1. Why is there undigested food in my dog’s poop?
If they’re coming out whole, then your pup is just not able to digest the food. Now, you
have a couple of things to sort out. Is it that the salmon is a problem and whatever is in that batch
of food? or coincidentally, as you said, you had given heartworm meds the 2 nd of September and
then the milk thistle starting on the 4 th of September? This is where a diary is super useful
because you can write all this stuff down. What I would do is just kind of mash up the beans or
even make them into a paste and feed those. I have feeling that the increased fiber in the beans is
actually helping quite a bit but it may be too much. You may have to use half the amount of the
beans that I suggested earlier. I hope that makes sense.
2. What is the downside of berberine?
Mr. Willie is actually on berberine complex, which is supposed to kill the yeast. The
interesting thing too is that it also kills everything else in the gut and so I’m kind of wondering if
some of these changes are coming out as a result of that. Likely because we’re kind of going on
the theory that he’s clearing infections; I would see what happens. The formula is either going to
push harder so you may see some of these other things like more gooey stuff, more ear issues
because you’re already starting to see some yeast in the ears and groin area. It’ll be interesting to
see kind of how that plays out. Moreover, with the palladia, that’s going to create some other
issues too.
3. What should be done to help your dog with bone injuries?
The things you are going to need to consider are has he got a lot of muscle wasting?
Where is the fracture exactly? Is it at the center of the leg or is it through the joint? How is his
poop? And kind of what meds has he been on? He’s a young dog so he’s going to heal really
quickly. But what I would definitely do especially if the fracture is through the joint, is to add in
some sort of a joint supplement either ArthriSoothe or ArthriEase GOLD. Probably, ArthriEase
GOLD will be fine for him because he likely doesn’t have any food sensitivities.
See if you can find a group that has an underwater treadmill. This is a situation where
once the wound has healed from the surgery, this really would be one of the best options in terms
of getting the muscle built up more quickly. And then short of that, there are several on the
ground rehab options available as far as going. What that means to me is taking an incline and
decline walks in a very controlled fashion, working through things like a wobble board or
something of that nature where he’s having to correct course and shift weight off and on each
side. Wobble boards have been super useful. You can do that with a piece of plywood over a
baseball so it’s super easy to do at home. Start with the front end – the unaffected leg. So, get
good balance up front first to develop strength through the pectorals, the shoulders, and the back,
and then once they give you the clearance then start working on the rear end as far as balance
and things of that nature.
4. Are Turkey treats, okay?
I mean, you’ve got what you’ve got and I think it’s okay to use them but I wouldn’t get
more. As what has been suggested, you can use a dehydrator. Now, if you head over to the
website and just search treats, there’s a recipe for peanut butter dog treats which obviously is not
a great plan for Spirit right now but the DIY healthy treats for pets or how to make a dehydrated
proteins treat without having a dehydrator, so you can check that out.
5. How much milk thistle should be given and for how long?
If your pup is less than 20 pounds, usually you can get 150 milligram capsule of milk
thistle over the counter and so what I would do is give a half a capsule once a day for a week.
Start Heartgard today and start the milk thistle tomorrow morning 24 hours later because it takes
24 hours for the majority of the heartburn to get into the system. When you give it, you would
want to do its very best. We don’t want to speed up clearing it.
That’s what I got. I wish everybody a great week. Let me make sure Hanna hasn’t sent
me something else. Yes, I think we are good to go. Until next week. You all have a wonderful
week. Enjoy the day off with your families and take good care. I’m Dr. Ruth Roberts, your pet’s
ally. Thanks!
