iPet's Ally Q&A Round-Up 03-08-21
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1. Are the Seresto flea collar death allegations true?
What these folks are saying is that they’ve received tons of complains but the EPA has done nothing to inform them. The problem is that all of the issues are very random as they’re saying. Ranging from a ruptured eardrum, liver failure and heart problems that just doesn’t make sense, and so a doctor form the ASPCA Poison Control Center said that it just doesn’t make sense that the collar is involved, but it’s more of the collar is in the dog and so people blame the collar.
What I found in practice is that somebody could have been using a product for months and months or years and then all of a sudden, it’s a big problem. Here are the real problems that come from Seresto collars, majority of these cases are coming from pets who ate the collar themselves – ataxia, wobbliness, tremors, vomiting, and things of that nature. Fake collars seem to be more of the issue and so they included a helpful site called “Where to Buy”. That will show us kind of where we can buy it. It’s giving you online resources as well as local resources.
I feel pretty confident that this is not an issue with the collar, but as human beings, we want to have a clearly laid out cause and effect. Now, as pet owners, when we can’t explain the reason for something happening, people more and more want to blame stuff that really isn’t at blame. Like the Rimadyl when it first came out, there was a woman on John’s Island whose dog died. It was truly the result of Rimadyl but more importantly, it was a result of her veterinarian not recognizing that her dog was 12 years old and that maybe we ought to look at liver enzyme values and see if there’s an existing problem instead of just handing out powerful drugs like candy and not recognizing that there’s going to be any side effects. With any medication; if your pet has a sensitivity to pesticides, maybe this isn’t a great option so you really have to think things through and get your head wrapped around it and take some responsibility. I hope that is helpful.
2. What are the benefits of knee braces?
Knee braces is a great option for dogs that you’re trying to heal that knee through rest and the way that we would do it on the human side. They’re actually trying hard not to take us to not do surgery anymore because what they found is that at 6 months for an ACL or tear, they’re finding that the outcome for people that did physical therapy versus surgery is virtually the same. We did this for one of our dogs Ollie, who tore both of his cruciate when he was younger. This helped tremendously.
3. What are the best product for pain control in pups?
Suppose your pup has joint issue, this is where I think CBD can be very helpful to kind of cool things down quite a bit. The product I’m very pleased with in the company I’m working with where I’m also hearing back from my clients that they are pleased as well is CBD Dog Health. They have a product called Ease which is a CBD plus frankincense and myrrh. I think that is a great option. That’s a great place to start controlling inflammation.
4. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of grain – free diets?
I think the issues in the grain – free diet is that the commercial ones that are in the bag, 65% to 70% of the calories are made up of legumes or beans. What’s happening is that it seems to be an issue to certain breeds specifically the Golden Retriever, but what I believe is happening is that there are a ton of anti – nutrients in legumes and cooking helps to remove a terrific amount of them. So, there’s an article about grain – free food and they’re saying it was linked to dilated cardiomyopathy. What I think is happening is that in the process of consuming so much legume, that is what is preventing the absorption of certain amino acids and in particular the one that are essential, meaning you have to consume a sufficient amount to get them in there.
In the cooked version where you are controlling the percentage of legumes as a portion of the diet, I don’t think that this is an issue. I have not heard of anybody having an issue with the exception of feeding the bagged food. Let’s face it folks. In most of the world, beans are a staple in the diet but in America we have managed to turn them into evil incarnate, and I think that’s just not fair. It’s like nobody should eat peas again because they’re toxic and I don’t think that’s right. Should you eat 7% of your diet as peas? No. Absolutely not.
The other thing that we tend to say is that this is the new superfood and so we eat a ton of it even though it may be something meant to be an esoteric part of our diet. For instance, blue – green algae, that was a thing in the 90s. It was the greatest, newest, most wonderful stuff out there. I’m actually here to tell you this because we rented a house on Lake Klamath. In the summertime, because of the heat, the algae become so toxic that you cannot swim there. So, I think that we need to get back to everything in moderation and everything within reason. I hope that is helpful.
That’s what I have for you this week. Until next week. Take good care of yourselves. We’ve got some very exciting changes coming for Ipet’s Ally that I think you’re going to enjoy. Also, we’ll be announcing that by the end of the month so keep your ear posted. Many Thanks!
Links Mentioned:
Veterinarians temper flea-collar fears raised by news report:
https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&Id=10124607
Dog Knee Brace: https://orthopets.com/products/dog-knee-brace/
CBDDOGHEALTH: https://cbddoghealth.com/?ref=18&campaign=cbddoghealth
Grain-Free Pet Food: Helpful or Harmful Diet?: https://www.aspca.org/news/grain-free-pet-food-helpful-or-harmful-diet
Dog Care On Air Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogcareonair
