questions we need to be asking: (I mean about our four-legged unconditional loves but of course, inevitably, how we create these problems for them)
why the exponential growth (huge jack-and-the-beanstalk jump up) in all major canine medical conditions in last half of this century?
-cancer
-diabetes
-immune disorders
-orthopedic malformations
-dermatological problems
-cardiac diseases
-gastrointestinal
-obesity (seriously, we're feeding them!)
why are dogs having shorter lifespans (when modern veterinary medicine is so advanced)?
why do puppy mills not only exist but thrive?
why are neutering and spaying becoming mandated law when severe health risks are involved?
how can we not know how many millions of shelter animals are euthanized yearly in America?
14 September 2010
Prescription, as in... illegal to sell anywhere else
So I ditched the ten foot pole and am going to touch it with my bare hands.
Please, please, pleeeease understand what a prescription food is:
An nutritionally incomplete food (as defined by AAFCO, the people that say Gravy Train is good) not approved for long term consumption
AAFCO's actually kinda awesome in a sick and depraved way. Peanut hulls, shoe leather, and motor oil would meet their requirements.
Also, hypoallergenic food = crappola!
Allergies are not all the same nor are they usually caused by food (read raw meat) in canines! (The way in which the food it is raised, prepared, supplemented yes!)
And if, per chance, they are...one food will not rule them all (like a ring would)!
If I'm allergic to peanuts and you're allergic to shell fish and Marcy's allergic to beef and Cindy Loo's allergic to chicken and Jahosah's allergic to rice and Muhammed's allergic to chimichangas and so on....what could possibly be in a hypoallergenic food for all of us? As Edwin Starr aptly described, the same as war, Absolutely Nothing! (except maybe fiber, cellulose, water, and fat so there's actually something in the freakin' bag or can!)
Please, please, pleeeease understand what a prescription food is:
An nutritionally incomplete food (as defined by AAFCO, the people that say Gravy Train is good) not approved for long term consumption
AAFCO's actually kinda awesome in a sick and depraved way. Peanut hulls, shoe leather, and motor oil would meet their requirements.
Also, hypoallergenic food = crappola!
Allergies are not all the same nor are they usually caused by food (read raw meat) in canines! (The way in which the food it is raised, prepared, supplemented yes!)
And if, per chance, they are...one food will not rule them all (like a ring would)!
If I'm allergic to peanuts and you're allergic to shell fish and Marcy's allergic to beef and Cindy Loo's allergic to chicken and Jahosah's allergic to rice and Muhammed's allergic to chimichangas and so on....what could possibly be in a hypoallergenic food for all of us? As Edwin Starr aptly described, the same as war, Absolutely Nothing! (except maybe fiber, cellulose, water, and fat so there's actually something in the freakin' bag or can!)
flea me alone and tick off
right, so PESTICIDES
that you have to wear gloves to apply
directly to the skin of a furry creature
that you touch with your bare hands multiple times daily
that are perfectly "safe"
How's that working? Come again?
Right, right, so marketing is this amazing tool that when coupled with the momentous machine of "modern veterinary medicine" (read propaganda machine) combines to sell you a product to harm you and your beloved fluffy ones.
Oh, but wait, it gets better (read sadder and more frustrating) the fleas and ticks are becoming resistant to the chemicals! The chemicals that to begin with don't deter the pests (only claim to kill after biting)! So, said pests can and are more likely to catch a ride into an area where you might become the desirable meal.
These chemicals, not medications like some many people like to say (unless you think the taste of almonds in your coffee is your "medication"), also cost a bloody fortune.
*tidbit: Tick borne diseases are transmitted at a minimum of 24 to 48 hrs after a tick bites. Daily tick checks are the best defense against tick borne diseases for humans and animals.
So a minute puppy massage (tick check) at the end of every day when you're relaxing petting your pup anyway...is safe, healthy (emotionally and physically for you, enjoyable and helpful for the furred ones) and free.
that you have to wear gloves to apply
directly to the skin of a furry creature
that you touch with your bare hands multiple times daily
that are perfectly "safe"
How's that working? Come again?
Right, right, so marketing is this amazing tool that when coupled with the momentous machine of "modern veterinary medicine" (read propaganda machine) combines to sell you a product to harm you and your beloved fluffy ones.
Oh, but wait, it gets better (read sadder and more frustrating) the fleas and ticks are becoming resistant to the chemicals! The chemicals that to begin with don't deter the pests (only claim to kill after biting)! So, said pests can and are more likely to catch a ride into an area where you might become the desirable meal.
These chemicals, not medications like some many people like to say (unless you think the taste of almonds in your coffee is your "medication"), also cost a bloody fortune.
*tidbit: Tick borne diseases are transmitted at a minimum of 24 to 48 hrs after a tick bites. Daily tick checks are the best defense against tick borne diseases for humans and animals.
So a minute puppy massage (tick check) at the end of every day when you're relaxing petting your pup anyway...is safe, healthy (emotionally and physically for you, enjoyable and helpful for the furred ones) and free.
vaccination across the nation, an abomination
first and formost I would like to say I'm not completely opposed to the concept of vaccines.
What I am concerned about is:
-how vaccinations are give:
frequency
form (compounds, carrier, adjuvants, etc...)
-factual representation: what is mandatory by law
recommended by AVMA and others like Dr Jean Dodds
awareness of potential side effects
-immunity assessment
checking need of vaccine before blindly giving
testing an animal's existing immunity with titers
Most people have no knowledge that vaccination is optional and potentially detrimental for our four-legged companions. Without informing the guardian of the animal the choice and understanding are lost. I'm sure Samuel Clemens will be turning in his grave but for the sake of stating the obvious, that means people have no idea vaccinations could even be the cause of a medical issue and potentially stop the suffering from continuing. Or, from reporting it for that matter. Then where would the establishment of "modern" veterinary medicine be?
Probably in the same place pesticides have finally gotten to because consumers wouldn't shut up, not that anything will really be done mind you.
Mmmh, fun little fact, anyone that's ever worked in a vet clinic has probably heard this expression, "rabies right, (feline) leukemia left." This refers to the precedent where the Rabies vaccination is administered to the rear right leg of an animal and in felines the FeLV vaccination in the rear left leg.
Ever wonder why or curious now?
'Cause it's easier to cut off a leg when it gets cancer than to cut part of the neck off (where the rest of vaccinations are usually administered).
Yeah, so there's a lot your vet isn't telling you is all I'm saying.
heartworm...
so I work retail and standing on cement floors for hours a day can leave my legs feeling achey at times...think I should take an Advil every morning so I won't get achey if I'm not initially?
Probably not.
Long term exposure or extended use to an anti-inflammitory can cause, among other things, stomach ulcers. Use them only when you need to, right?
Okay, now, dewormers, such as Heartguard and Interceptor, are basically relying on this concept of "prevention."
If you give this product monthly it will keep them from getting heartworms.
Well, no actually, it will kill the worms if present (yeah, as in HAS) in the body (hopefully).
Plus, like any good parasiticide, little fast producing creatures (with high fecundity) like worms become resistant to it. Using them frequently (read too often), just like antibiotics, makes them less viable as killers.
So...
why pay for a treatment, that has known detrimental side effects, if it's not really even preventing?
Seriously, that's like giving your kid, or yourself for that matter, antibiotics monthly to prevent infection.
Probably not.
Long term exposure or extended use to an anti-inflammitory can cause, among other things, stomach ulcers. Use them only when you need to, right?
Okay, now, dewormers, such as Heartguard and Interceptor, are basically relying on this concept of "prevention."
If you give this product monthly it will keep them from getting heartworms.
Well, no actually, it will kill the worms if present (yeah, as in HAS) in the body (hopefully).
Plus, like any good parasiticide, little fast producing creatures (with high fecundity) like worms become resistant to it. Using them frequently (read too often), just like antibiotics, makes them less viable as killers.
So...
why pay for a treatment, that has known detrimental side effects, if it's not really even preventing?
Seriously, that's like giving your kid, or yourself for that matter, antibiotics monthly to prevent infection.
13 September 2010
the answer...'cause I couldn't help myself
raw meat.
eyeballs
bones
tongues
livers
muscles
tendons
hearts
you get the idea, what wolves still eat
Food...ishness
So...I don't know where to start with this one. This will be, undoubtably and unrepentantly, a topic that I will discuss quite frequently at great length and with intensity. 'Cause it drives me freakin' nutty (like so many other things) that people conceptually don't get that feeding our beloved friends stuff that can sit at room temperature for over a year has any nutritional value.
What food can you keep in your "cupboard" for a year and not debate if it's still good?
Right, now imagine eating those few things for the rest of your life!
Barring an apocalypse (I'm hoping for Zombies personally) where it's unsafe to be outside, in daylight hours or because of general contamination, who in their right mind would think these things were nutritionally complete?
Enter stage right, kibble and canned pet food.
The waste products of our food processing became a money maker for industries.
Some of my favorite things found in "scientifically proven" formulas.
4 D foods: Diseased, Downed (Disabled), Dieing, DEAD (illegal of course for us to consume but hey, feeding cancer to a dog is good profit and therefore business!)
Soy Bean Mill Run: The waste at the bottom of the machine that makes our soy products...oh yeah, adds lots of "protein" and "fiber" on the Guaranteed Analysis dontch'ya know?
For a more complete list of what scary things lurk in commercial pet food look at the Dog Food Project's site.
Oh and that reminds me...that Guaranteed Analysis (one of the only three things of interest on a product, the other two being the Ingredient list and Manufacturer, both highly suspect) can and is manipulated to read better than reality. Nitrogen (what is tested for in labs when determining protein content) is added to increase percentages. Classy.
So before I start spewing actual venom, I'm going to say this and be done, for the moment.
Before the creation of pet food, say fifty years ago, what did our furry friends thrive on for the past 100,000 years?
What food can you keep in your "cupboard" for a year and not debate if it's still good?
Right, now imagine eating those few things for the rest of your life!
Barring an apocalypse (I'm hoping for Zombies personally) where it's unsafe to be outside, in daylight hours or because of general contamination, who in their right mind would think these things were nutritionally complete?
Enter stage right, kibble and canned pet food.
The waste products of our food processing became a money maker for industries.
Some of my favorite things found in "scientifically proven" formulas.
4 D foods: Diseased, Downed (Disabled), Dieing, DEAD (illegal of course for us to consume but hey, feeding cancer to a dog is good profit and therefore business!)
Soy Bean Mill Run: The waste at the bottom of the machine that makes our soy products...oh yeah, adds lots of "protein" and "fiber" on the Guaranteed Analysis dontch'ya know?
For a more complete list of what scary things lurk in commercial pet food look at the Dog Food Project's site.
Oh and that reminds me...that Guaranteed Analysis (one of the only three things of interest on a product, the other two being the Ingredient list and Manufacturer, both highly suspect) can and is manipulated to read better than reality. Nitrogen (what is tested for in labs when determining protein content) is added to increase percentages. Classy.
So before I start spewing actual venom, I'm going to say this and be done, for the moment.
Before the creation of pet food, say fifty years ago, what did our furry friends thrive on for the past 100,000 years?
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