May 2010

I decided that sharing my successes with my peers on using  easy dietary changes to treat patients with chronic problems would be a great way to reach those 40% of dogs in every practice  that have chronic skin, ear, stomach, and bowel problems that seem to recur despite treatment. My approach is a very practical one that embraces many types of pet food, chews, treats, and human food based on the ingredients and allergens. Good commercial dry food , canned food, holistic food, human food, and raw food can be used to help dogs with a variety of problems

The Veterinarians and staff at Angels Camp Veterinary Hospital were a great audience and very interested in my story and book. I enjoyed sharing my experiences and successes with the easy and economical nutritional tips in my book “Dog Dish Diet”.

If any other veterinary hospitals in California, Nevada, Oregon, or Washington are interested in helping both dogs and cats with chronic medical conditions by avoiding allergens and high amounts of carbs, I am happy to come and talk for the wholesale  price of 25 books and cheap travel expenses.

I talked to the Vets at an informal dinner the night before, then to the staff the next day. This way I could get feedback from the vets before presenting to the staff. This is not a gimmicky presentation, and I guarantee results. Check out my  testimonial page for the proof of that.

Under a Vets guidance ,Dog Dish Diet can give your clients tools to keep their pets healthy. The sale of the book will be easy, once you see the results of a better diet on chronic problems and general health

{ 0 comments }

Pit Bulls are constantly in the news and I am often asked to comment on the qualities and dangers of the breed that keep them in the news.

A recent blog about the common myths about Pit Bulls and their tendencies prompted me to throw my 2 cents in.

I wrote this response to a column on Pit Bulls. Most are great pets,but were bred, and  carry the genetics for for fighting. Just a glance at the pronounced muscles of the jaw hint at the breed’s history.

In my experience all the following statements are true:

Pits can be lovable family pets. Pits can play well will dogs and cats.Pits have more powerful jaws than most dogs. A small percentage of Pits have a tendency for seemingly unprovoked attacks on dogs, cats, or people. Pits were bred to fight and they carry this genetic predisposition with them,just as breeding makes some Golden Retrievers want to carry somethng around in their mouth 24/7. When they do attack, Pits can inflict massive damage due to ferocity of the attack style. In California most insurance companies won’t provide coverage for homes that own pits.Early socialization of pits is the most important thing a new owner needs to do.Socialization will not erase all programming, and a few pits may still have aggression “triggers” that are discovered after the attack.

Just as human beings are all different psychologically, pits can have similiar breeding and socialization, but  react differently to similiar situations. We have to recognize that the behavior of Pits  need to be assessed on a “case by case” basis taking both of   the  the emotions of the bite victims and pit owners  into account.

No one could  ever  say, “all chihuahuas are great family pets” or “all siamese are wonderful family pets”, because  all animals have different breed tendencies,and different personalities .That would be like saying all Italians are good cooks.

The truth is  that  Pits can both be  great family pets, or killers depending on their individual breeding lines, tendencies, and early socialization.

To prevent attacks all dog owners have to be aware that the descendants of police dogs, guard dogs, fighting dogs, and war dogs can have aggressive and unpredictable personalities on occasion, and need to know how to prevent problems. Remember, all dogs are descended from wolves, and through selective breeding we have enhanced pre-domesticated traits in some breeds.

Can we avert attacks in all dogs, and especially pits with better socialization, castration to mute aggressiveness, selective breeding, and finally euthanasia ( capital punishment for bad citizens) .

Let me know your thoughts

{ 0 comments }

Some people think it’s safe to give dogs large bones, like those from a ham or a roast,” says Carmela Stamper, D.V.M., a veterinarian in the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the Food and Drug Administration. “Bones are unsafe no matter what their size. Giving your dog a bone may make your pet a candidate for a trip to your veterinarian’s office later, possible emergency surgery, or even death.”

This is a recent bulletin from a contributing Veterinarian for the FDA warning  against feeding bones to dogs. Since I believe that feeding bones can be a safe and healthy practice I responded with the following email.

Many of my clients feed raw or meaty bones for their nutritive value and to keep the teeth and gums exercised and free of tartar. I observed clients feeding raw and smoked  bones  for years and how they could  keep the teeth and gums in great shape  before I tried the practice.

Dogs descended from carnivores and have all the equipment necessary to enjoy chewing on larger raw and smoked bones to clean their teeth.I now advise clients to feed raw or smoked beef femurs, lamb femurs, pork hocks, and shanks as well as frozen chicken thighs to clean teeth and provide necessary nutrients in the diet for their own cartilage and ligaments. The bones you advise against feeding are cooked and baked bones that are dangerous because they are harder, more brittle, and can splinter. I agree completely with the danger of feeding these bones.

raw meaty bones

The practice of  feeding of larger raw, meaty, bones and the type of bone therapy I advise, should not be lumped in with feeding barbecued chicken bones, cooked steak bones, and thanksgiving turkey carcass leftovers.

Bad Brittle BBQ Bones

In my practice and in my book, Dog Dish Diet, I warn people to never feed barbecued and baked chicken, steak, and turkey bones. I also caution feeding small bones to dogs that will “gulp and swallow” them down. Bigger raw and smoked bones are an excellent choice for preventative dental care.

Kibble, greenies, dog biscuits, pigs ears ,rawhide dental chews, and other dog dental chews can also be dangerous because of  allergic reactions due to glutens and even obstructions when large pieces of toys and chews are swallowed. Besides most chews, dental toys, and biscuits do very little  for the teeth and gums because they are not gnawed on for the period of time necessary to scrape off the tartar.

In my 30 years of vet practice, I had seen a few cases of bone associated problems such as those listed below, which were due to eating  baked or barbecued bones, not raw, smoked, or meaty bones

1. Broken teeth. This may call for expensive veterinary dentistry.
2. Mouth or tongue injuries. These can be very bloody and messy and may require a trip to see your veterinarian.
3. Bone gets looped around your dog’s lower jaw. This can be frightening or painful for your dog and potentially costly to you, as it usually means a trip to see your veterinarian.
4. Bone gets stuck in esophagus, the tube that food travels through to reach the stomach. Your dog may gag, trying to bring the bone back up, and will need to see your veterinarian.
5. Bone gets stuck in windpipe. This may happen if your dog accidentally inhales a small enough piece of bone. This is an emergency because your dog will have trouble breathing. Get your pet to your veterinarian immediately!
6. Bone gets stuck in stomach. It went down just fine, but the bone may be too big to pass out of the stomach and into the intestines. Depending on the bone’s size, your dog may need surgery or upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, a procedure in which your veterinarian uses a long tube with a built-in camera and grabbing tools to try to remove the stuck bone from the stomach.
7. Bone gets stuck in intestines and causes a blockage. It may be time for surgery.
8. Constipation due to bone fragments. Your dog may have a hard time passing the bone fragments because they’re very sharp and they scrape the inside of the large intestine or rectum as they move along. This causes severe pain and may require a visit to your veterinarian.
9. Severe bleeding from the rectum. This is very messy and can be dangerous. It’s time for a trip to see your veterinarian.
10. Peritonitis. This nasty, difficult-to-treat bacterial infection of the abdomen is caused when bone fragments poke holes in your dog’s stomach or intestines. Your dog needs an emergency visit to your veterinarian because peritonitis can kill your dog.

Many clients cannot afford veterinary dental care and bone therapy works. My three dogs will never need another dental cleaning.

Greg Martinez DVM

{ 1 comment }

Summer in Gilroy can be pretty warm. It always amazes me how some folks will leave their dogs in the car with the windows rolled up.Even at moderate temperatures, leaving a dog in a car can be hazardous.If you see a dog in a car, with the windows closed,and the dog heavily panting, call 911. If you accidentally do this to your dog, wetting them down or icing down a “hot dog” on the way to a veterinary emergency clinic, where they will continue cooling and give IV fluids and support could be  a life saver.

Fleas can be abundant in the summer and if you see them on any one of your animals you will need to treat all your animals for several months in a row.Flea treatment schedules can vary alot depending on where you live, the number of cats and dogs in your house, and the advice of your vet or pet store. I usually recommend treating fleas for the spring summer and fall, unless you are in a heavy infested flea area where year round treatment is necessary. The EPA is investigating reactions to flea products in dogs and cats and encourages people to pay attention to the label and to not use dog flea treatment on cats, or overdose small dogs and cats. If you or somebody you know puts the wrong stuff or dosage on a dog or cat, wash them immediately in dawn detergent. If cats or small dogs show any twitching or nausea, take them for a check-up immediately.

Ticks are common in the country and jump on dogs in brushy areas. Nothing grosses people out as much as finding anengorged tick full of their dogs blood.To remove a tick, pinch it as close to the skin as you can, then twist it off. If you don’t want to touch it, a topical flea and tick preventative will kill the embedded tick in a day or so. There often will be a bump or hairless spot where the tick was attached. Ticks elicit quite an allergic reaction and that is probably the origin of the myth of leaving the head in. Small black ticks called deer ticks can carry thebacteria responsible for Lyme’s disease. This disease occurs when a tick full of the borelia burgdorferi bites a susceptible dog or human. We are fortunate that there is not a high incidence in our little valley.Dogs frequently exposed to ticks can be vaccinated, or in areas that have a known incidence of Lyme’s. Experts are not convinced how well the vaccine works, and only recommend it in endemic areas. Ask your vet for advice.

Flea and tick preventative should be used in areas where there are known tick diseases. This means that the following “bugs” are spread from dog to dog by the brown dog tick or deer tick. Examples are ticks spreading  the infective bacteria for Lyme’s disease that affect the joints and  the heart, the  rickettsia for  Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or the  Ehrlichia, and  last but not least the protozoa like babesia that invade blood cells. Every dog does not get sick. Everything depends on how well they handle the infection. Older animals, animals  with immune problems, and those with other  health problems could be infected more easily. In those areas were there is a known threat, use a flea and tick topical treatment, a topical spray, a tick collar, or an organic tick spray with citrus or other oils. Did you know you can save a tick collar in the freezer between uses?

Taking your dogs for walks is good exercise for the both of you. However,
walking in gravel or mud can irritate the spaces between the pads and cause
limping. Walking on hot streets can cause a blister on the pads. If there is a
limp after exercise check the pads and the spaces between the toes for rashes,
foxtails,swellings, or blisters. Wash up irritated feet with soapy water and if
there is redness use some neosporin for a couple days. If they look worse after a day or two, check with your vet.
What do you do if your dog or cat chases a bee or yellow jacket, gets stung, and swells up in the lips and face? Did you know you administer Claritin, Benadryl,or Zyrtec to prevent or treat swellings due to stings. At dogdishdiet.com there is a free home remedy download that provides dosages for benadryl and claritin. The dosage for Zyrtec or cetirizine is ¼ tablet for a small dog or cat, ½ tablet for a medium size, and 1 tablet for a large dog.

Foxtails are a summer nuisance that work their way through the skin,
between the toes, and can get into the ears, eyes, and nose of dogs or cats
that run through the weeds. Sometimes when a dog or cat is holding one eye
closed and you are lucky enough to see the yellow foxtail strand, you can grasp it and pull it out. Sometimes the cornea has not been scratched and the eye will not be painful. If the eye is still closed and appears to be hurting, then it should be checked out by your vet. Dogs will often snort up a foxtail, then repeatedly sneeze violently, with some occasional blood. Sometimes with the violent sneezing, the foxtail will be blown out or swallowed and the symptoms will disappear. If not, anesthetic and a scope are needed to look up the nose and pull out the foxtail to relieve the symptoms. Foxtails
in the ears will also cause sudden violent head shaking and scratching. If you suspect a foxtail after a visit to the country, and it is “after regular veterinary hours,” you can use a bit of mineral oil or ear medication to soften the prickly foxtail, so you can wait until  your normal veterinary hospital is open.

Gilroy is home to a population of rattlesnakes that live in our rocky foothills. There have been sightings and bites in the eastern and western foothills and even near the gated community, Eagle Ridge. A bite from a rattler can be life threatening and very expensive to treat. A dog rattlesnake vaccine may make the bite of a rattler and cost of treatment less hurtful to your dog and your pocketbook. The downside of the vaccine is that there are more “vaccine reactions” or swelling at the site of the vaccine then with other vaccines.

{ 1 comment }