Spaying and neutering re-visited

Recently I have been made aware of people being pushed to spay & neuter their animals on the basis that this reduces the risks of cancer. My previous blog should have laid it out quite clearly, but here are some facts:

Positive for male neutering

1. eliminates the small risk (probably < 1%) of dying from testicular cancer
2. reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders
3. reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
4. may possibly reduce the risk of diabetes (data inconclusive)

Negative for male neutering

1. if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a common cancer in medium/large breeds with poor prognosis
2. increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor or 1.6
3. triples the risk of hypothyroidism
4. increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
5. triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
6. quadruples the small risk of (<0.6%) of prostate cancer
7. doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancer
8. increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
9. increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccination

Positive for spaying females

1. if done before 2.5 years of age, greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors, the most common malignant tumors in female dogs
2. nearly eliminates the risk of pyometra, which otherwise would affect about 23% of intact female dogs; pyometra kills about 1% of intact female dogs
3. reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
4. removes the very small risk (< 0.5%) from uterine, cervical and ovarian tumors

Negative for spaying females

1. if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a common cancer in the large breeds with a poor prognosis
2. increases the risk of splenic hemagiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac heangiosarcoma by a factor of >5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
3. triples the risk of hypothyroidism
4. increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6-2, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
5. causes urinary "spay incontinence" in 4-20% of female dogs
6. increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
7. increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis and vaginitis, especially for female dogs spayed before puberty
8. doubles the risk(<1%) of urinary tract tumors
9. increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
10. increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccination

This research is further to that in my previous blog To Spay/Neuter or not to Spay/Neuter issued in May http://caninehealth101.blogspot.com/2011/05/to-spayneuter-or-not-to-spayneuter.html


http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/longtermhealtheffectsofspayneuterindogs.pdf

Behaviour Issues

If you have behaviour issues with your dog, unless it is due to a medical condition we can guarentee one thing, but you won't like it.

The problem is not the dog, it is the owner!

Not that we are assigning blame here, it is not your fault that you communicate in human and your dog interprets in wolf. Human is how you have been taught to communicate, and society tells you that your dog will understand. He/She does, he/she understands very well, but in wolf!

Mentally your dog is a wolf, part of a pack, with a den and anyone leaving the den can have no better or other reason than to hunt or establish and maintain pack territory.

Communication in a way that establishes that you and your pet understand eachother is the key to curbing behaviour and having a wonderful, fullfilling, productive, relaxed, relationship.

The state of the garden

Is this a common sight in your garden?

Not to worry, it won't be for much longer, as the rubbish you are feeding your dog is shortening it's life by an average 71%, and upping your vets bills.

However, if you love your pet/s and want him/her/them to live longer, happier, healthier lives, switch to a raw natural diet.

Our Canine Consultants are here to teach you how.

Pet Insurance

Many policies state:

".. You must take your pet for regular annual check-ups and keep your pet annually vaccinated against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus in the case of dogs, against feline infectious enteritis, feline 
leukaemia and feline influenza in the case of cats... Homeopathic vaccines are not acceptable."
 
They further state that they will not pay for:
"Any treatment in connection with pregnancy or giving birth, vaccinations, grooming, killing
and controlling fleas, routine treatment for roundworms and tapeworms and any claims arising as a
result of these procedures."
As many health issues arrise due to vaccine reactions (un-admitted by the pharmaceuticals), this reduces your cover to issues brought about by accident or food reactions (un-admitted by the manufacturers).

Therefore I pose the questions, is your pet insurance really worth it?

Hypervitaminosis: the result of an overdose of certain vitamins

Whilst our last Blog pointed out a couple of issues with lack of vitamins in a pre-packaged canine diet, there are also issues with an overdose of vitamins, as those added have been found to be over 20 times the recommended daily amount i.e. Toxic levels.

Here is our presentation on what happens if a body overdoses on certain vitamins...


http://www.slideshare.net/Tiamaat1/hypervitaminosis-9403125

Vitamin defficiencies & symptoms

As detailed in our post about the ingredients in pet foods, the following vitamins & minerals are added:

"Vitamin and minerals:

Choline, Chloride,Calcium Panthenate, Thaimin Mononitrate, Riboflavin Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Menadione Dimethylprimidinol Bisulfite, Ascorbic Acid, Iron proteinate, ferrous carbonate and ferrous sulphate, Copper Oxide and copper proteinate, Copper Sulfate

This content has been tested at up to 20 times higher than the recommended daily amount (toxic levels)."

However cerain vitamins and minerals need others in order to be absorbed and utalised.

For example:

In order to convert beta-carotene (a natural anti-cancer) into Vitamin A the body requires adequate amounts of zinc, protein and fats (Mercola, 2011) however there is no zinc added, the protein levels in pet food are particularly low, not all of which is digestible and the fats are not always of the right sort of quality.

A lack of vitamin A causes blindness and also diminishes the ability to fight infections - these symptoms are often noted in conventionally fed pets. It is also noted that a Vitamin A defficiency commonly causes dermatosis in Cocker Spaniels (Watson, 1998)

Whilst vitamins B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin) & B9 (Folic Acid) are included vitamins B3, 5, 6, 7 & 12 are not - these missing vitamins cause the following symptoms:

B3 - defficiency along with a defficiency of trytophan (listed below) cause Pellegra (aggression, dermatitis, insomnia, weakness, mental confussion & diarrhea). In advanced cases dementia & death.

B5 - acne & paresthesia

B6 - microcytic anemia, depression, dermatitis, high blood pressure, water retention & elevated levels of homocysteine

B7 - Impaired growth & neurological disorders

B12 - macrocytic anemia, elevated homocysteine, peripheral neuropathy, memory loss & other cognitive deficits, the autoimmune disease pernicious anemia, mania & psychosis & in rare instances paralysis.

Trytophan is not added, Tryptophan is an essential pre-cursor to Serotonin, used by the Amygdala in the brain to promote calm, a lack of Tryptophan in the body has been connected with animal agression, another symptom often noted in conventionally fed pets.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list and further research would be of extream interest. However, many of the above symptoms are very commonly seen in our beloved pets, now you know why.

refs:

Mercola (2011) Genetically Engineered Rice is a Trojan Horse: Misled by Bill Gates and Monsanto, Mercola (Internet) Available from: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/21/genetically-engineered-rice-is-a-trojan-horse--misled-by-bill-gates-and-monsanto.aspx (accessed 21/06/2011)

Watson (1998) Diet & Skin Disease in Dogs & Cats, The Journal of Nutrition (Internet) Available from: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/12/2783S.short (accessed 21/06/2011)

Canine Parvovirus

Canine Parvovirus (CPV) has a number of different strains, and 2 different effects, the most common of which is gastrointestinal, the other is cardiac.

Mortality rates are high, up to 91%, but more likely in animals who already have an impaired immune system i.e. via stress (which reduces the immune response), lack of nutrition or are already fighting off some other form of infection/antigen.

Symptoms of CPV are vomiting and dysentery, consisting mostly of blood.

Traditional Treatment consists of:

An IV drip, antiemetics (i.e. metoclopramide) {which prevent vomiting}, antibiotics to prevent the risk of secondary infection & analgesics (pain killers) due to the intestinal discomfort caused.

A puppy with minimal symptoms can recover in 2 or 3 days if the fluids are begun as soon as symptoms are noticed. If more severe, depending on treatment, puppies can remain ill from 5 days up to 2 weeks. However, even with hospitalization, there is no guarantee that the dog will be cured and survive.

Natural treatment that has worked for me

Force feeding:

fluids, including electrolytes, colloidal silver & homoeopathic china
natural organic live yogurt, containing spirulina powder and honey
minced chicken containing spirulina powder & cod liver oil

A natural anti-virus was created by my homoeopathic vet, taking a sample of virus from an infected dog, killing it in vodka, diluting this with water, succusing,  & re-diluting as per the standard for homoeopathy. This was added in drops to the water bowls of the other dogs.

My reasons for choosing the above

The main cause of death in CPV cases is due to dehydration because of the constant vomiting and dysentary, or secondary infection.

Therefore, fluids & electrolytes to treat the dehydration

Colloidal silver & honey are powerful natural antibiotics

Live yogurt coats the gut replacing the good bacteria destroyed by the virus, which also attack the virus

Spirulina is a "super-food" containing more vitamins & minerals than any multivitamin on the market and a high level of easily digestible protein, necessary to re-build the cells lost to the virus.

Cod liver oil is high in Vitamin D, known to boost the immune system to 3 times it's normal strength.

China is known to combat symptoms similar to malaria, which is how CPV 1st presents.

The homoeopathic vaccine, created specifically from the strain of virus my dogs had been exposed to, was an immediate and permenant way to protect them from that particular strain for life.

Aftershock & Clean Up

CPV is shed in faeces for up to 6 weeks post recovery & can survive on surfaces (even outside) for up to 6 months, therefore destroying it is of vital importance.

Whilst there are many expensive cleaning products & disinfectants on the market that claim to kill parvo, in my experience some of them are not thorough enough & further outbreaks can occure.

Washing all material at 40 degrees or higher, will kill the virus.

Neat bleach is what is necessary on all surfaces to be sure that it is all gone.  Do not forget to do the soles of your shoes, as this is a regular vector for infecting others on leaving the property.


N.B. Canine Health 101 do not presume to diagnose or prescribe your animals illness, as by law this must be done by a registered veterinary surgeon.