Having a vet we trust as a dog owner is of utmost importance but in many years of owning dogs I have learned a few things. One big thing is that even after many years of school Veterinarians don’t know everything. Don’t get me wrong I’m not suggesting you don’t take your dog to the vet! Rather, don’t take everything they say as the gospel truth! Vets are people too and as such they can be wrong. As your pet’s advocate it is ultimately your responsibility to take care of them to use your best reasoning skills to make good decisions.
In this information age we have access to more information than any generation who has come before us. It is true that the internet is full of misinformation too and we have to be careful of any one source. At Fidelity K9 we get a lot of information from the internet and it is an easy form for us to share with you. However, I strongly recommend we all use our ability to reason and ask questions, read and talk to colleagues and friends as well as having a vet we trust.
Here on this page I want to share what I find about illness, safety, nutrition and mental health of our dogs. At Fidelity K9 we are blessed to have access to hundreds of dogs we know, love and have a vested interest in. But please don’t just take our word for it, ultimately your dogs are counting on you.
Many trainers agree with me on this, just avoid them your dog will be happier in the long run!
We don't have much of a problem in our programs with kennel cough but dogs pick it up in lots of places. Here is a great article that explains what it is.
You can know if you are about to over-vaccinate your pets!
Panosteitis is the long form for what breeders call "Pano." Pano is a growth disease which is more common in large, big boned dogs. It can show up as young as 5 to 9 months and usually does not occur after a dog is 18 to 20 months. It is more of a growth disorder than a disease, but it is very painful to young dogs. At FidelityK9 we don't agree with the authors views on Rymadil as a whole but we do agree that it is not the only treatment for Pano. The source of the problem could be early spay and neuter and should certainly be addressed with diet.
Greg Martinez DVM has been cooking home made meals for his dogs for many years. He has a cook book on Amazon called the "Dog Diet Answer book". Here's a free sample of one of his recipes.for a fast and easy healthy alternative to store bought food.
Dan Benigno a local chef who has been in the food service business over 25 years. He uses only human grade food products. Food fit for you and your best friend.
He's moved those skills and standards to the canine world to provide a better product than the store bought food often purchased for our best friends
Dr. Karen Becker, a proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian, interviews Steve Brown, founder of Steve’s Real Food. Steve has a very interesting background that led to his passion for creating raw diets for dogs.
A great way to get Quality Kibble drop shipped to your door. They offer discounts for putting it on a schedule that you can change or stop at any time. It really is a win/win for busy people! They also sell lots of training supplies, treats and dietary supplements.
I recommend everyone watch this documentary on pet food. An investigative expose of the inner workings inside the commercial pet food industry, which has went largely unchallenged until now. This video is an hour and 10 minutes long but I think it is well worth the time. You can watch the whole expose on Netflix just search for Pet Fooled.
If you must feed kibble this is one of the go-to spots to get information
Dog Food Reviews & Ratings Dog Food Reviews A to Z Best Dog Foods, Best Dry Dog Foods, Best Wet Dog Foods, Best Grain Free Dog Foods ... well you get the point. They will also put you on automatic notification of dog food recalls so you can be informed.
When Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the world’s top manufacturer of prescription pet foods, found that some of their dog foods contained lethal amounts of vitamin D, the company hid the problem leaving veterinarians and consumers ignorant of the severity of the crisis.
Hill’s, a company whose empire was built on treating the maladies of sick dogs and cats, failure to test high-risk ingredient before being used in their Science Diet and Prescription Diet pet foods caused the premature and preventable death of dogs in the more than 80 countries.
I don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel here is a great article on the role of genetics on behavior.
Here at Fidelity K9 we often recommend you don't spay and neuter your pets. HOWEVER,
To quote Dr. Becker:
“As responsible members of society, we owe it to our communities to proactively protect our intact pets from unplanned breeding at all costs. We must hold ourselves to the highest standard of reproductive control over the intact animals we are responsible for.
Clearly, there are health benefits to be derived from waiting until after puberty to spay or neuter your dog. However, there are also significant risks associated with owning an intact, maturing pet.
How seriously you take your responsibility as a pet owner is the biggest determining factor in how risky it is to leave your dog intact until he or she matures. If you are responsible enough to absolutely guarantee your un-sterilized pet will not have the opportunity to mate, I would encourage you to wait until your pet is past puberty to spay or neuter.
If you are unable to absolutely guarantee you can prevent your dog from mating and adding to the shameful, tragic problem of pet overpopulation, then I strongly encourage you to get your animal sterilized as soon as it’s safe to do so”.
Check out this article for more information.
The Documentation
Neutered dogs, whether male or female, had a higher prevalence of CCL rupture than did sexually intact dogs.
https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/8226247
Prostate cancer has been reported to occur more commonly in neutered than intact male dogs in several case series.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pros.20590
David J. Waters, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVS
Director, Center for Exceptional Longevity Studies
Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation
We found that female Rottweilers were 2 times more likely than males to achieve exceptional longevity [Odds Ratio (95% confidence interval) = 2.0 (1.2 - 3.3); p = .006]. However, removal of ovaries during the first 4 years of life erased the female survival advantage.
http://www.gpmcf.org/hro2015.html
Neutered animals were at higher risk of developing specific tumours outside the genital organs than intact animals.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021997516300500
It's not just Dr. Becker more people are saying and confirming the studies check this out.
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