was spreading, so Jory got busy
researching natural remedies and Mother Nature came
to the rescue.
A combination of tea tree and lavender essential
oils, acidophilus were first tried and worked well
except that the oils were too drying to the skin, so
she found a natural botanical cream base which also
includes extracts of chamomile, avocado, echinacea,
green tea, cucumber and sea kelp and various plant
oils and Bailey’s Skin Rescue was ready.
Within seven days, the infection was cleared.
|
Jory Smith and Miss
Bailey
|
Tea tree and lavender essential
oils have anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-viral
properties and have inhalant properties which are also said to
help boost the immune system. The acidophilus provides
friendly normal bacteria at the skin’s surface to assist as
well, and the special cream base keeps the skin supple and
helps with cutaneous delivery of the essential oils.
“The great thing about this formula, says Jory, is that it
stops any itching almost on contact and the healing process
starts right away. Anyone who has ever had a dog that has
developed an itchy skin condition like hot spots, etc. knows
that the itching causes the dog to lick and keep irritating
the site -- this stops the itching and therefore the licking
and the stress to the dog and the healing starts.”
“Of course, anyone should always take their dog to their
veterinary to be checked if there is a skin problem,” she
says. “There are natural remedies for many ailments.”
Bailey's Skin Rescue is available at Home Hardware in
Middleton and
Valley Natural Foods in Greenwood with other
stores coming on line.
You can also order from our website: Canine
Coach On Call
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Innovative Treatment Program for Canine Cancer Announced
From
K9 Magazine
A British company has announced a breakthrough in the treatment of one of
the biggest cancer killers in dogs.
An effective and innovative screening, detection and treatment
programme for canine lymphoma, one of the most prolific cancers
in dogs has been announced by PetScreen, a pioneering British
bioscience company.
It is the first of its kind to be made commercially available
from PetScreen’s Veterinary Cancer Programme, which was
launched in the United States in January and in the UK in April
at leading veterinary conference and congress events.
The lymphoma screen comes after extensive research by PetScreen in both
British and North American markets into canine cancer, and will be
available through selected veterinary hospitals and primary practices in
both markets.
The screen itself is based on technology which has emerged post
the sequencing of both the human and canine genome and enables
malignancies to be detected earlier, when treatment has the best
chance of success.
Inexpensive, convenient and minimally invasive the screen relies
on a small blood serum sample. PetScreen has developed
advanced ‘proteomic’ technology uniquely for companion
animals, specifically canine at this moment.
Their system looks for characteristic patterns to detect
lymphoma biomarkers from the blood ‘fingerprint’.
Ideally, a mature puppy would be sampled at twelve months,
thereafter yearly, but in high risk breeds a six monthly screen
is recommended. In addition, any dog which may have been treated
for lymphoma should be screened bi-annually for recurrence.
UK published evidence says that 25% of all cancers in dogs is
attributed to lymphoma. High risk breeds in both the UK
and US for lymphoma cancer include golden and flat-coated
retrievers, german shepherds, bull mastiffs and certain breeds
of spaniels, including English and Irish water spaniels.
At risk breeds include boxers, Bernese mountain dogs and
rottweilers. Whilst this list is by no means exhaustive
the screen should be regarded as part of an overall
wellness programme for all breeds.
If cancer is detected, a combined rapid histopathology and
individualised chemotherapy programme is available which helps
select the most effective treatment for each individual
patient. PetScreen’s Directed Chemotherapy Assay (DCA)
highlights resistance from the start and identifies the
treatment most likely to be effective from the start.
PetScreen is one of a new generation of companies to utilise
technologies which are emerging as a result of genome
research. Using advanced bio-marker technology linked to
state-of-the-art mass spectrometry, robotics and unique neural
software, the serum sample creates the fingerprint which
patterns proteins in the blood and enables cancers to be
identified.
The problems associated with the late detection of cancers are
well understood, and whilst proteomic screening is still at an
early stage in humans, the work that PetScreen are undertaking
in the canine world could have a significant impact on human
cancer screening in the very near future.
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Dogs and the Immune System
B-Naturals Newsletter
- September 2006
By Lew Olson,
PhD Natural Health, LMSW-ACP
Dogs
and the Immune System
Often
I hear people discussing their dogs and the immune system, so in
this newsletter I would like to talk about the difference
between autoimmune problems and a suppressed immune system.
While both of these conditions involve the immune system, they
each require a different treatment approach.
The
immune system has a variety of functions, so it’s important to
keep a watchful eye out for any bacteria and viruses in the body
and to be prepared to set up the correct treatment response to
try and help the body fight the ‘invaders’ to their health.
A healthy body can often detect the first sign of infections,
parasites, mites and toxins, and launch an effective battle to
fight these enemies. However, sometimes the body fails to
recognize these bacteria and viruses ‘invaders’ as threats
or the body may be too weak to effectively fight them or the
body can interpret ‘normal’ things as the ‘enemy.’
Immune
Suppressed
When
your dog’s body is immune suppressed, oftentimes it can not
fight off bacteria and viruses like a dog that has a healthy
immune system. Dogs
that are rundown with illness or suffer from malnutrition can be
susceptible to skin and intestinal parasites because their
bodies are too weak to fight them off.
Additionally, young puppies have immature immune systems
and therefore, a puppy can be more prone to problems with mange
or parasites such as worms.
Most of us have seen dogs that have been in shelters or
found abandoned. These dogs oftentimes have fleas, ticks, mange
and skin bacterial or fungal infections (characterized by hair
loss and flakey skin). While a normal, healthy dog can easily
fight off these insults, a dog that is health compromised or
stressed may find itself in an ideal situation for such
opportunistic ailments. These
dogs need a good health check up to determine proper treatment,
as well as a good diet and some supplements that can help the
immune system become stronger.
Autoimmune
In
an autoimmune condition, the immune system tends to ‘over
react’ to the ‘normal’ things found in the body, in their
food and the environment. A
dog that has an autoimmune issue has an immune system that sees
these ‘normal’ things as the enemy. It will send out
antibodies to try and rid the body of these things it sees as
not belonging. A
good example of this would be food allergies. A food that is
considered healthy and normal for a dog will suddenly be
misinterpreted by the dog’s system to be foreign and the
dog’s body launches a response to it. This can consist of
hives, itching, red skin, sores, runny eyes and sometimes ear
discharge.
More
dramatic and troubling disorders can involve more serious
diseases such as lupus, hemolytic anemia, immune mediated
arthritis and some thyroid conditions. The body will literally
try to destroy the good cells in it’s body, causing serious
health problems.
In
autoimmune conditions, the treatment is to suppress the body’s
immune system in order to stop the body from performing this
action. While some people are hesitant to use steroids for these
problems, it is only steroids that can do the work quickly
enough to stop further harm. You always need to work closely
with your veterinarian when using suppressant drugs as these,
but they can be very important to restore the dog’s health.
Here
are some links on autoimmune conditions and dogs:
Dr
Mike’s good vet information with questions and answers:
http://www.vetinfo.com/dimmune.html
Good
list of common autoimmune problems and dogs with links
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ImmuneSystem.htm
Autoimmune
skin problems in dogs:
http://www.utskinvet.org/vinmodb2004/Autoimmune_Skin_Disorders.htm
List
of breeds and their most autoimmune problems:
http://www.nhm.org/exhibitions/dogs/research/disorders.html
Appropriate
treatment and diagnosis is very important for any suspected
autoimmune disease. Diet is helpful in finding the most easily
digestible foods with the most nutrients, to help support the
immune system during this time. The same supplements are used
with both autoimmune and immune suppressing problems.
There
is no natural supplement or herbal remedy that can over
stimulate the immune system, so there is no fear of using these
supplements with either disorder. Both are aimed at helping the
immune system find a healthy balance.
Diet
For
both conditions, I recommend easily digestible foods. This would
either be a raw diet, or a home cooked diet. If you are
currently feeding a commercial dog food and feel uncomfortable
switching to raw or homemade, then I suggest adding fresh food
to your current food.
For
more information on Raw diets you can reference http://b-naturals.com/May2006.php
For
more information on home cooked diets and recipes you can
reference http://b-naturals.com/Apr2006.php
For
more information on mixing fresh food with kibble you can
reference http://b-naturals.com/Jan2005.php
I
would also suggest doing some reading on how to pick the best
commercial foods. Mary Straus has an excellent article on this
on her website http://www.dogaware.com
Supplement
Suggestions
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