iPets Ally Q&A Round-up
1. Should you get your dog’s anal glands expressed inadvertently?
I’m not sure that it is a problem nor that it could be a bad thing. I think that when you get them cleaned, they’ll feel better. Anal glands, if they’re full, end up creating the irritation. My guess is that they’ll have a little material in there or maybe they won’t, but if there are a bunch of yuck in there, it really ought to come out so I think that is easy.
2. Which iodine source is better, Nori or Kombu?
Here’s kind of the issue, with the available information in the web detailing the amount of iodine in seaweeds, you can see that it varies by the sample that was taken. Nori, for instance, ranges from almost 46 down to almost less tan 30. Kombu obviously, extremely concentrated but you’ve got variability from almost 5000 to below 1700, so this will give you kind of a ballpark but because we are dealing with food, dealing with changes in water, things of that nature, it is going to vary so it is not exact and that’s okay. We weren’t meant to eat exactly the same thing day in and day out.
3. Can we use FidoSpore for dog’s diarrhea? And is Flagyl goof for diarrhea?
Yes. Absolutely! Use FidoSpore. I would be really glad to hear if that works well for all of your dogs. What I would do, is use it daily for 2 weeks and then try every other day and so on and so forth so you get down to probably once a week. Personally, I have been extremely pleased with this product.
Now, as far as Flagyl, we try to really not use that unless we absolutely have to because although it will kind of get the diarrhea under control and control the inflammation in the gut, it also does strip out the bacterial content. If we can get the diarrhea under control with things like probiotic, charcoal clay, fibrous veggies like potatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes, boiled, that is so much better.
4. Neoplastic Cell Proliferation and CBD:
Now, for CBD on canine neoplastic cell proliferation, what all this means is that apoptosis is the normal cell death and autophagy is part of that process. It is really interesting that CBD is
Here’s what I am currently recommending; CBD Dog Health. The reason I am recommending this is because they have really excellent information and they’re really all about making sure you’re getting what you’re paying for. Heal is one of their products which they suggest for more difficult health issues. Their dose recommendation for this product is something in the order of 37 to 50 milligrams per day per dog.
CBD Dog Health is also going after health issue: cancer, tumors, etc. In their website, they included a lab certificate on all of their products as well as certificate of analysis. What they can show you in here is that, indeed, there is not much THC in here and it has a 4% total CBD. Above all, it gives you clearly how many milligrams of CBD per unit there is, which is in ml in this situation.
The other thing that they are clear about is exactly what’s in there. There’s hemp seed oil, MCT oil, CBD, CBG, CBN. So, they’re telling you exactly what’s in here and then what those things do to help support the body. They’re also excellent at including the latest research. And the lady that started this business – Angela Ardolino, actually has studied extensively both in the university setting and on her own to make sure she is doing the very best she can for pets.
5. Are CBD Dog Health products a better choice?
Yes. It absolutely is what’s probably a better choice for IBD maintenance. They have an ease product. She’s also got some turmeric and frankincense in there. So, for pain, this is the one I would suggest; they have 3 formulas heal, ease, and calm. Guess what, calm is for anxiety. This is the one I suggest for arthritis plus they make it for cats as well at a slightly smaller dosing. And for the salve, Angela got 2 versions of it. This one I believe has got some other goodies in it to actually topically on tumors.
The ingredients are MCTs, coconut oils, and arnica for inflammation. Eucalyptus is also considered to be an anti – inflammatory and has some antiseptic properties, and then peppermint also is kind of amazing so I think these are really good options. That’s what I am suggesting right now for CBD standard process but it is more along the lines of a much lower dose. This company is much more aggressive with their dosing but they also appear to be getting much better results so check that out.
6. What are the benefits of FidoSpore?
Here’s what’s interesting about this probiotic – FidoSpore; The thing that makes it different is that it is sporulated and what that means is that it’s in the inactive form of the prebiotic and so it actually can get down to the colon. The other thing that’s interesting about FidoSpore is that they include another organism which is called pediococcus which is found on grass. I’ve used several different probiotics, I really like the clear one but frankly, but I like the results I’m seeing with this one much more.
The other upside is it does not include any type of prebiotic so check that out. Again, add one thing at a time and then see what you can take out as you see improved results. The goal is to get down into the smallest dose we possibly can. I’m also switching to FidoSpore because again, the results are better and I think it is a less expensive product.
7. What medicinal mushrooms should you be cautious in taking?
For the medicinal mushrooms, the one I would be cautious with is shiitake. The reason why you should be cautious with it is because there are some dogs that are sensitive to it. I would consider getting this in a supplement as well because they can be a little difficult to digest. Kan Herbals makes a really good brand. There’s a bunch of really good stuff out there. I’ll also get some recommendations in full script for you that’s more of a full spectrum product, but all of these are great as far as helping to equilibrate the immune system, make it perform better, things of that nature. You can also check out super shrooms and super snout.
8. Can Apple Cider Vinegar be used in boosting your pup’s acid level?
Now, this is interesting. If that helps the regurgitation, then that’s great but if it doesn’t, then I would leave it out because again, the difficulty is that if you’re boosting the acid and assuming your pup has acid reflux issues, that can create more issues. So, if you feel like your pup just simply lost water weight because maybe this actually helped them to digest better and not put too much strain on their G.I tract, then yes, they could keep using it. If your pup ate with the apple cider vinegar mixed into its food, then I would continue doing that. And if it they lose weight rapidly, then do something like half the dose and see if that’s enough to help them eat more comfortably and go from there.
The other thing you could try is just some bromelain or papain because that’s one of the digestive enzymes. You can also try betaine which is a hydrochloric acid, so you could try small amount of the betaine mixed in with the food for say 10 – 15 minutes prior to feeding so that acid is available to actually help digest food.
9. What are the alternatives in treating wounds in your pups’?
This is kind of messy but it does work. Assuming there are wounds in you pup’s belly, you can do a wrap of honey around its tummy. Manuka honey kind of regained the spotlight as far as being a really good antimicrobial. Frankly, plain old sugar does a great job too. What you would do is get the skin wet and then pack that as well as you can with sugar. Again, this is messy but it does work.
What you can do is pack the wounds in sugar and then put a wrap around your pups’ belly so they can’t lick it right off and leave that in contact with their skin for as long as they will tolerate it. Wash it off and then you can try mupirocin there or the CBD salve, something of that nature. But for the surface area that you’re having to cover, I think sugar is actually easier to deal with than honey, frankly. I think sugar will actually do you better. Again, the goal is that you get just enough water on the skin to make it stick. The sugar is hygroscopic and so it sucks the evil spirit right out of the skin. Just table sugar, strangely, so it doesn’t really matter you can really use just plain old table sugar as long as it doesn’t have a lot of any caking agents and junk in it. It’s great.
This was sort of the new technique but really, it’s very old. Pack the wound with sugar, wrap it and then the next day you pull it off and lo and behold, you have really kind of nice-looking granulation tissues sitting underneath there. This is a great way to get the bacteria to die and the way they die is through the sugar literally sucking the water out of them and dehydrates them.
You can use things like sports tape which will help hold it in place and then you can use things like mupirocin which is an antibiotic cream which will help kill bacteria as well. The other trick is if you can put the CBD cream on, and make sure it’s in a base like a coconut oil, things of that nature because a lot of the cream bases can be irritating.
10. What are the other options for pain relief?
Now, for pain relief, what you can use is T – relief tablets. Use a quarter of a human dose for small pets and I think it’s twice a day dosing something of that nature and then adjust the dose. It’s an arnica – based product and it has been very helpful for pain relief so that would be something I think you can add in safely without upsetting anything.
So, that’s what I have for you. Again, were having one more Holiday sale that will run from the 24th of December through the 2nd of January and so if you want to get early bird access to it, just pop over to that page and sign up and we will let you know the 23rd and get you in a day early.
Merry Christmas to you all and Happy Holidays! Again, I’m taking next week off so until next year. Take good care! Much love to you all. Thank you for your support over this year and I’ll see you next year! I’m Dr. Ruth Roberts, your pet’s ally.
