Some friendly advice from a doggy insider
Hi my human friends,
This is Skai Wantstofly, and Dr. D is my dad. He says that I am an ambassador for natural healing. I am not sure exactly what that means, but I know its about feeling good and making us dogs better without chemicals, vaccines and drugs.
That brings me to the main topic of today's p-mail.
I have always loved the number seven because it looks a little bit like a stick and I looove sticks. So today, I am sharing seven myths many humans still believe.
Myth 1: Bacteria in raw food makes people sick
My dad tells me that in his more than 17 years of feeding and recommending raw food, he has not had a single human coming back with a gastrointestinal bacterial infection, such as Salmonella or Campylobacter. Based on this it appears that the risk of you contracting an intestinal infection from raw meat is no higher than a meteorite landing on your head. Just wash your hands and clean with all natural cleaners and you should be fine.
Myth 2: Dogs should not eat raw bones that splinter
Well, my dear humans, that advice definitely didn’t come from nature. We dogs love bones and so do our wild cousins wolves and coyotes. We do not debone what we catch and goats and deer are one of our natural diet staples. If we chew up a crunchy bone such as a chicken thigh or a lamb shank, they get digested by the stomach acids and they do not pierce our intestines! That is silly. Just remember that there are no gas stoves or microwaves in nature so feed raw bones only! It is the cooked bones that can cause serious problems. Read more about which bones to feed here.
Myth 3: If a dog is on a raw diet, no supplements are needed
Some people are funny. They seem to forget that nature had a completely different plan when it comes to fertilizers - a 'what comes out goes back in' system that humans have been ignoring for very long time. People have invented cars, trucks, boats and metal birds and they transport food so far away that it would make any dog’s head spin. The truth is, soils have been so depleted of nutrients that many dogs and people get ill just from missing nutrients. A HairQ test provides proof that even dogs fed a raw diet need at least the essential supplements. For those who think that is not true, just give it a try and see what your dog’s test results are. My dad, Dr. D, says that he will give you a full refund if your dog’s test comes back normal.
Myth 4: Hydrogen peroxide, hibitane and iodine are good for wounds
Do you know what hydrogen peroxide does? It disinfects through a release of oxygen by reacting with peroxidase in cells. As a result, it kills the bacteria, but it also kills the skin cells and slows down healing. On a similar note the soap you call Hibitane or chlorhexdine also slows down skin healing and it is a carcinogen. You can learn about how to heal wounds naturally here.
Myth 5: Dogs lick their paws because of allergies
Oh man, where do people come up with these funny ideas?! I am a dog and I know that most dogs lick their paws because of abnormal sensation due to neck injuries. Neck injuries are often caused by collars (another human invention). How about if the people who like them so much try to wear them! Choke, prong and martingale collars are brutal. Some people think it is about how you use them, but let's be honest, we dogs love to suddenly bolt when we see a squirrel or another dog or stop suddenly to read an urgent p-mail and yank!! This hurts the neck, the muscles get tight and there we go… a pins and needles sensation follows and we dogs have no other way to tell you other than licking.
So remember, it is not about soaking our feet when we lick, we hate that. It is about using a proper harness and have a good auntie or uncle who is a physiotherapist or chiropractor.
Myth 6: Ears should be cleaned often especially when they are waxy
Wrong. Cleaning an ear is similar to flushing a toilet. You flush and it quickly fills right back up to the original level. The other problem is that flushing often leads to creating superbugs because only the resistant bacteria survive. Then our ears get really sore and swollen and more medication is used…
Our ears are like the warning lights on the dash of your car. If the oil light is on, it doesn’t mean you remove the bulb, you need to look in the engine. In the case of us dogs, you look at our diet, supplements, detox our liver and flush only minimally. You can read about ear infections here.
Myth 7: Three puppy boosters are necessary
Hmm, I do not know why humans do not learn from nature. Puppies are not pin cushions and nature looks after their immunity differently. First, the mother has antibodies that she passes on to her pups through the placenta and colostrum. This protection from maternal antibodies lasts for up to 16 to 20 weeks. My dad usually recommends checking antibodies at 12 weeks. If they are present, he checks them again at five months and again at one year and that is it… If you would like to learn the whole scoop on vaccines click here.
That is all for today!
Yours fondly,
Skai Wantstofly.
