SOTT Exclusive: Natural Pet Health: Top 10 issues facing pet owners when it comes to your pets' well-being

Hello, and welcome to the first article in a new series on natural pet health (as featured on SOTT Radio Network's Health and Wellness Show). My name is Zoya, and I am a 4th-year veterinary student. During my studies, I have had the opportunity to observe and learn about various practices, recommendations, medicines and foods that aren't particularly beneficial or right for our pets' well-being.

So in this introduction to the series I'll briefly cover what I think are the 10 main lies told to us by the mainstream veterinary community, or in other words the 10 main issues misrepresented or presented to us incorrectly. These are lies that contribute to the development of various diseases and prevent your pets from having long, healthy and happy lives. Unsurprisingly, many of the issues are similar to the lies told by human doctors, and in many cases if you educate yourself on better nutrition and a better way of life in general, this knowledge can be applied to your pet as well. Of course, with some modifications.

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Dry vs. Raw food

Pet owners are often told that kibble or dry food is good for pets, particularly if it's a special diet, for example, some sort of metabolic bland or dry food for cats with kidney disease. Well, the reality is that it isn't true. My favorite counter-argument is - how would you feel after eating croutons all your life, no matter how tasty the croutons are? We are going to expand on this in further articles, but for now let me just say that as it turns out, dry food is one of the main reasons for many metabolic and hormonal diseases in the first place, and in many cases it also very expensive! So you end up paying twice, the first time for buying bad food and then for visit to a veterinarian. The solution - feed your pets with a natural, species-appropriate diet. This will be the subject of my next article.

Vaccines

Another issue is vaccines and the need to re-vaccinate every year. As it turns out, humans and animals have a similar physiology. And thank god we don't have to revaccinate every year. In fact, there is enough evidence that we don't need to vaccinate at all. But since in most the countries it's the law that you have to vaccinate your pets for rabies at least once, there is no way around it. But there is a very big lie in the veterinarian community that one has to do annual revaccinations for several common viruses or bacteria in order to maintain the same level of immunity. In a future article I will expand on this topic, help you understand how immunity works and how to ask your local veterinarian to test your pet's immunity next time he or she will remind you about revaccination.

Steroids

Another topic worth mentioning is steroids, when and how often it's OK to use them, for example, in cases of acute inflammation, skin diseases and other health problems. While steroids are considered miracle makers - they can promote rapid healing of inflammation and allergic reactions - they also have an insidious side that we all should be aware of. While they can stop the acute process, they also suppress the immune system at the same time. Owners of specific dog breeds, like poodles, should be aware that in some cases it may be enough for their dog to have just one shot of cortisone to acquire Cushing's disease. In future articles, I'll discuss some possible alternative solutions, or if steroid use is unavoidable, at least how to minimize the damage.

Chronic diseases/Cancer

These are very broad topics with many possible causes, like breed predispositions, bad nutrition, bad environment. And yes, even wi-fi can trigger the development of cancer or contribute to various chronic diseases. So we are going to talk about that too.

Herbal remedies

The next lie is that herbal medicine is useless and nothing more than pseudoscience. It's true that many veterinarians consider homeopathy to be nothing more than witchcraft, and those who practice it as charlatans. However, I study in an East European university, and one of the things that is surprisingly good here is that, because the university doesn't have a big budget for fancy equipment or drugs, they teach us how to treat animals using natural and herbal solutions, using things we can find in the forest or a field nearby. And I can tell you from personal experience that it does work. We will talk about this too.

Homeopathy

A separate article will be dedicated to homeopathy. I myself have no experience with it, but will do my research and share the results with you.

Spaying and neutering

For a very long time neutering was considered the most responsible thing a pet owner could to do in order to prevent overpopulation of stray dogs and cats. But now, more and more we hear how early neutering (when a pet is less than one year old) leads to various hormonal and metabolic disorders, skin diseases and problems with immune system in general. So now, being a responsible owner takes an entirely new form.

Surgery

Sometimes surgery is unavoidable, like in cases of accidents, various fractures, inbred disabilities or disorders. But that's what surgery should be: a last resort, or a last solution. But there are still many veterinarians that perform cosmetic surgeries, even if they are outlawed in many countries, surgeries like declawing, ear cropping, debarking or cutting of vocal cords. It's possible that many owners don't know how painful or uncomfortable such surgeries are for pets, so we are going to talk about that.

Fleas, ticks and worms

I will also discuss flea and tick protection, deworming, and poisoning in pets in general, because there are many solutions that are very effective but also very damaging for pets. If you put even one tiny extra drop or don't apply it correctly, it can lead to poisoning, not to mention the extreme sensitivity of some dog breeds like Collies and Shelties to the main active ingredient in deworming products. I will be sharing possible alternative and natural solutions in a future article.

I hope you found the information useful. If you have any questions or suggestions, you are invited to leave a comment.

Zoya Klebanova

Zoya Klebanova joined SOTT in 2007 as contributing editor while living in Israel for 20 years, and after waking up to her country's destructive and psychopathic nature. Her deep understanding of Israel's pathology provides her with unique perspective regarding world events. Zoya worked in wide variety of computer oriented jobs, and has background in research and investigation. She currently resides in Belarus and attends University studying veterinary medicine. Her research interests include health, politics, spirituality, high-strangeness, and all areas of science.