Dr Bruce Syme

It is because the cainines are the "killing teeth", and they do not get worked in a domestic dog, and there is little to no contact during chewing. You will need to maintain physical abraision (brushing) to keep plaque to a minimum.

I'd like to think I can offer a trained opinion, and I have successfully treated hundreds of atopic dogs using raw diet and other supplements. Unfortunately, my experience with sending patients to the specialist dermatolgists is that they come back on cortisone more often than not. I do totally agree that you need one on one, hands on, advice !! Didn't know you were a Dermatologist? I've used your product with my own dog and rescues...they didn't get better, in fact some got worse. I find your comment interesting though because most Dermatologists that have seen dogs I know of have suggested elimination diets and testing...not cortisone. Although cortisone = quality of life alot of the time. Sounds like your opinion is based on commercial profit of your product more than anything else like a Vet pointing at the brand of dog food they have in their clinic? Could be wrong there of course! Ouch - I'm just a hard working vet who has spent 22 yrs working on dogs and cats with allergies, seeking non-pharmaceutical treatments - my opinion is based on thousands of cases of success, nothing to do with profit. Cortisone may = quality of life in the very short term, but long term, it is a VERY ugly drug. Very often I advise many products and regimes that have nothing to do with my product range.I offer a stack of free advice to pet owners, and you may note, I talk about raw diets, NOT about vets all natural products.I dont claim that my products are a cure-all in any way, but they are vastly superior to any kibble I have ever come across. If I was interested in commercial profit, I would not be spending my time advocating raw food - it is bloody hard work !!

Hi Dianne, it really is a complex situation, and I do think you may need to scale back so many supplements, as it could be confusing his system. try and source some raw green tripe as a meat source, and combine with steamed mashed sweet potatoe, as a basic elimination diet. I'd encourage a consultation with a holistic vet to discuss a treatment plan. personally, I'd hold off any more Advocate for now, unless you truly have a flea issue, and then just use Advanatge, or try the new Activyl product.

I'd like to think I can offer a trained opinion, and I have successfully treated hundreds of atopic dogs using raw diet and other supplements. Unfortunately, my experience with sending patients to the specialist dermatolgists is that they come back on cortisone more often than not. I do totally agree that you need one on one, hands on, advice !!

The wandering jew is a real nasty - must avoid this. Booties can help to prevent contact with allergens, as can washing his feet any time he has been outside. You may find the least toxic approach to this may be using cortavance spray on his feet any time they get red and he is licking at them. Many people think that diet changes are only for food allergies, but a change to raw food does much more than just avoiding a food allergen - it can change the way the immune system functions, and it will assist in ALL types of allergies - atopic, contact, food and FAD.

I'm a big fan of the raw option - better than 50% chance you can manage the allergy drug free. Allergy tests can help, but only if you can avoid the allergen, and most often that is not the case if it is environmental. using the raw food and supplements help you act on the immune system - so you treat the underlting cause, not just the symptoms - info attached. Allergies in dogs and cats 2012.doc

If the nails are broken and scaly looking, I would be thinking of nail bed fungal infection, which could spread to the other dog. If it is mainly the feet (webbing etc), then contact allergy is high on the list, and possibly zince deficiency. I agree, more info needed. Either way, a swap to a balanced raw food diet would assist greatly - this way you are targettinjg the immune system, and treating the cause, not the symptom.

Where do you send your samples for analysis - I think the preocess is very important to getting accurate results. I would like to use this in practice more than I do - your advice much appreciated.

Personally I would not use slippery elm for constipation, as it is not really a stool softener, and much of its beneficial activity will be used up by the time it reaches the colon. I would advise you use psyllium hulls for constipation, much more reliable result.

Dont forget DOL member Marty's Master - he can supply raw green tripe to the Sydney area. Raw tripe is an EXCELLENT choice for dogs, especially those with sensitive skin or gut issues. It comes loaded with free probiotics, and it is quite tough, which forces dogs to do some chewing !!

Thanks for this info Doc, it is great to know. I mixed some probiotic into the cold tea when I made it up for my dog. I wonder if the the probiotic was a waste due to the coating nature of the Slippery Elm? No, that will work fine, as probiotics only live in the gut, they do not cross the gut wall. In fact, the slippery elm would be a great pre-biotic (food for probiotics)

I agree totally with all the comments on slippery elm (bark powder). It's a must have in the medical box. The only word of warning is to avoid long term use - because of the highly effective mucilaginous coating it creates on the lining of the gut, it can interfere with uptake of nutrients, so long term use can cause a nutritional deficiency. I advise 3-5 days of therapy, and also you MUST determine the original underlying cause, and correct that.

Can't you get Tumeric powder at the supermarket, in the 'spices' isle? Christina77 - great to hear your dog's losing some weight and that things are improving. Just beware that imported spices at the supermarket are genrally irradiated by customs. Not sure if that would affect efficacy, but a "medical" version for consumption may be a better choice.

Yep, I think I did put Mandela on them at one point. I think they are great, safe, and effective. Hopefully you can supply to DOL members ?

I have also had great results using a supplement called Transfer Factor (4-Life.com.au), an extract of collostrum that helps to activate the inate immune system (non-antibody path ways), for settling and controlling Auto-immune diseases (like lupus, haemolytic anaemia ...). It is not cheap, but it does work.

You are correct - there is a test kit called 'vacci-check', in house test kit - it does take about 30 mins to run the test though, and it does not give an antibody number, just a colour change comparison to say yes or no to adequate cover.

You may have to try the new "healthy Mouth" water additive - supposed to work quite well I am told.

I agree, I have found about 15% of allergy cases are linked to gluten intolerance. Yeast is an opportunist, and will grow in large numbers if the conditions are right - hence the use of a probiotic ear wash, and tea tree oil, which kills yeast. Attached is my gluten free diet sheet. Gluten Free diets.doc

Unless of course, you include the allergen in the raw diet. Or are you suggesting that dogs are only allergic to cooked food? Fair point - I simply advise you stay away from the most likely allergens - chicken and beef. Generally I do find that the denatured (cooked) proteins are far mor reactive than when fed raw.

You definately need a GA to do veterinary scale and polishing, but you do not have to have teeth scaling that often if you choose to feed raw bones. I find the very soft and chewy brisket bones are the best at cleaning teeth. Just a bone twice a week will keep your dog's teeth in tip top condition, and brisket bones are high in cartilage, so they also assist in treating arthritis.

Vitamin C does act as an anti-oxidant, which will have anti-inflammatory properties above and beyonds its nutritional value, which is why you will find it in many foods, and joint support products. If your dog is getting too much, he/she will simply pass it in the urine.

I'd increase the raw food, and just use the kibble in her kong toy. Natural ingredients like shark cartilage, green lipped mussel, ginger, omega 3 are all of benefit (see info attached). Magnetic collars can also be very effective (in some cases). Perhaps consider moving to a specific diet for Joint Support. Arthritis treatment.pdf

Absolutely worth the change. Most recurrent ear infections are a sign of food allergy, and this can be prevented by changing to a raw diet. You can either do the "cold turkey" approach, and just swap over to the raw diet (make sure you choose a complete and balanced raw food), or you can go with the 10% option- add 10% raw, 90% Hills, then each day increase the raw by 10%, and reduce the kibble by 10%, so by the end of 10 days you are feeding 100% raw. For nasty ear infections, and especially pseudomonas, I would clean the ear with apple cider vinegar, and then add a few drops of pro-biotic solution (mix powder in water then put into the ear) - the probiotics will help to out-compete the pseudomonas, and assist repopulating the ear post antibiotic drops. Calendula tea or tincture will also assist, and tea tree oil is a great natural antibiotic.

There are several different Entralive products - which one do you use for dogs and what dose rate? I use the Entralive LoAlaG tub of 75g, dose at 1/2 teaspoon daily for a 10kg dog, 14 days, then as required.

There is a nifty "in house" test kit called Vaccicheck, that can run a titre test in about 20-30 minutes, at a cost about the same as vaccination. I have been using this test kit for several years (although the nurses hate it because it has about 15 stages to complete). We have been advising 3 yearly vaccinations (after puppy shots and first booster) for over 12 years now, without a single negative, and lots of happy clients. I have had many dogs showing positive cover after 6-7 yrs. EDM -Annual vaccinations.doc