A few words on trust, dogs and people
First, I want to say that I decided to write this newsletter as a revolt against a phenomenon that has been rampant in our society; we have all witnessed the fabulous Instagram and Facebook "lives" that in reality are not that perfect.
This discrepancy between the idealized world of social media and our real lives has left many people feeling inadequate. Sadly, many people don't understand that it is "ordinary" life and connections with people, animals and nature that are more valuable and beautiful than a photoshopped picture of an all-inclusive resort with a heavily chlorinated pool.
When I wrote a draft of this blog, some of my team members who help me with proofreading cautioned me that it was too personal and that I should focus more on medical topics and holistic health. I also received a well-intended "replacement" draft, "just in case I was too busy to write something different." It said:
“Hope everyone enjoyed a great long weekend and a Happy Easter (for those that celebrate). During the holidays we all indulge a little with some treats; I know you love your dog and probably feed them treats each day. Here's some info on which treats are best for your dog and which you should avoid.”
After reading this, I sincerely appreciated my team's desire to help me, but then I decided that publishing the original version was the right thing to do. Most of my weekly newsletters have stories, thoughts, contemplations in addition to the medical parts. I feel that if you are to trust me, my work and my products, you deserve to know me!
In principle, I do agree with my team that I must continue with the medical topics and this is why I have prepared a collection of some of the most useful and popular articles and blogs below:
- Treating and preventing liver disease naturally
- A holistic approach to kidney disease treatment
- Pancreatitis in dogs - natural prevention and treatment
- A complete guide to omega-3 (fatty acids) for dogs
- Bladder, kidney stones and urine crystals in dogs - a natural approach
FYI, if the topic you are looking for is not here, all you need to do is to search for a popular topic here.
Also, if you want to learn why most customers give our products a five-star rating:
Finally, if you think that your dog may be missing something but you don’t know what, you can use The Healthy Dog Tool.
A few words on dogs, trust and people (the part I was told not to publish ;-)
Lately, my mind has been preoccupied with the topic of trust. Most of us have experienced “trivial breaches” of trust where trades give us an unreasonably high quote, someone tries to sell us an overpriced item or bill three hours for every hour they actually worked. These situations are unpleasant but they also provide us with the opportunity to learn to recognize the people we can trust. Most of us have also been in situations where we trusted someone close to us and realized we should not have, which is much more difficult.
When my ex-wife and I moved to Canada, we planned a life together, kids and careers. Our marriage ended four years after our immigration. At that time, I thought we were just like many other immigrant couples that couldn’t survive the stress and challenges of moving to another country thousands of miles away from home.
It was not until twenty years later when two people, who had no knowledge of each other, told me that my ex-wife had confessed to them that she married me only to get her immigration visa to Canada. Because these two people never met each other, I had to accept this as the truth. However, I do not regret any of my past and am grateful that I now have the gift of a partner whom I can trust and share my life with!
It is true that this experience made trusting harder for a while and that it was much easier to trust Skai ;-) Perhaps you are nodding in agreement that dogs are easier to trust than people or you may rightfully suggest that not all dogs nor people can be trusted completely and I agree with both statements.
There is a small portion of dogs who can’t be trusted because abuse or genetic predisposition made them unreliable and the same applies to some people. It is inevitable that we will continue to encounter dishonest people and aggressive dogs who do not deserve our trust but this does not mean that we should stop trusting everyone. Instead, we can continue to hone our skills to recognize who to trust and who to avoid. Dogs are very good at this, which makes them great teachers in the "trust department" too.
Wishing you a great day!
© Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM
